Wilson better than Thiels?

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.

"FWIW, I find the Wilson's to be more dynamic, but the Thiels more linear and coherent."

I agree 100% with this statement. I think that the 3.7 is the most coherent 3 way I have heard to date.

James 63. I think you are correct when you say "This extra detail was NOT brightness but real detail." This has been my experience with Thiels. The highly revealing nature of them are also merciless in showing the characteristics of other components in the chain. So some folks fault the speakers for being "bright" when in reality it's another component. This was evident in recent changes to power cords and conditioners in my system. The Thiels revealed the character of every single brand tested. Some components did accentuate the highs in a slight but unnatural fashion. I also upgraded the speaker cables to a brand/model which were more expensive than the speakers itself and the Thiels took the system to a whole new level by vanishing completely.

As for the Wilsons and the midbass/bass hump giving the music more body, I completely agree. However, after listening to the entire line of Wilsons, my experience has been that a seamless integration of the bass with the mids and treble happen when you get to the MAXX range and above. I'm sure that many Sophia and WP owners would disagree.

Although the Thiel Vs. Wilson comparison is a lot of fun, discussing what Thiels don't do well is missing the point completely. It's like looking at a glass which is 85% full and concentrating on the 15%. Thiels do a lot of things well while the Wilsons do a lot of things exceptionally well. But then again $$$$$.

Ok, well then there you have it! It's official!
Just about every audio enthusiasts and/or audiophile here apparently agrees that Thiel's are indeed better (+ value) and Wilson's are worse (+ > cost , thus = < value), correct?
Surely there must be a mathematician amongst us
who can turn the above theory into a real mathematical equation, and thus a scientific proof of some sort, yes?
OK so who then would like to step forward here and tackle this one for the Nobel prize in Home Audio? DOH!
Amazing... OK well let me just make sure I've got this right. So then would it be safe to surmise that, instead of buying a pair of, say, Wilson Sophia's, I could basically simply pull out several thousand dollars from my wallet, go over and flush it down the toilet, proceed to punch myself in the groin a few times, then make my way down the the local Thiel dealership to buy a pair of 3.7's, and I'd then still be ahead of the game, yes?
OK but wait. Wait. What if I were, say, into listening to stuff like Pink Floyd's SACD version of Dark Side of the Moon at concert playback volume levels?! Could I then assume that it would sound better plaid back on a pair of Thiel 3.7's on some tube amp's, over maybe a pair of WATT Puppies on Levinson's? Hummmmmm...I'm not so sure there. Or would it be safe to surmise that that listening to a full scale orchestral piece on vinyl would be best playing back through a system including a pair of Theil 2.4's over some Sophia's? Really? Or how about perhaps playing back Transformers or Iron Man at THX playback levels sounding better played through something like some Thiel SCS4's or even Power Points than it would using something like Wilson CUB's? Just checking...
Um, I'm not so sure that equation might work out after all. But that's just me. could be wrong ya know.