Pure Music - Yamaha A S2200 - Focal Sopra No1 - Bowers 805D3

This time we connect the marverlous, pure analog, Yamaha A-S2200! We connect it to our Focal Sopra No1 ánd Bowers & Wilkins 805D3.
As a source we use the Metrum Acoustics Pavane dac and Ambre streamer. Cabling is by Audioquest, Grimm and Kemp.
Check out lossless wav-samples on:
www.alpha-audio.nl (Dutch)
And
alpha-audio.net (English)
Track list:
0:00 - 0:10 - Intro
0:11 - 2:58 - Jacques Loussier Trio - Little Fuge in G Minor
2:59 - 8:11 - Adele - Lovesong
8:12 - 15:30 - Infected Mushroom - Becoming Insane
15:31 - 15:39 - Outro

[@666chew]

If this is what Yamaha calls "natural sound" then I'm all in. Not the least bit forward, but rather, alive. Kind of like you're there, which is what this hobby is all about, to me.

[@5675492]

The Focals are like warm butter melting over your soul . Perfecto .

[@milanmihajlovic8569]

OMG this is the masterpiece. Nothing beats Focal's linearity. The resolution, the clarity, the details, the commitment. One of the few speakers that does not get bored, the music comes to you. With Focal, you can sit for hours and listen without getting tired. My Sopra no1 in combination with tube is outstanding.

[@philipgardiner2003]

Agree on the Focal Sopra 1. However, I would be cautious pairing them with a tube amp, so was thrilled to hear you say how good it is. I suspect your using a fairly powerful amp on par with Audionote perhaps?

[@philipgardiner2003]

@geod.429 It has to do with Focal's sensitivity and power requirements. I would not pair them with a SET amp any lower than 25 watts as long as it's Class A. A Pathos hybrid integrated would work well.

[@bikemike1118]

I think he praises Focal a fair bit too much…

[@Habitual_Liar]

Two different feels. Both sound amazing! Thanks for the awesome comparison video!!

[@nycbass78]

For me ,The B&W’s are for a rainy day listening,cozy and relaxed ,while the Focals would be for a Friday night cocktail party !!😉

[@Cherrytea558]

I have the Yamaha A-S1100. These amps sound terrific especially after 40-50 hours.

[@tinle142]

better?

[@philipgardiner2003]

One of, if not the best AB test I’ve ever heard!! Well done! The Focal signature sound is more my cup of tea. I recently bought a new pair of Electra 1008 BE’s. Love them so much.

[@lanx0003]

One of the best recordings. Thank you for doing this.

[@TheAlphaAudio]

Thanks!

[@derekmann857]

The focals sound more fun and faster. Good pairing with the S2200. They really like the Infected Mushroom

[@agx502]

Im actually more impressed by the Yamaha integrated amp, sounds great as far as i can tell via KZbin.

[@TheAlphaAudio]

It is a great amp... no doubt!

[@EricLee-rz2vo]

Your selected-combination sounds great

[@icaniditokyo]

Great job as always, well done. Focal are next level.

[@eascctv]

This is the first youtube speaker comparison that I can truly understand. Focal=Wow! Thanks so much.

[@sinistercollector9223]

Thank you for doing this Demo. It's the best A/B comparison that I've ever heard! I felt like I was there with you.

[@TheAlphaAudio]

That's the idea! :-).

[@sinistercollector9223]

@@TheAlphaAudioI'm still trying to decide between these two speakers but wanted to ask how far apart you had them so I do something similar?

[@Dmytro-zj9it]

Sopra gives more air and more refined sound with Yama

[@RAMIRO61FERNANDES]

Excelent side by side!!!!!!!!!!!

[@bmpbmp9446]

I love the B&W's, I owned an older pair at one point, but I have to admit, the midrange vocal sounds better on the Focal's. It just sounds a little congested with the B&W's. I'm a fan of both of these!!!

