Why did I buy the Focal Kanta 2 over every other $10,000 Speaker?

The Focal Kanta 2 is my daily hifi reference speaker. I love this speaker and it never ceases to amaze me with its quality. Remember to subscribe!
0:00 Intro and Overview
06:24 Sound Impressions
13:07 Comparisons
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Associated equipment:
Streamer/CD Player: Blusound Node 2i/Sony ES DVP-S9000
DAC/Pre-amp: Benchmark DAC3L
Power Amp: Hegel H20, SPL S800, Audio Research VSi75, Pass Labs XA25, Mcintosh MC275
Cables: Cheap ones
Room treatment: DIY + Vicoustic DC2 Multifuser
Room size: 11x15x8'
Any links to products or services may be affiliate links that give me a small kickback at no cost to you, with no influence on the content.
#focal #kanta #review

[@jameschant2740]

Kudos on your choice of speakers and for the extensive room treatment you installed in your listening room. The latter has got to be one of the most overlooked aspects of audio-fidelity among audiophiles ironically enough.

[@dr.emilschaffhausen4683]

Love it. I became a Focal fan after family members got some Aria speakers. I ended up getting a pair of Focal Clear Professional headphones and love them. Seriously considering these or the Sopra 2 for my final speaker. The speaker I'll keep until death.

[@kyleo2113]

Thanks for your impressions - I have pair of aria 936s and looking to my next step up down the road

[@hi-fihaven2257]

Great looking speaker. I really enjoyed the video Ray. It Rocks!

[@HiFiTurtle]

Thank you man!

[@DigitalDonAV]

One of my all time favorite speakers.

[@gregmartinez5836]

I was trippin when you came outta the box, 😂 didn’t expect that! Lol.

[@scottyo64]

Lol great video! People just like the look of my system, few have actually heard it.

[@cedman498]

Nice speaker. I really like that they offer fun options, like the blue and other colors.

[@HiFiTurtle]

Unfortunately, they discontinued the fun colors. I think some dealers do have NOS of those colors though.

[@marcelbernards9017]

Absolutely amazing speakers. I have them in white, love them, and my wife loves the looks too what helps :--) I use them with a Melody DPM80 tube amp. A very nice combo.

[@vicentvanmole]

very good review & comparison . Can u explain more about the different between Sonus Fiber Nova ii to Kanta 2 in detail

[@wataki_watcheswatakiwatche3160]

Thanks for your opinions. I also have heard twice now the kanta 2 first time I dismissed. Second time in love, so set up essential. Also heard the soora’s but on Naim 200 separates. So not fair comparison imho. But that’s the target on my budgets for sure. However also heard the SF Nova olympica ii also amazing and so so pretty. Decisions decisions. If you can add review as others asked above would be welcomed. Keep up the good work.

[@WeeWeeJumbo]

I think this speaker has too many words embossed on it, and Focal’s funky bent stance takes awhile to love, but your enthusiasm is contagious. Man, I love to see nerds get all the way into their sh*t. Living life well

[@michaelalfredson4246]

Got the focal viva utopia Evo lcr. Incredible

[@youssefhamidi8152]

Beautiful speakers. I also had those mono cables but ended up throwing em away. The ends are way too long and big and heavy. recommend getting the mix of spade and banana plugs from svs.

[@LuxAudio389]

