Focal Sopra N°2 3-Way Floorstanding Loudspeaker (each) (open box) Light Oak

The Focal Sopra N°2 is one of the sweet spots in Focal’s high-end loudspeaker lineup—combining serious scale, dynamics and resolution with a cabinet that remains manageable enough for a wide range of listening rooms.

Designed and manufactured in France, the Sopra N°2 is a 3-way bass-reflex floorstanding loudspeaker featuring dual 7-inch W-cone woofers, a 6.5-inch W-cone midrange with Focal’s TMD suspension and NIC motor technology, and a pure Beryllium inverted-dome tweeter with Infinite Horn Loading.

The result is a loudspeaker capable of delivering deep, controlled bass, exceptional midrange transparency and highly detailed treble while maintaining the speed and coherence that make the Sopra series so engaging.

For listeners who want to move into true high-end Focal without the size and scale of the Utopia range, the Sopra N°2 is an exceptional place to be.

High-End Focal Performance in a More Manageable Size

Sopra N°2 was engineered around an interesting challenge:

How much of Focal’s reference loudspeaker technology can you put into a relatively compact floorstanding design?

The answer is quite a lot.

At approximately 47 inches tall, Sopra N°2 is substantial without overwhelming most listening rooms. Yet its dual 7-inch woofers, sophisticated midrange driver and Beryllium tweeter allow it to produce the scale and dynamics expected from a much larger loudspeaker.

Focal specifically designed the Sopra N°2 to approach the performance territory of its Utopia range while maintaining a more accessible footprint.

Pure Beryllium Inverted-Dome Tweeter

High frequencies are reproduced by Focal’s 1-inch pure Beryllium inverted-dome tweeter.

Beryllium combines extremely low mass with exceptional rigidity, allowing the diaphragm to respond rapidly while extending well beyond the conventional audible range.

The Sopra N°2 reaches all the way to 40kHz, but extreme extension isn't really the point.

What matters is the tweeter’s ability to reproduce subtle information—the texture of a cymbal, the decay of a piano note, the ambience of the recording space—without sounding forced or exaggerated.

Infinite Horn Loading

Focal takes the Beryllium tweeter a step further with its IHL, or Infinite Horn Loading, system.

The rear wave produced by a tweeter can create unwanted distortion if it isn't properly controlled. Focal's IHL architecture progressively absorbs this rear radiation while allowing the tweeter to operate within the relatively compact Sopra enclosure.

The objective is greater definition, lower distortion and cleaner high-frequency reproduction.

The Midrange Is Where Sopra Gets Serious

Focal considers the Sopra N°2's midrange driver one of the most important elements of the loudspeaker.

The 6.5-inch W-cone midrange combines two of Focal's significant technologies: TMD suspension and NIC motor technology.

TMD—Tuned Mass Damper—helps stabilize the driver's suspension and reduce unwanted resonances.

NIC—Neutral Inductance Circuit—addresses variations in the magnetic field within the driver's motor system.

Together, they're designed to reduce distortion and improve linearity through the frequencies where vocals and much of the fundamental information in music reside.

The goal isn't simply more detail.

It's greater transparency.

Dual 7-Inch W-Cone Woofers

Bass comes from two 7-inch W-cone woofers.

Focal's W-cone technology uses a sandwich construction consisting of a lightweight foam core positioned between layers of glass fiber.

This construction allows Focal to carefully balance three characteristics that are critical to driver performance:

Lightness. Rigidity. Damping.

The dual woofers allow the Sopra N°2 to reach 34Hz ±3dB and 28Hz at -6dB, providing genuine low-frequency authority without requiring an enormous enclosure.

For music, that means bass that can have real weight while retaining the speed and definition necessary to integrate properly with the midrange.

Focus Time: The Shape Has a Purpose

The distinctive Sopra cabinet isn't shaped that way simply to attract attention.

Focal calls its approach Focus Time.

The upper and lower cabinet sections are angled around the center module so that the acoustic output of the individual drivers converges more precisely at the listening position.

This helps improve time alignment between the drivers and contributes to the precise imaging and coherent presentation expected from a high-end loudspeaker.

It's a good example of form following acoustic function.

It just happens to look fantastic at the same time.

Gamma Structure Cabinet

A loudspeaker cabinet should provide a stable platform for the drivers—not become another source of sound.

Focal's Gamma Structure uses a dense, rigid cabinet architecture designed to reduce enclosure vibration and unwanted resonance.

Focal uses vibration mapping during development to identify areas of the cabinet requiring additional reinforcement.

Tempered glass, substantial internal construction and carefully selected materials further contribute to the enclosure's rigidity.

When the cabinet stays quiet, you hear more of the drivers and less of the box surrounding them.

Made in France

The Sopra N°2 is a genuine French-made high-end loudspeaker.

Its cabinets are crafted in France, while Focal develops and manufactures its key driver technologies in-house.

The attention to detail extends beyond acoustics.

The visible decoupling spikes were specifically designed for the Sopra series and manufactured by specialists from the watchmaking industry, while lacquer and wood finishes give the speaker the level of fit and finish expected at this level.

Easier to Drive Than You Might Expect

The Sopra N°2 offers 91dB sensitivity with a nominal impedance of 8 ohms.

Focal recommends amplification between 40 and 300 watts per channel. The impedance does drop to 3.1 ohms, however, so amplifier quality and current capability remain important when choosing electronics.

That gives us plenty of flexibility when building a system around the Sopra N°2.

It doesn't demand enormous amplifier power simply to come alive, but it is revealing enough to reward exceptional amplification.

Focal Sopra N°2 Specifications

Type: 3-Way Bass-Reflex Floorstanding Loudspeaker
Made In: France

Drivers

Tweeter:
1" (27mm) IHL pure Beryllium inverted-dome tweeter

Midrange:
6.5" (16.5cm) W-cone midrange with TMD suspension and NIC motor

Woofers:
2 x 7" (18cm) W-cone woofers

Acoustic Performance

Frequency Response: 34Hz – 40kHz (±3dB)
Low-Frequency Point: 28Hz (-6dB)
Sensitivity: 91dB
Nominal Impedance: 8 ohms
Minimum Impedance: 3.1 ohms
Recommended Amplifier Power: 40 – 300 watts

Dimensions

Height: 46.87"
Width: 14.12"
Depth: 21.25"

Weight

122 lbs. (55kg) each

Included Accessories

• Magnetic front grilles
• 4 spikes
• 4 counter-spikes

The Grid's Take on the Focal Sopra N°2

The Sopra N°2 is one of our favorite places in the Focal lineup because it strikes such a good balance.

It's a serious high-end loudspeaker without becoming physically enormous.

You get the pure Beryllium tweeter, W-cone drivers, TMD suspension, NIC motor technology, IHL tweeter loading and Focus Time architecture—all packed into a speaker that's roughly 47 inches tall.

And with 91dB sensitivity and a recommended amplifier range of 40–300 watts, there are a lot of interesting ways we can build a system around it.

Pair the Sopra N°2 with Naim for a natural Focal/Naim combination, or build the system around electronics from McIntosh, Audio Research, Luxman, Burmester, Goldmund or another reference manufacturer.

That's where buying a loudspeaker at this level from a specialist dealer matters.

The speaker is only part of the system.

The amplifier, source, cabling, placement and room all determine what you ultimately hear.

At The Grid HiFi & Home Theater, we can help match the Focal Sopra N°2 with the right electronics and properly set up the system for your room.