Finally got to hear a pair of Sophia 3s with Peter McGrath's setup. Great listening session with some of his own recordings. Well, what can I say, Wilson is on a roll big time. Maxx3's, Sasha's and now Sophia 3's.

To my ears, the Sophia 3 if not an identical or a fraternal twin of Sasha, then at the very least, it is the younger sister of Sasha with a remarkable resemblance of sonic qualities.

While as it is usually the case, the Sophia 3 was driven by a more budget oriented gear to prove that one doesn't necessarily have to spend a boat load of money to get good sound. In this case it was the lower end of scale Ayre gear.

Lower end gear combined with my least favorite room at my dealer's place, did not stop the Sophia 3 from pulling a thrilling performance indeed.


Starting with the bass, modifying the bass driver with a much stronger magnet gave the Sophia 3 a new found level of bass articulation and definition as well as control. One particular recording had a drum kit reproduced about 5 feet to the right of the right speaker with such incredible realism that the illusion of being in the room with the actual drums was all too real. Other bass instruments on various recordings showcased the articulation and dynamic contrast, each individual note being reproduced cleanly and with leading and trailing edge of transients intact and full of accompanying harmonics. Certainly you'd think the speaker was driven by a very capable and expensive solid state amp. In this case the Sophia simply allowed the
amp to sound better down low than with other speakers I've heard it with. It doesn't strike me as a difficult speaker to drive.

The midrange is a very important range for any speaker and this area is much to my satisfaction is very, very close to Sasha. I thought the Sasha may sound just a smidgen more intoxicating and engaging but that was in different rooms with different gear as well as going from memory now.. In any case, an even more refined amp to drive it and it will be probably too difficult to pick the two apart. Vocals and musical instruments were hauntingly realistic, with just the right amount of weight, purity of tone and musicality. I found myself really slipping into the music and drifting away being seduced and romanced by the incredibly beautiful Steinway piano recordings...

The tweeter does an admirable job of neither standing out or being too aggressive. I heard no trace of harshness or leanness from the midrange nor the tweeter. Perhaps not the absolute last word on airiness or sparkle but certainly the music was not lacking any air or resolution up top. Nice shimmer up top but not too much. This could be partly to transparent cabling which really keeps the upper frequencies in check. Perfect really for my own taste.


Sophia 3 threw a soundstage no less than double the width of speaker to speaker distance. Depth of soundstage was just as impressive as was the imaging and focus. Had that particular room been a bit smaller, less lively and better acoustically treated, the imaging of Sophia 3 would leave anyone very, very impressed if not shocked if they were not used to listening to great imaging spekers capable of recreating not only width but depth. Sophia 3 leaves one wanting nothing more when it comes to painting a soundstage picture on the canvas of the listening space.

Summing it all up, Sophia 3 has the dynamic prowess nearly equal to Sasha in both dynamic range and contrast, the midrange and tweeter are nearly identical in tonal balance and performance to Sasha and the bass is now elevated to new standards. Overall very engaging and thrilling speaker and if paired with gear closer to it's own price range will absolutely thrill and please even the most critical ear IMHO. Really difficult to pinpoint any deficiencies or flaws, if anything is amiss, it will more likely be attributed to the gear and room than the speaker itself.

Sophia 3 is a new benchmark in the sub $20k range as far as I an concerned. It is a whole new level better than Sophia 2 having eradicated the slight trace of upper midrange leanness, has a new level of musicality, bass slam and articulation and really does not command a premium over the outgoing Sophia 2 and really makes one think hard if $10k premium for the Sasha is absolutely necessary. I give this speaker an A- in the room I heard it in with the associated gear. It only gets better from there if the room and gear are up to par with what this speaker has to offer.



As always, I vote with my ears and wallet and there is an order placed for a pair in Macademia for my own listening pleasure for my new "analog room". I really can't imagine a better speaker for that room and price.

Hi Serge,

What an excellent review, thanks for putting in the time to describe so clearly what you heard. You have a real gift for writing and describing sound in a way that others can understand. And a big congratulations on your purchase...I hope the wait isn't too long.

So remind us of your plans for the rest of your gear in your analog room -- what electronics and source(s) are you planning? And NO, you cannot have your Lamms back! They are making beautiful music right now.

Regards,

Dave

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System: Sashas + Lamm M1.2 Reference amps + ARC Reference 5 preamp + Tron Seven Phono + Raven One/Graham Phantom II/Koetsu Vermillion + Adept Response 6 + Cardas Golden Reference wires. Room 15' X 23' X 9'.

