The Sopra’s are an excellent, hi-end speaker which means they deserve excellent amplification -- especially as you specify "Great sound..." as your 1st goal.
1) No, go for a good 2-channel amp. Buy used—given your budget you will score a better sounding amp, if a bit long in the tooth, than if you go for new. (There is a big MacIntosh listed here for under 3k, for example)
2) I heard these speakers superbly driven by ~150W monoblocks, but I reckon they can work with an 80W Naim. I like lots of clean power, so I would go for 120+W.
3) They do benefit of course — as I said, I like to have lots of power on tap! BTW, the Sopra had plenty of bass when I listened to them!
Good luck!
1) No, go for a good 2-channel amp. Buy used—given your budget you will score a better sounding amp, if a bit long in the tooth, than if you go for new. (There is a big MacIntosh listed here for under 3k, for example)
2) I heard these speakers superbly driven by ~150W monoblocks, but I reckon they can work with an 80W Naim. I like lots of clean power, so I would go for 120+W.
3) They do benefit of course — as I said, I like to have lots of power on tap! BTW, the Sopra had plenty of bass when I listened to them!
Good luck!