Searching for new speakers: Wilson, B&W, ??

Hi Vdosc,

My experience is that with almost al speakers (priced for mortals) a subwoofer is mandatory in order to have good bass when listening at low levels. Luckily you have a sub already. Also, often floorstanders need to be cracked up a bit in order to open up (I talk here about midrange and high frequencies). Thus, IMO for listen sessions at low levels one is better off with a pair of good monitors and a sub than with a floorstander.

Regarding your question, i.e. B&W vs. Wilson, the Sophias are much better speakers than the B&W models you've considered. Also, being more dynamic than the B&Ws, the Sophia will most likely play better at lower volumes.

Good luck and keep us posted!

Happy new year to everyone!
Paul

Sophia 3 or Sasha. Great speakers.

The sophias will provide better bass at lower volumes than most high end speakers on the market today. Plus the Sophias excel at just about every aspect of musical expresion. I see no downside to Sophias based on Vdose's needs.

Larry, don't worry. No trap here. Just glad to hear a civil comment about the B&W's. Yes I own a pair of the "infamous" 802D's. I also have heard the midrange coloration you have heard, but I found out that experimenting with different interconnects seemed to tame that a bit. Seems like some of the regulars in this forum have a very strong feeling about their loudspeakers of choice. I've been in this hobby for forty years now and by what I have read about audio, I still have alot to learn. I recently went to a highend store in the mid-west. Listened to Wilsons both Sasha and Sophia 3's, Spendors, and Vandersteen 5A Carbons, only to have them all obliterated by a Pair of Magnaplanar 3.7's with a Rel Gibraltor 2 sub woofer. My point is how do you make a rational choice and feel you have not wasted your money on the wrong product? This is especially true for guys like me with limited funds. Anyway, thanks for the resonse.

Mr_m,
We can all agree to disagree when it comes to loudspeakers...thanks for reading with a neutral eye.
I suppose, I've always 'liked' the British sound, but don't hear it, per se, in the B&W's, in the same way as the older Brit products...Spendors, et al.
They're pleasant...colored, to my humble old ears, but colored nonetheless--BUT a color I could live with...again, the B&W, not so much.
The shocking thing here was...comparing them to the 'ML's a very neutral (throughout much of the spectrum) speaker.
We could discuss the midbass/bass blend and such...but to me, minor niggles. ML made a good product and they were good people to boot.

Great hobby...you keep on loving it...I will...

Good listening,
Larry