Sasha's vs. B&W diamonds

[crytklmass]

I auditioned Wilson Sasha's and B&W 800D today. CD player was wadia connected directly to Krell amps. NO premap or processor between them.
I own B&W and think there great speakers, but compared to the Sasha's well, the Sasha's win hands down. I couldn't believe my ears. The best explanation is the B&W sounded as if they were playing through a megaphone. The soundstage was condensed, smaller, fewer details. My jaw hit the floor.
I didn't hear this with my B&W's lol. at least I didnt think I did.
The Sasha's filled the entire room, all the instruments sounded authentic, some recordings may have sounded harsh to some becuase they played back ALL the sounds even some that may have been removed by a studio. But I embraced the sound, I prefer realistic sound reproduction. In a concert, you hear certain noises (singer breathing) and those were heard through the Wislons. The B&W soundstage a presence was much shallowers and smaller. more tear dropped sounding. Wilson has a winner with these speakers. Now I have to audition the Meridian tomorrow, then I'll be closer to making my final decision.

[TommyC]

***Deleted due to false information, sorry guys*** But I do like the look of B&W speakers better.

[crytklmass]

Have you listened to a side by side blind test between the Sasha and B&W 800d? There is a difference. Curious by you like the B&W 800d better, yet your purchased the Sonus Faber. I also audtioned these and they had a a completely different sound than B&W. May I ask why you shose SF instead of B&W?

[TommyC]

crytklmass... sorry I confused you. I like the "look" of B&W speakers better than Wilson. I didn't have a chance to listen to Wilson speakers.

I auditioned the 802D and Memento side by side. They are in same price range in Canada. The Memento imaged much better, this was and still is really important to me. Listening to The Fours Seasons, Memento shined through with a never fatiguing high and very smooth midrange. 802D's diamond midrange made big improvement over the older metal tweeter, but it was still too sharp for me. I wasn't able to sit through Summer (in Fours Seasons) without asking the dealer to turn it down. But one of the biggest deciding factor was Memento's size. The family didn't want huge speakers occupying the living room, so we picked the Memento. It has huge sound for its size. Also, Memento is easier to drive to full potential compared to 802D. I was warned that I need to upgrade to high power amps like the MC402 or 501s in order to enjoy the 802D. I didn't have to do that to enjoy the Memento.

To tell you the truth, I would have bought the 802D if I didn't audition the Memento. They are all great speakers for sure.

[80B]

crytklmass, are you auditioning for your stereo setup and keeping your current gear for the video setup? Everything I've heard about those Sashas is great. When we got the 802's last year, it was a very hard decision when compared to the Sophias. Looking forward to you keeping us up to date on your progress and impressions.

[crytklmass]

yes I am, in fact the sales person stated the sasha's would be a better choice for home theater becuase they fill the entire room with sound. Also the soundtracks on the movies would sound better when compared to the B&W. Im going back next week for a theater audition side by side sasha and B&W. Im also hoping the new MX-150 will be present. thats what there setting there home theater sytem up for. Already have a complete 7.1 system ready to go with projector. Cant wait to hear it. If the video sounds as good as the audio audition I think Ill be upgrading. Im not making an impulse purchase. Ill be auditioning meridian tomorrow. So im down to 3 choices. Ill keep you informed of my progress. Ill also be taking a wide assortment of cd's including ac/dc, korn, slipknot, classical- carl ornf and tchaikovsky 1812, enya, tori amos, yanni, metallica, judas priest, pink floyd, led zeppelin, ill run them through the ringer. moives: matrix, cars, star wars, etc. I plan on being there for a few hours.
Ill request the MX-150 if avail. if not, wadia player through Mc 2301 NOT the krells.
I think you made the correct choice, the B&W sounded better than the sophia's imo and the sophia appeared cheap. (sorry wilson) but the Sasha's are another story. Evne the Watt puppy 8's look cheap in comparison.

[gregswaim]

I generally like British speakers- monitor/bookshelf types. The B&W brand has never sounded right to me.
I've heard the Sasha's at my Linn dealer so I'm not surprised by your findings between the 2.
The only Wilson speakers that seem to sound right to me are the Duettes and the Sasha's, both of these models are worthy of serious consideration for any high end playback system.

[Still-One]

Originally Posted by crytklmass

I auditioned Wilson Sasha's and B&W 800D today. CD player was wadia connected directly to Krell amps. NO premap or processor between them.
I own B&W and think there great speakers, but compared to the Sasha's well, the Sasha's win hands down. I couldn't believe my ears. The best explanation is the B&W sounded as if they were playing through a megaphone. The soundstage was condensed, smaller, fewer details. My jaw hit the floor.
I didn't hear this with my B&W's lol. at least I didnt think I did.
The Sasha's filled the entire room, all the instruments sounded authentic, some recordings may have sounded harsh to some becuase they played back ALL the sounds even some that may have been removed by a studio. But I embraced the sound, I prefer realistic sound reproduction. In a concert, you hear certain noises (singer breathing) and those were heard through the Wislons. The B&W soundstage a presence was much shallowers and smaller. more tear dropped sounding. Wilson has a winner with these speakers. Now I have to audition the Meridian tomorrow, then I'll be closer to making my final decision.

