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

As a few others have said, McIntosh and Wilson are not a great match. I have heard this combo for a couple of decades with different Wilsons and different McIntosh products. 

For my tastes, and I will state here, that I am not a Wilson fanboy, Wilson with a better matching amp, will sound better, than McIntosh with the B&W.

@simonmoon In my experience and via my dealer etc, Wilson and D’Agostino are two very good matches for Wilson. I have the Sabrina X with a MA8950. I was split between the 803 D4 and the Sabrina X. I strongly went in planning to go 803 but the Sabrina X blew it out of the water. The McIntosh has a lot of power which is what the Wilson’s want. Wilson will often demo their speakers using McIntosh Amps. Cables matters as well. Wilson uses Transparent Cable internally and often for demo's. 

Based on how highly the Sabrina X is reviewed, I would make sure the setup at your dealer was ideal. The Sabrina definitely goes lower than the 803 since it has an 8in woofer vs 7in in the 803. I also found the 803 tweeter to be very harsh to the point I wanted to turn it off. Maybe listen at another dealer or have them check the setup. I should add that I listened to the 803’s at multiple dealers and all the same had meh sound. I also own the 805’s (pre-diamond tweeter). It's likely all personal preference though to our own ears :) 

I agree th Wilson's demand power mine run on 1.2 kw mac for the wilson max.even though they avertise you can run a low wattage tube amp.also if you want base get a big woofer.even though smaller 7 inch 8 inch are faster due to less mass on the cone they have a hard time moving alot of air.amps cabels have to match impedance and inductance of speakers.thats why some get more synergistic than others.enjoy the search and expirements find the sound you like.

I used to love B&W. It’s the speaker line that was in nearly every reputable brick-and-mortar stereo shop when I was growing up. I dreamed of owning a Mac and B&W system. Then I got one. The Mac amp’s watt meters gave up on me within a month of usage (I actually had to hire a tech to come to my house to fix it), and the bright/forward presentation of the B&W 804 D2’s drove me insane. I came up with my own meaning for B&W - “Blow and Wow”. They “blow” you away with their forward presentation and “wow” you with detail when you first listen to them. And Mac is the only gear that is soft, powerful, and forgiving enough to make these speakers sound tolerable. I think that’s one of the reasons they’re often sold together. Anyway, I will give B&W props for one speaker, and that’s the 805. The 805 always has been the best sounding B&W speaker I’ve ever heard, regardless of the equipment, cables, etc., that might be hooked up to it. It’s gone through many iterations over the years, and to me it has remained one of the standards for two-way, stand-mounted speakers. That being said, I, too, auditioned the Wilson Sabrina X, along with AudioVector R3 Arrete, Dynaudio Confidence 20 and 30, and a pair of the newer Wilson Sasha V’s, all powered by a Gryphon Diablo 333. One of my favorite speakers of all time was the Wilson Sophia 3, so I thought I would be sold on the Wilsons. However, I found the Sabrina’s and the Sasha’s to be dull, lifeless, and analytical. I was really disappointed with them. The AudioVector’s were incredible, but a little too bright for me. The Dynaudio’s were hands-down the best speakers I’ve heard in a very long time. Smooth, lively, detailed, and so easy to listen to. I chose the Confidence 20’s because I didn’t hear enough difference between those and the Confidence 30’s to justify the price difference. And I could get a Dynaudio sub 6 to go with them to complete the setup. Awesome. I guess the moral of this long story is that the most popular and/or expensive speakers are often not the best or easiest speakers to LIVE with. Expand your horizons. Happy hunting.