Are Wilson Speakers All-Arounders

[chessman]

My Sophia 2's have handled everything I have thrown at them. Awesome bass, lovely midrange, and terrific dynamics. And that is through 50' runs of Tributaries speaker wire.

[nolitan777]

Originally Posted by chessman

My Sophia 2's have handled everything I have thrown at them. Awesome bass, lovely midrange, and terrific dynamics. And that is through 50' runs of Tributaries speaker wire.

oh, wow. are you using these for Home Theater set=up ?

[Still-One]

No one has mentioned that there are about 5 or 6 pairs of Maxx 2's for sale on A-gon. They are going anywhere from $18k to $22k or $28k. Those are real bargains for a very fine speaker that can do it all.

[jdandy]

I think I would prefer a pair of Sasha's to a pair of Maxx 2's.

[Still-One]

Originally Posted by jdandy

I think I would prefer a pair of Sasha's to a pair of Maxx 2's.

If I moved them out of my 2-channel room into one of the larger rooms, I would go with the Maxx 2's. In my current room the Sasha's would probably work better.

[chessman]

Originally Posted by nolitan777

oh, wow. are you using these for Home Theater set=up ?

Yes, the Sophia 2's do double duty as the R/L mains in the Home Theater and as my two channel rig. The key is that the preamp for two channel has a HT bypass setting. Music goes Oppo as transport => Perpetual Technologies DAC =>W4S preamp => BAT amp. Movies go Oppo as player => Emotiva DMC-1 processor => 5 channels to Emotiva MPS-1 amp, 2 channels to preamp in bypass mode to BAT amp, LFE to a pair of JL Fathom 113's.

Wilsons and JL Fathoms make for a religious movie experience.

[nolitan777]

the maxx's two would be too big for my room. I recently heard them at a dealer showroom, used as well, they are nice!
I think the most that my room can handle would be the Sashas. But my pocket will only allow the Sophia 3s for the moment. Perhaps in the future.
According to the Wilson website, both Sasha and Sophia 3 seems to go about 20hz at its lowest.

[nolitan777]

Are the Sophias also revealing of poor recordings ?

good recordings sounds really awesome while bad recordings sounds really bad ?

I do understand from reading that the Watt Puppy Series were notorious for being too revealing, clinical.

Thanks again.

[chessman]

Noli ... I cannot say categorically that Sophias handle a "bad" recording in any particular way - good or bad. But what I have found is that a lot of recordings that I thought were "good" turned out to be less good (the recording engineer's tricks were revealed) and some "bad" recordings turned out to have been bad only because the old rig could not resolve them. For example, a Sarah Vaughn cd that I had thought to be unlistenable with the old rig, is a treat to listen to with the Sophias and the BAT amp.

So, I guess my answer is the Sophia's are very revealing and whether that is good or bad will depend on a variety of factors (recording itself, source, amp, and your personal tastes).

By the way, you do realize that none of us can "talk you into a sense of security" about making this purchase? One person's "detailed" is another person's "too analytic." You just have to try it for yourself sometimes. That said, I would be astonished if Sophia 3's mated with synergystic gear (like your Lamm amps) and properly set up did not sound terrific to you.

[nolitan777]

Originally Posted by chessman

Noli ... I cannot say categorically that Sophias handle a "bad" recording in any particular way - good or bad. But what I have found is that a lot of recordings that I thought were "good" turned out to be less good (the recording engineer's tricks were revealed) and some "bad" recordings turned out to have been bad only because the old rig could not resolve them. For example, a Sarah Vaughn cd that I had thought to be unlistenable with the old rig, is a treat to listen to with the Sophias and the BAT amp.

So, I guess my answer is the Sophia's are very revealing and whether that is good or bad will depend on a variety of factors (recording itself, source, amp, and your personal tastes).

By the way, you do realize that none of us can "talk you into a sense of security" about making this purchase? One person's "detailed" is another person's "too analytic." You just have to try it for yourself sometimes. That said, I would be astonished if Sophia 3's mated with synergystic gear (like your Lamm amps) and properly set up did not sound terrific to you.

Hello Randy,

thanks for the clarifications.
I do realize what you are saying is very valid.
I guess, the only way to know is to audition and try them out.
Nonetheless, it should be a fun and learning experience.

thanks again.
Noli