Speaker upgrade question - Wilson vs Focal

Gentlemen, let's please keep it civil. You are both entitled to your opinion, but let's keep insults and unnecessary jabs to a minimum. It is juvenile and we are better than that.  

Now, I can agree with @RIAA the experience I had listening to the Sashas DAWs were very different compared to what GoChurchGo may have been heard. None of us have the same ears, so honestly speaking we do all hear differently and can have completely different preferences. Especially since we are no doubt not comparing the same music on the same sources.

For instance, I was listening to them on D'Agostinos and then on Mcintosh C2600/MC452, which I felt was a much better amp and preamp to use. I am not a huge fan of the ARC amps, and when I heard them before I was not impressed with how they drove the speakers. But that is my opinion. 

On that note, @GoChurchGo, might be worth listening to the Sashas again with a different amp/preamp just to see if it was the source and power that was not ideal. I am very surprised that your experience was so different compared to mine. 

Regardless, I appreciate the input from everyone, including negative feedback on particular brands, because that helps me think about the decision critically and not get swept away in emotion, or looks, or the opinion of the audio dealer, who has skin in the game. Thanks again, everyone. 

I’ve done extensive listening to Sasha DAW and it is an amazing speaker. In fact I’m ordering a pair next week. You will find so many people commenting on the Wilson sound but be careful because the DAW and the newer generation is a totally different animal. VERY smooth and detailed. Not the kind of detail that is bothersome but the kind that draws you in and captivates your soul. It is very neutral and can sound however you want it to depending on your equipment and cabling.  I was never a big fan of Wilson until the DAW now I can’t get enough. I guess I’ll have to bring them home.  Haven’t heard the focal but have been comparing the Rockports to the new Wilson’s.  Wilson builds a great speaker and is a great company. Good luck on your search

@mepstein10 Perhaps it was the wrong choice of amplification. You might be right. But I stand by what I heard. They also sell Mac, Naim (which were running some WAMMS in another room), Burmeister and Linn. So why that pairing is not a question I can answer.

I regret some disrespectful members took aim at my criticism in your thread. But again, I stand by my experience.

I hope you get a fantastic pair of speakers in whichever direction you choose to go.

g

@gochurchgo

You mentioned in your above post that they have Naim running some Wamms in another room. Were you referring to those giant flagship Wilson Wamm? Cause I don’t think there’s a single dealer that will have the Wilson Wamm on display for demo due to the price and size of these speakers. These are statement loudspeakers from Wilson Audio and are only made 50 pairs for the whole world. They retail for $685k per pair. The Wilson Wamms are cost-no-object or price-no-object design loudspeakers.

When you said the Naim driving the Wamms, were those the Naim Statement preamp & monoblock amps? I would imagine those must have been the Naim Statement gears driving the Wilson Wamm speakers if they were indeed the Wamm. Those Wilson Wamm deserve to be paired with something like the Naim Statement preamp & monoblock amps combo, which are also cost-no-object or price-no-object design preamp & amps. If they were indeed the Wilson Wamm driven by the Naim Statement preamp & monoblock amps, did you get to hear them? How did they perform? What front end source components did they use for the setup?

I myself happen to own the Naim Statement NAC S1 preamp & Naim Statement NAP S1 monoblock amps driving the Magico M6 speakers in my reference stereo setup/system. The Naim Statement gears are the absolute best and most musical sounding gears I’ve ever heard and owned, they are very very expensive but extraordinary, highly musically engaging and involving.
All Naim gears are spectacular.

I'm a big Naim fan. I also have the Naim Uniti Nova integrated in my bedroom setup running the Sonus Faber 1 bookshelf (standmount) speakers. The Naim Uniti Nova is basically a digital music streamer/DAC/integrated amp all in a single chassis. It is an all-in-one solution or a single box solution. All you need is a pair of speakers and speaker wires. 
The Uniti Nova comes equipped with built-in Tidal streaming app and is Roon ready. 

There’s hardly any Naim dealer in the world who would these Naim Statement preamp & monoblock amps on display for demo due to the cost or price of these Naim Statement preamp & amps. These are cost-no-object or price-no-object design gears and took almost 10 years in the designing and making of these Naim Statement products. I would imagine the Wilson Wamm / Naim Statement combo will provide the absolute best overall end sonic results and musicality period.