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

Rapogee,

I've had Sophia 1s for a little over 4 years now. I love them, but I am thinking about replacing them with the Sashas.

I have listened to the Sasha's a few times at my dealer's store. I have heard them with Ayre MXRs, big Krell mono blocks and one of the more modestly priced tube Mac mono blocks.

I have not been very favorably impressed. But the room the dealer has them in small and the dealer says that they don't breathe well in that room.

Can you describe what you heard with them and what equipment was being used with them.

Thanks,

Ed

The room was big and lost and lots of air for breathing. I find the Sophia's can benifit a great deal with this as well compared to my smaller listening room. Krell FPB 600 / Audio Research Monos at long listening sessions some shorter demos which was difficult to say but still impressive, Full BAT system and Audio Research System in those condition. All very positive impressions even at a first glance. They do sound closer to the Sophia's "style" compared to the original Puppy 8's but only in a steroid version. They go much lower and much more air on the very top end compared to the Sophia's. Compared to the original Puppys... much more balanced IMO. Faster sound in the bottom end with better control. I still like these things with transistors, they sound wonderful with the bigger Krells. Those Puppy 8 owners will notice a difference in the mids for sure, that was one of the reasons why I went with the Sophias compared to the older Puppy 8's. The only thing that I was going to say about the original Puppys that I would like to tweek if possible but looks like Wilson took care of that in this new design.

They sound and look just astonishing. The built quality that I have inspected inch by inch is just something you have to experience. Even the size compared to its predecessor is vast. Another thing to add is I have listen to both analog and digital front ends and this one is a real thrill with digital sources as well. Some who have said in the past about the original Puppys being bright, brittle or forward sounding to some point on the very top end of the spectrum.... go give this a good listen from a reputable Wilson dealer and you be the judge.
I like this pair very much.

One of my friends in Louisville has gotten a pair but not yet delivered. He is going to use Mac solid state. From the HIFICRITIC review, a vary favorable one, they are a bear to drive, they also ended up using the Krell 600.

Well I just got my Wilson Sasha last week and I must say they are amazing good. It is realy a work of art. I currently played with the Maxx but the Sasha just plays better is every aspect except very loud bass. Mids and highs are fantastic. Even much better than any Puppy I had.

Peter

I listened to a set of Sashas at a friend's house (also a well-known reviewer). We brought over a set of our amps (MA-1s) to play- I have to say I was quite interested to see how the two worked together. The MA-1s replaced a transistor amp of twice their power.

It turns out that the Sashas are very easy to drive, the meters on the MA-1s barely moved at all, yet we were getting a very satisfying volume from the speakers- I was worried we might disturb the neighbors. Very fast speaker, very articulate, good cohesion between drivers, spot on imaging, good lack of signature, quick, articulate bass that was extended without boominess but nevertheless easily conveying weight as the program material required. In a nutshell :)

Its obvious that Wilson likes tube amps, so far every single speaker he has ever made has worked with our amps and most every tube amp that can make any power.

Excellent work.