[@thedrivebygg]

Agree with you, my mate owns the bowers and Wilkins model and they look better, but midrange on the focal sounds incredible.

[@robertogarcia-qu9nb]

The BEST, Focal for me.

[@thedrivebygg]

Great comparison video. I saw the Focal speakers in a shop today and they look bigger than the 805 D3, and in my view have a better mid range based on the content you played. My friend owns the 805 D3 speakers and they sound incredible, no one would be disappointed and the clarity and base are perfectly matched. Even though the midrange sounds better on the focals, I would opt for the 805 D3 as they will hold a great resale value, and in my opinion look better in my room.

[@dmitriyivanov5199]

The Yamaha A S2200 - Bowers 805D3 is very natural in the classics, and the Focal Sopra is more driving. I listened to this video in BeyverDinamic DT770PRO))))

[@cwc1628]

excellent comparison

[@michelhb1428]

Cooooool 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

[@fotdss1]

Back in the day I found my JM Labs (aka Focal) paired the best with Arcams Full Metal Jacket integrated. Specially the Daline 3.1s and Arcams FMJ A23.

[@stevenoconnor5693]

I have a pair of 805 d3 with 2 bowers asw500 subs dialed in perfectly. Mids and lows excellent

[@ryanfuller5]

Finally someone uses Adele's Lovesong cover as an audio demonstration. This recording is a masterpiece! Great video!

[@TheAlphaAudio]

Yes. Love that song... One of the few covers I actually like.

[@kokowijaya8642]

Nice combo

[@adaboy4z]

If it makes sense I hear the bass out front with the B&W and the Vocals out front with the Focal speakers. This was a great sound test I could hear the difference!

[@jizzus3445]

Focal ! By far !

[@adamhindle9215]

Great comparison. Focals are clearly more forward, and brighter. B&Ws are softer, smoother. I can see why some people would prefer the Focals, and certainly they could come across as more 'impressive' in a hifi demo. However, living them day to day might be another story.

[@snagglesmagoo2750]

Even listening to this through a pair of Ultrasone sounds incredible.

[@respectbigman3133]

I have the Lyngdorf s-15 and it knock these out the park

[@milanbogovac]

For me, Focal surprisingly beats BW. Great work and thanks.

[@petermartin9494]

Surprisingly!?!?!?!?!

[@JuanLega]

Focal 👍

[@dylancyclotraveller8576]

I prefer the Sopra's

[@optidejyadubenko1165]

Focal wins 🇨🇵💪

[@robertanderson7049]

Yamaha makes some great amps.

[@TheAlphaAudio]

They do!

[@SirMountainpass]

The Sopra 1 for me any time😉👍

[@Blah-blah-sure]

Fantastic! Where can I get a copy of your playlist. Appreciate the demo,b/c most reviews leave out the audio.

[@marcusaurelius2988]

Bowers and Wilkens are super bright.

[@hawaiiguykailua6928]

Didn't think either was bright at all, thought the focals were more forward presentation and the bowers were relaxed especially in the lower mids. Listening via my Focal wireless headphones.

[@simplereef4854]

This remains me of an experiment I have along time ago comparing the Focal Kanta against LS50. At first the Kanta sounds better with bigger sound stage, and the KEFLS50 sounds boring. But later on, I found out that the KEF is actually sounds more relax and more coherent. Eventually, I sold my Focal. The Focal sounds like the tweeter and the woofer come from two different places, the KEF sounds like everything comes from one single place.

[@Hpr1]

coaxial drive

[@SSS-cv7dc]

Yamaha+B&W=Superb 👌🏼👌🏼 Thanks for the great video

[@dufonrafal]

They're very different. But it's not that one is better than the other, I mean, we're at the top for HiFi speaker here. It is really just that: Focal vs B&W, France vs GB, two different sound signature. The B&W is warmer with an emphasis on the instruments, the Focal is more focused on reproducing it the way it is with a small emphasis on vocals. I truly believe that the B&W will grab your attention more and will sound better at first, especially to non-audiophiles, but on the long run, I'll choose the Focal.

