Jax4736 - welcome to the Wilson fold! Your speakers will bring you years of enjoyment, as they have many others here.

I would not be too concerned with what Doug Schneider has to say regarding Wilsons.

I'm not sure how long you have been in the hobby, but as you start to read reviews and buy gear you will notice that your tastes align more so with some reviewers than others. I'm an ARC/Wilson guy and over the years I have found my tastes more in common with reviewers such as Ken Kessler, Martin Colloms, Roy Gregory and Marc Mickelson (to name a few) and less so like reviewers such as Mr. Schneider. I am much more likely to take the opinions of these particular reviewers with more than a grain of salt as I have found over the years that their opinions align better with the satisfaction I have gained with my auditions and purchases. I'm sure there are others here where the same holds true for them with particular reviewers. I have also learned that there are other reviewers whose opinions I will quickly discount from these same experiences. Unfortunately these lessons are learned from time and experience, but you should be able to get off to a quick start by finding reviewers that have reviewed the gear in your system well and look for commonalities.

Nonetheless, sit back and enjoy your Sophias. They are amazing speakers and while they might not be Doug's cup of tea, you have chosen wisely and, I hope, made the decision with your own ears and tastes.

I have noticed that Tone Audio never published a single review of a Wilson speaker.
Maybe that Jeff does not like them ?
Well at least, he does not publicly bash Wilson.

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Very interesting !
Thanks.
To me, the main reason for a HiFi reviewer to state that Magico ( which I listened to a few times ) and Vivid ( which I never heard ) are way above Wilsons must be much more simple than "personal preference".
I suspect highly a marketing attitude related to their advertising contracts.....
They bash the ones who do not give them money. As simple as that.
And they praise the others.

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Hello,

Someone directed me to this thread. Normally I answer things in our "Letters" section, but I thought it worthwhile to confirm a few things here.

It is true that I've always ran the SoundStage! Network. I founded it in 1995. I believe "tima" might be a gentleman who wrote a few reviews for us at one time. My own experience in audio, though, dates back far longer than the 17 years I've been running this. I've been an audiophile since 1981. But this 17 years running the SoundStage! Network full-time has been the most rewarding as I've gotten to experience products not everyone gets to, and I've gotten to know the audio industry inside and out.

It's also true that I have interests that extend past audio -- I have a fairly strong reputation in my country for actively promoting women's and men's fitness, which I think is an important thing, particularly as I approach 50 years of age (man, it's tough getting older).

But 99% of my time is taken up with audio, and a lot of that is with speakers, my biggest passion in this whole thing and which the SoundStage! Network has made a huge investment in terms of the measurements we do and publish. People can obviously choose to discount measurements, but I can say that there's a lot that can be learned from them, which is why our investment in them is so high.

Insofar as my opinions go, they might offend some, but I'm not here to protect certain manufacturers or some audiophiles who might not like what I say. I write about audio -- good and bad -- and it's there for the readers to take and do with as they please. Some might not like the comments, and some might try to guess what my motives are, but I can tell you they come as a result of one thing: I'm really into speakers and what I write is a result of that. In fact, I'm so into speakers that I don't review one type or one price category. I just polished up a review of some $1000 GoldenEar Aon 3s and I'm currently working on a review of some PMC Twenty.24s, which I believe to be about $7000, but I have to check on that. Early the year I reviewed Vivid's Giya G2, which I found to be the best speaker I've ever heard -- and they're $50,000 per pair.

So I hope that gives some perspective, and I'm always available by e-mail.

Thanks,
Doug Schneider

Jérôme.......I agree, although most publishers will be quick to deny the connection. It is important to them that their reader thinks they are so above the graft. None the less, as the old expression goes, "You don't bite the hand that feeds you." I am certain advertising income influences all of them to one degree or another, no matter what they publically claim.

Magazines/Publications sell advertising. There are many ways to accomplish this. For what it's worth, it's pretty much the US that tries to disconnect editorial and commercial. There are some countries where the price of a review is common knowledge and accepted.

I've known Doug a long time and I've never known him to be a fan of Wilson speakers. I believe that's just Doug's opinion. But delivering it as he did? Calling out a benchmark brand like Wilson just makes no sense. Let's just say there are far more diplomatic ways to get your point across, regardless of personal opinions.

SoundStage... Welcome! :wave:

For what it's worth, I've heard the Sashas and Vivid Giya G2s and G3s and I MUCH prefer the Vivids to the Sasha, and prefer the Sasha to any other Wilson I've ever heard.

Not thrilled with the Magicos, either.

I haven't had an opportunity to demo the MAXX 3s, though.

Hi,

Actually, I didn't call anything out. If you look at the letter, specific brands and models were mentioned, and I addressed every one of them. I don't know the Marten or Aerial speakers, but I do know the others very, very well. Wilson was brought up by the reader.

I also don't shy away from expressing my opinions, in print or verbally. In fact, I visited the Wilson factory twice in the past and one of those occasions David Wilson asked my opinion on the Duette, which I did with the same kind of frankness as my other replies.

Doug Schneider

Soundstage!... Welcome Doug Schneider. Lots of great loudspeakers owned by members here! :D

Dali Grands here...October 1998 Soundstage! review by Ken Micallef :wave: