Excellent audio quality and set up. The key that unlocks the door to quality sound demonstrations though is the quality of the music and this is where your channel is ahead of the game. Thank you.

Excellent test. Both have attributes that I find pleasing but I would ultimately choose the Revels between these two. With just a very slight bit of EQ in a few areas the Revels could provide the attributes that I liked in the Sopras, and EQ should work very well with the Revels because they have very smooth and even directivity/dispersion. I would LOVE to hear comparisons of these two speakers to the respective BØRRESEN Acoustics # 01 stand-mounts and # 03 floor-standers, even though there might be a bit of a price disparity. :)

This is how all speaker demos should be recorded and edited. Switching back and forth between speakers during a song and you immediately hear and tell the difference. In this setting the Focal's sounded better. I wish they had not raised their prices by nearly 100% over the last 3 years on these. It's unfortunate as the Focal Sopra No. 2 were on my buy list.

Just stumbled across this channel. Good channel. I own the revel 228be and use two jl subs. I feel this video captures the sound signature well. I like how loud the revels can be played. Very clean at high volume. Focals are great too just pricy in the USA. I the revel 228be is $11,000 and the focal sopra 2 is $19,000-ish at current retail prices.

Wouw! Beste AlphaAudio vrienden, ik denk dat hier toch wel jullie nieuwe referentie luidsprekers staan, de Revel Performa F226Be. Dat is het eerste wat ik tegen mezelf zei, bij de eerste 2 platen die ik hoorde. De Focals lijken bij deze wel iets te overheersen in het mid/hoog en was ik geneigd de volume op mijn hoofdtelefoon terug te draaien. De twee platen Jacques Loussier + Blöf voelde in eerste instantie vertouwder op de Focals, deze twee platen gebruik ik ook veel bij het testen van de luidsprekers, dankzij jullie ;) Alleen speelde dat mid/hoog gevoel steeds op bij die Focals, de Revels geven meer rust, maar best strak in het laag, ookal hoor je ze soms goed doorlopen. Misschien een kwestie van tijdje laten inspelen, want de Focals leken wel wat dieper te gaan… Ze klonken dan wel weer minder strak zo niet beetje "rommelig" bij Jacques dan als bij die Revels. Al met al best mooie luidspreker die Revels qua sound, qua contrast die witte units, is een kwestie van smaak, maar dat mid/hoog klinkt heel relaxt en kan je er uren naar luisteren denk ik. Ben benieuwd of deze Revels alle muziek soorten aankunnen?! Bedankt en tot de volgende weer! Groetjes, Yori

The Revel sounds more neutral, but I prefer the forward presentation of the Focal. I listened blind and every time I recognised a preferred change in speaker it favoured the Focal.

The focal sound so good on your system

Beryllium tweeter vs. Beryllium tweeter. After listening through the demo four times in a row (yes it is that close), I will give the edge to Sopra no1. They are slightly more open and airy, but the Revels might actually be slightly more transparent. Both are world class speakers. Another comparison I would love to hear is Paradigm Persona 5F vs. Perlisten s7t (both also have Beryllium tweeters and priced at $17K). I've listened to Persona 5F in person several times. They are incredibly transparent, and mostly neutral (slightly forward). Personally I'm lusting after the new kid on the block, Perlisten s7t. They're a big hit here in the States. Thanks Alpha Audio, you are the MAX of youtube audio recording demo tests. Now, let's go Orange, F1 championship is within your grasp.

Very tough to beat the Focal tonality and speed! Good video!!

I'm impressed to see that Focal was able to broadcast a slightly better sound than the tall Revel Performa F226Be in so small speakers. I only ear a significant difference in the last peace (and I just ordered a pair of Sopra 1).

Thanks for sharing, a great comparison. Revel Performa for me from this impression. But who knows, maybe I'd prefer the other ones if hearing them live and on-site.

