Sasha gets noticed

[PHC1]

Robert Harley mentioned the new Sasha in his "Best Of" Rocky Mountain coverage. Robert Harley's "Best Of" Rocky Mountain | AVguide

[jdandy]

"A major leap in performance for Wilson", he says. A slighty more detailed comment wouldn't have taken him much more time to report.

[PHC1]

Originally Posted by jdandy

"A major leap in performance for Wilson", he says. A slighty more detailed comment wouldn't have taken him much more time to report.

I knew what he meant. The Wilson speakers have always had as large of group of followers as those that didn't like them. The Sasha bridges the gap with outstanding performance Wilson line is capable of while bringing a new level of musicality and ease of listening. It is a stunning speaker and I am sure the full future reviews will reflect that.

[Uberbrown]

I have not had my Sophia IIs for long enough to post about yet, but.....
I cannot imagine going to a different manufacturer. It seems I always knew I would not be satisfied until I go the Wilsons, and I was right.

What I was always afraid of was that I would be fatigued by the wilson, but the opposite is true. I listen for hours and not the slightest hint of fatigue. That tweeter is something else I must say.

[PHC1]

Originally Posted by Uberbrown

I have not had my Sophia IIs for long enough to post about yet, but.....
I cannot imagine going to a different manufacturer. It seems I always knew I would not be satisfied until I go the Wilsons, and I was right.

What I was always afraid of was that I would be fatigued by the wilson, but the opposite is true. I listen for hours and not the slightest hint of fatigue. That tweeter is something else I must say.

Ditto. After numerous speakers over the past 20 years including some that were really great actually, the Wilson brand is here to stay. I feel I've come aboard at just the right time when Wilson started "perfecting" what he set out to achieve many years ago. I am sure the future will bring even more exciting products but it is hard for me to imagine what else one can ask for from speakers like the Maxx 3, the Sasha and even the Sophia II for the most part. If there are flaws with those speakers, I can certainly live with them. Sophia II and Sasha have always brought on the goosebumps and made my listening sessions unforgettable.

[JSCC]

Originally Posted by PHC1

Ditto. After numerous speakers over the past 20 years including some that were really great actually, the Wilson brand is here to stay. I feel I've come aboard at just the right time when Wilson started "perfecting" what he set out to achieve many years ago. I am sure the future will bring even more exciting products but it is hard for me to imagine what else one can ask for from speakers like the Maxx 3, the Sasha and even the Sophia II for the most part. If there are flaws with those speakers, I can certainly live with them. Sophia II and Sasha have always brought on the goosebumps and made my listening sessions unforgettable.

Serge, a trick question for you my friend.

Since you have owned BOTH the Sonus Faber & Wilson brand of speakers and I trust you MUST have heard most of their higher marques, which speaker would you consider when presented for choice:

1. The Wilson Sasha OR
2. The Sonus Faber Amati Anniversario?

I did not go to the Stradivaris as I want to present something on similar/close value.

I would really love to read your analytical path on the decision, something I have all along had great respect for ...... and still do!!! The other person whom I had asked the same is my dear friend D ....

Cheers!

[PHC1]

Originally Posted by JSCC

Serge, a trick question for you my friend.

Since you have owned BOTH the Sonus Faber & Wilson brand of speakers and I trust you MUST have heard most of their higher marques, which speaker would you consider when presented for choice:

1. The Wilson Sasha OR
2. The Sonus Faber Amati Anniversario?

I did not go to the Stradivaris as I want to present something on similar/close value.

I would really love to read your analytical path on the decision, something I have all along had great respect for ...... and still do!!! The other person whom I had asked the same is my dear friend D ....

Cheers!

Jerry, my honest answer would be the Sasha. I find the new Wilson speakers to excel at anything I throw at them. If I am in the mood for some really intimate/acoustic instrument recordings like some of my favorites "Bach suites for solo cello", the Wilson are happy to oblige. The purity of tone, the harmonic structure of the instruments is preserved rather nicely, they are expressive and seductive but a bit more neutral than the less neutral/sweeter sounding Sonus Fabers.





If I am in the bluesy mood, blues it is, the Wilson's keep up with whatever my previous speakers could muster. If I am in the mood for something much more upbeat, be it jazz, rock, pop, metal, folk metal, the Wilson's will bring the house down with their impressive and eye flinching dynamic capabilities. If I am listening to an "audiophile" type recording, the Wilson's will impress with all the HI-FI tricks. There is really nothing that eludes them from everything HI-FI to simply making eye tearing music.

I did find all the previous speakers to be much more narrow focused by comparison. Whether they couldn't match the deep, articulate, accurate bass, sounded a bit congested or artificially lean in the midrange or lacked the ultimate smoothness of the upper frequency range, the Sasha does not seem to be plagued by any of those traits.

Then it also has to all come together in a seamless, coherent way. This is where the Wilson are almost always light years ahead of many other speakers, as they put much effort into that from non-resonant cabinet design to super quality crossovers with time and phase coherence second to none. The notes leap out of the Wilson speakers and create the illusion of the instruments being in the room with you in the most impressive way. Focus, imaging, depth and width of soundstage have always been the strong points of Wilson speakers.

