2. speakers
  3. 192549-129048

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

I recently auditioned the Wilsons vs. B&Ws and am a little befuddled. I had money in hand and was ready to purchase the Wilsons, but after reading the stellar reviews of the Sabrina Xs, I didn't think anything could compare in that price range. The source equipment was the McIntosh MC611s and the MC12000, which closely replicated my equipment. 

It was not even a close comparison; the B&Ws were clearly better in every aspect. The midrange was glorious, the highs were crisp, and the bass filled the room. The Wilsons were anemic with bass (roughly 14'x16'). The midrange was clinical, and the highs were nothing to write home about. I'm perplexed because Sabrina's bass output (per the reviews) belies its driver size. We even experimented with the 4 and 8-ohm outputs on the Macs.

Has anyone experienced something similar, or am I missing something (synergy, cabling, etc.)? I really wanted to love the Wilsons, but at $20K, I am not impressed. I know the B&Ws are $5K more, but I heard that Wilson is doing a price increase for 2025, which will level the price gap. I would love to hear about some experiences involving both brands or the discrepancies I heard in the presentations.  

128x128jeffreyw
riche569
13 posts
 

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.

jayctoy's avatar
jayctoy
4,173 posts
 

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. 

helomech
1,706 posts
 

Not at all surprised by your findings. We don’t all share the same size/shape/age ears. Nor do we all share the same language and dialect (which does affect how we perceive sounds). So it shouldn’t come as a huge surprise that we don’t share the same preferences. The Toole school would like us to believe that’s the case but it’s not—probably the reason for why B&W doesn’t bother to make flat measuring speakers any longer.

B&W’s 800 series employs one of the best tweeters in existence, which goes a long way in mitigating listener fatigue despite the tipped up response.

yoyoyaya's avatar
yoyoyaya
773 posts
 

@OP - If that is how the Sabrina Xs sounded, they were not set up properly.

moto_man
370 posts
 

I have not heard the B&W's, although I had 805's at one point.  However, the Sabrina X's in my system definitely do not sound as you describe it.  I have a Pass 250.8 and an ARC REF 6 pre to drive them, and to my ears, the combination is the perfect mix of width and depth of soundstage, black background and great placement of instruments. The Wilsons just do it right in my system and small music room.   I think that that treble is smooth -- perhaps too smooth when coupled with the McIntosh gear.  Just goes to show that everything makes a difference, and it is really difficult to compare the sound of one system with an entirely different system.

More to discover