Wilsons.......... How about in Home Theater ?

[all2ears]

WOW ........ this is a lot of encouraging information

I was at the Wilson Audio site checking the reviews they had posted and the review from HomeTheater Magazine was about a fella who gave up 5.1 and went 2 channel - That's what had me thinking ..... plus I'd never heard of anyone using Wilson for theater - Even the local Wilson dealers I contacted don't have center channels to demo - They bring them in as needed

Anyway thanks for the encouragement and I will try a demo - Thinking the Sophia with the Center should be a nice paring ... all matching titanium tweeters

Oh! --- Dan great to see your avatar again - If you ever get to Orlando let me know ...I have a cork with your name on it

[jdandy]

Originally Posted by all2ears

WOW ........ this is a lot of encouraging information

I was at the Wilson Audio site checking the reviews they had posted and the review from HomeTheater Magazine was about a fella who gave up 5.1 and went 2 channel - That's what had me thinking ..... plus I'd never heard of anyone using Wilson for theater - Even the local Wilson dealers I contacted don't have center channels to demo - They bring them in as needed

Anyway thanks for the encouragement and I will try a demo - Thinking the Sophia with the Center should be a nice paring ... all matching titanium tweeters

Oh! --- Dan great to see your avatar again - If you ever get to Orlando let me know ...I have a cork with your name on it.

Mark.......Thanks for the invitation. You are not too far south of me.

[W9TR]

I've owned Sophia 2's and I think their dynamic presentation, low distortion, and high output would make them ideal candidates for a high end home theater. Full disclosure - I used mine in a 2 channel setup. I think what will work depends on how much space you have in your theater. My theater is pretty small, so I have to run all the speakers right up against the walls. This is a challenge for a lot of speakers, but would be ideal for something like the Wilson Duettes. Tom

[all2ears]

i'm guessing for two channel music you'd run your Wilsons full range in pure stereo ........ But out of curiosity for Home Theater what frequency do you cross over to your sub on your model Wilson Speaker

On my Revel Salon 2 and Voice 2 center I cross the center at 80 Hz (THX Level) and my mains at 40 Hz

[chessman]

Originally Posted by all2ears

i'm guessing for two channel music you'd run your Wilsons full range in pure stereo ........ But out of curiosity for Home Theater what frequency do you cross over to your sub on your model Wilson Speaker

On my Revel Salon 2 and Voice 2 center I cross the center at 80 Hz (THX Level) and my mains at 40 Hz

Before I added the "stereo" subs and active cross-over, I ran my Sophia 2s as full range (large) from my pre-amp, but as small (crossed at 80H) in my separate surround processor. I could do that because my pre-amp had a separate port for the surround processor input that I set for unity gain.

Now with the active cross-over and "stereo" subs, I tell my surround processor that the mains are large, but I cross the center and the other four channels at 80 H. As I mentioned before, I use a third sub for the "redirected bass" and LFE duties.

The best method depends upon what gear you have. I acquired my Bryston SP3 after I already had a high quality pre-amp. But if I had decided to use it as both pre-amp and surround processor I could have taken advantage of its ability to set the mains as large on one port and small on another port. Another example of gear versatility is REL. With a Rel G series sub there are internal controls that allow the sub to act in different ways on different uses.

One side note: With the Bryston 10B-SUB's versatile slope and filter controls I cross my Sophias at 50 H. But when using a surround processor without those slope controls, crossing at 80 H worked best. I suspect the difference is the lack of redirected bass in the active cross-over situation, but being present in the HT application.

[jfrech]

I've owned 4 pairs of Willson's over the years WP 6, 8, Maxx 2 and 3. They are excellent speakers and equally excel and music and home theatre.

I did get a chance to hear Dave Wilson's home theatre set up. Pretty sure it was Maxx 2's/WP's and his center channel/subs out at the time. Oh my gosh was it incredible. Best home theatre I've ever heard. Parasound electronics.

I've used 2 channel at my home always. Preferring to max out that vs spread the $'s to other channels. Although after hearing Dave Wilson's home theatre...it makes you wonder if 5.1 wasn't the better path...

