B&W Nautilus 801s vs. Wilson Audio Sophia?

That us ine thing I did notice when auditioning the B&W's is that Mid Bass Hump which they would need to get rid of before I was to buy a set of their speakers.

Seems with the advancement of tech it would be easy to fix .

While other manfs are able to provide better quality in sonics the bigger cos. keep on going through old ground which is not making their models any better to sell.

For those looking for speakers it falls to the educated buyers to be able to choose the speakers or components that give the best illusion to the real performance.

Happy hunting!

I've sold both Wilson's and B&W's. Personally, I might consider owning 804's in the right application if need be. But I prefer the transparent, dynamic, and higher sensitivity Sophia. Also allow more amp options if applicable.

everyone own's and likes their own stuff. EQUIPMENT MATCHING is way critical on analytical high end speakers. The more transparent, the more critical.
That other gentleman could easily have heard the Sophia's with some bright/cold gear in the system. You can't hear something in A SYSTEM, and make an ALL ENCOUMPASING ASSUMPTION! There's too many variables (unknown to the novice) that affect sound.
I've dealt with Wilson for years. They walk the line of total transparancy, if not total dynamic transparancy;...it's easy to push em over the edge, like many like them.

The B&W 801 (as with all the B&W's with that head unit design) have a horrible mid to upper midrange suckout. This is exactly where the majority of music plays. This is a function of internal standing waves and presures that works against the driver. This adds coloration and a muddy sound to the recording.
I have heard the Sophia and the 800 right next to each other with a quick a/b compare, the Sophia was more musical (to say the least).

On the subject of "midrange suckout" try aiming Wilsons at a point behind the listener for a prime example. This speaker really needs to be aimed at the listener.

B&W's arent as picky on setup as the Wilsons with regards to midband performance. My room has ranged from slightly down to peaky in the midrange depending on the setup of my N803's. Using the Rives Audio test disc really helped me fine tune my speaker position for the best response.

With proper power the bass response of the N801 is in another league compared to the sophia. This makes setup for bass response potentially more difficult with the N801 but the rewards of course are much greater.

Both are fine speakers