B&W 802D vs. Sophia and

Jppenn, at the likely risk of being ridiculed by Judy..thank you for a well written, helpful and informative description of your comparision.

Not sure if you made your decision yet - but I was in the same boat and went through a similair process. I was dead set on the Sophias, but after going back and forth between the two I ended up with the 802D, and have never regretted it. The Sophia was just too cold, the 802d is real, alive, sounds like music. Good luck with your choice... I was comparing the two with Accuphase CDP and Krell EVO and Accuphase amp.

That is strange to say at least. My expirience is quite the opposite. I have heard the Sophias 2 and B&W 800D (so a much more expensive model than 802Ds you are describing) in the same room, driven by the same electronics (ARC & Nagra), and to me there was no contest - Sophias were much more natural and real sounding. The B&W sounded oh so colored - both in the midrange (the infameous kevlar "quack") and in the bass. When we swithed to B&Ws after listening for a good while to the Sophias - we looked at each other and literally started laughing ! Long story short - I ended up getting a Sophias.

My dad listened to both, really liked the Sophia but instead bought the Vandersteen Wood Quatro.....beats them both IMO. The Quatro has much better bass than Sophia, and is much warmer than BW it is also easy to integrate in any room with bass tuning 11 band EQ...these speakers are good enough that my dad decided against the 12month 100% credit towards 5A...they are that good. $11,400 with inline filters.

I decided on, and purchased, the Wilson Audio Sophia, after extended-listening to the B&W 802D, Krell Res.2, Revel Studio and Focal 1037Be. The Wilson sounded beautiful, regardless of electronics or room. The other Speakers may have excelled in certain specific areas, but the Wilsons have a more-balanced and integrated sound. Also, the finish is just superb, and gorgeous in Diamond Black. They look more like Art, than conventional Speakers.
Higly recommended!