Speakers: Rockport Altair 2
Preamp: Robert Koda K10 Amp: Nagra Classic Amp
Cables: Transparent Opus Gen 5 Spkr/interconnect & Magnum Opus phono interconnect
Power Shunyata Triton v2/Typhon/DPC-6 v2, Anaconda Zitron cords (x4), Sigma HC & Analog (x4)
Digital dCS Vivaldi full stack w/ (mostly) Transparent Reference XL Digital cables
Phono: Grand Prix Monaco TT, Spiral Groove Centroid, Jan Allaerts MC2 Finish, Nagra VPS/VFS/MPS
Racks: Grand Prix Audio Silverstone F1 (x2)

[Sharp 1080]

I have a system similar to Dave Wilson's but a smaller center channel and older surround speakers. I have Maxx 3's as the mains, Mezzo center channel, and Sophia's for surround duty. I am using two JL Audio Fathom F113's for subwoofer duty sitting on custom sound anchor stands ordered on here from Master Lu on here some time ago! Great stands by the way. The speakers are powered by 5 Theta Prometheus monoblocks, using all Transparent cable The system is setup in a dedicated treated room that measures 20X15. I am no longer a subscriber, sorry Ivan. I cannot post pictures. I have yet to make the trek to David Wilson's house but plan on doing it early next year. He is now using Maxx 3's and a Polaris center channel last time I checked. I just have to bug Darryl about it again.

2 all ears, I think you'll be more than happy using all Wilson's in a HT system.

[Sharp 1080]

Originally Posted by jfrech

I've owned 4 pairs of Willson's over the years WP 6, 8, Maxx 2 and 3. They are excellent speakers and equally excel and music and home theatre.

I did get a chance to hear Dave Wilson's home theatre set up. Pretty sure it was Maxx 2's/WP's and his center channel/subs out at the time. Oh my gosh was it incredible. Best home theatre I've ever heard. Parasound electronics.

I've used 2 channel at my home always. Preferring to max out that vs spread the $'s to other channels. Although after hearing Dave Wilson's home theatre...it makes you wonder if 5.1 wasn't the better path...

Speakers: Rockport Altair 2
Preamp: Robert Koda K10 Amp: Nagra Classic Amp
Cables: Transparent Opus Gen 5 Spkr/interconnect & Magnum Opus phono interconnect
Power Shunyata Triton v2/Typhon/DPC-6 v2, Anaconda Zitron cords (x4), Sigma HC & Analog (x4)
Digital dCS Vivaldi full stack w/ (mostly) Transparent Reference XL Digital cables
Phono: Grand Prix Monaco TT, Spiral Groove Centroid, Jan Allaerts MC2 Finish, Nagra VPS/VFS/MPS
Racks: Grand Prix Audio Silverstone F1 (x2)

It was because of you and when you owned Maxx 3's that I started my quest towards owning them! That was over on Audiogon some time ago! My moniker is Statman from when I owned Martin Logan speakers in my home theater.

[jfrech]

Originally Posted by Sharp 1080

It was because of you and when you owned Maxx 3's that I started my quest towards owning them! That was over on Audiogon some time ago! My moniker is Statman from when I owned Martin Logan speakers in my home theater.

That Maxx 3's are fantastic speakers. I still like my Rockports, but I thought the Maxx 3 was a killer buy. Especially for anyone out there buying used now. Amazing speaker for the price I see these selling at. I wonder how the new Alexx will sound...


Speakers: Rockport Altair 2
Preamp: Robert Koda K10 Amp: Nagra Classic Amp
Cables: Transparent Opus Gen 5 Spkr/interconnect & Magnum Opus phono interconnect
Power Shunyata Triton v2/Typhon/DPC-6 v2, Anaconda Zitron cords (x4), Sigma HC & Analog (x4)
Digital dCS Vivaldi full stack w/ (mostly) Transparent Reference XL Digital cables
Phono: Grand Prix Monaco TT, Spiral Groove Centroid, Jan Allaerts MC2 Finish, Nagra VPS/VFS/MPS
Racks: Grand Prix Audio Silverstone F1 (x2)

[all2ears]

Had a demo of the Sasha 2 and ....... well it was amazing - Responsive is an understatement - Authoritative bass down to 25 Hz (first speaker besides my Revel Salons that could pass that test) and the smoothest treble I've heard in quite a while with mids that were layered but detailed - In a word "lifelike"

Sadly the speakers were sold and boxed up before I could do a follow up - He'll have another pair and also the Sabrina model back on his floor in early January

The dealer also had a pair of 20 year old Watt Puppies he'd taken in trade - Interesting to hear those too - Little speakers with a huge soundstage and at a price I was tempted to buy for my bedroom system

Bottom line is these are great speakers for music or movies - I am a believer ..... Wilson speakers are in a class of their own