Saying Hello / Purchase Sophia III or Sasha Speakers?

[rogueaudiodude]

Hello,

I am new to this forum; I stumbled upon it while surfing the internet trying to find information about Wilson Audio speakers. This is a very good find indeed!

I am interested in purchasing a pair of Wilson Audio speakers and would like to solicit your opinions.

Here is a list of my current gear:

Rogue Audio Apollo Monoblocks
Rougue Audio Hera II Preamp
Jolida JD100 Tube CD Player
Wilson Audio Sophia II Speakers

I am interested in purchasing another pair of Wilson Audio speakers and was wondering if I should get the Sophia III's or a pair of the Sasha's.

I tried searching the posts (via this website) to see if I could find anything posted about the Rogue Audio Apollo monoblocks but was not successful. Actually, I do not see much information about them in that many websites.

I am curious to read your recommendations about the choice of speakers (and reasons).

Thanks in advance!

[chessman]

Hi Rogueaudiodude! Welcome aboard. Search for PHC1's threads regarding Sasha v. Sophia 3. I have to believe MC501's would handle Sophia 3's easily. There has been some talk of an impeadence dip in Sasha's and a need for an amp that could handle it, but I will let the technically proficient guys talk about that.

[Masterlu]

Rogueaudiodude Welcome to AA!

[cmalak]

Welcome Rogueaudiodude

[jdandy]

Rogueaudiodude.......Welcome to Audio Aficionado. Great to see the red SUBSCRIBER banner right from the get-go.

[TMcD]

Originally Posted by jdandy

Rogueaudiodude.......Welcome to Audio Aficionado. Great to see the red SUBSCRIBER banner right from the get-go.

That's commitment. I like that.

[daveneumann]

Welcome Rogueaudiodude. I have owned much Rogue Audio gear over the years and think their stuff is really good plus Mark O and Mark W can't be beat when it comes to service. They used to modify a lot of gear for me and always did an excellent job.

When I first bought my Sashas I had a MC402 and C2300. My room is on the large side at 20 X 36 X 9 and the 402 had no problem driving the Sashas to well over 95db as measured at the listening seat. As I recall, the meters rarely went past 40 watts.

So I assume the 501's would be more than sufficient for either the Sophia III or the Sashas. It's not so much the wattage that is important as the current and the Mac amps put out a lot of current and are stable into low impedance dips with their autoformer design.

While I really liked the Mac + Wilson combo, after auditioning several other amps it became clear that in my system and for my listening preferences the Mac amp sounded a little veiled in the midrange and rolled off in the bass and treble. So you might just try to audition the Sophia IIIs or Sashas with both your Mac amps and your Rogue amps. You might actually prefer the tube amps with either speaker.

Regards.

[rogueaudiodude]

Thanks to all of you for such a warm reception!

I am reading up on PHC1's posts as advised.

[rogueaudiodude]

Originally Posted by daveneumann

Welcome Rogueaudiodude. I have owned much Rogue Audio gear over the years and think their stuff is really good plus Mark O and Mark W can't be beat when it comes to service. They used to modify a lot of gear for me and always did an excellent job.

When I first bought my Sashas I had a MC402 and C2300. My room is on the large side at 20 X 36 X 9 and the 402 had no problem driving the Sashas to well over 95db as measured at the listening seat. As I recall, the meters rarely went past 40 watts.

So I assume the 501's would be more than sufficient for either the Sophia III or the Sashas. It's not so much the wattage that is important as the current and the Mac amps put out a lot of current and are stable into low impedance dips with their autoformer design.

While I really liked the Mac + Wilson combo, after auditioning several other amps it became clear that in my system and for my listening preferences the Mac amp sounded a little veiled in the midrange and rolled off in the bass and treble. So you might just try to audition the Sophia IIIs or Sashas with both your Mac amps and your Rogue amps. You might actually prefer the tube amps with either speaker.

Regards.

Hi Dave,

Thanks for the insight. I actually came into the Rogue product line via the 2010 CES. I was walking around and met Mark O. We were simply talking in general and I asked him about his products. I had no idea that he was the owner, nor did he ever say he was the owner. Mark walked me to the Rogue room and I was in total awe with the sound I was hearing in this room.

To make a long story short, I told him that I wanted to buy this system (Hera II preamp, Apollo monoblocks and Wilson Sophia II's.). He helped me locate local dealers in my city that carried Rogue and Wilson products. Mark never told me he was the owner until he was on the phone arranging the sale and distribution of the Rogue gear with my local Rogue Audio dealer.

I love the sound that comes from my Rogue gear. Mark has recommended different signal tubes for the amps to fill my listening room (17'w x 20'd x 18' h). After rolling some NOS Telefunken 12AX7 and 12AU7 tubes in, the bass was noticeably tighter, the mids and highs sounded much better compared to the sound that was coming from the stock EH tubes.

My goal is to move the Sophia II's to the Mc room and connect the new Wilson speakers to the Rogue gear.

Tube gear and the Sophia II's are a magical combination.

I am currently awaiting a response from Mark regarding the impedance of the Sasha's. If there are no concerns with the Sasha impedance...

[80B]

Rogueaudiodude, welcome! When you've got the requisite number of posts, show us pictures of your system. Enjoy.