Auditioned Wilson Sabrina X vs B&W 803D4 and Shocked

I got to compare the B&W 805 D3 to the original Joseph Audio Pulsars, and to my ears the Pulsars were superior across the board.  Better imaging and more 3D soundstage, tonality, bass, treble, and overall just more musical without sacrificing air/detail along with a better disappearing act.  The 805s just sounded less accomplished and clinical by comparison — but again that’s my ears.  All this to say if you can hear the JA Perspective 2s somewhere it’d be well worth your while.  FWIW, and best of luck. 

I have tried both B&W 805 D3 and Wilson Sabrina X. Ended up with Revel Ultima Salon 2 and cannot be more happy listening to jazz, art rock, ang large scale classical music. My amps are McIntosh MC452 and Parasound JC 1+.

I have always been impressed with the combination of the B&W 803 line with Mac amplification. Together, they present a very smooth and musical experience. The Mac sound can be on the warm side and the B&Ws can be a bit forward in the midrange and lower treble. Together, their strengths are reinforced and their weaknesses obscured. If you are a Mac fan, the B&Ws are hard to beat.

I was shopping for speakers about a year ago and I listened to the Wilson Sabrina X and the B&W 804. I ended up with a tube amp and hi efficiency speakers so that gives you some idea of my preferences. The dealer I went to only played the Sabrina's with top Audio Research and Naim electronics. I was only impressed listening with the AR, but that equipment cost at least 4x's the cost of the speakers so I think that was a big part of what I was hearing. For my ears the B&W's sounded too bright and harsh. I also listened to the Magico A5 speakers and I liked them much better. I would have bought the A5's but the WAF ruled them out.

For a long time Iam not a fan of Wilson speakers until I heard them with Dan Agostino s amp and preamp I was blown away.Both B&W and Wilson are great speakers it’s your job to match them with the right components.