Does the wilson sophia 1 sound good only with perf

Sounds like you failed to demo them b4 u bought. A big mistake when buying hifi.

May I ask which Audio Research pre/power are you using?

I heard them through the more modern Audio Research gear (Ref 2 or was it ref 3 driving a VT 1X0 (forgot, sorry) )
and didnt like them.

Then I heard them driven by Melody 1688 (a very sweet 6SN7 based pre) and modified Cayin tube monos and then Canary 309s and they sounded good.

The Sophia I's tend to sound aggressive when driven by anything other than triode amps. But since its not as efficient as the WPs you need some power drive them.

The sophias are a high resolution pair of speakers. If there is a problem with your setup, you will hear it through the sophias. Alternatively, if things are setup right, the majority of your recordings will sound fantastic.

I'd look deeper into room acoustics.

Mgguy,

I have a very similar system. Wilson Sophia I's, Audio research Ref 3 Pre/ Ref CD7/ and Audio Research VM220 Mono Blocks. If the sophias are not set up exactly correctly, they will sound hard in the upper mids/lower highs.
When positioned correctly in the room and have the proper toe-in, they will produce a much smoother fequency response. If your Sophias are new to you, work on set up over and over. Try toe in so they are aimed directly at you, withought either side visible from the listening position, spaced relatively widely apart. There are specific set up parameters that need to be observed to achieve smooth frequency response. The results are worth the effort.

I agree with what's stated above. Setup is key with these speakers. They can sound so so, or pretty darn good with only small adjustments. Even though I liked them, in the end I found the midrange lacking detail. That was the achilles heel for me. I replced them with GMA Continuum 3 HDs.

Shakey