Wilson Sophia IIIs

[Still-One]

Originally Posted by Sharp 1080

Nothing particular I've owned Transparent in the past in my previous systems and enjoyed it very much.Most cables are system dependent as we all know.

You are correct. Many carry one standard line and one "premium" line.

[PHC1]

I am sure Wilson and Rockport can afford to use any internal wiring they want for what they charge for their speakers and yet....

Dave Wilson insists on using transparent during demo's if at all possible from what I've been told. But before I even owned a pair of Wilson speakers, I tried a pair of lower end transparent IC's based one the recommendation of someone who's opinion and ears I trust and I was very impressed with what I've heard. I am no noob when it comes to cables, I've either owned, auditioned or heard elsewhere the majority of the better known cables. Having the cable company close by and being able to borrow cables from their cable library also helps. Comparing Transparent to others was lets say educational and eye opening, at least for me.

True that most cables will react differently in most systems but cables utilizing network boxes such as MIT and Transparent have more of a house sound than most. Whether one likes it or not is a different story as usual. Of course I am a bit biased since I used Transparent to wire my whole house, use it in my theater and will use it in 2 channel room as well.

[JSCC]

Well, I recommend TRANSPARENT as I was then doing it, "as Serge put it, just for laughs". And using the not so expensive "entry level ones" that costs barely S$250 here. I wanted to try as I had used the then top Cardas Golden Reference (from power to cabings - connectors and speakers) as well as Argento's then Serenity Master Reference (cost an arm and a few hairs ... ). Seriously, its almost just as good. The difference is the $$$$$ between them - 3 figures vs high 4's. Imagine if one was to do the higher ones?

Because of this, I got a little disillusioned with myself on cables and when Meridian came into my life, I sort of embraced the standard OEM issued, one for the savings as I do not need to buy cables anymore and second, to avoid the many controversies I might be indulging into arguing with myself because I wanted to "hear the difference".

If I am able to re-do and re-build a system from scratch, I will definitely use Transparent, all the way. I am not saying I can afford to for the Opus MM stuff, but to the point I think I can well afford not to change anymore.

I apologise if I arouse some discussions here and hope this is in all friendly form. Seriously, I cant quantify my findings as it just sound that much smoother and pleasant, and the build is somehow, to my opinion, better. For a start, I like the way the speaker spades and connectors and the little shaped box like thing along the cable. Very Nice!

Cheers!

[Elberoth]

Originally Posted by Still-One

Contrary to what some may believe there is no best cable or best speaker or best component out there.

I agree with Jim.

I would also add, that cable choice depends as much on the speakers, as electronics you use and your taste. So ther is no 'best cable for Sophia 3', because that will change depending on the gear you choose. The cable which will work best with say Conrad Johnson, will not necesarly work well with SimAudio or Boulder.

It all depends on the system synergy/balance, and the sound you are looking for.

Presonally, I would not limit myself to Transparent cables, but rather try to audition many different brands.

[Cellindo]

For something relatively cheap but still very good, you could try DHLabs. (Q10 Signature)

For reaching an upper level, NIRVANA or TRANSPARENT both worth a try.

Tip: leave the cables in place for 48hrs at least before issuing a conclusion. The mean of measurement is: do you enjoy more or less listening to the music you usually like with the brands X/Y/Z. All the rest doesn't matter to my opinion.

[Ricjor1]

I appreciate everyone’s input, because with more than any other “component”, I find distinguishing between cables the most tedious and in my experience most difficult to hear significant differences. I just wanted a few suggestions on where to start. My plan is to listen to several different cables and let the chips fall where they may.

[cmalak]

Ricjor1...what is your associated gear with the Sophia 3s? Do you find there is anything in the current combination that is lacking or that you would like to address? Ideally, you do not want to use cabling as a means of tone control to address a mismatch upstream from the cables, nonetheless, you can certainly try to see what best matches the needs of your system in its current configuration as others have said above. I would suggest generating a short list of cable candidates and constructing a loom (ICs, SCs, and PCs) from the same family for best synergy (at the very least ICs and SCs) and use the Cable Company's loan library to test out several different alternatives. Also, I find trying to do quick successive A/B comparisons with cabling to be less informative than just living with a loom for 1 week at a time with daily critical listening to put together a sonic picture of what that family of cables is doing in your system. Just my 2cs worth.

[Ricjor1]

cmalak
My system: Densen B-350 mono-amps, Densen B-250 preamp, Rega Apollo as source, Shunyata and PS Audio power cords, Clear Day Double Shotgun speaker cable(8'), and Kimber Hero inter-connect(1m).
I can't say that I'm lacking anything, but I'm curious to see if I'm getting all that I can out of Sophia IIIs. I submit possible improvement can come from changing the source and cables. I decided to start with cables.

[TMcD]

I have to agree with Transparent, I am using a a set of Reference with my Sophia 3s, very smooth and detailed and from everything I have heard a great match with Wilson. I demoed a set of Ultra which were significantly less less expensive than I had, but did sound much better. I would have been very happy with them, but with their trade in program the jump up to the Reference was not too much. The packaging and presentation of the product is excellent which is really nice when you are paying a lot of money for something. You can tell they take pride in what they do.

[cmalak]

Ricjor1...I understand what you're trying to do. I would suggest that you can certainly get better sound with the first step of making your cabling (interconnects, speaker cables, and power chords) all from the same manufacturer (and preferably at the same level of performance). So for example, if you were to go all Kimber (8TC for speaker cable, Hero for interconnects, and PK14 for power chords or if you want try one level up from there in the Kimber line), you will get a more seamless and integrated sound from your system. You can do the same with Transparent, Wireworld, or any other cable line mentioned here and you ought to get a bump up in performance. That's why the cable lending library at The Cable Company is the way to go because you will be able to put together whole sets of cable looms at equivalent levels of performance and audition them in your system. Good luck.