I think it will come down to your sub integration. Do you a crossover as in a highpass? If not I would start there.
Anyway I have demoed a number of kefs and the Wilson’s. They sound very different. My comments are based on the Sophia 3 and the Kef Reference 3. From memory far apart so big glass of salt water here… but I spent many hours with both. Current speakers I own are Revel 228be and I also use duel subs.
The Wilson’s have a upper mid bass punch that most other brands lack. It is what makes them great. I think it is just a function of the large boxes. The Reference 3 seemed to rely on the port of its bass and sounded a bit ripe to me with a fair amount of box coloration.
the sound stage is much more stable on the kefs. In the perfect sweet spot the Wilson’s are right there but the wilson are a one seat don’t move your head kind of soundstage but in the pocket are great. The kefs seemed wider too… different rooms and setups…
the highs are a wash, I don’t like either honesty. Both sounded hard when pushed. There was clear compression in the kefs and the Wilson’s focal tweeter shows its age now.
non audiophile opinion… I enjoyed the wilson much more. They are fun, the bass slams, they have weight to the sound…. But I would skip the Sophia’s. They are old and the foams fall apart. The Sophia 3 is still a good but imo but after hearing the new silk tweeter I would want the Yvette but they are still $17,000ish used and that is how I ended up with Revel 228bes lol. The revels are a steal by the way. Easily bested the Reference 3 for me. They have poor bass extension though and need subs. Having used subs for 10 years now I don’t think I could ever run a system without them. Even the big Wilson’s I would want subs.
