A very subjective review of Wilson Sabrina Speakers (as compared to B&W 803D3s)

[bart]

Originally Posted by Slange00

@bart , alas I already had paid for the 804d2s prior to my listening experience , but the dealer will honor full trade in value of the 804d2s toward a future Sabrina purchase...

Thank God!

[djwhog]

Very nice comparison and write up.

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[djwhog]

Ps there are a pair for sale for a great price and an AA member

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[Slange00]

Thank you djwhog, appreciate the pointer to the AA member Sabrina offer, that is indeed a great price. I will probably go for new and a different color choice. I would otherwise have to deal with the hassle of selling the 804d2s I just purchased from the dealer and would not have the compelling financing deal available that my dealer has offered to incentivize this move.
Cheers

[joey_v]

Originally Posted by Volks

Hi Joey.......I am really trying to understand exactly what in your own words you mean by "Euphonic" and how it relates to the Sabrina's?

Pleasing.

[Deckard]

Originally Posted by Slange00

Thank you djwhog, appreciate the pointer to the AA member Sabrina offer, that is indeed a great price. I will probably go for new and a different color choice. I would otherwise have to deal with the hassle of selling the 804d2s I just purchased from the dealer and would not have the compelling financing deal available that my dealer has offered to incentivize this move.
Cheers

I had pretty much the same experience, and also being in Seattle I know we've dealt with the same dealer.

I upgraded from B&W 805 Diamonds to 804 Diamonds last May and thought I was happy. Then I happened to hear the 803 D3 casually while at the dealer and knew this was no trivial upgrade of the line. I arranged a more in depth demo, and the dealer suggested I hear the Sabrina as well. I brought a couple of friends along whose ears I trust, and we spent close to 3 hours listening to a combination of classical, jazz and rock on a setup close enough to mine as to make no difference. A Classe CP-800 with phono card (my pre-processor is a Classe Sigma SSP with phono card), Classe Sigma AMP5, Rega RP6 with Exact2 MM cartridge.

I considered myself a dyed-in-the-wool B&W fan, and really, really expected the 803 D3 to be my choice. In the end, though, my friends confirmed my impression and it matches yours: While both speakers are excellent, the 803 is a wonderful, revealing speaker but the Sabrina just gets out of the way and lets the music wash over you. As one of my friends commented - with the Sabrina you forget there's a speaker there.

I arranged for an in-home demo about a month ago, and after my dealer spent a couple hours setting the Sabrina's up I knew within the hour that I would be buying them (of course, I still took advantage of having them from Friday through Monday). I went back into the dealer the following Friday (appearing to take my time considering this expensive purchase for appearance's sake) and placed my order for a pair in Titan Red. They arrived about a week ago, and I couldn't be happier with the purchase. Fantastic speaker!

Like you, I took advantage of the fact that the dealer applies full retail credit to any speaker if you upgrade to a speaker at least twice the cost within a year of purchase. What I didn't expect is that this includes the sales tax, which for a $16,000 speaker is not a trivial amount!

If you haven't pulled the trigger yet, do it! I just get a smile on my face every time I sit down and listen to just about anything.

[Slange00]

Originally Posted by Deckard

I had pretty much the same experience, and also being in Seattle I know we've dealt with the same dealer.

I upgraded from B&W 805 Diamonds to 804 Diamonds last May and thought I was happy. Then I happened to hear the 803 D3 casually while at the dealer and knew this was no trivial upgrade of the line. I arranged a more in depth demo, and the dealer suggested I hear the Sabrina as well. I brought a couple of friends along whose ears I trust, and we spent close to 3 hours listening to a combination of classical, jazz and rock on a setup close enough to mine as to make no difference. A Classe CP-800 with phono card (my pre-processor is a Classe Sigma SSP with phono card), Classe Sigma AMP5, Rega RP6 with Exact2 MM cartridge.

I considered myself a dyed-in-the-wool B&W fan, and really, really expected the 803 D3 to be my choice. In the end, though, my friends confirmed my impression and it matches yours: While both speakers are excellent, the 803 is a wonderful, revealing speaker but the Sabrina just gets out of the way and lets the music wash over you. As one of my friends commented - with the Sabrina you forget there's a speaker there.

I arranged for an in-home demo about a month ago, and after my dealer spent a couple hours setting the Sabrina's up I knew within the hour that I would be buying them (of course, I still took advantage of having them from Friday through Monday). I went back into the dealer the following Friday (appearing to take my time considering this expensive purchase for appearance's sake) and placed my order for a pair in Titan Red. They arrived about a week ago, and I couldn't be happier with the purchase. Fantastic speaker!

Like you, I took advantage of the fact that the dealer applies full retail credit to any speaker if you upgrade to a speaker at least twice the cost within a year of purchase. What I didn't expect is that this includes the sales tax, which for a $16,000 speaker is not a trivial amount!

If you haven't pulled the trigger yet, do it! I just get a smile on my face every time I sit down and listen to just about anything.

Thanks for the in-depth response and mini-review Deckard - much appreciated! Looks like we have had very similar speaker journeys - from 805Ds to 804Ds to considering the 803s and instead selecting the Sabrina speakers! I spent several more hours with these speakers at the dealer and ended up ordering my pair - I am hoping they will arrive this coming week or the week after. Good to know there is a small Seattle based Sabrina posse in the making... Happy to trade notes and experiences as we each go through our Wildon Sabrina journey...

[Kelvinz]

I'm going through a similar journey as well. Will be selling my 805Ns and moving to something newer. Thanks for your impressions.

[Masterlu]

Kelvinz... Welcome to AA!

[Kelvinz]

Originally Posted by Masterlu

Kelvinz... Welcome to AA!

Thank you ! I stopped by Definitive in Bellevue and listened to both the 803d3 and the Wilsons.

My impressions are very similar to yours the Wilson were very musical a cohesive wall of sound a little warmer, darker, and slower than the 803. The 803 was a bit more precise and fast but it truly is hard choice. I'm going to go back and listen more next weekend but have told them to let me know if any used pairs come in of either !