Upgrading from Wilson Sophia 2's?

Last week I listened to the most recent sophias and watt puppy sashas. I found the sophias brighter and fatiguing, and heard nothing fatiguing on the watt puppys on the same recordings. However, the sophias were driven by an ayre integrated, while the watt puppys were driven by McIntosh 300W tube monoblocks.

I preferred the watt puppys and left with the conclusion that watt puppy's have sweet highs, and are very musical. Sophias - I don't know if it's the speakers or the system, but they were harsh on harsh recordings. I have lots of harsh recordings, I don't want them to sound harsh when I play them.

By the way - alot of live unamplified music is harsh too - some chamber performances and symphony performances I've been to come to mind. Just because a speaker is producing a harsh sound doesn't mean the recording or the speaker is bad, it could just be that the live event was fatiguing, and they're doing a high fi job.

Hi!

I have Wilson Audio Sophia 2, and have not experienced any bright sound / fatiguing sound. However, the speakers are sensitive to fx. loudspeaker cable static electricity. You hear what you put into them. And I listen to all kind of music styles, and all kind of recordings, as I am a talent buyer within the festival scene. I have Burmester amps and cd player.

Cheeeers! Toffen, Norway

Upstream could be a factor, cables, amps, source. Ears could be a factor too, some people have different, not better or worse, just different sensitivities. They don't seem like the kind of speaker that will sugar coat the signal going into it. Don't get me wrong, they're nice, I just found the sound of the sasha setup more livable.

regards,

robert

Madfloyd,

Perhaps your problem is not your equipment but either or all of the following: 1) listening position, 2) speaker placement or 3) room acoustics.

Have you considered hiring a consultant to help you design the appropriate room treatments and positioning of said treatments? They can even help you with ideal seating position. I used Rives and the results have been excellent. I am sure there are others that would do a wonderful job as well. I think it would be much cheaper than a new speaker and probably more effective in correcting what you dislike. You can always upgrade to a new speaker later but at least you will know your room is "right".

FYI, I have a 15 X 21 X 9 room and I have a large screen on my front wall and I have Wilson speakers. I have NO treatments other than bass traps in each corner. My room was bright and had a lot of slap echo but not after treatments, absorptive and reflective, strategically placed through out room.

I have a fairly aggressive system, and went with a Marantz SA7S1 as my new CDP. I love it. It is has plenty of detail, but is also very relaxed and a bit on the warm side, so easy to listen to for hours. Might be something to consider to balance your system to your room and your ears.