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Thiel 3.7 vs Wilson Sasha

I auditioned Thiel 3.7 and Wilson Sasha recently. The upstream for 3.7 is Bryston BCD-1+BP 26+7B SST2+Cardas Neutral Reference cables, while the upstream for Sasha is Ayre CX-7eMP+K5+V5+Tranparent Reference cables. Both speakers were driven very well. Let me compare them in each category below.
1. Treble: 3.7 is more reavling, 3.7 win.
2. Mid range: 3.7 is more reavling and transparent, while Sahsa is fuller, it all depends on your preference, a tie.
3. Bass: 3.7 is more reavling and transparent, while Sasha has an obvious deeper bass extension, and more weight. Sasha win.
4. Coherency: Both have great coherency. But from my point of view, 3.7 has an edge.
5. Color: 3.7 is very neutral and transparent. Sasha is neutral too, but it is a little bit towards warmth side.
6. Sound stage: both can produce a huge sound stage, a tie.
7. Imaging: 3.7's imaging is pin point sharp. Sasha has great imaging ability too. 3.7 win.
Overall, both are outstanding speakers. Personally, I prefer Thiel 3.7's sound signature. IMO, regarding price, Thiel 3.7 might be one of the best buy in High-End world.
actuary616
actuary616 OP
38 posts
 
Bvdiman,

I will try to audition Magico if possible. Thank you for explanation.
lrsky
1,118 posts
 
Having heard the Magicos at a dealership--never optimal, I would reiterate that they are not my cup of tea. The $18K Magicos (forgot model #'s), lacked detail in the upper midrange--enough to be notable and bothersome to me. The larger ones at $27K were much better, as one would expect given the price differential, but not enough to sway me into the Magico camp. The A1 Sound Labs are much more transparent, coherent, and uniformly musical.
Making a multi thousand dollar purchase in this arena gives us many choices--the Magicos would not be one of those choices. Again, IMHO.

Larry
bvdiman
491 posts
 
Funny how Sound Lab was mentioned. Two of our friends who tagged along during the auditions happen to be stat lovers/owners (so was I, or at least until a few years back). One of them using Sound Lab, the other CLX +subs, I tend to prefer the latter set-up. They listen primarily to big band, classical and jazz, whilst I listen to almost all genres ranging from pop, jazz, disco, classic, r&b to country--you name it.

Although SLs are 'probably' as good as claimed in certain areas, but for some of my music, they just didn't cut it. Sure, bass was there aplenty, but I found their drives and dynamic socks/punch to be comparatively lacking. Try playing loud the likes of Sergio Mendez, Sade, UB40, Fourplay, or hard pops ala late MJ, Madonna, or even some fusion artists' (Klugh, Benson, Gruisin, Benoit, Ritenour, Carlton) you'll get what I mean.

Nothing's perfect, thus trade offs are almost always inevitable. And yes, musical preferences too play a big role on one's choice. But in the here and now, so as to be more relevant, it's simply--Thiel? or Wilson?.. I guess.
jtein
36 posts
 
After auditioning Wilson Sasha, Sonus Faber Elipsa and Cremona M, Magico V2, Avantgarde Uno G2, this is why I purchased the Thiel 3.7.

I'm a musician and play regularly in a band. When the drummer hits the snaredrum with his drumstick, you don't just hear a sound coming from the snaredrum. You can actually feel the energy from the "whack" of the drumstick on the snaredrum. Or the energy from the "whump" of the foot pedal against the bass drum that reverberates in your body. I found that from all the abovementioned speakers I auditioned, the 3.7 gave me that. Articulately too. The same goes for other instruments and vocals too. IMO, high-end gear should have the ability to transport the listener onto the stage where the musicians are playing their instruments.
elberoth2's avatar
elberoth2
1,223 posts
 
Actuary616 - as Audiofreakgeek has mentioned, you cannot compare two speakers in two different systems. This is really pointless, esp. when the associated amps sound as different as Ayre and Bryston combos !

I'm not really surprised by what you have heard, since this is EXACTLY what I would have predicted, having heard both amp cobbinations Ayre and Bryston. In general Bryston amp is much more revealing and transparent with much better control over the speaker than Ayre, while Ayre is fuller and more organic sounding. Souds familiar ?

As a sidenote - I had a chance to compare 3.7 to the older Sophia 2 in friends system (he owned Thiels 3.7 and Sophias were on loan; the rest of the system was ARC Ref 3, Ref 210 monos and EMM SE digital combo) and we BOTH preferred the Sophias 2 over 3.7, which I ended up buying. Since then I sold the Sophias and upgraded to the Sashas - which are far superior to the Sophia 2, in all areas. I cannot even imagine how big the difference would be now between the Sasha and 3.7 ...
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