Superlative review Serge! I hope LilDeb makes sure that David and Peter get to read this excellent analysis. The Wilson sound has certainly won your audio soul. Macademia is a color that you will be able to live with for a very long time.

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Dynaudio C4 II's, MC1.2KW(2), C1000C, C1000T, MCD1100, MEN220, Olive4HD, Wireworld: Silver Eclipse 6.0 BiWire Speaker Cable, Silver Eclipse 6.0 Interconnects, Silver Electra power cords, Pure Power 2000's(2), GIF 9" Cube 3'h Tube Traps(4) ASC Cinema Panels(12) on ceiling

Den System: Dynaudio Focus 140's, Marantz SA8004, NAD C356 BEE, Olive 02, Wireworld Equinox 6, RGPC 600S, BDI Avion cabinet.

Thanks Dave. Wilson is running at least 6 weeks backlog on Sophia 3s. It's ok, it will give me time to prepare my room. I wanted to setup the system in that bare room to measure and record things before and after full ASC treatment. It will be a fun project in itself.

I know I can't have my Lamm amps back, I would certainly think something is seriously wrong in your system if you did want to get rid if them. That's ok though, I usually like to press on trying and experiencing other gear for fun. Whether I will actually find better synergy remains to be seen.

I did want to setup this room primarily for vinyl listening and while a low tube power/higher efficiency speakers would have been fun, I just don't know if I can give up some of the characteristics of Wilson speakers long term.

So, for this project being analog in flavor, it will have to be tubes on tubes and of adequate power to drive the Sophia 3s with aplomb. Something in the range of 100 tube watts+.

I will have to do some more thinking, will it be VTL, will it be ARC, will it be tubed BAT??? I just don't know yet.

I know the analog room will have a few TTs setup with various arms and cartridges for variety. So far I only have the room finished less any acoustical treatments, a custom wall unit going in for LP storage and record cleaning machine countertop work space and speakers picked out and the rest is still blank canvas.

I doubt Peter has time to read these boards, the man travels all the time to demo Wilson speakers all over the world. : He is also very known in the recording industry so I am sure he is also very busy doing that. Judging by some of his work I heard today, his talent must be really in demand.

Having decided to outfit my theater with the Sonus Faber speakers for a few different reasons, I really was hoping that the Sophia 3s would rock my world so I can have at least one pair of Wilson in the house. They did just that!

Yes, Thank you Serge for your impressions! And I am excited for you!

And you never know... maybe this write up will end up in David's and/or Peter's email

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Speakers: Wilson Audio Watt/Puppy 6's, Wilson Audio WATCH Surrounds series 2, Wilson Audio WATCH Center Channel series 2, WATCH Dog (passive) series 2 w/ controller Amps: Parasound Halo A 21 and Parasound Halo A 51 Processor: Integra DHC 9.9 DVD/Gaming: Playstation 3 Cables: Transparent Plus In-Wall Cable, Transparent Interconnects, Transparent HDMI Cable and Interconnects Screen: Stewart Filmscreens 92" Luxus Deluxe Projector:JVC DLA-RS35

Thanks Deb! Well, Peter already knows how I feel about the Sophia 3s since we spent some time just the two of us listening and discussing them.

Dave has also heard my opinion on the Alexandria's some time ago.

I doubt either if them would be surprised by anything I have written today as they probably hear it all the time from various audiophiles around the globe.

I am also impressed that I was able to type the whole review on my iPhone! My index finger is a bit numb.

Serge,

I heard the Sashas with VTL MB450 monoblocks and an Esoteric CDP. It was the audition when my wife turned to me and said, "we must buy these speakers!" and she's not particularly interested in the hobby.

The synergy was outstanding and VTL was on my short list until a couple of things knocked them out for me including the excessive heat, all the tubes for the MB450's, and then some other few considerations.

You are now in the fun part of building a system! Enjoy it.

Dave

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System: Sashas + Lamm M1.2 Reference amps + ARC Reference 5 preamp + Tron Seven Phono + Raven One/Graham Phantom II/Koetsu Vermillion + Adept Response 6 + Cardas Golden Reference wires. Room 15' X 23' X 9'.

Nice review Serge! enjoyed it. Yup, I also agree on your assessment on the Sophia 3 as I heard them last week at the HKG Hi FI Show. Great speakers!