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Amps for Egglestonworks Andra II or Sophia 2

After many years, I'm interested in upgrading my system with great full range speakers. I'm currently using really old Meridian active speakers, so I will need amplification too. I have a Meridian 508.24 CD player and a Sonic Frontiers Line-2 pre-amp, and I intend to keep those.

I don't really want to spend more than $9K total.

The two speakers I'm most interested in are the Egglestonworks Andra II and the Wilson Audio Sophia 2. I have heard neither of these speakers, but they both have glowing reviews. Years ago, I had heard the Egglestonworks Rosa and I liked them, though they were close together in a smallish room. The best thing I've ever heard was a high dollar setup with Wilson Maxx 2 speakers in a large room. I guess I'm getting at the fact that I have enjoyed the sound of both families of speakers, and would probably adapt to either and be happy if I could integrate them into my challenging room. The reported mid-bass hump of the Andra gives me a little pause, but most people seem to love them.

It looks like the Sophia 2 is going to be somewhere around $7200 on Agon, and the Andra II might be a grand cheaper. I've seem many people state in these forums that the Andras don't shine unless you have big amps driving them, and that makes me wonder if the total system cost will be higher with them.

I did a little looking around and it sounds like the Parasound A21 is a good amp for the money. Can anyone advise me as to whether that has enough gusto to run either pair of these speakers near their potential?
sboje

Showing 1 response by lostbears

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lostbears
537 posts
 

I recently went on the quest for new speakers. I can not imagine buying a pair of speakers of that caliber without listening first. Speakers can sound so different in different systems.

Like you I tend to buy used as I just can't afford what I like new. I listened to every pair of speakers I could to see what brands I preferred. Most brands have a house sound. I did a search for speakers with in a 250 radius here on Audiogon. I also used Hifi Shark to search sites as well as browse US Audio Mart. I did not want to deal with shipping floor standing speakers. They can be very heavy and it is expensive.

If I saw a local ad for something that interested me, I would email the seller and ask to see and hear them. See what they were driving them with. I also looked around at dealers for used or demo pairs. Some dealers don't like dealing with used gear. They will give a low offer because they don't want used stuff. They will also sell used equipment cheap just to get rid of it.

After a long search I ended up buying a pair of 1 1/2 year old Sonus Faber Elipsa SE {Red} for around half price. I am very happy with them, they are magical and an excellent match with my Audio Research amp. I could not imagine having them shipped and taking a chance on them being damaged.
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