Max II

[Ricjor1]

I have been contemplating going from Sophia IIIs to Maxx IIs. Prior to making the decision I would like to know how hard Maxx IIs are to drive?

[Ricjor1]

I should rephrase my question. Which is the better upgrade from Sophia 3s, Maxx 2s or Sashas? Because I can't compare Maxx2s to Sashas in the same system, I would appreciate any advice.

[TommyC]

How big is your room and what gears are you using?
Also, what kind of music do you listen to?
More information is welcome

[daveneumann]

It might be helpful for folks to respond if you tell us what you hope to improve over your Sophia III's. Why are you wanting to upgrade and what are you looking to accomplish with your next pair of speakers?

Also, how large is your listening room and what is your associated gear? That, too, should be taken into account in any speaker recommendations.

[trponhunter]

The sasha will be the most resolved of the three. I would assume the Sophia 3 may also more resolved than the maxx2- but the maxx2 can seriously boogie. Depends a bit on what you want to do- but I would narrow it down to maxx2 or Sasha- with Sasha clearly being the most technically correct and best of the three. You'll also get noticeably better imaging out of sasha, due to a lot less diffraction form the big head units of the maxx. The maxx will delicately mov a lot of air and an play large scale symphonic music at live levels without strain- something that the others will struggle with.

[Ricjor1]

My room is 21' x 26' My system:Rega Apollo CD Player, Densen B-250 Preamplifier,
Densen B-350 mono-amps, Silver Audio Symphony 48 Speaker cable,
Silver Audio Jet Stream and Appassionata Interconnect, Audio Research DAC-7 DA converter. I recall listening to the Sashas and I thought they just sounded more natural than the Sophia IIIs(same system), sound-stage a little higher, and better imaging. I didn't have the money for Sashas, so I choose Sophia IIIs and upgraded my entire system. Now, I want opinions on the better value, because I can't listen to both speakers in the same system. I listen to all forms of Jazz, but mostly fusion and contemporary Jazz.

[trponhunter]

Sasha

[jpgr4blu]

I had same choice to make. Sasha in all respects (of which there are many) except bottom end slam and slightly heightened soundstage. Sasha excels at transparency, color, texture, depth of field and cohesion. My thought was that Sasha was easily a better overall speaker. I still feel the same way. Sasha does require more current to flesh out the low end however.

[Ricjor1]

Thanks for all the feedback. How much in terms of cost will it take to get the full potential out of the Sasha's?

[jpgr4blu]

Think minimum 100 watts and better with 250 and up. As to cost, so much depends on your musical preferences (e.g. mellow and rich sounding tubes/ tubes that sound closer to solid state/ solid state with more texture/fast solid state with mor leading edge). You should expect to spend a minimum of 7 to 8K and up for amp and pre. As in all things, stuff tend to get better with more $.