Sorry I didn't see your question, when I updated my posting the other day.

I ordered the Sopra No2's before they became available.  Before ordering them, I auditioned the 1038BE's driven by a McIntosh C50 & MC452 and was blown away.  I would have bought the 1038's, but a friend said to hold off and get the new model.

At the time I had a McIntosh MAC6700 powering a pair of Totem Fire monitors, sounded great.  But when I snagged the C50/MC452 combination, I was pleasantly surprised by the immediate improvement in the soundstage and detail.  I'm guessing there's something to the "quad balanced" design of the MC452.

Having said that, I can't imagine that the MA7000 wouldn't do a fantastic job driving the Sopra's, they are really efficient.  When I'm really cranking it in my 24x26' listening room, the needles are dancing around 4.5 watts, never have come close to the 45 watt hash mark.

Maybe 2-3 more bass traps in my near future and I hope to be "done" with the room tuning.

Yes, my amp is a really good match for the Sopra's, never "breaks a sweat".

Evan

I started out with the subs flanking the Sopra's but just could not control the "boominess" in the room, no matter what I did (installed corner bass traps, added some on the walls, large one hanging from the ceiling, etc.), and these subs have a very sophisticated eq system built in.

Once I got them behind the sofa, most of the "boominess" was gone.

I am not an audio engineer, but from what I've read, the dimensions of the room and that position next to the Sopra's, the "standing waves" in the room were just too dominant.

I heard the Sopra's being driven by a Naim integrated amp, sounded good, but the smoothness of the McIntosh (to me) sounds more musical.

Evan

First of all, when I'm really cranking it, the meters on the MC452 dance around the 4.5 watt mark.  When I was out there comparing speakers, I was struck by how the C50-MC452 combination seemed to sound really good with all the speakers I was auditioning, found a guy who bought that pair new a few months earlier and needed to sell.

I didn't do much comparison before selecting the PS Audio DirectStream DAC, except for the DAC built into my (former) integrated amp, and an old Burr-Brown equipped unit.  But my dealer let me know that I had 30 days to return the PS Audio unit for a refund.  It just sounds awesome!  I have applied two firmware updates in the last year and each one seems to make small but significant improvements.  One of my "tube snob" buddies was sure the unit was not solid state!

I live in Maryland, outside DC & Baltimore!

Evan

Thanks for the info on Dirac.  I have been applying bass traps, one at a time, to the room, it's taken a while but I think I'm where I want to be.

I am just smitten with the Sopra's!  They do sound very "big" and have just great detail!  The other speakers I found with that level of detail made me feel tired pretty quickly, not these!

Evan

The Sopra's sound awesome, excellent detail, great sound stage, wasn't difficult getting them integrated with the room!

I found out about the Sopra's just before they were introduced, was ready to pull the trigger on the 1038BE's, when one of my buddies told me about the forthcoming Sopra's, which I ordered "on faith", before they were actually available in the U.S.  My dealer tells me that there's a six month wait for them now.

I have been struggling getting the subs to sound "just right", as this room has so many "boomy" spots, but I've slowly been adding bass traps and they too now sound awesome!