Check our review and lossless wav-samples here: English: alpha-audio.net/review/review-marantz-model-30-en-sacd-30n/ Dutch: www.alpha-audio.nl/review/review-marantz-model-30-en-sacd-30n/

WOW I truly appreciate the quick shifts between the speakers! When longer clips are demoed and the restarted the differences aren't as easily recognized! B&W or FOCAL for the win imo. The towers were muddy and flat.

Focals sound amazing with this combo.

Those Focals are firecrackers. It sounds like those Dali are playing through a pillow sometimes, and seem a little lifeless. Focals and B&W are clear winners. Focals are easily the most fun and engaging of these speakers. Now you guys have me wanting to get the Focals with a Yamaha 1200 and claim victory!

Those Focals OMG amazing!!!

Sound comes alive with the Focals.

Listening in 2024❤

Dali warm, classic sound. B&W bright and crisp. Focal forward sounding.

The B&W 805 D3 speakers have a clean and clear vocal. The mid bass is fast and tight; plus, the high sparkles with details. They do seem to lack some bass (mid and low) especially at the lower region compared with the others. The Focal Sopra No1 speakers have a more pronounced and forward vocal characteristic. They sound warmer than the others. The bass punches low but doesn't sound as well defined as the others. The Dali Rubicon 6 has the tightest bass and can play much lower. The mids and highs are linear; however, they lack just a bit of finesse in the vocal compared with the other two. Personal opinion: sound wise, I prefer the B&W > Focal> Dali.

Most bass and authority Dali...most energetic and analitic sound Focal

Beautiful sound from Marantz Model 30!

Focal and B&W different league. Amazing video. Thanks!👍

Focals aint focking around, they are easily the best souding ones here, and everywhere else. That tweeter... that tweeter...

Firstly kudos and admiration for the impeccable presentation. Seamless changes, they take hours to complete, sound recording excellent, even the posters complete a perfect video. To my 66 year old ears the Focals produce a more room filling sound than the rest and great clarity. The Dalis come close and the Bowers try their best. I listened with an ASUS Sonic Master lap top. Many thanks.

The Vocals just pop in this video. Beautiful

The B&W's grew on me. I'm not a fan but they had their merits. Surprising. Great vid... lovely amp

This gives a good idea how each speaker sounds off-axis. It really doesn't suggest what they would sound like at the listening position with speakers in an equilateral triangle with the listener in a chair.

Wow, Focals sound so much better than the others. They are good, but Focal i s on another level.

What a great video keep up this good work. Focal is my taste

Impressed by the Focal Sopra!

Great video and sound!! Specially the adele track. Listened to many times before but not with this level of clarity. The B&W sounds great.

Focal is the best of the best. Hands down. 😍🤩💖

The Focal always wins these comparisons. There's a reason that they're Alpha Audio's reference speakers, because they can't be beat.

I have come back after a year from first viewing this video. My system is pretty neutral, allowing me to discern differences, in the "better system" comparison videos such as yours. I remember that "around 1000?" Integrated amp shoot out, and how that Primare unit showed out in a most outstanding manner! Having said all that, these "newbreed" Marantz units paired with the Focals are knocking the ball out of the park! No contest, IMHO. Again, nice job, and thank you.

The Focals just sound so well balanced and really musical!

I wasn't certain that I'd hear much difference, playing through a PC with AudioEngine speakers and DAC, but the FOCAL's shone. They offered more detail, more brilliance, and a greater vibrancy. I own B&W on my home theater and was a bit biased until I finished all three tracks. Focal was my choice, followed by the B&W.

Super video, very enlightening, thanks! Focal is the clear winner for me.

For me it is clearly Focal. Really very good. The Marantz combination with the Focals, that's all I need to listen to music really well.

by FAR the best abc demo i've ever seen for speakers. I used to do this frequently with wires. too fiddly with speakers, making this all the better for me! Focal in this system has to be the best, B&W need very forward wires (which i happen to have in my 803D setup. Sadly, the Dali pales in this setup, added bass sounds very tubby and not tonally accurate. GREAT DEMO! Kudos!

Zelfs ik als B&W “fan” moet zeggen dat de Focal echt heel lekker klinkt! De B&W lijkt iets neutraler en minder spannend te klinken en lijkt wat fundament te missen, de Dali klinkt in vergelijking niet open in het midden en hoog is nogal terughoudend en het laag is nogal prominent en lijkt niet zo strak, ik zou t graag een keer in het echt willen horen. Bedankt voor de impressie.

Wonderful... thi is the propper way to compare speakers.. Thank you.

Dry nice comparator video, cleverly edited. Well done. Floorstander Dali are obvious choice. Better balanced even if rather crisp.

geeze - maybe it's me, not looking to spar with anyone - but I'm just a bit surprised at the affection for the Focals in the comments - awesome speaker, every model they make, but my ears are telling me the Dali's are the most natural of these 3 - Actually, I agree completely with Nike Husk's comment and based on what I'm hearing, I'm buying the Rubicon's. Thanks for posting - excellent vid and great comparisons!