[@SUde-vd1qo]

Both sound great listening through my JBL desk top monitors with the Focal a bit more polite.

[@fatmanadir1095]

I prefer infected mushroom :) 🍄 Btw Focal's are close to my taste :) both in sound and design

[@terryRBNF]

Sopra sounds more energetic with a fuller tone at the bottom end, the BW sounds more refined and airy and easygoing. They both sound great but I'd choose the BW for my prefs.

[@-MarkWinston-]

Easy to sound airy when you boost the living shit out of the treble.

[@terryRBNF]

@@-MarkWinston- hehe no argument there, i actually prefer Harbeth, Dynaudio and Proac

[@SirMountainpass]

I go with the Sopra 1 in combination with the Sopra SW 1000 - plays at the level of the Sopra 2 (or even a tad better)…

[@rwmschei]

Mijn voorkeur hebben de focals, ik vind de Bowers (en dat karakter hebben wel meerBowers) te veel in hoog en bas gepusht, terwijl het midden heel duf en rommelig klinkt. De Focal laat meer detail horen, zeker bij de fuge en toch irriteert hij minder (maar dat zal onbetwist ook wel aan mijn smaak liggen) 😊

[@LOSSLESSrecord-FLAC-Hi-Res-DSD]

very well

[@colindurand102]

Superbe vidéo beau travail Au casque c'est très sympa on se rend vraiment compte des différences, si je devais choisir sur cette écoute ça serait tellement difficile bien que jai l'impression que les bw vont plus loin sur les voix, et que l'on entend plus de choses.. Plus naturelles je dirais..

[@TheAlphaAudio]

Merci beaucoup ! Nous sommes heureux d'avoir pu aider.

[@scottzahn3298]

I’ve listened to many of your videos and the Sopra 1 are wonderfully dynamic but seem to lack detail in the mid bass. Perhaps they would pair well with detailed mid bass amps like Gryphon Diablo and Mola Mola Kula .

[@philthomas8351]

Surprised. The Focals have very good bass impact. Great sound stage. The B&W 805s sound good, but less clear in the demo. Thanks for post.

[@phitur]

The difference with the h95 test seems to be in better mids here, more direct sounding for accoustic instruments and maybe less airy.

[@WimHulpia]

Thanks for the Review ! The Focals have a much better dispersion of high sounds. I think the open end design at the back of the tweeter is doing its job here. The piano notes seem to have a longer decay making them sound more realistic. On the B&Ws they might be realistic too, but the microphones are not positioned straight in front of the speakers, and on the recording the decay of piano notes is completely missing. I noticed the same with the electric guitar at 13:54. When the B&Ws are playing that guitar is muffled, and it completely opens up with the Focals.

[@jameslongley2226]

The Focal’s are in a different league. Not sure what’s going on, perhaps equipment partnering or some other issue but even in isolation without hearing the Focal the B&W’s just sound closed in, limited in bandwidth and coloured. Loving the channel, although it’s never quite the same as being there it is clear to hear the differences between kit.

[@drepark2294]

Maybe the utopia but these are in line with one another

[@exoticg9]

Listening with my B&W DM603 s3

[@jasoncarlson4285]

Focal Sopra No1 4 me.

[@rktrkt-tw8nd]

Recording too close to speakers will always hide the limitations of set up. If you go to extreme say putting mic directly in front of speakers, it will improve the sound further as no room reverb will be recorded. For that matter recording analog out of dac will sound still better but will be of little use as it will not represent the real life situations. So imho record from seating position if at all you want to convey the actual sound of the system.

[@JL-jq5rx]

Bowers 805D3 👌🙂

[@mer9706]

The Focals seem to have more "going on." Beryllium definitely bested the diamond here.

[@stodiweddinghandmade6683]

Sopra definitely and by a big margin. Good A-B, Bravo!!! Finally good rec with good mic... Sopra is class or two up. Sopra better in everything...

