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Sonus Faber vs Wilson

I currently own a pair of absolutely gorgeous Serafino Tradition speakers. They are about 3 months old and I’ve finally got them positioned nicely in my room. They are being driven by a Gryphon Diablo 300. Great soundstage and imaging even off access. Tremendous detail and I just love the way the speakers look. I must add that it’s really important to me how all this stuff looks in my home. I love the tight fast and nuanced delivery of the Gryphon but not loving the way it looks…alas..that sound made the decision for me and I’ve hidden it away so my wife doesn’t have a coronary.

So….this brings me to my newest quandary. My local dealer has a gorgeous dedicated listening room in the lovely Biltmore hotel just minutes from my home. (Very dangerous…!) There are a pair of Wilson Sasha DAW speakers that sound…well…that sound like the best speakers I’ve heard. I absolutely HATE the way they look…and I would dread getting them up the three front steps of my home…but that sound….

Do I keep the lovely sounding and gorgeous looking Serafino’s or swap them for the ugliest best sounding speakers I’ve ever heard.? 
(There is an $18k price difference so there’s that too…!)
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wspohn's avatar
wspohn
579 posts
 
Which is more important to you, looks or sound?

I have always held sound to be paramount, and pursued appearance only if I happened to be able to get a speaker that also looked nice.

I really like the Sonus products - they are stunning in the looks department and very good sonically. 

But I own Wilsons (and older larger model than the Sashas (Maxx) , which, BTW, I drive with a 70 wpc tube amp.  Don't know how easy a load the Sashas are.

Were I going for looks I'd probably look at Avalons, though.
oregon
809 posts
 
From what you said in your original post, you are there- good sound, great look.  It’s new. Enjoy it. Other systems might sound better, look better. But, remember, your system is damn good. All you have to do is, like Raul say’s, Enjoy the Music!
bthartman
32 posts
 
I'm sure you made the right choice to keep the SF.  I own the previous Sasha speaker (series 2), which I traded in original Sabrina's for to get a demo pair.  While the Sasha DAW is certainly a great speaker, particularly when you get to this level it really is a matter of personal preference.

What I think you might consider is to upgrade your dCS Bartok to the Rossini DAC (and maybe even getting the Rossini Master Clock as well).  The Bartok is certainly a great DAC and I was considering it when I upgraded my digital front end a couple months ago.  But after doing a side by side comparison of the Bartok and Rossini in my home system, and hearing from a dCS representative on an online forum that there are no current plans to upgrade the Bartok mapping algorithms, the Rossini is a significant step up in sound quality.

Of course another alternative would be to keep the Bartok but add the Rossini Master Clock to it.  From what I've read, that still won't quite equal the Rossini in SQ but it will certainly be closer.
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jimrobie
44 posts
 
Years ago I installed an expensive system in a customers house - not an audio system.  i went over all the details and exactly what he could expect.  everything went well until about 2 months later he called me and said that he needs to move one of the units that went on his roof.  Apparently, from just the right angle in the kitchen if you looked up through the skylite you could see a small portion of the equipment.  I told him we put it was exactly as described and that it would involve crane work and multiple trades to move it even a foot. He fully understood and expected to pay. I still remember his response: " it's cheaper than probate"  so is it cheaper than probate?
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