In this review, we will be comparing Renaissance ESL 15A and Sopra No.3, two Floor-standing speakers from MartinLogan and Focal. The main difference between these two speakers is that the MartinLogan Renaissance ESL 15A is a Powered speaker which means that it has a built-in amplifier inside the speaker body so you don't need an external power amp or an integrated amp whereas the Focal Sopra No.3 is a Passive speaker so has to be matched with an amplifier to get any sound from it.
Let's have a brief look at the main features
of MartinLogan Renaissance ESL 15A and Focal Sopra No.3 first before getting into our more
detailed comparison.
| Key Specs | MartinLogan Renaissance ESL 15A | Focal Sopra No.3 |
|---|
| Brand | MartinLogan
United States · founded 1982 | Focal
France · founded 1979 |
|---|
| Design | 2-way | 3-way |
|---|
| Built-in amplifier | 500-watt RMS | — |
|---|
| Tweeter | Electrostatic | 1.1" Inverted Dome |
|---|
| Midrange | — | 6.5" |
|---|
| Woofer | 2 x 12" Aluminium | 2 x 8.25" W sandwich |
|---|
| Frequency response | 22-21k Hz | 33-40k Hz |
|---|
| Sensitivity | 92 dB | 91.5 dB |
|---|
| Impedance | 4 ohms | 8 ohms |
|---|
| Power range | 20-700 watts | 40-400 watts |
|---|
| Weight | 63.50kg / 139.7lbs | 70.00kg / 154lbs |
|---|
| Dimensions (H x W x D) | 69-13/16" x 15-3/4" x 24-15/16"
1773.0 x 400.0 x 633.0mm | 49-3/4" x 15-13/16" x 23-7/16"
1264.0 x 402.0 x 595.0mm |
|---|
The sections below take each area in turn: drivers, frequency response, physical size and what you get in the box.
Drivers
One of the fundamental differences between these two speakers is that Renaissance ESL 15A is a 2-way design whereas the Sopra No.3 is a 3-way speaker. 3-way designs utilize a midrange driver in addition to the tweeter and woofer on 2-way designs. Designing a crossover for a 3-way speaker is a complicated process and generally increases the overall cost of the speaker.
MartinLogan Renaissance ESL 15AFocal Sopra No.3
TweeterMidrangeWoofer
Front view, drawn to scale - cabinets and drivers share one scale, so sizes are directly comparable. Hover a driver for its size.
| Driver |
MartinLogan Renaissance ESL 15A |
Focal Sopra No.3 |
|
Driver Setup
|
2-way
|
3-way
|
|
Tweeter
|
-inch
|
1.1-inch
|
|
Midrange
|
- |
1 x 6.5-inch |
|
Woofer
|
2 x 12-inch
|
2 x 8.25-inch
|
Renaissance ESL 15A features a " Electrostatic panel Electrostatic Tweeter and 2 x 12" Aluminium Woofer with a Crossover frequency at 300Hz. On the other hand, the Sopra No.3 features a 1.1" Beryllium Inverted Dome Tweeter, a 6.5" Midrange and 2 x 8.25" W sandwich Woofer.
Frequency Response
Renaissance ESL 15A has a frequency range of 22-21k Hz whereas Sopra No.3 has a frequency range of 33-40k Hz. With a minimum frequency of 22Hz, the Renaissance ESL 15A can go significantly deeper on the low side and provide stronger bass compared to the Sopra No.3's min frequency of 33Hz.
The graph below depicts how these two speakers compare with the max, min and average Low Frequency values of other speakers in the Floor-standing class in our database.
Low Frequency
Floor-standing Speakers
Neither pair reaches down to 20Hz, the usual definition of full-range, which is normal for speakers of this size. If you want the bottom octave for movies or bass-heavy music, add a subwoofer to whichever you choose. Visit our Powered Subwoofers section to find out more about the available options.
Impedance and Sensitivity
Renaissance ESL 15A is a 4 ohms speaker compared to the Sopra No.3 which has a nominal impedance of 8 ohms. Lower impedance speakers, especially the ones that are rated at 4 ohms may put more pressure on the amplifier unit especially when played at high volume levels, so make sure the amp you pair with the Renaissance ESL 15A can provide this impedance level.
These two speakers also have different sensitivity levels. Renaissance ESL 15A sensitivity is rated at 92 dB and the Sopra No.3's is rated at 91.5 dB.
Sensitivity
Floor-standing Speakers
Power Range
Power
range is the range of input power in watts RMS that a loudspeaker is designed to handle. Staying
within that range gives nominal performance; driving the speaker beyond its maximum wattage can damage it.
Renaissance ESL 15A can handle a max power of 700 watts RMS, whereas Sopra No.3 has a max power handling value of 400 watts RMS, 300 watts less than the Renaissance ESL 15A.
Note that higher power handling does not make a speaker louder: that depends mainly on
sensitivity and impedance. The calculator below shows how loud each of these actually plays
on a real amplifier.
Input Type and Bi-Amping / Bi-Wiring
Renaissance ESL 15A features Binding post type posts and Sopra No.3 has a Binding post type posts. None of these speakers feature bi-amping/bi-wiring.
Physical Specs
The size of a speaker can sometimes be an important decision factor due to space constraints or in some cases purely for esthetic reasons. In this section, we are going to compare MartinLogan Renaissance ESL 15A's and Focal Sopra No.3's external dimensions. MartinLogan Renaissance ESL 15A has external dimensions of 1773.0 x 400.0 x 633.0mm (69-13/16 x 15-3/4 x 24-15/16inch) whereas Focal Sopra No.3 has external dimensions of 1264.0 x 402.0 x 595.0mm (49-3/4 x 15-13/16 x 23-7/16inch).
Focal Sopra No.3 is 509mm shorter and 38mm less deeper than MartinLogan Renaissance ESL 15A but it is also 2mm wider.
Size, drawn to scale
Both speakers and both views share one scale, so everything here is directly comparable. Hover a box for its dimensions.
One scale for both, standing on the same surface and pushed back to the same wall, so the deeper one visibly sticks out further.
Near-identical footprints. MartinLogan Renaissance ESL 15A is 38mm deeper, so it stands that much further out from the wall. MartinLogan Renaissance ESL 15A is 509mm taller.
Base Surface Area Comparison
Base surface area of a loudspeaker may become a determining factor when the space in your room or desk is limited.
The base surface area of the MartinLogan Renaissance ESL 15A is approximately 2532.0cm2 / 392.5inch2 and base area of the Focal Sopra No.3 is approximately 2391.9cm2 / 370.7inch2. The Renaissance ESL 15A requires 6% more surface area than the Sopra No.3 which gives it a small disadvantage on placement in tight spaces.