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Sophia 1 with McIntosh/Lamm tubes? Please advise

My system is now B&W 804S, McIntosh MC275 amp and Lamm LL2 preamp, and Rel Storm III sub. The Lamm was the latest addition about 1.5 years ago and I REALLY like it.

I'm thinking of a next upgrade, either the speakers or amp. If I were to upgrade amp today I would probably go with Lamm ML1 or M1.1 hybrid. However, I'm leaning towards upgrading speakers first. Right track? BTW, the following upgrade would be a couple years away.

My budget for speakers is $5-6k, maybe $7k if I can let the sub go. Thinking of buying used. I've been reading about Wilson Sophia 1, Merlin VSM, and DeVore Nines (Silverbacks likely beyond my budget). Do you think these would match well with tubes? The Sophias are 89 dB (vs my B&W at 91 dB), but said to play very well at moderate levels. I'm certainly open to other suggestions.

I really enjoy the sense of 3D spaciousness during playback, the "musicians in the room" holographic presentation. Absolute true tonal balance is less important to me, to the extent is not grossly off, of course. Musicality and high definition are important, and also bass extension and definition.

The room is 33x15x8 ft, speakers on a short side, spaced about 7.5 ft between them, and 5 ft from front wall. Listening position on an equilateral triangle.

Music tastes: all over the place, but mostly rock, blues and jazz. The dynamic range/impact the Sophias are said to have are appealing too.
lewinskih01
lewinskih01 OP
909 posts
 
I went out for an audition yesterday. Somebody suggested Martin Logan Summits and I found a dealer who had them and I arranged for an audition. They were set up in an accoustically treated room, with a [way] better source than mine, my CDs, and an Audio Research integrated amp (about 50 Wpc they said, with 4xKT120 vs my 4xKT88). Nordost Valhalla cabling (way better than mine). And I didn't care for them. I was expecting higher resolution and better soundstaging than what I have, but didn't happen. Also, bass was loose.

The same dealer carries Sonus Faber and Wilson, but they don't have Cremonas or Sophia 1. I spent about an hour with the owner discussing what I have and seek, and what I heard with the Summits. He suggests Wilson. I know I need to listen to them.

How far from the front wall do Sophias tend to end up? I'm wondering about their backfiring ports. Right now my setup is on a short wall and 5 feet away from the front wall, but was considering moving to a long wall and distance to front wall becomes an issue.
lloydelee21
1,202 posts
 
Lewinskih01,

You may wish to email Wilson...they are very good about responding in my experience. I think you might be alright with the Sophias being closer to wall, but so much depends on the rest of your dimensions, damping, etc. I have big Wilsons now and they were expertly setup by one of Wilson's favorite technical guys (in the world)...and he placed them within 3 feet of wall.

As for Summits...they really need a ton of power to get them going. They are capable of stunning resolution and soundstaging. Myles Astor (reviewer) uses 275 watt CJ ART monos, for example. I have spoken to him on a number of occasions and he has a very experienced ear. My two cents.

Good luck. Given your room issues, you may find panels slightly more challenging to setup anyway. AGain, good luck. Enjoy!
captain_winters
133 posts
 
For what it is worth, I went from Martin Logan Aerius to Wilson Sophia 2. I had the Aerius for 16 years or so, and I was very familiar with them. As soon as I hooked up the Wilson's I jotted down some notes while the Aerius was still fresh in my mind. I am also running tube amplification, Music Reference Rm-9 MKII amp, about 125 WPC, and a large room 18' by 36' with openings. So far I have not been wanting for power, but then again, I have not tried another amp. My system consists of:
VPI Classic 3 Dynavector XX-2 MKII, Avid Pulsus phono stage, Acurus RL-11 Preamp, Music Reference RM-9 MKII amp (Genalex Gold Lion KT77 and Russian 6922) and Sophia II speakers.

"I like them better already than the Martin logans, so much more articulate. And they crank! Bass is way low, like a sub, but very balanced on all frequencies. Big surprise is they image better than the logans, 3 dimensional instead of 2. Plus the midrange is way better. I only played a couple of albums so far. But Yes, different class of speaker. Much more detail in the mids with great bass extension. I really like the 3 dimensional image. The Martins were not as 3 dimensional in the imaging. No box coloration, I am very happy about that. Box is completely inert."
lloydelee21
1,202 posts
 
Nice write up, Captain W!
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