The Revel sounds slow and soggy to me compared to the more open, dynamic and punchy sound of the Focal

Jaap, I’m sure you had lots of fun setting this up all up for us. Very thrilling to hear both these speakers. The Revels are ugly as hell but they do make beautiful sound when compared to the Focal speakers. Thank you, Brian

Jacques Loussier: het valt op dat de nagalm bij de Revels vele malen meer is dan bij de Focals. De Focals klinken veel droger. De coherentie in het geluidsbeeld van de Revels vind ik persoonlijk mooier, maar dat komt waarschijnlijk omdat de bastonen geprononceerder zijn en bij de Focals het middengebied veel meer naar voren wordt geprojecteerd. Bij stemmen: ik weet niet of de Focals beter de stemmen en de trompet weergeven, of dat ik een voorkeur heb voor de manier waarop stemmen en de trompet worden weergegeven, beetje lastig te onderscheiden. Beide zijn topniveau. Ik heb de indruk dat de DAC met de nieuwe modules nu helemaal los is, klinkt geweldig.

If I am living with these, it would be the Revels, impressing mates over for an hour I'd grab the Focals.

Wow, such good content. I strongly disagree with several strongly held audiophile positions, like cables make a difference, for instance, but overall your channel is informative and, importantly, artistic. Thanks.

I think that I marginally prefer the Revels due to their relaxed type of presentation. The area where I like the Focals the more is in the treble, the curved front baffle and lack of waveguide undoubtedly improves the dispersion between 3kHz and 8 kHz (widens it) and pushes more energy in the reverberant field for greater openness. The Revel counters with greater dispersion at the top of the midrange drivers range. The best of both worlds would be to to combine the two, by using a 3,5 inch midrange in combination with a curved baffle 1 inch treble and a suitably low crossover frequency.

Nice video - Sopra sounds awesome but I just bought the Revel f226be on sale - I think they are very close and just slightly prefer the Sopra in this demo; ultimately it came down to value - I think it’s hard to go wrong with either

How would you say the Revels compare to the ATC SCM40a you had a while ago? I currently have the atcs and I'm curious about what you think of the Revels as they were my second choice. I never got a chance to demo the Revels in person.

Do you think the Revels/Bryston/Pass Labs has good synergy? I think this is the upgrade path I'm going moving towards... I own Revel floor standers... (I had recommended that you consider Revels when you requested suggestions for a neutral speaker) your room is so dialed in and excellent music selections... thanks for all that you do...

Focal all the way

I prefer the Revels. They are more neutral and natural sounding than the Focals. The treble on the Focals calls attention to the speaker and not the music, which is a characteristic of every Focal speaker I have ever heard.

Wow the Focal’s are so much better

Focal win for me. It's not the true tone, but it's beautiful. (From France)

It seems the biggest difference is that Focals have the typical lower treble flare inherent in all 2-way designs with a 6"+ midwoofer and tweeter without a waveguide. Pass xp-12 is a bit polite in that region which is a good match for the Focal but not so much for the Revel.

Would've loved to see a comparison of Kanta vs F226Be. They are much closer in price here in the US, with the Kanta being a little more expensive since dealers often discount Revels.

Focal Sopra sounds perfectly balanced on my system. I am listening over a triode tube amplifier and Dynaudio speakers, which are very neutral. I also hear a certain reverberance with the Revels which I do not hear with the Focals. The Focals are clearly more bright, which on my system is a good thing. The midrange is too pronounced on the Revels for my taste.

When it switches to the Sopra, everything just sounds sharper, with absolute no mids taken away. Thats the magic of Focal.

I want to ask? How amplifier-intensive are they. Do you need a powerful amplifier for good performance? I have Vincent SP995 monoblocks. Thanks.

Impressive that the Revs is able to rival the Sopras in this sound demo. Now i am curious about the bookshelf version.

Revel hands down, accurate in every tone. Focal are too bright!

Standmounts FTW! ;-) Zoveel meer lucht en transparantie bij de Sopra!

Please! Focal Sopra NO 1 VS B&W 805D4.

I like the vocals and highs slightly better on the focals but I feel as though the mid-bass is a little boosted... which is pleasing to the ear but I feel it is not completely honest to the source. I want to say I would still choose the Focals in this case although I would want to hear the Revels in person before making such an assumption.