[@steelydanfan100]

First of all, I have the AS2100 Yamaha, the direct predecessor to the 2200 you have here. Very happy with it’s performance and it’s all analog, I can play with all of the digital / analog sources , the 2100 takes it from there. I think the Focals have a tendency to be too bright with the Yamaha, I am leaning towards the more neutral Bowers on this competition. Finally, the Focals are a little too “ look at me” with that tangerine 🍊 finish.

[@TheAlphaAudio]

The Focals are more neutral than Bowers. We measured them both: the No1 and the 805D3. All - or most of - bowers-speakers have a 'bump' in the high-area to give them 'presence'. You may like that, but I can assure you the 805D3 is more bright than the Sopra No1.

[@steelydanfan100]

@@TheAlphaAudio That’s what I have read but to my ears the Focals still sounded brighter , particularly on the Adele track .

[@DougMen1]

@@steelydanfan100 That's because their midrange isn't recessed like on all B&W speakers, to give the artificial impression of a deeper soundstage, but it makes vocals sounds like they're coming from behind a blanket in another room

[@VinnieMoore1986]

B&W Tweeter play Lighter 👌🏼👌🏼👌🏼👌🏼👌🏼👌🏼👌🏼👌🏼 Focal play better Midrenge Vocal .

[@tomdijks689]

Sopra,s favoriet voormij..Ben gek op het dynamische hoog van de berrylium tweeter..

[@TheAlphaAudio]

Love em...

[@Drackleyrva]

Sopra seems to have more 'punch'. How would they sound with a Luxman 505UXii integrated.

[@louissimmonds5509]

The Focals have a "meatiness" at low volumes that I like

[@alhillary2391]

Excellent video keep them coming. Focal for me. BMW are also good but Focal sounded better.

[@user-fy6zj8eu1u]

Hello. I have Yamaha A-S 1200 amplifier I`ve watched your video countless times and I need advice. Which floorstander speakers would you recommend for a 40m2 room size? All genres of music are listened to. I intend to give it a try to "Dali Opticon 8 MK2" just after the new year. My budget is 2500-3000e. Thank you in advance.

[@JC.LC.]

KEF LS50 Metas and dual REL T7x's

[@harissamulis2581]

Without doubt Focal beats B&W.

[@ralex3697]

Not for me, I like the B&W better

[@ralex3697]

The Focal sound thumpy

[@user-mf1rs8pw2q]

focal!!!!

[@onderbecerik]

💖🙏

[@dennisstempher9684]

Jullie Bryston/Pass combi laat beide speakers wat mij betreft nog veel beter tot hun recht komen... Natuurlijk is het prijsverschil niet gering, maar dit toont maar weer eens het belang van goede versterking aan... Ben in dat kader wel benieuwd hoe de Yamaha het zou doen tegen pak 'm beet een Naim Supernait 3 of zelfs een Nait XS 3, die qua prijs dichter in de buurt komen...

[@Philear4124]

Wat een controle met beide speakers, voorkeur naar de Focal, ik ben nu ook minder B&W minded, maar ja dat is nu goesting en smaak. De yamaha is dus zeker niet verkeerd, benieuw naar de 3200. Grtz Phil

[@TheAlphaAudio]

Ja, de Yamha's zijn fraai. 3200 komt eraan.

[@skip1835]

geeze, going against the tide again - I think the B&W's are a better match with the Yamaha. Another excellent vid, recently discovered your channel - I'm subscribing - - Thanks!

[@stevenoconnor5693]

Agreed

[@juststuff5216]

Don't know if it counts for anything, but there's nearly a *_£2,500 or 50% difference in price,_* the Focal's being the more costly. That's quite a difference!

[@steverino5054]

Any cheaper alternatives that still perform extremely well with the AS2200?

[@marc6652]

Sopra 1 sounds so clear. B&W 805 D3 sounds muffled After listening many videos comparing speakers, I ordered a pair of Focal Sopra 1 + Yamaha R-N2000A. Sure they'll be good friends !

