About a month ago my new Focal Sopra No2's arrived! I am smitten!
My journey to select these speakers took me about six months, and I was careful to make sure my electronics were not at all shrill sounding, as I found the Focal line to be "musical", but the tweeters were not very "forgiving".
During my search I auditioned 1038BE's and the Sopra's driven by both tube and solid state electronics. In every case I found the tube equipment to sound "dull" and "restrained", to me not great qualities for these speakers.
The best electronics I heard driving these speakers was the McIntosh C50/MC452. I was fortunate enough to snag a lightly used pair for a reasonable amount. Before that, I had the McIntosh MAC6700 receiver (essentially a 200 wpc integrated, with a tuner module). I find the McIntosh equipment to sound really "smooth" and "musical". It's not everyone's "cup of tea", but I find I can listen to these Sopra's for a long time at a sitting without fatigue.
My journey to select these speakers took me about six months, and I was careful to make sure my electronics were not at all shrill sounding, as I found the Focal line to be "musical", but the tweeters were not very "forgiving".
During my search I auditioned 1038BE's and the Sopra's driven by both tube and solid state electronics. In every case I found the tube equipment to sound "dull" and "restrained", to me not great qualities for these speakers.
The best electronics I heard driving these speakers was the McIntosh C50/MC452. I was fortunate enough to snag a lightly used pair for a reasonable amount. Before that, I had the McIntosh MAC6700 receiver (essentially a 200 wpc integrated, with a tuner module). I find the McIntosh equipment to sound really "smooth" and "musical". It's not everyone's "cup of tea", but I find I can listen to these Sopra's for a long time at a sitting without fatigue.