Avalon Acoustics vs Wilson Audio

I am sorry, I was refering to the new B&W 802 Diamond above, not the previous 802D model.

I do not own or live with the Wilson's but the recent crop of their "entry level" speakers, at least as I heard set up by Peter McGrath, did not sound fatiguing at all. Funny I thought voices were particularly convincing. Having heard previous generations, this was a surprise to me because I had dismissed Wilsons as somewhere between sterile to accurate to overly aggressive sounding depending on the material and system they were matched with. Musical was not a term I would have used, while this is a term I would have use to describe the larger B&W 800 series and Avalon speakers I have listened to. My opinion about the newer Wilsons is not unique, but Madfloyd listens to these speakers a lot more than me, and it is certainly easier to develop a valid opinion over months and years than in a short audition.

I listened to the Wilson Sophia 3 and the Sasha along with the Avalon Indra and Isis at the same showroom last week.

Since I have been a Magnepan owner for the last 25 years and am about to audition both the 3.7 and 20.7 I wanted to listen to the new breed of dynamic speakers.

Most of us Maggie fans know the downs that you get with the wonderful sound stage, quickness etc, and in my system I bi-amp with matching Audio Research D400s with a LS17 Pre and Marantz SACD. Also use a pair of Velodynes 12 inch powered subs. The system list is just so you know it wasn't a pure. "speaker to speaker" comparison and my sound preferences.

I completely understand the appeal of Wilsons, but because of my preferences would not swap even my current set up for either model. They seems a bit too analytical for my taste, but again the things that others love such as pinpoint imaging are there in abundance with Wilson's.

The Avalons sounded more "musical" to me but the Indra lacked some weight and authority. The Isis sounded wonderful and would love to have them but even the demo model was 58k and that is just too far above my comfort zone.

This is all a long winded way to say that as a "panel guy" I think the Avalons are a better speaker for the sound I prefer but the Wilson has the attributes many will simply love.

Given the price points, the Maggie's ( 5600 for 3.7/14000 for 20.7) seem like a steal but we will see if I still hold that opinion after auditioning.

I also prefer Avalons over Wilsons in general. Though with the right equipment matching either can sound good. The Avalons seem to be more involving.

Avalon Indra - Fell in love with it immediately with jazz vocals. When I popped in The Prodigy.... That love dissipated. Where's the speed and pace?
Wilson Sasha - Very involving piece. Seems to sound very humanly - like everything comes with an extra layer of flesh. Very very good. But after prolonged listening, I thought there is a polarized layer added to the music in that it impacts certain familiar character to music. Warm?
Wilson Sophia 3 - Auditioned right after the Sasha. First impression screamed "Hifi-ish".... But will be well liked by most audiophiles.

So Wilson Sasha will be my choice. Sorry haven't heard the other Avalons.

I love both brands Avalon & Wilson and have owned both but if you like dynamics and let's face it we all like to play music loud sometimes don't we? It's Wilson Audio for me everytime!!!