2. speakers
  3. 1268619168

Sophia 2/Magico V2 versus Sasha/Magico V3

So I'm currently enjoying Wilson Sophia 2s and Magico V2s in my home.

Amplification is Pass XA 100.5, preamps alternate between H20 Fire (solid state) and Audio Valve Eclipse (tube). Sources are Modwright Transporter and Raven One/Tron Seven.

These speakers are very different. The Sophia 2s are more energetic and vibrant, have more robust bass and a lot more forward presence. They can bark at you with certain recordings (upper midrange glare), they are not gentle. Used with a tube preamp, I find the timbre to be very natural sounding, giving a great deal of the 'instruments are in the room' feeling. With solid state preamp, they sound a little cold - a little 'ceramic' if you will.

The Magico V2 is slightly colored in comparison - more of a wood sound, not as much as Avalon, but it's there. The highs are nowhere as crisp, the bass comes up a bit short and they do not have the dynamics of the Wilsons. However, they offer a heck of a lot more detail in the upper midrange and highs. I hear so much more of what is going on than the Sophias. For example, horn sections on the Wilsons almost sound compressed, whereas on the Magicos they open up and come to life; I can't get over the difference.

So here's where I'm going with this: the natural upgrade path for the Magico is the V3 and the Wilson, the Sasha. Can anyone speak to what characteristics are retained versus gained (or lost for that matter) in the two upgrade paths? If it were easy to hear them in my own home, I wouldn't ask, but unfortunately it's going to be work and I may only get to hear one of these.

Thoughts?

Thanks in advance.
madfloyd
james63
501 posts
 
Ricred1,

Can you give us more detail on how the Sophia is more balanced than the V2. Was it the midrange, highs or bass, etc? Did you feel one had more detail over the other and if so in what range?

Also how far do you sit from you speakers in your large room?

Thanks
ricred1
1,412 posts
 
Wilson Sophia II's
Bass- very good; Mids- very good; Highs- very good; dynamics- great = balanced to my ears

Magico V2
Bass- adequate; Mids- great; Highs- very good; dynamics- good = not as balanced as the Sophia II's to my ears;

My listening position is 12' away from my Sophia II's.

For me you must put everything in perspective. I already own the Sophia II's; therefore any speaker that I would change to, would have to be significantly better in all parameters. There are no absolutes in audio, only preferences!
keithr
950 posts
 
I think Magico mids are much better than Wilson mids in general--though the Maxx3 is amazing.

on the V3 vs. Sasha---while Sasha may have more apparent bass due to the mid bass hump of the ported design, the Magico is certainly no slouch and has real bass.

but the Sasha just doesn't have the musical quality of the Magico and does not match its coherency top to bottom. i value coherency a lot--and why i had Sophia Is vs W/P 7s years ago.
mert's avatar
mert
132 posts
 
Ricred1
once you move to Higher End, you will be more amazed with result of Sophia 2. Regarding your system context, you haven't heard anything yet with Sophia 2. Keep going, keep going.....
ricred1
1,412 posts
 
Mert
I have already upgraded to Densen B-350 mono-amps and Densen B-250 preamp. In additon, I have upgraded all of my AC cords. The results is a more natural sounding system. My next step will be to upgrade from the Rega Apollo as the source.

Keithr
I haven't listened to the V3, they are out of my price range. My comments were about the V2's. If you read my previous post, I mentioned that I thought the V2's had great mids and the Sophia II's had very good mids. I used different language, but essentially said the same thing you did.

I've listened to many speakers and really enjoy the Sophia II's. That doesn't mean that someone won't prefer something else.
More to discover