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Wilson Sophia

I have been looking at stepping up from my B&W 704s and heard the 802Ds, the Naut 802s and the Wilson Sophias. I was all set to spend the 4500 on a pair of used 802s but then I heard the Wilsons. All I can say is that the Wilsons absolutely spoke to me. My problem is that this is a huge investment for me and I think that I must be crazy to even be thinking about this purchase. Even more so, because I live in an apartment building and cannot "crank up" my system to massive volume levels.

My question is-am I going to be able to truly appreciate these speakers with my McIntosh MA 6500 integrated and my Lector CD player? There is not going to be any money in my budget to even consider other changes for a long time. Wilson's were set up with mid level Naim gear.

Are there any risks with buying the units off the floor if I can get a deal?

As always thanks for your input.

John
jhorton19
avguygeorge
2,300 posts
 
Thanks Junsan. Most will love it where I have to admit ----oops;forgot to take the bam out of the chain. Yes, once removed---getting chilly in here; almost goose bumps. Still have to do final leveling and get a touch closer on the positioning.
dgad
782 posts
 
Avguygeorge,

It will take you a while to lock in on the position. Everyone says the mm make a difference. I didn't want to agree but they are right. Once locked in you won't leave the room. I am almost there w. the 7s 9 months later. I use Sound Anchor tone coasters under the spikes to make my life easy moving them the little amounts.

On another note, a friend of mine w. the Merlins just got a Berning Amp. He never spends on equipment & now he is upgrading his entire system. The Berning took the Merlins to the next level for him & he won't even pick up his phone. I will be checking it out next week. They are both great speakers. The treble w. the Merlins is very different than Wilsons. Depending on your equipment you will create the right synergy.
avguygeorge
2,300 posts
 
I guess this locking on will take a while for me 2. When seated and turning my head a bit the soundstage becomes disjointed. That never happened with the Merlins. This may be a non audiophile description but it's like I'm in a bubble;I turn my head a tiny bit; bubble gone. I also think the Merlins dssapear better.(I guess that's the same thing)--But overall that ends "advantage Merlin". It's like I'm hearing 2x's as much music.---If Bobby could ever fit a woofer in one of his speakers and not loose anything along the way---.
jungsan
38 posts
 
Gentlemen,
in case you haven't noticed, there is a NICE follow-up review on the Sophias in this month's issue of the Stereophile by Paul Bolin.

I gotta go listen to them again this weekend before I get my heart broken ;-)
dmurfet
101 posts
 
Just thinking about pulling the trigger on some wilson kit, I already have Krell, but only a tiny showcase to run my HT set-up. I know a lot of people think the Krell / Wilson sounds too fierce, but then don't consider the front end. I have the Meridian 861 v4.2 which tends to be very smooth. Would this tame the fierceness or should I really be looking at BAT / LAMM /Audio research.

Trouble with this is I want to enclose the power amps in a cupboard (open at the back) and I see lots of problems trying to enclose tubes........

I have owned tubes before and liked it, but it is dynamics I like the most. I appreciate the "people have already made up their mind before they post" concept ....... anyone use other SS gear with Wilson and smoother front ends? Would Levinson / Pass / Halcro help?
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