Stopped by to give the Sabrina a listen for the first time a few days ago. From what I understand, the Sabrina was Daryl's work not Dave Wilsons.
Driven by VTL ST-150 amp, VTL 2.5 preamp, Bryston DAC, Transparent cabling and listening in a room that was rather large and spacious for the smaller Sabrinas, here are my impressions.
I will give it a rating of 1 to 5 thumbs up.
Considering the VTL is a tube amp but with ample power, starting from:
Treble. Really liked the treble response. I found the treble plenty extended and airy but without a trace of harshness in the context of the system and room acoustics. Don't know the specifics, new tweeter or not but... Treble was spot on for MY taste.
Why not 5? I'd need to listen to a good solid state amp like the D'Agostino to see if that would bring even airier and vibrant treble before I could give the treble 5 thumbs up.
Mids. I found the mids in the context of the system to be on the slightly darker and recessed side of neutral. A bit too weighty and chesty. Very well could have been the placement of the speaker which was rather close to the front wall and tied in with the bass which I will describe next. As it was, I would give the midrange
rating. Funny how my ears have become accustomed to the Harbeth midrange and now all speakers sound either too recessed and dark or too forward and lacking proper weight... As the Sabrina was in the context of that system, I still found the midrange is something I could easily live with.
Bass.
While the bass was very impressive in slam and dynamic impact and plumbing depths quite impressive for a smaller speaker like the Sabrina, I found the bass to be a bit wooly and bloated. Articulation was just OK and obviously something was going on there. I find it hard to believe the product from Wilson which are always impressive top to bottom would pass the design stages with this kind of bass response. Two factors here, either the placement of the speakers or the VTL simply could not drive the woofer properly. I am inclined to say the speaker was too close and coupling to the wall although I did not pick up on the typical overhang that goes along with that anomaly.
Dynamic contrast and PRAT. Here is where the Sabrina absolutely shined. It is a Wilson speaker and as such, it is bound to impress. It did. Foot tapping, head bobbing, it easily evokes an emotional response and I simply got into the groove with Sabrina right off the bat. Song after song, 1.5 hrs later, I did not want to get up and leave but I had to....
Overall I felt the Sabrina is a very well balanced speaker and if the bass was better presented that day and I will follow up on this, I'd say this speaker is definitely worth the money and it is a very engaging, dynamic but smooth and non fatiguing example of what Wilson Audio can achieve from their lower level products which are in many ways no less impressive than the bigger brothers and sisters.
Would I own a Sabrina. That is a big YES even though I am enjoying my Harbeth speakers, I am still partial to Wilson and ALWAYS enjoy a good audition of Wilson products. Color me impressed with the Sabrina as well.
