Wilson Audio's New Sound?


So, I did a search on "Wilson Audio" here on Agon to determine if this would be a redundant thread, and I could not quickly determine that, so if this is old news or a recent rehash, then I apologize in advance.

I attended a recent open house at an audio dealer in the Seattle area and two of the display rooms featured Wilson Audio speakers. From my experience at this and other dealers around the country, this was the last room I had any interest in visiting. My general opinion of Wilson Audio speakers was that they were impeccably crafted, large, heavy, accurate, a bit on the bright side, Silver, very expensive, and they generally failed to connect with me emotionally regardless of the equipment or material driving them.

So imagine my pleasant surprise when at this recent open house, the two different sets of Wilson's (Sophia 2 and Sasha) were my favorite speakers. The electronics ahead of the Wilson's were from Audio Research in both cases. I mean, these speakers REALLY sounded good.

A few days later I was reading the latest copy of Stereophile, and low and behold in his column Art Dudley was waxing poetic about his new found love for Wilson Audio Sophia 2's. He, like me, apparently has recently found Wilson religion. Unlike me, he has access to Dave Wilson for an interview and Peter McGrath for a visit to his home to personally set their speakers up for his long term demo - at least one of the perks of a monthly deadline. But, also like me, he apparently really didn't much care for the sound of Wilson's prior to his recent encounter with the Sophia's. Anyway, for a bighorn and planner guy like Dudley to go over the top for a (albeit super sexy epoxy painted, exotic material, custom driver) boxy speaker is news.

Why? Without plagiarizing Dudley completely, he is convinced the current crop of Wilson's are not your rich brother's Wilson's of a few years ago. According to Mr. Wilson himself (secondhand via Mr. Dudley) the company has a new tuning method for their new model speakers based on more "real world" listening conditions. Huh. All I can say is, whatever they are doing it is working. Big Time.

This also makes me think about your rich brother and his slightly older Wilson's tuned for listening in an anechoic chamber but placed in his plush and acoustically imperfect Italianate Manse. Has Mr. Wilson deposited brother Rich at the doorstep of obsolescence? Just wondering, because if I had the old Wilson's, I would be wanting the new ones, like yesterday. Also wondering if there is an "upgrade" path for their older speakers in terms of crossover parts or settings that can "soften" their delivery to be more "real world" friendly.

Anyway, perhaps I am just looking for the dark side to radically improving your product. For an unapologetic bottom fisherman who trolls for yesterday's (more like the last century's) high end gems, like my European sedan that was first purchased by someone else about eight jobs and two degrees ago, I will have to wait quite a while for the current crop of Wilson's to hit my price point. And I really can hardly wait.
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IME/IMO the reason that there are so many varied opinions about the Wilsons is very similar to the varied opinions you hear about Sound Lab or a lot of other excellent speakers.

A really good speaker is revealing of what you put on them, and some amps and preamps that are well-reviewed are not really all that great, and some are. So you can have the speaker sound terrible with transistors and tubes, and you can have it sound excellent with transistors and tubes.

I've heard the Sashas with our electronics as well as a few other amps and preamps, enough to know that the speaker is excellent and if you don't like what you heard from it, its could well be the fault of the electronics which you are assuming are better than they really are. Could also be the fault of the setup in the room, but it isn't the speaker. BTW they work great with classical, heavy metal and anything in between or outside :)
Why oh Why is everyone mad at me. I simply suggested to go to a couple of live events to hear what real music sounds like. I am a professional musician and am around live music every day. I heard the big Wilsons at an audiophile meeting set up by the Wilson factory rep, driven by the top Boulder equipment set up by the Boulder rep. The result was sound that to me, was not what I hear every day. If you like it...fine. I'm sure the speakers sound different with different electronics, cables, etc. As far as an industry insider using the Sophias...it may very well be that he loves them, or that he got them for a great insider price. We don't know. Never the less, I stand by what I heard in the audition. I meant no disrespect to anyone...just a friendly suggestion.
Stringreen folks get miffed when the get someone coming at them in a insulting tone or with a insulting suggestion. Your tone was easily interpreted that way and your suggestion implied that folks dont know what actual music sounds like. Its nice, no its great, that you get to listen to live music all the time but most cant due to things like jobs and such. I agree with you on the live music and will go further and say in my opinion there is no stereo setup that will reproduce live music so well you cant tell the difference. I accept that limitation in exchange for good enough music on my schedule. WOuld I like to hear live music everyday and whenever I want to? Of course I would but your post and tone screams that this situation is my fault and I should sort it out.
I'm sure changing amps, different room setups etc may have affected my opinion overall of the Sashas but that was just my honest opinion from a first listen. It wasn't they couldn't do other music besides classical, they could, but they just didn't 'move' me as I had hoped with some music. At the price points of Sashas and other speakers in that price range, I want to be completely convinced that it is worth the cost. There is no 'right' or 'correct' speaker ultimately, because there are no perfect recordings or references other than each individuals own experience of a live event. And who's to say what neutral is an exactly? I go to live music as well,-and play in a band, my idea of how it should sound will differ to others experiences. When buying a pair of speakers, I go with the gut ultimately-'cause I'm the one who has to live with them every day, just like everyone else in their choices...
Camali,

Just curious - what speakers in combination with what amps have provided you with the most convincing reproduction of classical music? I sense the subject of a new thread...