[@sjaakvansoest1116]

Focals natuurlijk!

[@nikehusk3849]

Focal natural sounding. B&W punchy and chirpy.

[@sarahX..]

For considerably cheaper one can buy Revel M126be (sound very similar to Sopra) + a pair of Kef or Rel subs.

[@aussie8114]

Those Focal speakers sound nice. But in my country Australia they are listed at $15,500. Probably another $2,000 for the stands. That’s a bucket load of cash.

[@TheAlphaAudio]

That is expensive. In The Netherlands it's 9000 euro per set. Incl stands

[@patrickverschuren3409]

@@TheAlphaAudio Geen invoertarieven e.d. uit Frankrijk voor ons door de fantastische EU. Australiers betalen die tarieven plus transport e.d.! :-)

[@cutiepie3475]

@@TheAlphaAudio lol really? in hong kong just around 5k euro

[@TheAlphaAudio]

@@cutiepie3475 is that Sopra No1? Not Kanta?

[@cutiepie3475]

@@TheAlphaAudio yes , Sopra no1 , brand new like 5000~euro , second hand like 3500~euro , this price is not including the stand

[@matthiasschnapka6498]

Mee tooo, I would pick the Focal's over the B&W, and that even through I'm a hugh fan of Brit Speaker Company's.

[@Spierdalajyoutube]

Hi. Any problems with bass on Focal? I have no much room behind... My choice is focal sopra or wilson benesch precision p1.0 I can't decide 😢

[@34332]

I own them and it strongly depends on the size of your room (materials, vibrations, acoustics, etc). They go down 6dB at 41Hz (-3dB at 45Hz), so you may get away by positioning them closer to the wall, however, you can lose some depth. You may predict the outcome a little, based on experience with other speakers, but I would never buy without demo-ing them at home. For what it's worth, I use DSP (Dirac Live), to further 'combat' room interaction.

[@chasehatton3691]

Focal listener fatigue vs Bowers & Wilkins listening pleasure. Not once during the typically emotive Adele number did the Focal Sopras elicit any form of emotion compared to the B&W 805 D3. The Focals are in fact quite the let down. Aesthetics are wasted when judged alongside sound performance with the Focals. I so really wanted to love the Focal sound , just found it impossible to do so.

[@t.j.bennett6454]

Well the focals definitely have better off axis dispersion through the entire range but thats all worth comparing when you have it setup like this

[@TheAlphaAudio]

What do you mean by that?

[@t.j.bennett6454]

@@TheAlphaAudio the mics are off to the side of it and positioned in front of them pointed at them. The mics should each be between your listening position and the speaker.

[@TheAlphaAudio]

@@t.j.bennett6454 no they shouldn't. I explained all of it in another post. We measured response and tried tons of positions. This ortf position is most realistic. The are close enough to the speakers - so no audible roll-off - and they still capture the Imaging.

[@t.j.bennett6454]

@@TheAlphaAudio roll off occurs greater off axis the further you get from the speaker? Thats just proof that off axis is unreliable as sitting further away on axis doesn't degrade SQ just amplitude

[@t.j.bennett6454]

@@TheAlphaAudio i actually did mean to sound like I knew for sure what I was talking about. I just am dumbfounded as to why mics are positioned ridiculously off axis and claim is that it isn't recording a less than capable response. I would love to see these measurements taken outside. Also, measurements aside that b&w tweeter sounds craaaazy far away and as if off axis. I am curious as to why the not have them in line with speaker?

[@priyanthaamarakoon5652]

Very good job done. I prefer Focals. Can you add Pass Lab to this combination and do a side by side video again. Thanks.

[@TheAlphaAudio]

We have a complete database to download lossless samples. Just visit alpha-audio.net and login. You Will see a menu Database in the top.

[@priyanthaamarakoon5734]

@@TheAlphaAudio Thank you very much. I will do it. I too owned a Yamaha AS-2100 amp. sounds superb.

