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Wilson Sophia2, Watt/Puupy 8, differences?

Ok, so I've auditioned both of these speaker systems (twice no less) and yes, the W/P 8's go deeper in the bass. Yes, the W/P 8's are a little bit more exciting because of their larger dynamic range. I was surprised by how well the Sophia2's did though considering they're half the price of the W/P 8 system. The midrange on both of these guys was very similar. Vocals sounded good on both. I'd love to hear from others out there the pros/cons of these two speakers. The Sophia2 is definitely better bang for the buck. On a Cd that i'm intimately familiar with, the bass on the W/P 8's shook the walls of the room, the Sophia's didn't. The upper end as far as I can remember sounded pretty unmemorable. That is it sounded about right. I would still give the edge in the upper end to the Focals I demoed a couple of weeks ago, their Berilyum tweeter implementation was top notch. Any advice???
baraeryo
jfrech's avatar
jfrech
1,816 posts
 
Hi on any good speaker, and especially the Wilsons, your source and other components (pre amps, amps, cables etc) are so very critical.

You maybe better off with Sophia's and better source/amps/cables than WP 8's with lesser electronics. If you can get the WP 8's now and upgrade the rest later...then you know the answer as TVAD already noted...

Good luck.
tvad
9,467 posts
 
In a smallish room, you would be able to drive the WP8 with a single Pass Labs XA-30.5 Class A stereo amplifier. Incredibly sweet, magical amp. Doesn't run incredibly hot.

You'd be surprised at what a single XA-30.5 can do, and you'd be even more pleased at how it sounds.

IMO, the honeymoon period with Class D amps, especially on speakers of the caliber of the WP8, would quickly be over as you became aware of the weaknesses of the amps.
baraeryo OP
20 posts
 
Have you heard the Spectron Tvad?
tvad
9,467 posts
 
Have you heard the Spectron Tvad?
Baraeryo (Threads)
Nope.

I've heard BelCanto Ref1000, NuForce Ref9SE V2, Channel Islands D200.

I have heard the Pass XA-30.5 and XA-60.5.

These were all auditioned in my home.

My speakers are 93dB (similar to the WP8). The room is 20x16 and opens to a smaller 14x14 room on the rear "wall".

People who hear the new Spectron amps love them, but nothing has sounded as pure and musical as the Pass in my system (other than tubes).

I suppose I'm a purist, and when it comes to speakers of the quality of the WP8, I personally would want to power them with Lamm, ARC, Pass Labs or equivalent.
raquel
841 posts
 
Pairing a class D amp with the titanium Focal tweeter that Wilson uses will soon have you selling either the amp or the speakers -- a recipe for nastiness.

What follows is off-topic -- sorry -- but if you like clean highs like that offered by Focal's beryllium tweeter and the knock-the-house down dynamics of Wilsons, perhaps you should consider the Escalante Fremonts -- I have been running a pair for about four months. Escalante is Thierry Budge's company, Thierry being the designer of Wilson's Grand Slamm, the WattPuppy III and the Whamm. They are 93 db. efficient and go loud as hell with a 30 watt amp, and if you've got it, can handle enormous amounts of power without distorting. They are also front ported, which makes them easier to place. Reviewers Greg Weaver and Dave Thomas own them, as does mastering engineer Steve Hoffman.

The look of the speaker requires a personal inspection -- I thought they were horrible / laughable in pictures, but when I saw a pair in Singer's room at CES 2007, I completely changed my take on them. The following picture gives a taste, but they are more impressive in the flesh, as the build quality has to be seen to be understood: http://www.positive-feedback.com/Issue26/escalante_fremont.htm
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