Wilson Audio Sabrina X Reviewed ! WOW


"If you don't have $329,000 for some Wilson Chronosonic XVX's, you get a Massive Helping of that Performance PACKED into the Sabrina X" !...
  
https://parttimeaudiophile.com/2021/04/18/wilson-audio-sabrinax-loudspeakers-review/
highend666
My take on Wilson's after owning several models over 30 years, as well as owning at present a set of Magico's as well as a pair of Joseph Audio's:

Wilson excels at cabinet design resulting in high output capability.  They excel in dynamics, as well as imaging.  Powered correctly they can play any genre of music well.

What they don't have is state of the art drivers.  IMO that limits their ultimate resolution versus the best speakers using the best drivers.  

Wilson attempts to circumvent this with crossover and cabinet design, which works to a point.

Also, the Wilson house sound has evolved over the last 4 decades.  Starting with a very analytical and "clinical" sound in the 80's to a warm, soft sound in the current line up.  Both, ultimately, colored.

My favorite Wilson's are those from about 8 - 10 years ago, towards the end of Dave's control and while they were still sourcing Focal drivers.  The current models are all too expensive for what they offer, and better sound at lower prices is available.

Just IMO of course.
I’m of the opposite opinion. IMO the current batch of Wilson speakers are the best that I have heard, and I have heard most of them throughout the years. The new silk dome tweeter is a MAJOR improvement over the older Focal titanium tweeter of yore. Also, the newer cabinets and designs are much better in the imaging and resolution areas than previously. The Wilson pricing has always seemed very high to me, but they are well built and will probably last a lifetime. The new Sabrina X is a significant improvement over the old model, and IMO is a very fine speaker. Only issue is the nasty impedance curve and difficulty in driving it; but if one has a big ss amp with plenty of muscle, this would be a good speaker to consider at its price point. Seems like a lot of current high end speakers are just bears to drive, which I guess the manufacturers don’t care about, as they expect the buyer to spring for the new batch of ultra pricey mega watt ss gear that is now all the rage.

I just took delivery on a new pair of SabrinaX speakers.  I have about 100 hrs on them, powered by a Pass Labs 250.8.  In my small music room (11x11x11), they sound fantastic.  Great bass, smooth minds and resolving highs without any harshness.  And soundstage . . . Wide and locked in!  Obviously, the Pass is no slouch in the power department, and it drives them with ease.  And they get much louder at a given volume setting than my other two speakers, the Focal Diablo Utopia III's and Joseph Audio Pulsars. In fact, they seem easier to drive than either of those speakers, in my unscientific listening.  Very happy with them so far!  As my dealer said, they are made to deliver in a smaller room, so they are perfectly suited for my dedicated listening room.  And despaired their somewhat robotic look, my wife loves the look of of them and the finish, so great sound and good WAF . . .! 

At some point I will try them with my PrimaLuna Dialogue Premier HP and see what happens.

As the speaker discussed here is unattainable to the vast majority of hobbyists, truly a 1% product when the entirety of the system is considered, I offer an alternative for those in a different socioeconomic strata. Feel free to read my review of the Aspen Acoustics Lagrange L5 MkII at dagogo.com in order to familiarize yourself with this new genre (imo) of speaker.

That is not the one I am suggesting here. I suggest serious audiophiles who wish for a grand experience at $100K less check out the Aspen Acoustics Lagrange L1, the prototype of which I own and is seen in my system pics. The production model is being readied for my review to appear at Dagogo.com in the new year. This is a formidable speaker and imo it is not out of line to consider it in several respects as prodigious as some of the larger floor standing speakers I have heard from JM Labs, Wilson, Sonus Faber, etc, but likely not their top of the line models. That may not make some people happy, but it is my seasoned opinion. Feel free to take it with a grain or two of salt, as I have not done direct comparison in my room. I have, however, heard many systems with these other products.

As usual, YMMV