I’m the F228BE owner and my vote goes for Focal in this setup, in this room. What is your choice between two of them?

what about sopra no.2 ? Please arrange some demo and review of it :) Thanks in advance !

Revels are more integrated and even tonal balance for me and more extended and convincing bass. Focal more detailed and open, fast and airy though. I probably would need to listen to them n the flesh but in truth neither would be my choice of speaker, at least not with that front end which i think is a bit on the nice and polite side for my taste. Am I correct you record in mono? Or is it a stereo mike?

is simaudio 600i mate with these

Focals smoothness of tone make obvious difference in focals favor. Also a bit brighter and more airy presentation have translated to overall more musical sound. But Revels thanks to darker presentation, reveal very good details and leyers on the midrange and it's harmonics. All tough both speakres aren't in the same price class, cause floorstanders Focal Sopra No.2 is almost 2 x more expensive than F226Be.

Focal midrange Is a little more forward sounding sounds good on these songs outhers maybe not I would choose the revel for its flatter response that can be eq to taste

The revel is fuller and more effortless, the focal is just a bit contained by comparison.

revel sounds a lil bit warmer and relax.sopra no1 have airy vocal.

The Revels get my vote. Also, the Revels are a much better value than the Focals. Revels are hard to beat.

Focal sounds much better/more fun. Quite a bit of difference. I never understood the Revel hypes. It's a "dry" speaker brand. Waste of money compared to what you can get.

Focal sounds better to me.

Great video as always. Thanks for posting. The Revels sound a little dead compared to the Focals.

Both speakers are good....but I prefer the Revels.

Focal 👌🏼👌🏼👌🏼👌🏼👌🏼👌🏼🎼🎼🎼🎼🎼🎼🎼🎼🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎵🎵🎵🎵

the difference is stark, if in this demo someone does not opt for FOCAL in every sense, 2 things could be happening, either the source that is listening to the comparison is of low quality or is deaf...

I could hear her breath on the Revels, not on the Focals. The Revels are more refined sounding, the Focals sound a bit unrefined and lifeless. Maybe pair them against a cheap pair of Sony book case speakers.

Revel 226BE🥰

Sopra 1 👍 - I would combine it with the active Sopra SW 1000…

If I was using them as studio playback monitors, wanting maximum harmonic, textural, macro and micro dynamic detail, I'd have to go with the Sopra1's. For personal musical enjoyment I might opt for the Revel's, and give up a touch of the the Focal's hyper definition and almost brutaly revealing charicter for the more forgiving and full bodied flavor of the Revel F226Be's. Maybe. This is a technicaly sterling sound demo, AA. Thanks.

The Big Winner Focal Sopra NO 1.

Revels for me!

Focal is a bit shouty, I like the Revel better

"The old king is dead, long live the new king"

Something recessed in the revels

w focal u can hear more type of instrument playing ,Revel just smear as one

Play a few bass heavy tracks and the score will change!

Focal is almost twice as expensive

This video clearly highlights the distinct differences between the speaker brand Focal and Revel. The Revel more recessed, slightly reserved and slightly damped compared to the more forward, extroverted and musically ensemble linearity of the Focals. The Revel might get dull and tedious with long term listening. Although with not much listener fatigue in the process. Whereas the Focal might just be ticket for certain musical genres such as female vocals, jazz and most anything non rock or orchestral based. Both of which better served up by the Focals at lower volume levels. All things considered , the Focals for me. The shimmer and full on sparkle of the mids and highs seal the deal.

8:37

I'm not a fan of Focal in general, but Revels aren't musical at all. They just reproduce sounds while Focals sing.

Focals= commanding Revel=more intimate, dare I say coherent and accurate

No contest here. The focals are clearly the better speakers

У Focal Sopra чуть выше разрешение и прозрачность. И чуть более шире сцена.

You should use Revels for tests now instead of Focals. They just disappear and only music remains. Focal cheats PS I know the price. It was a sad joke

Bouth👎