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Wilson Sophia

I have been looking at stepping up from my B&W 704s and heard the 802Ds, the Naut 802s and the Wilson Sophias. I was all set to spend the 4500 on a pair of used 802s but then I heard the Wilsons. All I can say is that the Wilsons absolutely spoke to me. My problem is that this is a huge investment for me and I think that I must be crazy to even be thinking about this purchase. Even more so, because I live in an apartment building and cannot "crank up" my system to massive volume levels.

My question is-am I going to be able to truly appreciate these speakers with my McIntosh MA 6500 integrated and my Lector CD player? There is not going to be any money in my budget to even consider other changes for a long time. Wilson's were set up with mid level Naim gear.

Are there any risks with buying the units off the floor if I can get a deal?

As always thanks for your input.

John
jhorton19
goatwuss
875 posts
 
Yxlei - If you define "little bit too emotional" as grainy midrange and harsh and fatiguing highs then yes, you've nailed the B&W house sound
jay_douglas_2879b79
239 posts
 
none of the wilson models are a means to an end for a balanced presentation. even a vandersteen 2ce or shahinian arc (each are far less money-and there are dozens more) are much more natural from top to bottom and are designed to mate well with a wise variety of tube or solid sate gear.
davidkcl
1 posts
 
I have just acquired a pair of ex-demo Sophia in black finish. It really is a great speaker that could convey the soul of music with ease. Its midrange is neutral enough to rival the best mini monitors, including the BBC LS3/5a and Westlake BBSM5F.

I wish to point out that, however, the Sophia do need careful placement because there is a peakiness in the mid base region. As reported by Martin Colloms in his review of the Sophia in the May 2002 issue of Hi-Fi News, this woofer tuning could lead to problems in some rooms.

As regards its looks, my wife has no issue with my Sophia. I do fancy Goten 1969's pair in Ferrari Fly Yellow (see his threads in Virtual System).
goatwuss
875 posts
 
Davidkcl - Congratulations! Also - Most any speaker that plays down below 50hz will have peaky-bass problems without careful room placement.
keithr
950 posts
 
sophias will run fine on the Mc. they will only get better as your system grows. i started with a BAT integrated on mine and it sounded great. then i moved up to BAT separates, and its a whole nother league...
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