Preamp/Amp synergy with Cain Abby's?

Oakiris, I listened to the Sophia EL34 at Sounds Real Audio in Denver, when deciding to buy the speakers. I compared it directly to my Jolida, and liked the Sophia much more than the Jolida. I used the same CDP, as I have now. As far as my memory serves me, the Sophia is certainly comparable to the Bottlehead S.E.X. SET amp I am running now. The Sophia had a tighter and more balanced than the Jolida, better timing, some more detail. The Bottlehead SET has I think has even more detail than the Sophia, as well as more well defined instruments, and sounds even more lively as long as it is not pushed to hard. The Sophia has way more headroom and power and plays the Abby very nicely to loud levels.

Both, the Bottlehead and the Sophia EL34 resulted in a very engaging sound. Since you will be using it for hometheater applications as well, the Bottlehead would certainly run out of steam, the Sophia should be a very nice and versatile match there. I would certainly give the Sophia a good listen if you have the chance.

Hi Rene - thanks for the comparison. I will be buying my Abbys from Jim of Sounds Real Audio too - small world! I am leaning towards the Sophia, but will have to wait to hear it to see what I think. Of course, when I auditioned the Abbys, Jim had them hooked up to deHaviland tube amps - way too rich for my blood, but if only.... :-)

Holly

Oakiris, by the way there are some changes in the Sophia line up. At least cosmetically the changes are major, and the new set of amps is manufactured in California rather than China. Jim should probably now more about this, but there is some info on the Sophia website.

The Sophia Baby is a fine amp that will drive the Abbys w/o a problem; the music will be very engaging, but the articulation softens on the upper end and the bass lacks the authority you might want. I was driving the Abbys with a Pathos Classic One, but the Sophia was a lot more enjoyable to have in my system. It is a good amp, especially when you consider price. I switched an A205A Almarro ($700 Quest for Sound) and the upgrade in sound was immediately noticeable. Great resolution and dynamics, and those 4.8 watts let the Abbys open up. I'm holding on to the Sophia for the moment, but I won't be switching out the Almarro. No matter, all of the above replaced a couple of Pass amps I'd been using for several years, and I don't miss SS at all. All of the negative hype about tubes kept me from going this direction, but I won't be returning to SS.

I listened to the Abbys on the Sophia and the Grommes monos. It may seem like over kill but the Grommes were the better of the two.The sales person as well as a friend all agreed. The difference for the better was quite noticeable.Of course the difference in price was noticeable too! LOL