[@klaymoon1]

Great comparison video! Too bad that Focal Sopra cannot be bi-amped.

[@MrBazsi888]

Vovox Textura Fortis is still a strong performer?

[@fredfungalspore]

They both sounded the same on my Motorola speaker phone 😮

[@damianvitto2776]

B&W the Winner, More detail, More Space, Sounds open, projects the room and everything...

[@svenfriedrich1612]

Only: Sopra!!!!

[@hudiamichael2791]

Beaucoup parle de l’ampli ou des enceintes , faut pas oubliez les câbles , la température de la pièce et du matériel et bien sûr l’acoustique de la pièce et son volume (perso : Maestro evo EM driver par ampli hybride classe AB Macintosh+ Ampli de puissance à chaque enceinte Macintosh ) un régal pour les oreilles et les yeux 👍

[@freemind279]

Interesting differences between two speakers. Both not fatiguing though.

[@warsshan]

Adele definitely sounded more nasal with the 805s, the Focals are more laid back and relaxed.

[@user-bq6ym2ee6y]

Focal

[@user-tk7kz1fl2r]

They sound identical on my IPad. Maybe in person it would be different. Your playing music that already sounds nice due to lack of instruments. This is dealers demo music!

[@carlosgarcia8508]

Found this interesting video, Focal is more spectacular, but Bowers are more precise, voice of Adele is somehow veiled through Focals, but Bowers are also more power demanding... Difficult decision if I had to choose one, but I think that I would stay with Bowers

[@user-bk4be1of6i]

Bowers очень красивый верх благодаря их фирменному высокочастотнику.Focal более насыщенный глубокий звук и правильный бас.

[@m0rpheus]

бивни подетальнее наверху кажутся, но это может быть из-за смещенного вверх тонального баланса

[@DougMen1]

The Focals are much more dynamic and better balanced. They sound like live music, while The B&Ws sound much more artificial, like a highly compressed digital file

[@MrRocktuga]

Listening here through headphones, the B&W’s are very far from neutrality in the midrange, in what seems to be poor integration between the mid-woofer and tweeter. That has to be on purpose, since B&W has all the means and technical knowledge to a lot better, and they have been following that trend over the last years. I personally don’t like what they’ve been doing, and I feel that without direct A/B comparisons, that recessed midrange can make some recordings feel more detailed on the top end, while others might be just too much. For me, I would choose the Focals all day long, but I feel that their iconic look may trick the brain of many people into buying them, after all, the tweeter on top design is what the big Diamonds on Abbey Road also use (good marketing strategy here). If I wanted such huge deviations from neutrality (for some strange reason), I’d still buy the Focals and use high quality DSP to scoop the response, as it is much easier to start with a more neutral loudspeaker and accomplish that, than the other way around. I honestly don’t understand what B&W has been doing, since a lot of loudspeaker manufacturers have been moving towards a more neutral sound, while B&W has been moving away from it (unlike many products in their past). Maybe they’re trying to create a new “B&W sound” just like they did in the looks department, but for me (and this only applies to myself), they’re only making their products way less appealing to me (as well as the brand perception, unlike what they did in the past).

[@gregorytrane7828]

Ever since John Bowers died it seems that Bowers and Wilkens have moved from a very accurate and precise source sound to a brighter less natural sound trying to enhance more detail and punch. I prefer the older formula of John Bowers towards accurate realism.

[@richarddegannes2928]

Hello, Between Focal Sopra No1, B&W 805D3 and KEF Reference 1 speakers for 2.0 or 2.1 stereo on a room that is 19ft long x 13ft wide x 10-14ft high ceilings, which in your opinion is the better speaker? I plan to use a Hegel H390 Integrated amplifier. Thanks.

[@astralboy]

sopra bit more low/mid punch, however that translates to clearer sound on the d3.........listening on a amphion one 18 + amp: cherry king STM

[@RiaTolstoy]

Agreed midrange richer and better on Focals