Focal sounds good through this video . I listened through my system. Dali - heavy bass with warm sound . D3 has some issues at lower triple frequencies. Focal vocals separation very good and All rounder and musical

TOP JOB!! Fantastic video, this is exactly what so many of us actually want to hear. Because hearing is so subjective ‘this’ enables us to actually mane informed decisions due to you excellent recording equipment & techniques! For me personally the 805 D3 was a clear winner because I hear the proportionate pronunciation that makes them far more realistic. I hear the Focal with consistent forward vocal but lacking a mid. The Dali I hear a lovely warm tone but very little definition & no real presentation in the voice. But I could only pick all that ‘blah blah’ out due to your packaged presentation. To everyone else it’s ‘blah blah’ but to me it has enabled me to make a 100% decision on a few things. I went away after initially listening to this & then returning to comment & subscribe. While away I found my perfect match, well, 1 of 3 😂. Great job. My decision is Bowers & Wilkins 805 D3 with MICHI X3. I would like the P5 & X5 but budget……. If I had to compromise I would go 705 S2 with ROTEL RA-6000. Only saying all this in case it helps someone think about a pairing they may not have thought of…… But basically your video enabled me to decide on a speaker, & if I couldn’t match it then I have a good compromise. I didn’t know what I was looking to ‘hear’. Now I do. So thanks! Please do more of these with a speaker pair & different amps, although I know it’s a huge amount of work to put all that together.

I can't believe you could actually hear the difference thru youtube. But agree with others, the Focal sounds amazing.

them Focal's though... jeez they sound good!

Excellent job, guys, thank you! My favourite is 805 D3, but Focall surprised me from the first tones. I think Focall sounds after a while little bit too crispy, BW might be better all-rounder, but probably calls for some bigger power-station :-) What about the same comparison with the new Michi series ;-) Once again, thank you, very professional and unique comparison!

Focal Sopra n.1 !! Very Nice !!

Focal super vocal.Dali best for disco 80 years.

I liked the small Focals.

By Far de Focals. Jeetje wat springen die er uit zeg. Die zijn echt awesome. De B&W klinkt continu "bedompd" .. ik weet niet hoe ik dat moet zeggen. Ze sprankelen niet.

Crispy and tight with those Focal`s - clear winner here

The Focals shine here for me - I just feel effortlessly drawn into the music. The other two speakers emphasise different parts of the music, whereas the Focals have everything sounding just right! I just checked their retail prices - such a surprise! I was expecting the Focals to be from a price bracket above the other two!

I did blind ABC test and I knew exactly when Focal Sopra is playing.I didn't know that it is Focal until the end but I liked it a lot more then other two. Dali and Bowers are hard to distinguish but both sounds compressed against Sopra.

The Focals are a combo of the other 2 speakers ,but I like the B$W also but not as much as those Focals!!😍😍

Dalí the best sound !!

B&W’s were nice and crisp, warm but but also slightly tight 🔥🔥🔥

B&W all day. Whenever you listen to female vocals type tracks, first of all in my opinion within typical home settings, standmounts usually have an edge unless the room is huge. They just have a cleaner and more transparent sound without colouration as compared to floorstanders which is what you need when you are listening to vocal tracks. When I listen to the Dali, the bass is just too heavy and intrusive which takes away from Adele's performance both musically as well as emotionally. And in terms of the standmounts, the 805 D3's are without doubt one of the best out there. In this case as compared to the Focal, I find the B&W just has a more refined sound and more airy up top with a little more resolution. That would be my take. I am not familiar with what brands you carry, for a track like this one, if someone is strictly looking for a pair of fllorstanders, I would probably give Sonus Faber's Olympica Nova III or V a go.

Thanks for your reviews, it is really helping me to chooce maybe lucky ticket for my next audio journey trip! :)

I also like the Focals combo

After listening to the whole video I think I prefer the vocals! ...and again, congratulations for the amazing comparison

I hate to say it, but it's Focal - hands down!

The B&W are most naturally voiced.

Subd. Thank you for these videos. Although not a complete audition it really helps with understanding which speakers to audition in person.

Focal Sopra tiene un increíble performance en voces

I am really surprised with all those comments. I listened to this on pretty good headphones and my impressions are a bit different. Focals actually sound really harsh especially in Adelle's part, it sounds too forward and loud and even a bit distorted as if she'd like to scream through/compete with the other instruments, I did not have much pleasure listening to this. With less instruments these actually sound really good though. With B&W I do not really like the lower models - but I am impressed with this one - it's way more balanced than Focal and I can hear more detail and subtelty in her voice. Though I still would like deeper sound in some parts. Dali has more fullness to the soundstage which is a bit lowered - maybe due to having more bass - sometimes a bit too much to my taste. But that might also be a problem with the mic and recording rather than the speaker itself. I think I would lean toward B&W personally here.

