Wilson Sophia III or Sasha in this setup???

[jpgr4blu]

Sashas provide more information, bigger soundstage, better and deeper low end. The difference between the 2 is worth the cost differential and then some. Of course, if you cannot pay for lots of current in the amps, get the Sophias, also a great speaker and the best in its class.

[Elberoth]

Originally Posted by dcvibe

Elberoth,

Thanks for your input. Can you explain what differences you noticed from Sophia II to Sasha other than improved bass dynamics? If this has been discussed elsewhere please redirect me? Thanks.

Well, in general they sound warmer, have better texture. They also lack a certain brightnes/hardness in upper midrange/lower treble that bothered me a bit in Sophia II.

The tweeter itself in much better. Much less grain (not that it was a problem in Sophia II; but after you upgrade to sth better, you start noticing how much you were missing) and has better resolution.

At the time I had a Sophia II, everytime I visited a friend who has a Maxx II driven by darTZeel / Puccini combo (same as mine), first thing I always noticed, was the treble quality. Maxx II treble always sounded so pure and crystal clear compared to Sophia II.

But not anymore. In fact, when my friend visited me last week to hear the Sasha driven by darTZeel / Kondo / dCS Scarlatti setup, he was completely blown away. The Sasha sound soooo much better now than his Maxx II (with lesser electronics) that is downright scary.

In fact, my current setup (dCS Scarlatti -> Kondo M1000mk2 -> darTZeel -> Sasha) is the best system I have ever heard, anywere. And I have heard quite a few. That includes Dave Wilson system in his house at Provo (sorry Dave !).

[dcvibe]

Elberoth,

Thanks for your comments. Very helpful.

[BillK]

What I found when I auditioned the two can best be put as the Sophia III sounded like a very good speaker; the Sasha sounds like an incredible source of music. You never hear cones, drivers, an enclosure or anything else, just music, where I occasionally heard a little enclosure-induced congestion on the III.

IMHO, it's night and day, and so if you can afford the Sashas you're certainly not "saving" anything in purchasing the Sophia IIIs instead.

Of course even with the Sashas there are a lot of other very good speakers in that price range that have other associated pros and cons.

[NoahG]

I've heard both speakers. IMHO, at higher listening levels, the Sashas are better if you've got the right amp(s) driving them.

If you can afford the difference in cost and the right amp(s) to drive them
go for the Sashas.

Stereophile's Art Dudley has reviewed both speakers, he ends his S3 review with this:

"I have no idea what Dave Wilson has in mind for his more expensive products, but in the context of his present-day line, the Sophia 3 could lead virtually anyone to wonder: Why spend more?"

[BillK]

I love Dudley, but I think he's crazy.

It doesn't take more than ten seconds to hear how much better the Sashas are than the Sophias.

The Sashas also don't require any special amplification to make them sing, they'll be happy with whatever you would have driven the Sophias with.

In short, the Sashas aren't even in the same class as the Sophias, and I very, very highly recommend not listening to the Sashas if you're considering the Sophias but can't afford the former; you're very likely to be playing a game of "If only…" for years to come.

I know of at least three people who went in to demo the Sophia IIIs and made the mistake of "just hearing what the Sashas sound like."

One bought Sashas, the other two decided to delay a purchase until they could afford them.

"Night and Day" is thrown around a lot in this hobby, but it's not trite in this application.

Once again, if you've spent far too much time listening to speakers like Mr. Dudley likely has, the Sophias will impress, they sound like a very, very good speaker.

The Sashas simply disappear the way I've heard no other driver-based speaker; they sound instead like there are simply seamless point sources of music in the room.

Don't get me wrong, I still prefer Apogee's larger speakers, but I haven't heard another dynamic driver speaker that beats them, including Revel Studio 2s, which I really don't get the enthusiasm over (I thought the original Revels sounded much better), and Magicos and Focals, which I haven't been all that impressed with.

[dcvibe]

Thanks to all of you for your most recent posts. Seems that some are very enthusiastic about the differences between sophia III and sasha... a lot to think about...

[NoahG]

"I very, very highly recommend not listening to the Sashas if you're considering the Sophias but can't afford the former; you're very likely to be playing a game of "If only…" for years to come."

Could afford either. Listened to both speakers and bought the Sophia 3s, and have no feelings of "If only..."

[BillK]

I'm not trying to disparage your decision or that of others who like the Sophia III; certainly they're an outstanding speaker.

But the bottom line is after living with planars (Apogee Caliper Signatures) for 20 years, when listening to 99.9% of speakers on the market, I can instantly hear cones in a box, and that includes the Sophia IIIs (and IIs for that matter), W/P 8s, MAXX 2s, Revel 2s, Focals, Magicos and so many other speakers. That's why I've stated I've never understood the big deal about Wilsons before, as before the Sasha, I never really liked the sound of any of them.

The Sashas are the first Wilson speakers I've heard where I've heard no trace of "cones in a box." Others with that quality are the Vivid Audio B-1 and K-1, the Sonus Faber Amati Anniversario and Stradivari, Vandersteen 7 and original Revel Ultima Studio and Salon, along with several more esoteric speakers, like most of the higher end MBLs.

That's why I said what I did about Dudley; if you've spent years listening to dynamic speakers, IMHO the Sophia IIIs sound like very, very good speakers. But with just the right note in the right song at the right time, if you're used to never hearing the sound of an enclosure when hearing that song, it's… there with so many speakers, including the Sophia III. To me, with the Sashas, it's simply not.

If you're not used to that sound you can hear the difference when just walking into a room in which they're playing; I hear it in almost every room at RMAF, and so I actually can burn through the show pretty quickly that way. :-)

[NoahG]

Wow, you must be a member of the Golden Ear Club!

Not to disparate your comments, but I really don't care what you think about the Sophia 3s, Sashas or any other speakers.;-)