Avalon Acoustics vs Wilson Audio

Kaxmann,

The following comments are not a personal attack

There is nothing fast about the 802D... There is substantial overhang in the bass. It could be delayed port noise but they are slow. Look at the measurements in the link I provided below. You can see that the port is still making low level noise up to 400hz. Because of this they will also need a lot more distance from rear and side walls to sound balanced (downward port too).
If you think the 802Ds are fast you have simply not heard enough. If you want a fast speaker think Wilson, Magico, or Thiel. As a side not if you want a cheaper speaker with similar sound as Avalon demo the Thiel 3.7s also.

http://stereophile.com/content/bw-802d-loudspeaker-measurements

Mids:

The Sophia 3 has higher resolution and transparency in the midrange than the 802D. Only at ear bleeding levels do you get the same level of detail out of the 802D's midrange. The Thiel 3.7 is even more detailed in the midrange than the Sophia 3. None of these speaker's mids are bright.

Bass:
Sophia is the clear winner. It has texture and slam the 802D can't touch and is much faster. The 802D has very good bass power but to a fault. It is slow and booming is anything but giant rooms(15X30+). The Thiel 3.7 is very fast and VERY textured in the bass. It has more detail than the Sophia at it lowest not around 30hz but come up short in shear power. The bass from the 3.7 will be very good in an average room(12X15ish).

Highs:
802Ds highs are great. They are well dispersed and have what I call a rockers high that fill the room much like a real cymbal. They are detailed and never get out of control. One of my favorite sounding tweeters but they do need to be played loud to shine. The Sophia 3's tweeter is not quite as detailed but is also well dispersed. It has a natural sound to it but does not reach for the stars like some better tweeters on the market. Not bad not great IMO. As for the Thiel 3.7 tweeter, I am really not sure. I have demoed them many time and for the life of me I can't recall how they sound. The mids and tweeter are so integrated I can tell where one stops and the other starts.

Over all sound:
The 802D are colored but can be fun to listen to. Because of the coloration I do not think they are worth their asking price. The Sophia 3 is a good balance between resolution and musicality. They have real bass and are also fun. The Theil 37s is a class act and a truth teller... make sure you can handle the truth (most can't). They will be as fun or as cold as your source music/equipment is.

As alway use your own ears.

PS. all my comments are on the 802D and not the new 802Diamond.

James63, I appreciate your comments greatly. You were very professional about it. I trust your judgment on the 802d's, but the new ones were improved significantly from what I've heard. I did hear the last gen 802d's, but it was a while ago and I don't remember much from the experience. I have heard the thiel 3.7 in a side by side comparison next to the newest 803d using the same electronics, and I actually liked the 803d better. The biggest selling point for me with the bowers is the diamond tweeters. There's nothing that sounds quite as good as the diamond IMO. The sound is so pure. The Thiel is good, but it doesn't do anything for me. Neither do Magico's especially when you consider the cost for them.

I want the Wilson Sasha really bad, but I would have to get a deal on it. Plus one of my local dealers I'm pretty sure is marking up the price on the Sasha. Its suppose to be msrp of $26900, but from what the salesman told me its $28k. I never pay full retail for my hifi, I always work out some sort of deal.

When I get closer to making a decision on speakers I'll be sure to demo as much as possible. No sense into dropping this sort of money when you're not sure. So far though I'm really feeling the dedicated 2ch route. Thanks again

Kazmann,

I can understand why Thiel is not for everyone. It sounds like you like a speaker with some body. My guess is you will like the Wilsons much better than the Avalons.

Can you comment on the Sophia 3 (or Sasha) compared to the new 802Diamond?

I honestly can't comment the Sophia 3 or the Sasha directly to the 802d. Although I heard all three, they were at different times. My situation in hearing them was a little odd as well. I have two dealers I visit, both carry bowers, but the one carries both Bower's and Wilson's. I heard the 802d's at the store that doesn't carry the Wilson's. The electronics involved was a Arcam av888/p777, Arcam bdp-100 transport, and Analysis-plus cables.

As for the Wilson's, I heard them in separate rooms. The Sophia 3's was connected to what looked like Ayre R series mono blocks, Ayre pre-amp, and Ayre cd transport. The Sasha's were in the room next door. The electronics for that was a sony blu-ray transport, Ayre v-5 amp, Meridian surround processor as the dac, and I do not remember what the pre-amp was. Now obviously Sophia 3's had an advantage over the Sasha's electronics which is why I liked the sound better. Even though that was the case I could still pick up the characteristics of the Sasha which was clearly superior. The Sasha is a much tighter speaker. If anything I think the speakers should've switched rooms.

Sorry I couldn't fully answer your question.

Forgot to put this in my reply James63.

You are right about the full body sound. I like that in a speaker, which is probably why I like the Wilson's so much. The Thiel sounds good to me, but its just a tad bit on the thin side. We all have different frequency responses and taste in sound.