Wilson Sasha's - All evolution in Wilsons are.....

Very interesting thread. I own Sophia 2's and have been eyeing the Sashas as the logical upgrade path, but haven't had good experiences when it comes to auditions. RMAF was kind of spotty (hard to tell in those small rooms) and a recent dealer audition/comparison (Sophia 2's vs Sashas) was very inconclusive. They both sounded terrible and difficult to tell apart.

I love my Sophia 2's, I just want more articulate bass, a little more forgiving upper mids and more air. :-) I use Pass XA100.5's so it's nice to hear that the Sashas work with these. Peter, do you really find the XA100.5's need an hour to sound good? What differences do you hear? I haven't really noticed much difference...

Ian

I don' have any reservation regarding Sasha Krell or pass Sasha combination(power amps). They are both fine with Sashas.One thing is for sure Sasha is not a piece of cake load for amps. However, neither full Krell nor Pass setup will yield max. outcome. Based on my past experience, both are very good in Power amp making but only ''good'' in preamp making.

Well about the Pass XA100.5. If I just start them I feel the bass is not controlled. The difference between a cold one and one that is on for an hour is quite big. Of course cold they sound good but they realy sing after an hour.

For the preamps I agree that both Pass and Krell were not famous in preamps in the past. But both the new XP20 and the new EVO202 are world class amps. I had Spectral DMC30SL G2 and Audio Research reference 3 but the Krell and the Pass are at least as good although different sounding.

Now after 3 more days of listening I am now playing with the combination of Pass XA100.5 and Krell EVO202. The Krell power amp in combination with the EVO202 was a little on the bright side with the Sasha. However with the Wilson Maxx this was the best combination. So it depends on the set.

The EVO202 beats the XP20 in terms of openness, dynamics and bass control. Maybe the Pass is slightly more musical but for now I prefer the EVO202 with the Pass XA100.5 monos.

I am going to try an ARC Ref5 also in this set. The new ref5 should be faster than the ref3 and I might want to buy this one also.

As for the Sasha and the Sophia 2. If you like the Wilson sound just buy the Sasha without listening as I did. You will love the sound. It is the best speaker I ever had in my house. It blows away any Puppy and also my previous Maxx in my room (different rooms give different results). The voicing of both speakers should be similar but the Sasha delivers more of everything and the new mid driver is amazing in speed and details.

Peter

Thanks for your thoughts, Peter.

Hi Peter,

I am using the Pass XA.5 with a BAT Rex preamp, Jade Audio cables, and the Tripoint Troy. Very synergistic combination. Detailed, controlled, and musical. Bass is very controlled and appropriately proportioned. It does not call attention to itself at the expense of the midrange.

If you are demoing the XA.5 brand new, it takes 200-300 hours before they really transform into an effortless presentation. I also noticed a slight midrange haze when breaking them in, which is no longer present. I think you are correct in trying to pair a tube amp with a solid state. Do listen to the Ref 5, but I personally find it too tipped to higher frequencies and you will probably sacrifice bass c/w the solid state preamp. The Ref 5 is alot like a solid state amp. I have heard the Sasha, and I believe it could benefit from matching electronics which provide some textural richness in the mids.

In regards the warm-up time, I do not notice much change with the XA.5. I had the X.5 series, and this took 8-24 hours to warm-up - no joke. The XA.5 sounds great freshly powered from standby, but it probably does improve slightly over the first hour. With the X.5, I would leave them on Friday night to listen over the weekend. With the XA.5, I turn them on only when listening.