Questions about purchasing Wilson Speakers
 

I have a few questions about Wilson Speakers. I had not really listened to Wilson speakers since the Watt/Puppy 3? days(which I thought were too bright sounding and I kept that prejudice for years).I sat down a listened to a pair of Sophia's at CES last year and was mighty impressed. Now I am thinking about giving a pair a try either the Sophia 3 or Sasha's.I am thinking about setting up a new two channel system separate from my home theater in my living room which is only 11 feet wide but is 18 long with an arched opening into the dinning room which is another 11 feet long. I had an audio setup in that room years ago and the speakers were about 6.5 apart inside edge to inside edge and about a foot from the side wall. Is that enough room for the speakers to work well? If I can swing it I would opt for the Sasha but may end up with the Sophia (depends on how good business is this year). I like some of the custom colors(I'm a little tired of seeing nothing but black or gray boxes) but wonder if like car business does a custom color hurt resale value? Also if I decide to go the home theater route down the road is there a problem with custom color matching center and sub? Is the upgrade from the Sophia to the Sasha worth it? It be nice to hear them side by side but I doubt that is possible. My other is in this dilemma is I can not stand the Wilson dealer in Chicago. I alway thought the owner and general manger were a'holes. So I not sure I want to give them that kind of money, but the old dealer has long been out of business.

Thanks

Rob, I went black for resale and HT reasons. Everyone who moves from Sophia to Sasha says it is worth it, but I have not heard the Sashas, so cannot give personal experience. If I was going with a designer color I would buy all the speakers at once, since finding one later (like a center for mains) would be tough in any color other than black or silver.

Hi Rob,
I do not think you could go wrong with either,but the Sophia 3 can sound great with more modest ancillaries.However it can sound even better with great ancillaries.
I have owned the 2's and Sashas and really enjoyed both speakers.Some of our friends here are trading up to Alexia's so there will be a few Sasha's available second hand.
I was told by my dealer that some of the very bright custom colors do affect resale negatively.
Hope this helps,
Ross.

I went from Sophia 3's to Sasha's with no other changes. To my ears there is a significant difference between the two, especially the way Sasha's just seem to completely disappear and image...not that Sophia 3's are bad.

I ran into that issue about 20 years ago, from a UF professor, who had purchased Watts/Puppies and not from the sole dealer in the state at that time and for same reason you mentioned. Wilson begged him to cancel the sale with his out-of-state dealer and he refused. I believe he got his speakers.

I thinking going with the Sashas if the finances permitted. I tend kept equipment for a long time. I just trying to anticipate any changes I might make down the road. The big reason I was asking about color was I just wondering if I bought a Watch center channel a year or two later would the color be the same as the speakers purchased earlier.


Those who have upgraded from the Sophia to the Sasha did you sell the Sophia or trade them in?

Ask far as the dealer goes it would make it easier to deal locally because of the size and weight, if this were a smaller item I would have no problem buying from another dealer. Since high end dealers are becoming an endangered species it getting tougher to find people I want to deal with.

First... having listened to them back to back for hours, the Sashas are clearly the better speaker. Better integrated sound, bigger less distorted, tighter bass, better for a larger space, great for your space. Not for low powered amps though. That said, really liked the Sophias as well. If I hadn't studied them back to back might not be so convinced. With the advent of the new Alexias, there are now good deals out there on used Sashas... plenty of them from dealers. You can save a quick $10K and probably get a factory warranty.
See Audiogone. My guy here in MD/DC is great. The Ann Arbor, MI dealer maybe their biggest dealer, is relatively close to you so might deliver and set up. Some of the more unusual colors are a bit tougher on resale. I believe Wilson can match their colors perfectly, especially the standard offerings.

Good hunting.

Bob

It good to know that the price differential is worth it. The Sophia, Sasha and Alexia are so close in size it make me wonder about the sonic differences. I lived in the DC area in the MId 80s but I think all of the dealers that were around when I was there are gone.

I went and listen to the Sophias today. I bring my own music most of which was average quality recordings no audiophile music at all. I want to hear the kind of stuff I listen to every day. I also brought a couple of terrible sounding CDs. My goal was to see how livable the Sophias were. This is the first time in many year I heard a pair of Wilson speaker outside of CES and the first time with music I am familiar with. I have to say I was very impressed tonally first rate, bass outstanding and hint of Fatiguing at all I listen for about 90 minutes. I spoken with the salesman afterward told him I the they were Sophia 3s were wonderful, he then said to me I was listing to the Sophia 2s. He told may to come to there other store where the Sophia 3s and Sasha are on display. My adventure continues. I really want to hear them with tube amps.

I went from Sophia 2s to 3s to Sashas...I'm curious to what your experience will be?