Sopra No.2 + McIntosh MC275VI = Good combo?

[JWJW]

Curious if anyone is driving 2's with a MC275VI. I know not a ton of power...

[njcardave]

Driving my Sopra 2's with a MC352 and a MX121. Waiting for my C47 stereo preamp to be delivered soon. Will run it in bypass mode. The Sopra and MC352 is a great combo.

[mintakaX]

Originally Posted by njcardave

Driving my Sopra 2's with a MC352 and a MX121. Waiting for my C47 stereo preamp to be delivered soon. Will run it in bypass mode. The Sopra and MC352 is a great combo.

I have a few questions but the inability to post a new thread until I'm fully approved is really quite barbaric ! At any rate, I am allowed to comment so here goes:

I'm on an upgrade path to a 2 decade old system. I just upgraded my tube pre to a Moon 740P and was very happy with the results. The rest of my system is : Bluesound node 2 (soon to be Lumin 2), Esoteric DV-50s (don't use much), MC 352 amp and B&W 802 Nautilus speakers (circa 1999). My next purchase is going to be new speakers. My budget is $20K + or - . So, I'm in the range of Focal Sopra No. 3s or B&W 802 3ds, neither of which I've been able to audition yet. Will I be able to drive the Sopra No. 3s with the MC 352 ? I was hoping to use it until its last breath but don't want to drop $20K on speakers I can't appropriately drive. If its a toss up between the B&Ws or Sopras, I'll go Sopras because they are quite attractive.

[njcardave]

I am driving my Sopra2's with a MC352 amp a C47 preamp. The combination sounds very good. No strain on the amp at all. Currently using a MVP871 CD player but am looking to purchase a MCT450 or MCT500.

[mintakaX]

Originally Posted by njcardave

I am driving my Sopra2's with a MC352 amp a C47 preamp. The combination sounds very good. No strain on the amp at all. Currently using a MVP871 CD player but am looking to purchase a MCT450 or MCT500.

Thats great news ! Thank you.

[Down Under]

I don’t own either speaker but have heard both.Both like plenty of current to perform at their best.
The 802 D3 is a lot of speaker for the money.I was never a fan of B &W,but this speaker changed my mind quickly.
Good luck with your search.

[jakegt3]

Originally Posted by mintakaX

I have a few questions but the inability to post a new thread until I'm fully approved is really quite barbaric ! At any rate, I am allowed to comment so here goes:

I'm on an upgrade path to a 2 decade old system. I just upgraded my tube pre to a Moon 740P and was very happy with the results. The rest of my system is : Bluesound node 2 (soon to be Lumin 2), Esoteric DV-50s (don't use much), MC 352 amp and B&W 802 Nautilus speakers (circa 1999). My next purchase is going to be new speakers. My budget is $20K + or - . So, I'm in the range of Focal Sopra No. 3s or B&W 802 3ds, neither of which I've been able to audition yet. Will I be able to drive the Sopra No. 3s with the MC 352 ? I was hoping to use it until its last breath but don't want to drop $20K on speakers I can't appropriately drive. If its a toss up between the B&Ws or Sopras, I'll go Sopras because they are quite attractive.

I have the Sopra 3's and drive them with the ARC Reference 150 (150W/channel). It works wonderfully in a 24x14 foot room but I would not skimp on power. The Sopra's can project a big, wide, deep soundstage with a lot of weight behind it and that takes power.

I chose the Sopra 3's over the 802D3 because I thought it was a more musical, emotionally engaging speaker, at least for classical music which is what I listen to 90% of the time. I would characterize the B&W's as more clinical and cooler sounding but with outstanding bass response. To my ears the Sopra 3's sounded more coherent and transparent, with superior soundstaging.

[mintakaX]

Originally Posted by jakegt3

I have the Sopra 3's and drive them with the ARC Reference 150 (150W/channel). It works wonderfully in a 24x14 foot room but I would not skimp on power. The Sopra's can project a big, wide, deep soundstage with a lot of weight behind it and that takes power.

I chose the Sopra 3's over the 802D3 because I thought it was a more musical, emotionally engaging speaker, at least for classical music which is what I listen to 90% of the time. I would characterize the B&W's as more clinical and cooler sounding but with outstanding bass response. To my ears the Sopra 3's sounded more coherent and transparent, with superior soundstaging.

I generally prefer warmer myself. How sensitive are Sopras to room placement ? Thats my big concern because I have no wiggle room .

[jakegt3]

Originally Posted by mintakaX

I generally prefer warmer myself. How sensitive are Sopras to room placement ? Thats my big concern because I have no wiggle room .

I was in the same boat--little wiggle room for the Sopra 3's. However, I was able to get the sound dialed in by playing with toe in (aimed directly at the listening position worked best for me) and front/back adjustment of the spiked feet to get the tweeter aimed exactly at the listener. I have the speakers about 8 feet apart and 9-1/2 feet from the listening position, not quite ideal but that's what I was constrained to work with. They are about 2-1/2 feet from the rear wall and about 3 feet from the side walls. I have heavy sound treatment on the side walls to kill unwanted wall reflections. All my audiophile friends remark that the imaging and depth is unlike anything they have ever heard.

[godwinaj]

They're pretty high sensitivity and Focals are always pretty easy to drive. I've not heard that combo but have heard the Sopra on 50 Watt Sim Audio ACE and it was plenty unless you want to make them get up and run.