Upgrade fever

[Ritmo]

Chuck,

Do you have the D'Agostino monos or stereo? How do they compare with the Ref250 with the Alexias?

Thanks!

[S1chen]

Originally Posted by SRT-10 Viper

Marc, I updgraded from Sasha's to Alexia's and can tell you it was the biggest upgrade I have ever done. I've gone from Ref 5 to Ref40, Ref250s to Dan Ag... Still have both amps.. The Alexia's were the biggest move for me. I have had a friend from the industry that competes with Wilson in my home once with the Sasha's and once with the Alexia's. He never said anything good about my first system. After he heard the Alexia's he said is sounds like you went from Hi-Fi to Audiophile in your room. He really liked the difference between the two. Again he sells competing products so was always tough on the Sasha's (more then he should have been).

Go Alexia's! My vote... But then again it's your money.

I agreed that the upgrade from Alexia from Sasha is a huge different. The soundstage is larger, deeper. Bass is fuller, more punchy, more real. Mid range is more real and detail. Higher is smoother, more extended and detail. It is so reviewing that I try numerous amp and I still enjoy the music of the Alexia with my 300B amp.

[SRT-10 Viper]

Originally Posted by Ritmo

Chuck,

Do you have the D'Agostino monos or stereo? How do they compare with the Ref250 with the Alexias?

Thanks!

I've been a tube guy for years... I have D'Agostino mono's and it's the first non-tube amp that I enjoy more than the REF250's with my Alexia's and prior Sasha's. I tried, back in August, Dan's preamp but decided I liked the REF40 with Dan's amps vs his combo. That surprised me as I thought with the synergy I would like Dan's preamp. So I am staying with D'Agostino Amps and REF40. I will probably sell my REF250s or use them on my B&W 800Ds I have in my other room.

[PLK]

Marc,

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_JvPnzFFTSM]The Teaser to the (well) Teaser - YouTube[/ame]

[2fastdriving]

The arc stack I'm borrowing continues to impress me. It has completely transformed my Sasha's. I'm shocked and in disbelief that this "little" ref75 can be this powerful. It weighs half of my mc452, maybe less. It has a fraction of the rated power, yet I can easily blow my ears out. In fact, my ears were bothering me as they do when I'm overdoing it...so I used my spl meter. I was listening at around mid 90dbs! I had no idea...because it's so dynamic and clean. It felt like a normal volume til my ears started hurting.

I can pretty safely say that no matter what I end up doing with my speakers, I'm moving to audio research electronics. I love my mcintosh gear, but I'm really moved by this magical combination. The transparency, speed, delicacy, all shored up with real powerful deep textured bass! It woke my Sasha's up.

Still need a dac!

[PlanarSpeakerFan]

Originally Posted by 2fastdriving

The arc stack I'm borrowing continues to impress me. It has completely transformed my Sasha's. I'm shocked and in disbelief that this "little" ref75 can be this powerful. It weighs half of my mc452, maybe less. It has a fraction of the rated power, yet I can easily blow my ears out. In fact, my ears were bothering me as they do when I'm overdoing it...so I used my spl meter. I was listening at around mid 90dbs! I had no idea...because it's so dynamic and clean. It felt like a normal volume til my ears started hurting.

I can pretty safely say that no matter what I end up doing with my speakers, I'm moving to audio research electronics. I love my mcintosh gear, but I'm really moved by this magical combination. The transparency, speed, delicacy, all shored up with real powerful deep textured bass! It woke my Sasha's up.

Still need a dac!

Hi Marc,

It sounds like you found some real synergy with the Sasha's and the ARC gear. Imagine what it will sound like when you upgrade the DAC!

Ken

[Charles]

Originally Posted by 2fastdriving

Thanks Charles. Lots of great advice here, unfortunately it's pretty much 50/50 for/against getting Alexias before electronics.

I love what j3brow said about the speakers being the crown jewel. Alexias certainly would be a jewel. Sasha's are too, so I can't go wrong.

The truth is, some stars would have to align next year for me to get the Alexias, but it is doable. Still pondering how much I want to give up to have them

I don't see much use in moving away from Mac. Apparently, the Alexia works extremely well with Mac. You can waste a lot of money by useless trades that yield little sonic improvement. If it were me I'd go with Alexia. I think the new Maxx will be the next new model, so you may not get the new Sasha for quite some time. I note that the new tweeter has IMO radically changed the Wilson line, not so much the sound, but what it took "underneath" to achieve that continuity of sound. I believe Alexia will be around for a long time to come. Really, the Alexia treble and midrange achieves the same Wilson Sound, only better, more refined and more relaxed. This is IMO a remarkable achievment but it may cause difficulty in utilization of the new tweeter in the new Sasha and Sophia, so the current models may be around longer than one would expect. I doubt upgrades will be possible. I doubt the X-2 could ever become an XLF clone for the same reason, too much change in the engineering to achieve a continuity in the Wilson sound with the introduction of the new tweeter, thus possibily preventing the feasibility of an upgrade with any current Wilson model. I think the massive engineering effort the new tweeter may have required is more than currently appreciated because the sonics old vs new are remarkably similar to my ears. The new treble and midrange are better, not different. Of course all this is pure speculation.

[2fastdriving]

After hearing what the Ref75 can do with my Sasha's, I am going to be moving away from Mac in the future. There's quite an improvement in my opinion. Don't get me wrong, I love Mac build quality and looks and the sound as well. ARC can't compete in the build quality and looks department (another opinion of course) but man...they can build a tube amp. Amazing sound.

If I can swing it, I will not be selling my Mac gear, just handing it down to my son, who is already a vinyl junkie at 16. More so than even I am.

[PLK]

Originally Posted by Charles

I think the new Maxx will be the next new model, so you may not get the new Sasha for quite some time.

I think on 11/20/13, we'll see the rest of the WA product announcement video showing the evolution of the W/P (the best-selling speaker over-$10,000 loudspeaker in audio history) into the Sasha 2.

Yes, looking at the Wilson Product Timeline, it seems like the Maxx 3 is the next model due for an update, but IMO, it's a marketing issue to introduce the Sasha 2 first.

There's lots of competition at $30K price point. Just look at all the posts on
AudioAficionado.org about the Magico S5, TAD, Raidho, etc...

Of course all of this is pure speculation.

[2fastdriving]

Originally Posted by PLK

I think on 11/20/13, we'll see the rest of the WA product announcement video showing the evolution of the W/P (the best-selling speaker over-$10,000 loudspeaker in audio history) into the Sasha 2.

Yes, looking at the Wilson Product Timeline, it seems like the Maxx 3 is the next model due for an update, but IMO, it's a marketing issue to introduce the Sasha 2 first.

There's lots of competition at $30K price point. Just look at all the posts on
AudioAficionado.org about the Magico S5, TAD, Raidho, etc...

Of course all of this is pure speculation.

I totally agree...why would they show that older watt/puppy in that teaser, if they were going to introduce a new maxx? Makes no sense to me. Sasha 2. Which, since I just bought Sashas, makes me want to upgrade to Alexia even more