The Sasha is not a cheap speaker but it is worth the price of admission. If the budget doesn't allow for the price of the Sasha, the Sophia II is there to please at a more affordable price and much of the performance of Sasha minus some things here and there.

Jerry, in terms of Amati's, if you tend to listen to the type of music that would fall into the realm and strong point of the Sonus Faber speakers, it may be the one and only speaker for you. They are made "by romantics for romantics" with Italian flair and passion. There is hardly a reason to look elsewhere. Dave Wilson doesn't build speakers that would cater to any particular flavor. They are more neutral, more resolving, more impressive and dare I even say "musical enough" now.

To sum it up, when I listen to acoustic guitars, violins, cello, etc... the Wilson speakers make me happy, the Sonus Fabers used to overwhelm me with emotional response. When I listen to anything else, the Sonus Faber speakers made me happy, the Wilson speakers give me goosebumps!

Choose wisely my friend.

[Uberbrown]

I dont have the experience, setup, or room that Serge has, but I owned the Cremona 3 way speakers for some time. I have to say for my purposes, there is no comparison. The Sophia IIs are not just "diferent strokes for different folks." IMHO, they vastly superior to my previous speakers. I am constantly amazed at the complete lack of cabinet resonance coming from the Wilsons. When the resonance is eliminated from the cabinet, magic can happen. If you can swing them, get them.

[PHC1]

Originally Posted by Uberbrown

I dont have the experience, setup, or room that Serge has, but I owned the Cremona 3 way speakers for some time. I have to say for my purposes, there is no comparison. The Sophia IIs are not just "diferent strokes for different folks." IMHO, they vastly superior to my previous speakers. I am constantly amazed at the complete lack of cabinet resonance coming from the Wilsons. When the resonance is eliminated from the cabinet, magic can happen. If you can swing them, get them.

I find the monitor Sonus Fabers to be in some ways more special than their full range brothers but I agree on the lack of cabinet resonance of being a great thing for sure. There is only one speaker that I can think of that can get away with a bit of that "symbiotic resonance" and that is Sonus Faber. I would even suspect they designed the speaker around that to make the stringed instruments somehow sound even more romantic. They probably listen to quite a bit of violins being in the area of Cremona and the rich history of the greatest violin makers. It would make sense they would voice the speakers around that type of music. It is tear jerking when listening to violins through the Sonus Fabers.

[JSCC]

Originally Posted by PHC1

Jerry, my honest answer would be the Sasha. I find the new Wilson speakers to excel at anything I throw at them. If I am in the mood for some really intimate/acoustic instrument recordings like some of my favorites "Bach suites for solo cello", the Wilson are happy to oblige. The purity of tone, the harmonic structure of the instruments is preserved rather nicely, they are expressive and seductive but a bit more neutral than the less neutral/sweeter sounding Sonus Fabers.





If I am in the bluesy mood, blues it is, the Wilson's keep up with whatever my previous speakers could muster. If I am in the mood for something much more upbeat, be it jazz, rock, pop, metal, folk metal, the Wilson's will bring the house down with their impressive and eye flinching dynamic capabilities. If I am listening to an "audiophile" type recording, the Wilson's will impress with all the HI-FI tricks. There is really nothing that eludes them from everything HI-FI to simply making eye tearing music.

I did find all the previous speakers to be much more narrow focused by comparison. Whether they couldn't match the deep, articulate, accurate bass, sounded a bit congested or artificially lean in the midrange or lacked the ultimate smoothness of the upper frequency range, the Sasha does not seem to be plagued by any of those traits.

Then it also has to all come together in a seamless, coherent way. This is where the Wilson are almost always light years ahead of many other speakers, as they put much effort into that from non-resonant cabinet design to super quality crossovers with time and phase coherence second to none. The notes leap out of the Wilson speakers and create the illusion of the instruments being in the room with you in the most impressive way. Focus, imaging, depth and width of soundstage have always been the strong points of Wilson speakers.

The Sasha is not a cheap speaker but it is worth the price of admission. If the budget doesn't allow for the price of the Sasha, the Sophia II is there to please at a more affordable price and much of the performance of Sasha minus some things here and there.

Jerry, in terms of Amati's, if you tend to listen to the type of music that would fall into the realm and strong point of the Sonus Faber speakers, it may be the one and only speaker for you. They are made "by romantics for romantics" with Italian flair and passion. There is hardly a reason to look elsewhere. Dave Wilson doesn't build speakers that would cater to any particular flavor. They are more neutral, more resolving, more impressive and dare I even say "musical enough" now.

To sum it up, when I listen to acoustic guitars, violins, cello, etc... the Wilson speakers make me happy, the Sonus Fabers used to overwhelm me with emotional response. When I listen to anything else, the Sonus Faber speakers made me happy, the Wilson speakers give me goosebumps!

Choose wisely my friend.

Kamsa Hamnida!!!

Terima Kaseh !!!