Avalon Acoustics vs Wilson Audio

Madfloyd,

I do not find the Sophia 3 fatiguing either. Maybe you are sensitive to it? But you own them so I will not argue...

Just a thought though, could it be the midrange breakup node you are hearing and not the tweeter? From Stereophile's measurements it looks like the tweeter does not come in until 3k which should be pretty much out of the vocal range of most singers(not all). The mid seems to break up around 4k and is only down 5-10db at that point.

Anyway just a thought, and still a great sounding speaker.

Avalon very different from Wilson the best!!

Yes, it could be that I am sensitive to this region. Interesting that the tweeter doesn't come into play until 3k, I'll have re-read the review.

I am sorry, I was refering to the new B&W 802 Diamond above, not the previous 802D model.

I do not own or live with the Wilson's but the recent crop of their "entry level" speakers, at least as I heard set up by Peter McGrath, did not sound fatiguing at all. Funny I thought voices were particularly convincing. Having heard previous generations, this was a surprise to me because I had dismissed Wilsons as somewhere between sterile to accurate to overly aggressive sounding depending on the material and system they were matched with. Musical was not a term I would have used, while this is a term I would have use to describe the larger B&W 800 series and Avalon speakers I have listened to. My opinion about the newer Wilsons is not unique, but Madfloyd listens to these speakers a lot more than me, and it is certainly easier to develop a valid opinion over months and years than in a short audition.

I listened to the Wilson Sophia 3 and the Sasha along with the Avalon Indra and Isis at the same showroom last week.

Since I have been a Magnepan owner for the last 25 years and am about to audition both the 3.7 and 20.7 I wanted to listen to the new breed of dynamic speakers.

Most of us Maggie fans know the downs that you get with the wonderful sound stage, quickness etc, and in my system I bi-amp with matching Audio Research D400s with a LS17 Pre and Marantz SACD. Also use a pair of Velodynes 12 inch powered subs. The system list is just so you know it wasn't a pure. "speaker to speaker" comparison and my sound preferences.

I completely understand the appeal of Wilsons, but because of my preferences would not swap even my current set up for either model. They seems a bit too analytical for my taste, but again the things that others love such as pinpoint imaging are there in abundance with Wilson's.

The Avalons sounded more "musical" to me but the Indra lacked some weight and authority. The Isis sounded wonderful and would love to have them but even the demo model was 58k and that is just too far above my comfort zone.

This is all a long winded way to say that as a "panel guy" I think the Avalons are a better speaker for the sound I prefer but the Wilson has the attributes many will simply love.

Given the price points, the Maggie's ( 5600 for 3.7/14000 for 20.7) seem like a steal but we will see if I still hold that opinion after auditioning.