Amp for Sopra No. 1

Integrated or separates? 

Did you like your friends setup with the monoblocks?  If you did and don’t want monoblocks the MC462 would work.

The extremely powerful, dynamic, and incredible sounding Hegel H590/600 is all you'll ever need to beautifully drive the speakers.  A Hegel H590/ H600 sounds utterly amazing with rock, classical, jazz, voices, or any genre of music.  I drive my Revel Salon 2 speakers with an H590 and I strongly believe that it is my last amp.  

Amp only

Pass Labs should be fine. X250.8 would be good. 
Coda No.8 would also be a great amp. Basically  Class A/B amps that are biased into Class A for the first few watts. You need a bit of warmth with those tweeters. 

Separates  , I listen to all kinds of gear these new GanFets class D amps are the wave of the Future ,  class D audio dot. Com 

price is right around $2k. Money back audition ,and 3 year warranty 

super clean and just get out of the way ,they depend on your other equipment for tonal balance even their power supplies are unique filter down technologies from NASA compact and powerful ,these small mono blocks 4 GanFets in each mono block over 300;amps per mono , run any type speaker with control. I have had the mono blocks, re production. The finished product even better . With WBT loudspeaker terminals ,  go to enjoy the music .com  mini gan 3 stereo amp review

that is not even up to the new models technologies.

A CODA #16 is what I have and would bring to life that Focal. It is a bass monster, and the first 100 watts are Class A. Super quiet too.

I also see my old KRELL 175XD listed for sale on TMR. That would also be great on the FOCAL. It is buttery smooth and powerful. Everything is in Class A, and it runs cool. It only scales up the Class A when it needs it.

Very timely post. I’m in the process of assessing a new amplifier. Currently have the Sopra 1 and a a21+.  I’m considering a Pass amp to pair with my XP-22. I don’t turn the dial > 62 to play at 85 db from my chair about 7 away. It seems I might be able to insert a lower powered xa30.8. Look forward to other suggestions.  

I own Kantas, and kept hearing all the hoopla about synergy with Naim.  I’ve never owned or heard anything from Naim.  I tried a demo Supernait 3 from TMR, and liked it so much I sent it back in and got a NAP250.  What I like about the combo is that while it is refined and having all the sonic attributes you’d want (great bass, highs, soundstaging, etc.), it is also musical and has a certain color to it that rounds out some of the inherent dryness in the Kantas.  In some ways it gives me a sound I was hoping to get from tubes, that I didn’t get.   Definitely worth looking into.  Unfortunately new separates are quite pricey, and if you get a Naim amp you probably want a Naim preamp.  All that said, for years the Alpha Audio in the Netherlands (check out their videos on YouTube) had Sopra 1s and went through several amps, may be a good source to see what they thought, although I think they settled on a Bryston as their reference.  Most of their equipment reviews though went through this system in recent years, including some amplifiers.  

I am a HUGE rock and roller from the 60's and 70's 6 months old Tekton, SPECIALTY Encors.   Bricasti M1 SE DAC with network card,  Pass 250.8   which , due to the efficiency of the Encors, The Pass runs in Class A only. RS2T transport and Linear power supply. Large room, Simply sounds GREAT!!!!!    Pass  does everything I could want. My 2cents

I think Mc amps are a great match.  Someone above mentioned MC462 and I agree with that.  It will let you take all out of the sopras. I currently use monoblocks MC601 on sopras 2, which used to drive Sopra 1s before. Also a great match.  Looking into the future, are the sopra 1s still there or see yourself upgrading them? the less swaps you do, the more money you save. aim for something you will want to hold for a long time if not foreever. good luck