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Wilson Audio- The rest of the story

The rest of the story:
06-05-10 I posted my Wilson Sophia II right speaker had developed a razor thin crack in the cabinet between the top and bottom portion of the speaker. There was much debate within myself as to what course to take. My first option was to return the Sophia II’s and have the cabinets rebuilt with the same drivers. My second option was to return the Sophia II’s and pay additional money for the new Sophia III’s. I decided to return the Sophia II’s and I am now the proud owner of Sophia III’s.
Although originally disappointed with the development of the razor thin crack in the Sophia II, this experience has reinforced why I believe in Wilson Audio. My dealer and Wilson Audio have been above reproach during this whole ordeal. Wilson Audio arranged for the Sophia II’s to be picked-up and returned free of charge. The Sophia III’s were shipped 1 day early. There has been much debate over the cost of Wilson Speakers relative to their performance. I am not rich and it has taken me over 20 years as a music lover to get to this point. Lots of selling, trading, and saving to own Sophia III’s. I love the Wilson sound: the clarity, the pinpoint/life like imaging, and no other speaker I know of has the Wilson dynamics. With proper matching of equipment, the Sophia’s are simply magic to my ears (and my wife). The great news for me is the service matches the quality of the sound. I realize from my own experience and submit that we purchase high-end products for several reasons: sound quality, pride of ownership, expectation of outstanding customer service. Wilson Audio and my dealer has exceeded my expectations of what high-end should be! I’ve only had them for a couple of days, but here are my initials impressions.
Bass- tighter and significantly more impact
Mids- slight haze has been removed
Tweeter- too soon to tell
Overall I can’t see any current Sophia II owner not being extremely satisfied if they upgrade to the Sophia III’s. More to come as they break-in!
My system: Densen B-350 mono-amps, Densen B-250 preamp, Rega Apollo CD player, Kimber Hero interconnect, Clear Day double shotgun speaker cable.
ricred1
ricred1 OP
1,412 posts
 
James63,

It has been a while since I have listened to the Magico V2's, it would be easy to BS you, but I don't want to give you bad feedback.

Compared to the Sophia II's, the III's offer greater bass impact, more texture in the mids, and a slight haze has been removed that enables the listener to hear more details and see further into the soundstage. In a couple days I will provide further analysis.
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drubin
3,240 posts
 
I should have said 4-5 times markup from manufactured cost to end user.
That's pretty much standard I believe.
james63
501 posts
 
Ricred1,

Thanks for the information. I am interested to hear you coments after they break-in.
musictime
12 posts
 
When I ordered my Sophia 1's about 6 years ago, they came delivered with a crack between the upper and lower sections on one of the speakers. It looked like a thin white line from front to back.

I was obviously dissapointed. Without a second question, they took back both speakers and arranged for shipment of two ones. They arrived perfectly. My dealer then drove 260 miles to my house and helped me set them up.

Yes, I paid alot (retial) for the speakers, but now I have had 6 years of music bliss... I agree that the sign of a good company is how they manage mistakes and problems. Wilson did right by me.

MusicTime
rwwear
2,692 posts
 
Manufacturing markup is usually around 5 times the cost of building for almost all products as Drubin said. But some charge much more than they should.
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