To the original poster's question, my answer is yes I have heard the Sasha sound ragged, bright, and lack coherence. It was in my system when I made the mistake of stacking a dac we were trying out on top of my phono stage. Vinyl sounded the worst I have heard it in my system, and my two listening buddies also commented on how bad it sounded. It took me quite a while to figure out what had happened.
Removed the dac (and turned off all digital sources) and back to great sound.
The lesson for me is that Sashas won't mask system issues upstream. If something is amiss, you'll know.
And to Mechans' point about Wilson owners being able to afford appropriate electronics -- at least in my case, I didn't get there overnight. In fact it has taken me the entire 2.5 years I have owned my Sashas to acheive the best sound, through trial and error on associated electronics and set up. The journey has been worth it, but I am at least one example of someone who had to work his way there over time. |
I think it is kind of silly to think that a person who can afford a Wilson speaker can't afford very good electronics. It just doesn't make sense. It is possible but improbable, so calm down.
The speaker like most speakers has to be optimized when installed. It needs good room characteristic, needs good cables, needs good electronics and so. It seems to me every speaker needs this kind of attention to sound their best, and to be frank creating a high fidelity system is what makes this hobby fun. |
08-23-12: Stanwal
"It does not look like the Alexia will be a viable alternative to the Sasha unless the price is much cheaper here than in England. The price over there is suppose to be 200,000 pounds; or $300,000 or more depending on conversion rate. May be a great speaker but looks like it will be in a totally different price class, i.e. 10x as much..."
< Hi Stanwal, were you referring to Alexandria XLF? Or, if Alexia, 20k/30k pounds perhaps? |
If you don't have really good electronics you will never know how good the Sasha are. They are a very difficult load and many amps just are not up to driving them. I have heard my friends with different amps and the differences were striking; and these were all quite expensive amps. The sound qualities of preamps and phono stages were also very obvious. |
Sorry guys but I disagree.
While speaker like Sasha deserve top of the line electronics, they will sing like angels also with electronics costing significantly less than their speakers. I have heard the Sashas paired with Cyrus electronics (a narrow wooded rack filled with components) at two different shows (once in Belgium and once in The Netherlands) and every time the sound was very very good, i.e. not the best in the show but certainly in the first 5-10 systems at each show.
I am sure that other here have read, seen, or heard stories about Wilson demonstrating some of their speakers with lesser electronics, viz. to show: 1) how amazing their speakers are, 2) what is actually important in a stereo set (i.e. speakers and their placement in a room). |
When I initially bought my Sashas I had a hard time getting them to sound good but it turned out that my basement space (most likely my ceiling height of 7.5') was the culprit; once I moved them upstairs into another room they were like totally different speakers. They sing now...
I will agree that for best results the electronics need to be top notch or these speakers will let you know. |
with regards to this Alexia model being released, i have been wondering for the longest time when the W/P was going to offer an 8 and a 10 inch woofer array. AND NOW with the new tweeter the vision is complete. But at $50,000, it is a shame this speaker isn't priced below $30K with the Sasha in the low 20's.
I guess it's cabinet materials (or whatever) that keeps the pricing at least 25% higher than one might want. |
It does not look like the Alexia will be a viable alternative to the Sasha unless the price is much cheaper here than in England. The price over there is suppose to be 200,000 pounds; or $300,000 or more depending on conversion rate. May be a great speaker but looks like it will be in a totally different price class, i.e. 10x as much. A friend has the Sasha and they are very good but are very demanding of associated gear. |
I got good feedbacks, that's why it's worth posting in audiogon. I tried listening to sasha in Hongkong audio show recently but people come and go, so it was hard for me to appreciate the clarity of sasha. Last night, I had the chance to listen to a brand new one in an audio room. It sounds great but a lot of serious things have to be done like proper positioning, right cables and of course the power amp that will match a good speaker. I guess I have to wait for a while until Alexia is out in the market . . . hope I can get a good deal. Thanks for all the info. |
I'll preface my statement with I've been a Wilson Audio fan since the release of the Wilson Sophia 2s. The Sasha's are the best speaker that I've ever owned. They are dynamic, smooth, and chameleon like. Sasha's have an ability to disappear and let music float in air. I submit they can be difficult to set-up and electronics/system integration is crucial. Everyone doesn't prefer the Wilson sound and at this price I encourage you to listen to as many speakers within a given price as you can...Rockport, Magico, and YG are just a couple that come to mind. The bottom line is let your ears decide. |
I think peterayer is correct, there will be a glut of used sahsa's showing up shortly.Although I am biased, you may want to check out the rockports if you're going to drop that kind of coin. |
If you plan to buy a new pair of Sashas, you may want to wait until late Fall. Wilson will be releasing a new speaker just above the Sasha called the Alexia. There may be a few more used Sashas hitting the market by then and they should be in excellent condition. You may not have the benefit of a dealer setting it up for you, but you could save lots of money and still hire a professional to set them up.
I have heard them sound very good at shows, but also very mediocre. Same at a dealership and in a friend's home. I think amplification and cables are very important. The tweeter can be a bit strident, and the bass can be a bit boomy, in other words, not a very coherent and balanced sound, but if they are set up properly, I've heard them sound excellent. |
I have heard them recently at 2 different demos. One shop was hosting Wilson and a cable I don't remember. The second was at different shop which was promoting JL subwoofers.
I was very impressed to put it ,ildly and I tend to be a negativistic skeptic most of the time. The electronics in both cases were high end, SS Ayre and McIntosh. The imaging, as mentioned was astonishing, the detail very fine, and even without the sub they covered all frequencies especially the mid and low bass admirably, Even the Mac which I generally don't love sounded great with these speakers, and the Ayres sounded stupendous even with the old metal tweeters. It will be a very special fabric dome indeed, if it is going to match the current speaker's treble.
As mentioned already these speakers are very expensive and a serious investment for mere mortals. Check them out in persoin -who knows maybe the silk tweeter has negatively impacted the sound.,
There is a good reason that this expensive brand flourishes and isn't letting up in their goal of perfection. I own JM Focals BTW and would have a difficult time if I had to choose between a Utopia and a Wilson. |
At this level and price you should go somewhere to audition the speakers at length. bring some music with you with brass, sopranos, cymbal crashes, etc. to evaluate the tweeters.
perhaps Wilson Audio is considering replacing their metal tweeters with the latest soft-dome variety. the Duettes at the low end and the new XLF speakers both have some version of soft-dome tweeters.
the reviews of the Sasha have been very enthusiastic, but for some, Wilson speakers are NOT well thought of. My last audition closest to the Sashas were the W/P-7's. The imaging was amazing, the bass was all i could have wanted,
and the overall definition and resolution of instruments was beyond reproach IMO. i love a speaker that punches way above it's size class.
Still another problem with Wilson's are that they could sound very different after you set them up at home. they need to be positioned just right in a room with acoustics that complement the speakers. the literature that comes with the speakers help in this regard, but many people have the point-guy at the store where they bought them come over and do this for you. |
