I have the Sasha 2s and my relatively small Mcintosh mc152 with 150 wpc drives them easily thought to be honest, I don't listen at ear splitting levels in my small room. I really love the sound and assume the Sash 1 is not that far off the Sasha 2. I have not heard the Sasha 1. Does anybody know if there is much of a difference between the Sasha 1 and 2? If they sound close, the Sash 1 is an incredible value on the used market!
Wilson Audio Sasha 2 vs Sophia 3
Hello Audiophiles,
How does the Sophia 3 (discontinued?) stack up to the Sasha 1 or 2. I've seen a threat on Sasha vs. Sophia, but...
I've recently auditioned the Sabrina and the Sasha 2. It was no comparison for me; the Sasha did everything I thew at it well, the Sabrina did some things quite well, and others not so well - couldn't deliver much impact or scale for me.
I'm trying to decide whether the Sophia 3 is closer to the Sasha or the Sabrina? I know it's in the middle but where?
14x21' audio room. ARC ref75 and Lumin T1 streamer. I have 1st/2nd reflection and base traps installed. Moving up from Focal 1027s.
Thanks for ANY opinions and inputs!!!
How does the Sophia 3 (discontinued?) stack up to the Sasha 1 or 2. I've seen a threat on Sasha vs. Sophia, but...
I've recently auditioned the Sabrina and the Sasha 2. It was no comparison for me; the Sasha did everything I thew at it well, the Sabrina did some things quite well, and others not so well - couldn't deliver much impact or scale for me.
I'm trying to decide whether the Sophia 3 is closer to the Sasha or the Sabrina? I know it's in the middle but where?
14x21' audio room. ARC ref75 and Lumin T1 streamer. I have 1st/2nd reflection and base traps installed. Moving up from Focal 1027s.
Thanks for ANY opinions and inputs!!!
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Hi. I hope its okay to post a link here to youtube , i just found a short video on Audio Research ref75se and Wilson Audio Sasha 2 To me it sounds great , but again i know its youtube so there are factors to weigh in when listening to such a video. https://youtu.be/AE8h2uK0Kuw Flemming |
It's been awhile, but figured I'd do a brief update in case anyone stumbled upon this. System is now: Sashas Ref 3 pre Ref 75 amp Lumina T1 Transparent ultra cables @georgehifi I've really enjoyed the system with the 75 for a year. I did drop in a SimAudio Moon 860A just to see what the Sashas can do with more power. It exposed, as you produced, much more to the recordings. But, over all I'm a tube guy, and prefer my 75 over the bigger Moon. Having said that, I'm considering moving up to the ARC 150 now to get a bit more base grip on the edges without (hopefully) giving up all the rest - which is perfect for me. |
Thanks again, George. I do know that my ARC does not increase/decrease W according to impedance/ohms. I should have my Sasha's here in the next week or so. It will be quite the comparison; going from very efficient and quite easy Focal 1027S to the Sashas. I don't think the Focals have pushed my amp much, but I expect the Sashas to lay it out. I know the Sashas can do much more - in the bass for example - than my Focals. Something like ~15 Hz lower or more before -3db, for example. I'm not sure if the little VSi60 (KT120s) can power up the Sashas enough to be a significant improvement over the Focals, Or if I'll need much more amp to hear real gains. My guess is: The Sasha's will sound much better than the Focals, immediately, all around, but they will still be far from giving me their all with the VSi60. Next step is a step up in the ARC line via separates. Thanks again! |
"Typically" an amp that is solid state with big power supply and using bi-polar output transistors (BJT) are the ones that will give the best current output. To put that into laymans terms, an amp that can "almost" double it’s wattage for each halving of speaker impedance load is a good current deliverer. Look at the specs. EG: 50w -8ohms 100w-4ohms 200w-2ohms For instance very sought after huge old massive Mark Levinson ML2 monoblocks don’t have many watts into 8ohms but they do 25w-8ohms 50w-4ohms 100w-2ohms 200w-1ohm. https://c05d22d421713559ae3382d5a980815d4cf5ca6a.googledrive.com/host/0B_s-XMmdi448RDhFR2hhdXVQRWM/Mark-Levinson-ML-2-Mono-Power-Amplifiers-.html Tubes and mosfet amps, don't do these sort of currents, that why they don't usually advertise it. Cheers George |
How can you really tell how much current an amp has. All that is published is the watts, typically. I know "not all watts are the same" - which I've always interpreted as some have more current/guts than others... Can anyone point me to a layman explanation AND a way to tell how much current a given amp has? Thanks! |
No problems driving the Sashas. Back when I had the Ref 110 amp Yes, but the Ref110 has double the amount of output tubes than the Ref75, 8 instead of 4. The Ref 75 may sound fine, even in the bass/upper bass to the unwary, but when an amp with current is compared to it, then one will hear what it's not doing right in the bass/upper bass. Cheers George |
I have Sasha 1 with Ref 150 ( KT 150 tubes). No problems driving the Sashas. Back when I had the Ref 110 amp, I brought the Ref 210 monos in house to see how much better they would do with the Sashas. At the time, it was about 10% (mainly in dimensionality and imaging) with no appreciable difference in the low end. Based on that, I’ve always felt the 150 WPC amp is best bang for the buck with the Sashas. That said, I’ve never heard the Ref 75se with Sashas although I’ve heard the Ref 75se vs the GS 150 with the Alexias. It was no contest. The GS 150 drove the Alexias very well in all respects while the Ref 75SE drove them in a merely satisfactory way. Hope this helps. |
George, Thanks for the link. I did read that review. I've also ready so many comments about how well the Sashas play with Ref75, but perhaps I should consider the Ref150. I did notice a huge dip ~2ohms creating a very significant gap/phase angle from ~100hz and for quite some time up the audio band. I'll keep you all posted on how they sound. Thanks again for all the input. |
I have never owned any of these but have heard all 3 several times. The sophia 3 is MUCH closer in sound to the Sasha 1 than the Sabrina. At the going rate they would be my #1 choice but for a few grand more you could get a used Sasha. The adjustable head really helps with setup. Honelty I thought the sabrina was just average.... It lacked the bass power that makes the Wilsons for me. |
Be careful do your homework, the Sasha is far harder to drive especially in the bass and mid bass than the Sophia. The Sasha would like an amp that delivers current, I don’t think your AR75 is up to it but maybe OK with the Sophia.
Cheers George |
No one but you can decide if the price difference is worth it. I know a guy that decided to keep his Sophia 3s and purchased dual subs in lieu of getting Sashas. To his ears the only difference was bass. To my ears the Sasha’s are more refined, image better, and has a wider soundstage. Although I’ve never heard the Sasha’s with the ARC Ref75, I believe there are a couple of post that say they work well together. |
ricred1, Thanks for the feedback. I think there was/is (I’ve heard the Sophia 3s are discontinued at a local dealer in PHX), a ~$10k gap. To me the Sashas (2) were worth the $18k jump from the Sabrinas. I’m trying to figure out if the Sophia 3 is closer to the Sasha or the Sabrina. Looking at it, the specs and design, I’d say closer to the Sasha. Wish I could hear a pair of Sophias. But, in the end, in the used market there is only a couple grand difference between the Sophia 3 and the Sasha 1. I’m thinking it is probably worth the extra couple grand. I'm also wondering if I need better gear to push the Sashas. I will likely never spend 30K on any component. I'll likely stop at/near the ARC Ref75 and the Lumin T1. |