Recently I purchased a pair of Sopra #2's to replace my 1028be2 that I've had for about a year or so. I listened to them several times at the local dealer using 2 different amplifiers and 2 rooms. Amp's were Naim and Macintosh. I won't comment on which amp or room sounded better but I ended up buying a pair in Walnut.
After having the 1028 speakers for a year I managed to get them sounding really good in my room. They did the 3D, magic disappearing act quite well using a Simaudio 740i amp. When the Sopra's arrived I basically took them out of the crates and put them in the same spot as the 1028's. Being that they were cold, they didn't sound very well so I let them play for a few days before I gave them a serious listen. Their superiority over the 1028 is instantly obvious from the fit&finish of the cabinets to how they are anchored to the floor. The sound at this stage was not quite as spacious as the others but I definately heard the improvement in bass extension but it was the Midrange that originally sold me on these speakers. They didn't disappear quite like my other speakers, I could hear some "spitting" of transients from the tweeter giving away it's location in the room.
At this point they had 40-50 hrs of play time. Now, as I'm writing this they've still got less than 200hrs. but the tweeter is only now starting to "disappear". They are just starting to sound the way I expected when I heard them at the Dealer. I haven't done any adjustments in toe-in, room placement etc. They're big and heavy and moving them on my carpet is quite difficult so I plan to wait another week or so before I make any changes to their room positioning.
These speakers are a bit more finicky than the 1028 but based on my experience, don't even make a judgment about the tweeter until they've got some break-in time. My 1028 be2's didn't settle in until they had around 400hrs. Give them time and make sure the equipment ahead of the speakers is of comparable quality.
After having the 1028 speakers for a year I managed to get them sounding really good in my room. They did the 3D, magic disappearing act quite well using a Simaudio 740i amp. When the Sopra's arrived I basically took them out of the crates and put them in the same spot as the 1028's. Being that they were cold, they didn't sound very well so I let them play for a few days before I gave them a serious listen. Their superiority over the 1028 is instantly obvious from the fit&finish of the cabinets to how they are anchored to the floor. The sound at this stage was not quite as spacious as the others but I definately heard the improvement in bass extension but it was the Midrange that originally sold me on these speakers. They didn't disappear quite like my other speakers, I could hear some "spitting" of transients from the tweeter giving away it's location in the room.
At this point they had 40-50 hrs of play time. Now, as I'm writing this they've still got less than 200hrs. but the tweeter is only now starting to "disappear". They are just starting to sound the way I expected when I heard them at the Dealer. I haven't done any adjustments in toe-in, room placement etc. They're big and heavy and moving them on my carpet is quite difficult so I plan to wait another week or so before I make any changes to their room positioning.
These speakers are a bit more finicky than the 1028 but based on my experience, don't even make a judgment about the tweeter until they've got some break-in time. My 1028 be2's didn't settle in until they had around 400hrs. Give them time and make sure the equipment ahead of the speakers is of comparable quality.