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Speaker cables for Wilson Sophia 3

Good Day,

I've recently upgraded from Kef 205/2 to Wilson Sophia 3. Firstly, i'd like to share my initial experience on the Sophia 3
Secondly, I'm looking for opinions on speaker cables which will work best with these speakers. However, I'm not looking for a pair of cable which will cost as much as my speakers!

Wilson Sophia 3: IMHO, they're awesome speakers and they're a big step forward comparing to the Kef 205/2 (worth the upgrade!). They're very balance from top to bottom. However, I need to crank-up the volume to get them going. I highly recommend the Sophia 3

Speaker cables: I'm currently using Grover Sx speaker cables. They sound good on the Sophia 3 but I don't think they're "the one" SCs for the Sophia 3!
Wilson has replied to my email to confirm Transparent was used for internal wiring. However, I’m reluctant to purchase cables with network boxes (purest signal path is the path with nothing in between!?)
Can experienced Wilson users recommend a few cables brand?

Also for future ref. what will be the best cdp to go with the Sophia 3!? Should I go with integrate or transport, dac and clock. I'm leaning toward Antelope Gold Dac+PSU+ Clock or Lessloss DAC+CEC

My system:
Wilson Sophia 3
McIntosh MC501
Audio Research Ref 3
Primare CD 31 (with Analogue section heavily mod)
Linn LP12, Dynavector 17D3, Ittok, Lingo
Linn Uphorik
Grover Huffman Sx SCs
Nordost Quatro Fil ICs
LessLoss Sig. PCs on mono blocks which are feed by Weizhi PRS6
Stefan Audio Art PCs on cdp and pre which are feed by Shunyata Hydra 2
TG Audio Black & White 9awg to feed into Weizhi and Shunyata
Vibra Pods & cones on cdp, pre and tt
Custom Hifi stand using thick mdf and steel rods!
Music pref. mainly Jazz and classical

Regards,
primare_cd31
primare_cd31
kana813
956 posts
 
In his reviews of the Sophia 3s and Sashas, Art Dudley used Auditorium 23 speaker cables. They cost a lot less
than the Transparent Ultras.
primare_cd31 OP
66 posts
 
Thank you all for your responses. Much appreciated!

Kana813, I beleive Art also used Shindo amps. However, I've emailed Auditorium to find out if they have 30 days return policy

Since I'm using McIntosh MC501's, I'm not entirely sure if their autoformer will work well with network boxes cables e.g. Transparent or MIT. In Australia, it is almost impossible to try out ref. cables at home due to thier costs and they only get order from manufacture upon purchases. Hence, I source most of my cables from the US and try to have a one off purhcase due to postage cost between US and AU (yes, we're in the middle of nowhere!)
I'm trying my luck here but has anyone tried Transparent/ MIT on MC501's?
nolitan
865 posts
 
Most speaker cables i tried works well with the sophia 3s. Analysis Plus, Auditorum 23, Purist Audio Design, but personally i find the Transparent to be my type of sound. Its sweeter, fuller sounding and musical. But that is not to say the other speaker cable sounds bad.
Best if you can try or audition different speaker cables. Boils down to system synergy.
kana813
956 posts
 
Primare,

Check out the Wilson forum on the Audioaficionado site.
dgad
782 posts
 
I would look into Tara Labs 0.8. I use the Omega Onyx having upgraded from Transparent Reference XL V w. MM tech. I was a nice difference. I love the versatility of Tara and spacing the plus/minus leads can tune the sound. Good luck as most cables are a crap shoot.
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