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Wilson Sophia 2 or Focal Electra 1037 be?

I have neither heard Sophia 2, nor 1037 be. I read positive feedbacks about sophia and I am familiar with with electra 1027 be since I own one. However I anticipate what kind of sound 1037 be would offer: better bass control because of tripled 18.5cm woofers, better stage, imaging, revised crossover that might help mids with more body....I have Musical F. Kw500, Pass X250.5, Boulder 810 preamp. My main source is Musical F. Kw dm25 Dac and Tranport. I use both setups independently, only change speaker cables, each amplifier has its own pair.(Vandenhul Revelation for Kw500, supernova for Boulder&Pass)So far, so good everybody happy. Here comes real life case: If I buy sophia2 it means I have to give up Electra 1027be because I can't stock two speakers next to each other, since space is premium. Can Sophia2 bring me day and night improvement over electra be range? The tweeter that sophia has a old titanium inverted focal one which is inferior compared to beryllium one electra has. This is my reservation concerning wilson speakers.(if you ask wilson guys, they say they don't need because there is no need to jump on diamond,silver,gold,beryllium tweeter wagon; but in reality Focal charged too high for be drivers and didn't want to share knowledge and didn't accept ''custom Wilson in house modifications'')
Opinions wellcome.
128x128mert
tarsando
578 posts
 
Magico Mini's! Expensive and little. TAS says best thing since sliced bread. Haven't heard 'um myself, of course
cytocycle
1,043 posts
 
If you are happy with the Focal House Sound stick with it. You have the components upstream to enjoy the upgrade.

The Wilson Sophia's have a very different presentation and you need to listen to them at a dealer (worth the trip) hopefully your Wilson dealer will have spent the time to set them up correctly (right synergy)

I like Focal's and have listened all the way up the line but still bought Wilson Watt Puppy 7. I like the exacting perspective and the speed. I'm an ex-planar guy looking for dynamics.. The top end on the new Sophia 2's are really impressive. 1/4" increments can the difference between like and love, but your Wilson dealer will take care of that setup in house. Sophia's are a lot easier to system match and setup than the WP's.

Another way to look at it is .......
Do you like traditional Wood or modern Paint?
mert's avatar
mert OP
132 posts
 
tarsando

Magico mini is not available in my country, bookshelf speakers are not usable in my case since I have 2 years old son.
mert's avatar
mert OP
132 posts
 
Cytocycle

I don't have chance to hear it in dealer simply because I live almost 700 miles away nearest audio dealer.
About paint, I prefer wood but I can change sophia's paint work by local Audi work shop since they have original Audi paints:)(dealer has a black sophia and black is not my favourite color)
ackman00
67 posts
 
I have heard the Wilsons several times and the 1037s on one occasion. Unfortunately, they were not in the same system. I have heard the Wilsons with Ayre, Levinson, Krell, Classe and Nagra amps/preamps and enjoyed them on every occasion. The 1037s I heard mated with BAT gear (the new 32 preamp and I think a 200 watt solid state amp) and I thought they were outstanding - excellent imaging and soundstaging - so much so that I have put them on my list as a possible upgrade in the future. I don't think you could go wrong with either speaker. The Wilsons may hold their value better for resale purposes but may also cost a few grand more on the initial purchase.
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