I did listen thru the same system at the same store and I thought the 800's were much better than the Sasha's. The vocals were much more natural and the bass more musical but a bit more bloated than the Sasha's. The high end seemed to be missing from the Wilson's compared to the 800D's. Yes, the Wilson's seemed faster than the B&W's which I normally like but all in all the sound was more disjointed. Both systems image better than my own speakers but that is to be expected since the MBL's are omni-directional in the mids and highs.
Jim

[PHC1]

Originally Posted by crytklmass

I auditioned Wilson Sasha's and B&W 800D today. CD player was wadia connected directly to Krell amps. NO premap or processor between them.
I own B&W and think there great speakers, but compared to the Sasha's well, the Sasha's win hands down. I couldn't believe my ears. The best explanation is the B&W sounded as if they were playing through a megaphone. The soundstage was condensed, smaller, fewer details. My jaw hit the floor.
I didn't hear this with my B&W's lol. at least I didnt think I did.
The Sasha's filled the entire room, all the instruments sounded authentic, some recordings may have sounded harsh to some becuase they played back ALL the sounds even some that may have been removed by a studio. But I embraced the sound, I prefer realistic sound reproduction. In a concert, you hear certain noises (singer breathing) and those were heard through the Wislons. The B&W soundstage a presence was much shallowers and smaller. more tear dropped sounding. Wilson has a winner with these speakers. Now I have to audition the Meridian tomorrow, then I'll be closer to making my final decision.

I've spent quite a bit of time listening to the various B&W speakers over the years, including the 800D. I believe the current retail is $23k for the 800D vs $26k for Sasha so it is a very fair comparison.

While the Krell amps actually help the 800Ds in this comparison by having better control over the bottom end which can be overly ripe with many amps and 800D combo, the Krell would not be my first choice with the Sasha.

I've heard the Sasha with various amps, inlcuding Krell, Ayre MX-Rs and my own Lamm M1.2s. They do sound quite different with different amps driving them so the synergy of amp/Sasha is important.

The openness, dynamic liveliness and effortlessness, soundstage capabilities as well as imaging and focus persists with many amps/Sasha but Sasha will allow the more "musical amps" to shine through like very few speakers out there.

I've heard my own amps/preamp with the 2x more expensive Avalon Isis ($60k) speakers and the Sasha sounds much more natural, open and engaging with my amps.


The Krell/Sasha combo, imho, will "impress" but ultimately is not a very "musical" combo. The Ayre MX-R/Sasha and even more so, the Lamm M1.2/Sasha is a pairing that is very musical and engaging, sounding natural without a trace of harshness.

While the "extra sparkle" up top with the 800Ds is impressive at a first listen, ultimately the Sasha tweeter is more refined and more natural sounding of the two metal tweeters. It doesn't draw attention to itself like the 800Ds diamond tweeter and is more forgiving and smoother while giving up virtually nothing in either detail or extension.

The midrange is very impressive for both speakers and is a toss up depending on taste and what one "perceives" to be the more natural and neutral voicing.


The bass is obviously better with Sasha, not only reaching deeper (-3dB at 20Hz vs -6dB at 25Hz for the 800D) but is also more coherent, articulate and much better integrated/balanced. The Sasha is also much easier to position in most rooms to get a flatter bass response vs the 800Ds which can often sound bloated, thick and have peaks that are very audible.


While the 800D is great at imaging and throwing a spacious soundstage, the Sasha's ability to recreate a 3 dimensional acoustical space that exists on the recording is simply unmatched. The ambiance and air the Sasha creates completely allows one to peek into every corner of the space and "feel" the separation/layering of instruments front to back as well as side to side. The palpability factor of the images is also up there with the very best speakers.


Wait until the reviews of the Sasha start coming in. It is a very serious speaker that conveys the emotion of music to the last degree while treating you to a very realistic presentation and unforgettable listening sessions. I am simply in love with this speaker! Yes, $26k is not exactly chump change but in this case, it is completely worth it.

[TommyC]

Originally Posted by PHC1

I've spent quite a bit of time listening to the various B&W speakers over the years, including the 800D. I believe the current retail is $23k for the 800D vs $26k for Sasha so it is a very fair comparison.

Sorry I got the price mixed up with the 802D. Shasha's price is actually comparable to the 800D. My bad!