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Better Amps to power Focal Sopra 2

I used to own the Focal 1028be/Naim cdx2/202/250.2/hicap/napsc. I would say it sounds really forward, bright and somewhat analytical. It gives me ear fatigue on hours of listening:(. It awakens my senses but does'nt makes me relax.
 
Iceman16 said:
I used to own the Focal 1028be/Naim cdx2/202/250.2/hicap/napsc. I would say it sounds really forward, bright and somewhat analytical. It gives me ear fatigue on hours of listening:(. It awakens my senses but does'nt makes me relax.
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I’m not surprised! The CDX2 can be quite forward sounding, 202/250 is widely known as a mismatch, and those 1028s are the worst example of a Naim/Focal clash that I’ve ever heard. So you appear to have been caught in a perfect storm of component mismatching. Apart from the speakers, I’d be happy to own any of those boxes, but not in that combination. Sorry!
 
Whatsisnaim said:
I’m not surprised! The CDX2 can be quite forward sounding, 202/250 is widely known as a mismatch, and those 1028s are the worst example of a Naim/Focal clash that I’ve ever heard. So you appear to have been caught in a perfect storm of component mismatching. Apart from the speakers, I’d be happy to own any of those boxes, but not in that combination. Sorry!
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I've had the system few yrs ago I think before Focal acquired Naim. So even at my local retailer and shows I dont bother to listen to this combination.
 
I used to own a pair of 1028be before moving to Sopra 2 within a short time as the 1028be tends to be a tad bright and also sounding harsh driving with naim gears, Sopra however is more controlled voiced with naim gears after being acquired by Focal group. Partly might be due to the 1028be was still running with NAC202 and NAP200DR.


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What my buddies suggest is my Sopra is not being able to perform optimally especially with large staging orchestra etc at higher volumes, due to the lack of power. He strongly suggest me looking into higher powered amps such as the Diablo or Vitus integrated to start off, as those Pre/Power combo would be too much for me to jump over from what I have now.
 
pjdowns said:
If you like the Naim sound, then try a 300DR, it is miles better than a 250DR, and in my opinion the best amp that Naim make.

I’ll chose to ignore all of the stupid ignorant comments about feeling sorry for Naim guys having to use Focal speakers, erm what about Focal guys having to use Naim amps, they may feel the same :rolleyes::rolleyes:
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I do agree a 300DR is miles ahead of 250DR, but that's a chunk of money to upgrade for 300DR, which I'm considering how much that 300DR upgrade brings to the final sound output compared to changing the amplification to a higher powered Amp with 300wpc.
 
While I have little doubt that the Gryphon and MSB amps would be up to the job, the Sopra 2 was developed and voiced to go with the Naim NAP300. As others have said, the Sopra 2 is a punishing load but one that the NAP300 can handle. So if it is control that you are after, then any of those 3, or indeed the Vitus should be fine.

However, if you find that the voicing of the Sopra 2 is not to your liking, then you may simply need a different speaker. Several posters seem to be questioning whether this is the case. If so, you may be happier to keep the amplifier and change speakers.

Hope this helps, if only a bit. FT
 
Focal and Accuphase does sound tempting..

pjdowns said:
If you like the Naim sound, then try a 300DR, it is miles better than a 250DR, and in my opinion the best amp that Naim make.

I’ll chose to ignore all of the stupid ignorant comments about feeling sorry for Naim guys having to use Focal speakers, erm what about Focal guys having to use Naim amps, they may feel the same :rolleyes::rolleyes:
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I agree - Sopras aren't that bad but Naim amps in my view are just too forward for anything Focal.

I've also heard that the Gryphon is exceptionally detailed so it doesn't appear to be a good match either
 
I used Focal 1038 be’s driven by Naim 135s, 52, using cds 2 and NAT 01 sources. The 135s drove them well in a very large room. However after living with them some years, I had a sense that their overly bright sound was giving some listening fatigue and I took a chance on a second hand pair of Kudos Titan T88s.
Well the Kudos sound is far more enjoyable to me- less bright, warmer and more organic. I have zero regrets with the T88s - they were a blind purchase - I’m in the US and there is only one Kudos dealer that was 1500 miles from my home.
Perhaps the Sopra series is less harsh- that’s what a Focal dealer told me. Would imagine that the Sopra’s May have been designed with new Black Naim in mind.
David
 
my vitus sia-025 (in classifieds) wouldn’t break a sweat driving the challenging load of your speakers and has a similar voicing to Naim (it’s a popular upgrade from Naim). I personally moved from a nap300/252dr/sc to a vitus ri-100 to the sia-025 seeing big performance gains each time. Its well reported that the sia025 often is preferred/beats the Naim 500/552! The sia is sublime & I’d be happy to let you have a listen to it with your speakers if you live not too far away from me in Leeds?

Pm me if you are interested.
 
Good evening.
Have the OP considered a devialet amplification? expert 250 or expert 250pro ?
Not heard the sopras but had a chance to listen devialet expert 250 with focals electra 1028 and it was a tandem made in heaven.
 
One box system replacement:
https://www.wenwaudio.nl/versterkers/geintegreerd/audionet-dna.html
http://en.audionet.de/machines/dna/

Technical Data

Output:
2 x 165 Watt into 8 Ohm
2 x 280 Watt into 4 Ohm
2 x 440 Watt into 2 Ohm
Damping factor: typ. 1000 at 100 Hz

Analogue inputs:
Frequency response: 1 – 500.000 Hz
THD+N: < -90 dB
SNR: > 103 dB @1kHz

Digital inputs:
Sample frequency: 32kHz – 192 kHz
THD+N: < -90 dB

Dimensions:
width 430 mm
height 130 mm
depth 390 mm
Weight: 25 kg

Having demo'd or owned much of the mentioned 'similar amps' from the likes of VITUS, ML, McIntosh, Devialet, AVM etc (not Gryphon BTW) Audionet were the clear winner.
 
I sold all my Naim amplification. Unfortunately it was just too harsh sounding, especially at high volumes. I am currently using a Devialet 250 with my Spora No 2s and it sounds superb.
 
jms1 said:
I sold all my Naim amplification. Unfortunately it was just too harsh sounding, especially at high volumes. I am currently using a Devialet 250 with my Spora No 2s and it sounds superb.
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A Devialet will drive all conventional speakers brilliantly.

Another tip: a Hypex NC500 power amp. Extremely good VFM and will drive the most difficult speakers, e.g. the Hypex amps from Nord Acoustics.
 
One of Hypex's smooth power amps?

A lot of watts for little cash. Used in some well known stuff, at bigger cash.
 
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