B&W 802D vs Wilson WATT Puppy

Hi Jay,

Thanks for sharing your auditioning experience with us!

BTW did you find the Sophia to have a superior treble to the 802D?

Which speaker produced the deepest soudstage?

I too will go on a speaker pilgrimage soon!

My list:

Wilson WATT/Puppy 7/Sophia
Avalon Opus Ceramique
Quad ESL-989
Spendor S8e
Marten Design Miles II
Living Voice OBX-R2
Eggleston Rosas
PMC IB2

Any other suggestions?

Thanks!*>)

goatwuss
Thanks! Good luck with your *Mission: Sophia* as well :-) don't forget to put up your system pics here when you get'em
btw what color are you gonna get?

Kw6
thanks!
allow me to elaborate a little more on the comp. b/w soph and 802D
I should say that my comparison is 99% based on reproducing classical music (orchestral, various concertos, choral, and fat ladies singing etc.)

with Sophia
voice sounds more round and organic/rich
sound stage is more holographic
bass is a little deeper and more well defined (room?)
clarinet and violin sound much more sweeter and realistic
the mid sounds so much realistic... the 802D sounded kind of *shouting in your face* at times like my 703s.. blame the kevelar?? yet the mid of Sophia.. omg...!

and finally to answer your question
to be 100% honest.. I'm becoming skeptical about the diamond tweeter... it sounds more extended and silky compared to the old ones.. but still a little harsh...compared to the Summit and Sophia

sadly, I do not have any experience with or means to give auditons to any of the speakers you listed other than the Wilson duos in my area..(give some steroids and plastic surgery to the Sophia and than it becomes WP7)

Not me, but my dad has heard the Eggleston Andra II (sorry no Rosa) and he actually preferred it over the WP7 and N800 of B&W.. and put it par but different with the JBL K2 S9800 (if you can find this guy here in the states…)

Good Luck!
Jay

Hi Jay,

Thanks for your additional comments! I'm defintely listeniing to the Sophia/WP 7.

BTW I've already crossed the 802D, Andra II off my list cause its too tall for nearfield listening.

Happy Listening!*>)

The 802Ds not being biwired make no difference w. Transparent cables. They are not allowed to be used in a biwired configuration. The networks are voiced for full range. That is why they weren't biwired. In my opinion it doesn't matter at all when you use trasparent cables.

Don't worry about them being "ugly" they have a better resale value & wife acceptance factor because of the simplicity of design.

Order the Sophia in a custom color. It will look amazing & have a faster resale. I would go for Jaguar lime green or dark green depending on the house. Maybe even a metalic lilac similar to Porshe 911s.

You can have a lot of fun. PS they are voiced with grills on. Most speakers sound better once you remove the grills. Not the Watts. A huge plus.