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Musician vs. audiophile

We need direction here. My wife, a musician and says my Sophia 3s, powered by BAT 3VK IX tube pre amp and 250w solid state amp sounds flat compared to a freaking Best Buy box store McIntosh/Martin Logan setup...  I can't honestly disagree, specifically when our rig is at low volume.  It lacks color and punch, even with 2ea. JL 12" subs... Help me with your recommendation, please!!!      
repeter
charles1dad's avatar
charles1dad
10,250 posts
 
Musicians comprise a fairly large and diverse group of people and there will certainly be marked differences of their listening impressions. To suggest that not a single musician would find the Wilson good sounding is an obvious exaggeration to make a point. I’m sure somewhere a musician(s) is enjoying the Wilson speakers.
Charles
uberwaltz's avatar
uberwaltz
13,381 posts
 
I would like the op to chime back in if possible with a bit more information like type and model of source, are the room sizes and types of the 2 different systems remotely comparable etc etc.
jnorris2005
185 posts
 
Having purchased the Martin Logan ESL from BestBuy, and having listened to all of the other box speakers there from B & W, Definitive Technology and Martin Logan themselves, and also having been listening to box speakers for 40 years by the likes of Advent, Genesis Physics, Infinity and Mission, I can state unequivocally that the ML's imaging, dynamics and tonality far exceed any produced by a driver in a box.  I totally get the OP's wife's opinion.
keithtexas
352 posts
 

Do not know what your source is but it may be a little lacking or processed.  Some folks are beginning to recognize the musicality of well implemented non oversampling DACs - saying that even the best delta sigma dac implementation(s) sound less natural. Think Schitt
Yggdrasil, Audio GD-7, MDHT Pagoda, Denafrips Terminator, AMR 77 SE, etc.  Second I would look at tube amp(s) and/or upgrading your preamp to something like a deHavilland or Dan Sachs.  Finally, maybe what your wife is missing is something more dynamic and "wide open" - like open baffle speakers (Spatial Audio M3 Triode Master, GR-Research Super V), Magnepan, or even high efficiency horns. If you generally like the sound of the Wilsons, though, I would look at the source first, then the amplification. 

djohnson54
396 posts
 
@uberwaltz touched on this but I didn't see it discussed in any of the previous posts (although I could have missed it).  It sounds like you heard the McIntosh/Martin Logan setup in the store - not in the same room as the BAT/Wilson system.  Could the problem be your room?
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