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Wilson Audio- The rest of the story

The rest of the story:
06-05-10 I posted my Wilson Sophia II right speaker had developed a razor thin crack in the cabinet between the top and bottom portion of the speaker. There was much debate within myself as to what course to take. My first option was to return the Sophia II’s and have the cabinets rebuilt with the same drivers. My second option was to return the Sophia II’s and pay additional money for the new Sophia III’s. I decided to return the Sophia II’s and I am now the proud owner of Sophia III’s.
Although originally disappointed with the development of the razor thin crack in the Sophia II, this experience has reinforced why I believe in Wilson Audio. My dealer and Wilson Audio have been above reproach during this whole ordeal. Wilson Audio arranged for the Sophia II’s to be picked-up and returned free of charge. The Sophia III’s were shipped 1 day early. There has been much debate over the cost of Wilson Speakers relative to their performance. I am not rich and it has taken me over 20 years as a music lover to get to this point. Lots of selling, trading, and saving to own Sophia III’s. I love the Wilson sound: the clarity, the pinpoint/life like imaging, and no other speaker I know of has the Wilson dynamics. With proper matching of equipment, the Sophia’s are simply magic to my ears (and my wife). The great news for me is the service matches the quality of the sound. I realize from my own experience and submit that we purchase high-end products for several reasons: sound quality, pride of ownership, expectation of outstanding customer service. Wilson Audio and my dealer has exceeded my expectations of what high-end should be! I’ve only had them for a couple of days, but here are my initials impressions.
Bass- tighter and significantly more impact
Mids- slight haze has been removed
Tweeter- too soon to tell
Overall I can’t see any current Sophia II owner not being extremely satisfied if they upgrade to the Sophia III’s. More to come as they break-in!
My system: Densen B-350 mono-amps, Densen B-250 preamp, Rega Apollo CD player, Kimber Hero interconnect, Clear Day double shotgun speaker cable.
ricred1
ricred1 OP
2,058 posts
 
It’s been a couple of weeks and I’m amazed with the Sophia IIIs. Instead of using audiophile terms, let me sum the differences between the Sophia II’s and III’s. The III’s are just more musical! To me there are no better words to explain the differences between Sophia II’s and III’s.
Has any other Sophia I or II owners compared them to the Sophia III’s? If so, I’m curious as to what your impressions are?
rhyno's avatar
rhyno
649 posts
 
i will take this a bit off topic, but hope to stimulate some thinking for owners of older wilson products.

i have the WP6s, which i'd characterize as highly dynamic, but disjointed, aggressive and a bit grungy...like a lot of high frequency trash is riding in the upper midrange & treble.

2 things corrected that: kubala emotion speaker cables (midrange emphasis, slighly rolled on top & bottom), and walker audio HDLs on watt posts (which removes the grunge & cleans up the treble).

frankly they sound a lot different than when i started, and i am quite happy w/ them as a result. would encourage users who own older wilson products to experiment, esp w/ the HDLs.
samhar
1,048 posts
 
Rhyno
Would't something on the speaker posts be removing grung that is happening /created in the system before the speaker?
rhyno's avatar
rhyno
649 posts
 
no, think of it as the hash associated w/ that iteration of the tweeter (i have the 6.1s, which means its the tweeter in the WP7). i never liked the metal inverted dome tweeter, esp compared to a good ribbon tweeter or a soft dome like the one used in merlin's VSM's & rockports. the inverted dome is just too grainy & whitish, tipped & overemphasized. why wilson persists w/ the inverted dome is beyond me, but suspect its related to power handling. shame it sounds like crap in its original state.
no, i've not heard the sasha's or any of the new iteration of wilson products.
nandric's avatar
nandric
4,086 posts
 
Hi Rhyno, I am also wondering about this (old) Focal tweeter for years. My best friend owned the WP6, 7 and 8.
While I regard all of them as 'fantastic' in the rest of the fr. 'spectrum' from 3 Khz on they are unbearable to me.
No wonder that I regard my Usher BE-20 as a much better speaker for much less money.
Regards,
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