Those focals are insane the shimmer of that hi hat and tambourine combo . You can’t hear on the other two.

At this point it all depends on (YOUR) hearing ability. They are all fantastic speakers. Some people hear different frequencies at different levels what 1 can easily hear -- his brother may not hear it at all ---- just like almost eveyone wears different eyeglasses their perscriptions are different.

Nice clear musical sound. Yamaha excel with focal.

Immediately i especially noticed the nice extended natural top end of the Focal with nice presence and good integration through to the bottom... musical. The B&W somewhat shadowed in comparison and did not care for the Dali much

Focal Sopra No1 win

Excellent review, thanks. Focal is very interesting and surprisingly better.

I liked B & W's the sound to my ears is cleaner

You could live with any of them, but my choice would be Focal.

To those comparing these saying DALI and B&W are sh*t. DALI - £3.199 Bowers & Wilkins - £4.750 Focal Sopra No 1 - £6.499 Let us not forget that there is a huge price difference between these. I believe this is made more for fun rather than to let people critically compare them. No tea no share but facts are facts.

The 805D3 is the better speakers to my ears, more alive.

Very beautiful set up ! Thank you !

I will have to say that the Focal Sopra is the win win

OK, I went back and forth listening with this video and the previous video with the NAD M33, same Adele song. I much prefer this Marantz combinations sound signature. The NAD is more refined and smooth sounding overall. But, has less punchy bass and is boring in comparison. I feel much more involved in the music with the Marantz combination. It's fun. The NAD is overly smooth. The Marantz combination may cost a little more but I think it's worth it on sound quality alone. Plus, you get a true analogue amplifier that won't digitize your line inputs or most importantly the phono input. You also have the ability to play actual CD's and SACD's.

B&W 805 sound way more musical and natural than other two pairs of speakers.

I like the sound of BnW. Clear n punchy.

1st Place: Focal Sopra No1 2nd Place: DALI Rubicon 6 3rd Place: Bowers & Wilkins 805D3

Focals sound so li(o)vely!!

DALI Rubicon 6 = more weight/fuller but some phase issues that make the mid sound throaty, Bowers 805D3 = the hi end is very pure esp the simmer sounds, Focal Sopra No1 = sounds like like d3 but wider ...too wide. So for small form factor = Bowers 805D3 and all round natural sound DALI Rubicon 6..................listening on a amphion one 18 + amp cherry king stm)

Focal just killed it. So balanced and rich you could hear everything. B&W pierced a hole to my eardrum with the trebel soooo much trebel sounding too bright. DALI meh not bad.

Focal are my dream speaker....someday

focals are the best

Brilliant video. Focals for me.

The test session of the marantz model 30 amp and above across the spectrum!!!

From this comparison alone I’m surprised that preferred the b&w. They weren’t in my face.

Best played by Focal Sopra☝

Focal all the way.

Awesome Video ,such a treat ...

Para mi FOCAL sobresale en todo, incluso supera a DALI en grabes, Bowers es el peor parado en esta comparativa. Magnifica comparación gracias por su trabajo.

It really depends on the pairing. In this video the majority liked the Focal Sopra best, in other comparisons videos it was the 805. What was really interesting was how inferior the tower sounded. I have heard people saying they preferred the simple 2 way 805 d3 over the 800 series towers which were supposed to be steps up in the range. Towers vs bookends would be interesting.

805 the best!

Try listening without watching the video and see if you can identify when a particular pair of speakers is the one playing...nay, try to identify when the track is changed from one speaker to another if you can tell the difference at all.

Definitely the black bookshelves sound the best

I hope you feel honoured because you practically forced me to cast from my phone to cable box, so I'm able to have it come through my speakers! NICE SOUND! all I can say for those who are listening on there phone, iPad, laptop etc don't even try to Compare between speakers because you can't even differentiate the sound of the speakers on them sort of devices!

Sopra + new Marantz Model 30 class D amp for me.

The one thing I have noticed over the years is small speakers lack some bass due to size. It is simply a matter of physics. The new Whardedale Linton's are getting great reviews and the comments I see is presence. It is kind of an old school design with 1.2 cubic feet. of space in the speaker. My current speakers have 2.4 cubic feet and they are big speakers. Big Speakers sound big before the wife factor took over HiFi.

De Focal klinkt heerlijk! Ruimtelijk, het hoog klopt, het midden lekker natuurlijk, muziek! De B&W komt in de buurt, gewoon iets minder mooie klank. De Dali klinkt raar.

Focal is a good association.

in my opinion is the BW Nr. 1, then focal and then Dali; maybe it depends on the music; the both compact speakers do I like more

The Focal is the clear winner to my ears. Disappointed by the Dali and even more by the B&W, at least with this amp. I have a PM KI Ruby, I should check a pair of Focal myself now ..

In comparison to the Focals, the B&Ws sound as if Adele recorded the song during COVID-19 with a face mask on.

thanks for your nice test

FOCALS !

Focal is the best here for me.