Wilson Audio Specialties: Sophia Series 3.

[Still-One]

Originally Posted by intouch1

yes, the maxx3's were delivered with jack. still not a one man job really as you sure dont want these things to tip over and knock you out..........

Yeah those big ones are hard to get off.

[AeroSmith]

Originally Posted by intouch1

yes, the maxx3's were delivered with jack. still not a one man job really as you sure dont want these things to tip over and knock you out..........

Going to be a three man job today.

[nolitan777]

Originally Posted by AeroSmith

Going to be a three man job today.

can't wait to hear what your impressions on the maxx 3 would be compared to the Sophia 3s.

[AeroSmith]

Well, my friend and dealer came and went with much impact on my audio life. He and his disciple are true masters of the art of Wilson setup. So the Sophias are now setup properly in our 20' by 20' family room. They're about 9.5' apart and toed in to face almost directly at me, 11' away. They are spiked about 4' from the front wall.

In addition to installing the Sophias and the MAAX3s (in our game room) my friend installed a Lyra Delos MC cartridge on the new family room Rega P5. The Rega exact sounded very bright and un-natural through the Lehman Black Cube Decade. And that was using Rega's suggested settings. The Delos is an improvement of virtually infinite scale over the Exact. All sounds as it should, much better than anything my DAC7 can spit out (though I'm about to start playing some 96/24 files through the DAC's USB input for grins). The Delos/Decade combo is a winner and long term keeper for me.

The Delos is like the Wilsons in that it seems to impart very little color of its own to the music. My over-used word is pure. I played a few of the new Bill Evans 45s over the Sophias and was transported straight to Jazz nirvana. The piano sounded like the piano in our living room. Not that our piano has ever been played so well. But the Sophia generates piano notes that have their full core percussive hardness. While subtle nuances in tempo and pressure on the keys are so real you can almost see the fingers. Funny, from the listening position, the Sophia 3s with their grilles on actually look like human fingers. The Wilson midrange driver is clearly perfection.

The bass response still boggles the mind. These speakers go very deep and do it super accurately. Not as deep and accurate as the MAXX3s but better than anything else I've heard in my own home. Bass articulation firmed up nicely with spiking.

Finally, there is something about the Sophia sound that is so musical and inviting. And this is in contrast to the MAXX3 sound. These are speakers that welcome you to the stage. They are delicate, nuanced and very inviting, the soundstage drawing you in. The MAXXs are much more grand. They don't invite you on stage. But they do put you front row center in the orchestra section. Surely two mids give the MAXX3s a much more forward midrange presentation than the Sophias. The Sophia sound is very comfortable, like your regular tuner playing the living room piano when he's done with his work.

[two dot]

Sounds like you could live quite happily with the Sophia 3's for some time.

[AeroSmith]

Originally Posted by two dot

Sounds like you could live quite happily with the Sophia 3's for some time.

For sure. After hearing them in my home it's easy to think in terms of a 15 year investment time horizon for any Wilsons. Pretty much the time horizon we have for the house itself.

[cmalak]

AeroSmith...are you going start a new thread on the Maxx3s? We are awaiting pics and review of that system

[AeroSmith]

Originally Posted by cmalak

AeroSmith...are you going start a new thread on the Maxx3s? We are awaiting pics and review of that system

You know it.

I just need to get some good snaps and listen to some more music first. Suffice it to say I finally found a speaker that can fully load my room -30'x26' w/ vaulted ceilings. The bass is absolutely crushing. The soundstage is 3D. Truly amazing speakers. And again, nice to see an ARC amp keeping up without a hitch.

[Sharp 1080]

Aero Smith,

Congratulations on both the Maxx 3's and Sophia 3's! Please post more pictures when you have chance to stop listening.

[nolitan777]

Congratulations on both fine speakers. Looking forward to hearing your observations as these fine speakers settles in.