Excellent! You Thomas, and Mike Z-HT are the few that have reviewed these.👏 What are the small blocks yours are sitting on? Man you and I have been down similar paths. I started as a B&W guy. Was going to upgrade to the 802d3 with the matching center a few years ago prior to the Plague. I was looking at what ABT had and a used pair from my now go to Hi-Fi dealer in Chicago(Albert Sportis: owner of Precision Audio Video) who at the time had 4 pairs of 802 d3's. I still buy everything else from Abt. So I made an appointment and asked why he had so many? He said that they were fatiguing. I was like ok. I asked what his customers were buying. He said Focal Sopras. I'm like what?? is this blasphemy lol? He's like have you heard them? I can do a shoot out for you in the same room and same equipment with any speaker you'd like in the showroom. So I did the shoot out and returned the next week and purchased Sopra No 3's in the rare Chameleon color and the Sopra center in resale black and put them in their own room. Fast forward maybe 2 or so years later and I buy KEF Wireless ii Metas as a small second system in the family room. Everything is compact and sounds good. People including myself are going bananas over these and their micro sub. 4 months later I'm like they're good, but my 4 year old is running around as Spiderman and if they fall on him it won't be good if he got seriously injured. The kid had already had stitches from tumbling in Spiderman character on to the coffee table 🤕 This past late April I email Thomas and ask him about the Q Acoustic Concept 500's. He flat out asks me why do I want these, and I tell him. He says you won't like them. I was taken back. Lol To make things worse, he even had them. He said you'll like the Kantas but they won't beat the Sopras. So I call my dealer Albert and ask what he has in my XYZ budget. He says he has a demo pair of Martin Logan 11a's. I was ehh they're too big and directional. He says they're not so much directional as before. Plus I don't want the problems of 2 built in subs and my wife won't like two screens and a box in the Family room. He says I have Sonus Olympica iii's used. I'm like why, those just came out. He says the company was bought by McIntosh and they're voiced on the brighter side, but go well with McIntosh gear. Next Mágico A3's, Focal and etc. I'm like oh, I want as you would put it, another type of Sushi roll other than Focal. I talk to my wife and got the look and plead my case, got the ok, bought a Hegel integrated so no clutter. 👍I call and make an appointment with my dealer and have a shoot out. Plauge is on the downtrend. Everyone in Chicago is out on the lake and I got a U-Haul van. We listen to Magico A3's on Luxman gear fantastic 😍. He tells me they use beryllium. I'm like oh no, my 4 yr old is going to get sick if he pokes the unprotected tweeter and I'll be dead. I listen to the Martins, Olympicas, and even Paradigm, and not liking any of them them. I go to the Kanta No2's and am in love.😍 Definitely not Sopras, but also very good and safe with the grill covering the beryllium tweeter.😉 Sold, he laughed and said you found your speaker. I had my U-Haul van ready and headed back. I love the Kantas. They're not fatiguing, they have a much better off axis response than my Kefs did, and the bass is not as viseral as the Sopras but tight and fast. Appreciably different with the lighter flax cones. Even for a front and rear ported speaker these are easy to place. Listening to Phil Collins- Tonight with the vocals and drums is very rewarding. I have an endo scope and looked inside the Kantas and they are well made, but you would think there would be more dampening material. Nope. The drivers are simple looking and so is the crossover. If you think the binding posts are meh, look inside on the other end, you'll be horrified. However, It's how Focal designs their drivers and the quality of everything that's the magic. Afterall they used to supply Wilson. Everything important (drivers, tweeters, cabinets, crossovers other than the caps) are all made in house. With Sopras the cabinet is definitely thicker and better. Dampening material is abundant where needed, but the Kantas are still great😃 Definitely refined and gorgeous. I can listen to anything from Freya, Saed, and Cat Clyde to Van Hhalen or Incubus and be blown away. I loved B&W for their looks, and before I knew better their performance. But Focal has stolen my heart and made me gladly part my wallet👍🐢

[@HiFiTurtle]

Great story! The blocks I had them on were a crude design meant to lift the speaker up a couple inches. Used rubber/cork pads and a 1" wood block inbetween. Now with the Sopra I don't need any lifters since the tweeter sits higher.

[@LuxAudio389]

@@HiFiTurtle now that I look at mine you're right. 👍

[@groundz3ro4]

I finally got to listen to these, I feel Like they were a quickly thrown together speaker to fill the 15k price point after sofra price increase. I listen to them vs martin logan esl11's and the Kanta's got smoked.

[@nas8027]

i cant decide between the kantas or the wharfedale elysian 4.

[@jlo8775]

Congrats! I’m not a fan of Focal but they are good looking.

[@armanddimeo6575]

I recently heard these at a local hi-fi shop and liked them better than any Focal speaker I ever heard. This includes speakers from the Utopia line. They had a warmth and organicity I have generally not heard in Focal speakers. Bass is much tighter and better defined than the Bowers and Wilkins 801s I heard at the same event. Aesthetics are also first rate. I think the Kanta line is Focal's sweet spot.

[@JCLADOG]

They are great as long as you NEVER listen to a Sopra esp side by side.

[@user-nr3nk8mc8t]

Agree! I listened to the Sopra 3 through Mac12000 and Moon and the bass just wasn't there as well as the Kantas...but, thought the top end wasn't quite as ethereal/sparkly... but very close.

[@sakabatou]

Ribbed for your (listening) pleasure

[@ianstyring9602]

At last, someone with high end speakers that likes METAL \m/. If you do a sound demo with your Focal's I'll subscribe. Something from Lamb of God would be good :)

[@HiFiTurtle]

I dont do sound demos because I think theyre next to worthless. Playing copyright music can get me in trouble on youtube as well, sorry! Seen LoG 6 times so you know it's being pumped from time to time :)

[@ianstyring9602]

@@HiFiTurtle thanks for the reply. I'll subscribe :)

[@mikechivy]

Maybe you mentioned in the video, would you take the Kanta 3's if money wasn't an object.

