Amps/Pre-amps for Sopra 3 or Salon 2


Hi everyone,


Looking to put a system together and have not settled on a speaker yet, however, I somewhat like what I am hearing from Focal Sopra 3's and Revel Ultima 2 Salon 2's. Sopra seems to have a silkier midrange and better tweeter while Salon's may have the edge in low frequency extension.  It may not be a fair comparison as I have only thus far been able to hear Focals downstream of Naim (and briefly McIntosh 452) gear whereas the Salon's were run with much more expensive Moon Evolution mono's / pre-amp / dac.  I was able to directly compare the Sopra 2 / Sopra 3 / and Scala V2 Utopia on the same Naim 300 / N272 streaming pre-amp combo.  Surprisingly I found the Sopra 3 more satisfying than the Scala V2 due to better low frequency extension.

  To get to the point, the Naim equipment sounds pretty good , however, I am not completely sold on the low wattage/higher current class B design at $19K. I am looking for other recommendations or experiences.

 For historical background purposes I am coming out of a Linn Majik cd, Threshold fet10, Threshold S-500, Mirage M-1 originals, combo from years ago.  I am currently (when possible because it is in the family room where the wife and kids frequent, lol) listening to an Oppo 105D streaming Tidal / Rogue Pharaoh integrated / Totem Forest Signature combo powered through a Torus RM-20 and connected with Transparent Ultra balanced ic's and Ultra speaker cable.  I have to be honest in that I have heard a lot of equipment combo's, within the price range I am currently shopping, that do not sound as satisfying as my "second system" that was put together for about $15K in total thanks to the pre-owned Transparent cables.

I want to start my new system with the electronics as I still possess the Mirage's and they have been sentimentally good to me. I have upgraded them throughout the years with re-foaming, new crossovers, Cardas binding posts, new internal wire, etc............well......they still make sound and prodigious bass!  I also really don't care too much how they sound with the new electronics pushing them as long as my future speakers blend well.


Thanks for any and all responses and I apologize in advance for any delayed answers as I will respond as my schedule allows.


Foreverworkin

foreverworkin

Showing 1 response by mechans

I was wondering about that ad as well.  It seems anytime anybody is looking for and amp, this vendor posts on his products.