Wilson Sophia2s demand better than AYRE V5xe, so..
The Lamm M1.1 came out in 1994 and being that it is full class A amp you would have to start to worry about maintenance on the amp. Now the M1.2 that came out in 2004 would be a very nice amp for the Sophia II but at that price range your getting into the Dartzeels, Audio Research Ref's of the world. I will have to disagree that the Lamm M1.1 has more bass output then the VTL MB-450 sigs. Maybe the VTL MB-450 were not sigs that you were listening too. There are about 6 different version of MB-450. I have had both and I thought the VTL had more bass and was deeper. Solid state will for the most part be tighter but I think tube amps have a much more natural sounding bass. |
There is absolutely no way to adequately set up the sophias in such a complicated space in 30 minutes. I'd recommend you do 3 things. 1)Photograph the space. 2) draw a schematic of the room to scale, 3) Contact customer service/support at Wilson Audio in Utah and send them all of the pix and drawings. See if they think this set-up is in any way appropriate. I'd discuss the "quickie" set up system used by your dealer. I'd bet they'd suggest the set-up is "sub-optimal" and I'd guess they have some suggestions to help. I'd caution against buying electronics until the speakers are properly positioned. In my room, once the set-up was optimal everything snapped into focus both spacially and in term of tonal ballance. My speakers sound very different from your description with every single amp I tried. The sophias are usually positioned with more toe-in than you describe, and certainly more than 6" breathing room behind the speakers. JIm |
For a time period I owned a pair of Sophia 2s, an excellent speaker, and if I had kept them then I may have moved towards tubes to tame the Wilsons...but when I considered going to the WP8...I ended up with different speakers. A couple of thought...personally I find it inconceivable that anyone could "dial in" Wilson speakers in 30 min...thus perhaps some work could be done on that issue. Having wandered through a few amps...I ended up with the MX-Rs...the guy who bought my Sophias...was local...purchased the ARC Ref3 (not sure which version) and Ref 110 amp...he has never been entirely happy with the sound...and I suspect part of it is his room...he even got a pair of WP8s...for the MX-R...preamp choice is critical...I used a VTL 6.5 for a time...an great pre...but ended up with the KX-R.... |
Demos or not, you bought your Sophias new w/warranty from an authorized dealer, and they owe you a better setup than 30 minutes and 6" from the back walls. I recommend you read every Stereophile review of Wilson speakers you can get your hands on to get an idea of what a Wilson setup is *supposed* to be. Several are at http://www.stereophile.com, including an extensive review in 2002 of the first-generation Sophia. Then I would contact the dealer and give them a second chance to do a better setup. If you don't get cooperation, warn them that your next step is to call Wilson Audio Specialties. It's well known that Wilson dealers can lose their franchise if they don't do the factory-prescribed setup on every new pair of Wilsons they sell. Most of the S'phile reviews have a detailed write-up on what the Wilson guy did in positioning the speakers. In the Sophia review, Peter McGrath positioned the speakers 56" from the wall behind them. Wilsons are also often positioned wider and with more toe-in than is typical. The more extreme toe-in helps diminish the side walls' influence on early reflections (IIRC). |