[@ralphsanders9007]

Kanta 3 owner with a ps audio bhk 250 to make them prrrr. The infinite horn loading you mention is a sopra feature not kanta, right? I think it's becoming more about placebo optics and marketing at that point anyway... Regardless, the kantas are amazing! White Carrera with subtle metallic black hit the spot for my wife and I, a bit more neutral than wood grain. Cheers

[@HiFiTurtle]

IHL is also on the Kanta. What the IHL does is very similar to Lawrence Dickie's dampened tube design for Vivid Audio and the B&W Nautilus or KEF's new Meta Material

[@Carl-yx1ww]

Good review friend

[@gregmartinez5836]

If you want attention to detail sonus faber nova Olympic II are gorgeous. But they don’t sound like a focal. I’m torn between focal kanta 2 and sonus faber nova olympica II

[@HiFiTurtle]

Two very very different sounds. If I had the money and space I would love to have a Sonus Faber system. Imo Sonus is very electronics dependant on the sound. Simaudio electronics are my favorite with Sonus but you can get an extremely different sound from them with other electronics

[@davidmcginnis2998]

Did you use Hegal h20 on these? What’s your thoughts

[@HiFiTurtle]

Yes, the H20 review is on my channel 👍

[@NeoDiNardo]

I need help fast: should I cancel my order for Sopra 1 speakers to get Kanta 2 speakers? I am lost as to what to do.

[@HiFiTurtle]

Can't go wrong either way, Kantas are 20% off right now

[@NeoDiNardo]

@@HiFiTurtle so are the Sopra 1s, $9600 for the pair. I think the Sopra 1s and get stereo subs later to better control the room bass for a small area, and to afford it all in smaller addons. The Sopra 2s are too much $$$$$ all at once. I still have amplifiers and stuff to buy lol. Then much later on I can get Sopra 2s when my car is paid off and do surround. And I worry about the Kanta 1/2 not quite being as good as the Sopra 1/2 or perhaps as good as even the B&W 805 D4/804 D4 or Kef R11 Meta. The Sopra seems better equipped in the base driver dept. Sorry Flax.

[@kadajawi6567]

I think with the Kantas the color really matters. And size too. The N°1 are better looking IMHO, and flashy colors (blue, yellow) help. Also, yeah, they should do without the writing on the speaker in the front. The Chinese love to do that too with their (cheaper) products. I'm also not a fan of the different brushing on the metal surfaces.

[@oohtob6685]

I prefer the yellow personally.

[@HiFiTurtle]

I like the fun colors, it's unfortunate they got discontinued 😥

[@bentleygt3716]

no sound demo ?!!

[@HiFiTurtle]

You want to listen to a recording of a recording from a lapel mic then compressed through youtube, played over whatever electronics and speakers or headphones you have to determine what these speakers sound like? I dont think thatll result in something useful for you or my audience.

[@Losttouchjs]

Name a more beautiful iconic speaker? Klipsch Jubilee? 🤷‍♂️ Sorry.

[@DB-Lackaufbereitung]

Wieder einer von den Voodoo Boys..

[@mikefadell1520]

sopra 2

[@razakkalik9072]

Name one? Sonus faber 😅

[@HiFiTurtle]

The Olympica Nova sure is pretty at this price! Wasn't around when I had the Kanta, just the original olympicas

[@TheNorliss]

Interesting vid, thanks. Personally I'd give the background music a miss in future though as it really gets on my tits. Maybe that's just me...

[@pimpin94553]

You sound just like Z Reviews...

[@vicentvanmole]

wish more for a serious honest review nevertheless

[@sheerenergy8602]

Lol, stop talking nonsens - first of all berylium cost much more less than half of gold price. Next about sound, I know it's a matter of taste, but Paradigm Persona sounds almost like no other speakers on the market- and easly it's higher level than the Kanta. They are even almost double the price of Kanta No. 2 and are in the same class as Sopra No. 2.

[@-MarkWinston-]

The Persona is nothing special. The price dont matter, its nowhere near the Kanta let alone the Sopra in terms of detail retrieval, clarity, transparency, airiness and soundstage width. If one is after those attributes I just mentioned, the Personas are easily skipped.

[@sheerenergy8602]

@@-MarkWinston- Lol, personas details and clarity and transparency are out of reach of Sopra and Kanta. Old signature series are even better than Focals.

[@-MarkWinston-]

@@sheerenergy8602 you are in denial and clearly have not heard a Focal. But carry on.

[@YouSoundButtHurt]

Sounds like you have a set of Personas and are in denial. I've heard the Persona 5F and 7F and prefer the Focal as well.

[@sheerenergy8602]

@@YouSoundButtHurt It's allowed to prefer 😊. But Focal is expensive and in price/sound it's far from beeing a leader in that category. And you both trying to convience me that, a lover segment speakers are better that step higher ones? Also i send you link to comparsion in the same room and system.

[@antonioinacioconceicaoreis9004]

Stupid price cheap quality!!

[@dr.emilschaffhausen4683]

A Klipsch fan, eh?

[@arvinawotar4252]

It's slow, muddy, and has a ton of box resonnance. Hear the Focal Sopra and you will realize how bad, colored and muddy the Kantas are.

[@stephennarayan]

Terrible commentary.