Upgrading from Wilson Sophia 2's?

Also used MSB Platinum 200, C-J 350SA, AR Ref. 3 amps and XTC preamp.

it is inexcusable to have speakers costing over 10 grand (or for that matter ONE grand) that sound this disappointing. the sophias are good transducers, no question, but raising this many issues in (what sounds like) a decent room with very good components upstream just doesn't add up. French_fries (Threads | Answers)

I've never owned gear on a level with some of yours, but I agree with this part of Frenchfries post 100%. Your results don't add up, and you should keep trying with the Sophia 2's. You owe it to yourself, the time effort and dollars spent in your system, and the technology that goes into those speakers to continue to tweak your system until the Sophias sing as you expect. It could be as simple as a change in cables or a bit more complex. Keep trying.

I'm gonna go into a potential hornets nest of ridicule for what I'm about to say, but know that I am sincere. Over the years I have used Transparent Ref Xl and below as well as MIT Oracle V1.1 and V1.2 and below cables, as well as many many others such as Harm Tech, Synergistic, Kimber, Siltech, Cardas ...the mind boggles ove the amount of cash wasted on wires! Recently, I found myself in between speakers (going from bi-wire to single ended) therefore switching cabling again. I had an old pair of Monster Cable M2.2s speaker cables laying around, so I figured what the heck...at least I'll have music until I demo more stuff and make a decision on audiophile grade replacements. Well, they turned out to be remarkable and unique in a way that reinvigorated my passion for music (not the gear) again! They are extended, clean and pure, detailed yet warm, soundstage like crazy, are wildly dynamic and to top it off, they throw a full fleshed out midrange like no other (except for ransparent). I also learned that they use the same basic technology as Transparent..an in-line filter network that reduces the noise floor and capacitance allowing the amp to deliver the signal more easily and with less roll off. In any case, proof is in the pudding so to say. Bottom line is that I used them on my Sophia 1's and my new maggie 3.6R's with sunning results. I then picked up several cables for demo from the cable company, my local dealer and various online suppliers (signal cable ect..). They all sounded different but when I put the M2.2s's back in, I felt renewed and refreshed...in love with the sound, like back in my childhood home with my Sansui Model 8 and Bozak B313's and a Revox reel to reel. Everything was in balance and the tonality was as realistic and natural as I've ever heard. Strings were smooth but not glossed over, highs were clear and delicate with a sweetness and purity beyond reproach. For under $500...well that's a side benefit. Lastly, I challenged my MIT Oracle V1.2 IC's with some Monster Proline balanced SP1000M5 cables from sweetwater.com. These are cables for professional sudios and cost $49/5ft run with gold neutrik connections. They almost match my $6500 IC's and in some ways offer a tad more warmth and a roundedness that is addictive. I kept an open mind and open ears and I have experienced a paradigm shift as a result. Both products are easily available and returnable from either online stores or local oulets. $600 could be all that's standing between you questioning your speakers and falling in love with them again. Of course, more IC's might raise the cost significantly to, oh, let's say a staggeringly high $800 maybe?

I should chime back in say that the times I heard the Sophias in Brooks Berdan's setups, it was always with tube amplifiers. And they never sounded aggressive or forward.

I don't think the Sophias are the greatest thing since sliced bread, just that properly setup with the right matching equipment, they sounded smooth, detailed, and very, very, easy on the ears.

i have been reading speaker reviews for the last 15-20 years or so, and i am always struck by the models that sound good right away with little or no set-up issues, VERSUS those that take forever to place/break in/modify the room acoustics/change the wires-the cdp-switch to tubes, etc. guess what? go back to the eggl.andra review and read how nice it sounded right off the bat. this also was the case with the sonus faber extremas. i personally compared the andras to the wilson X-1's (same room), and they sounded much more natural. at the stereophile show in miami, the watt-puppy 5.1's sounded horrible, WITH tube amps AND vinyl, while the sf extrema's, in a similar untreated room, sounded spectacular. while these are my own subjective impressions, when people are spending 5 min. or less listening to the W/P's, and staying for 20 min. or more just so they can move to the center seats to better audition the sf's, i must not be completely crazy. in still another room, the sf electra amators, driven by carver gear, were placed practically on the floor facing my pants' legs, and THEY sounded really good; even playboy magazine praised them in an article.
i am looking at the system above and it is composed of sota components. the sophias should by all rights be fine tuned by peter mcgrath himself (of wilson audio) FOR YOU so they finally sound the way they should, or your money back. after all, he does it for mikey fremer... speaking of which, i am SHOCKED to read in the sept.stereophile that vanderstein quattros ($11k) had a more transparent midrange than his highly lauded MAXX-2'S ($45K).
oh, one more sore point. the dealer i go to has a "disappointing" listening room even by their own admission.
i went to hear the maxx-2's twice with different front-ends, and the tweeeter was too hot. BUT, when they rolled out the alexandrias (the originals) the room was no longer an issue. everything sounded "fine" (okay, extraordinary), with just the very slightest edge reminding you that they were still wilson speakers. which bugs me even more- for $125k, you get speakers that approach the ideal, and can handle virtually unlimited volume without the bass turning mushy or the upper mids getting screechy- IN a "lousy" room. SO i "think" i know what's going on here, but i'll let others chime in with their own impressions.