Wilson better than Thiels?


I have got Thiels. I have listened to Wilson’s Sophia. Can't make decision on up-grade or not! Please tell me your opinons?
luna
Wow. I find it rather interesting regarding personal taste here.
I've owned a couple of pairs of Thiel's in the past, as well as sold them on a retail level. While I felt they represented some very good value(I've had 2.3's, 1.5's, SCS3's and PCM 1's(?) in my system at home - all used with various combo's of tube and SS gear, such as Coda, Pass, Threshold, Classe, Audible Illusions, Audio Research, Sonic Frontiers, etc), I felt the Wilson's, as a line, were a better offering - albeit more expensive, at that. I thought the Wilson Cub's, Sophia's and WATT Puppies were much more dynamic, big sounding, threw a more solid image, and with better top end refinement than anything I've heard in the Thiel line (including 3.6's and 7.2's).
The impression I'm getting here is that more people here are Thiel fan's. Interesting. To each his (her) own, indeed.
I would, on a value scale still own a pair of 1.6's however. Again, I think Thiel's offer some fine value for the money. I just think they're not as strong as Wilson's, personally.
Wilsons are waaaaay more expensive is why most people own Thiels.

Personally I found Thiels to be a bit bright on the mids and top. Smaller midrange drivers and metal tweeters will do that. Of course better electronics will tame this down to a degree but I never found Thiels ear candy. Now i have heard the 3.7's and 7.0's and I did like them but we are talking about the best Thiels makes/made.
My buddies 3.6's didn't sound decent until he bought a Levinson 331.5 and then a 334. Thats when they started to sing. The extra power really woke them up.

Well (flame suit on) I think a lot of people perceive Wilson to be better because they cost MUCH more. If other companies such as ,Focal, B&W, Wilson, etc had the 3.7s in there line-up I bet they would be priced in the 18,000-25,000 rang. People also seem to like Wilsons if they value the bass drum punch highly.

Anyway I went shopping and thought I was set on a pair of Wilsons before listening (based on on-line reviews). While I liked them very much I ended up deciding on the Theils 3.7 over the sophia (cost not a concern... both expensive in the real world). I had NO interest in Theils before I heard them... they were not even on my sort list. The 3.7s had a lot more detail than the Sophia in the upper mids and highs. This extra detail was NOT brightness but real detail. The sophia (note it was a different shop/set up) seemed to have a sight mid bass hump and lacked a good amount of detail compared to the 3.7s. The sight mid bass hump did give them a little more body but to me it was less transparent. I heard the Duettes on they same system/room as the 3.7 and them seemed to have a very similar signature as the Sophia (slight bass hump and less detailed than the 3.7s) but the Duettes were not quite as dynamic. As a side note the Duettes seem good for there size but seemed about $5,000 over priced... almost the same price as the Sophia but not near as smooth.

On the 3.7 CDs with body had body and CDs without warmth/body did not. While the Sophias had a sight signiture (kick drum anyone?) to them IMO. Please keep in mind that my comments on from a purist standpoint and very critical, both are very good speakers!

If the Theils cost more I would still buy them over the Sophias. But I would still buy a pair of use Sophias if they were local and use them in a second system.

As a side note listen to Hard Rock 95% of the time.
FWIW, I find the Wilson's to be more dynamic, but the Thiels more linear and coherent.