cobalt

I have heard most of the Wilson line and had the opportunity to include the latest version of the Sasha's last night. Although I always found Wilsons to be rather odd looking they always offer impressive performance. Unlike the Maxx III's the Sasha's are much smaller and look like a combination of the Sophias and the robot from the movie Black Hole.

Overall they were a rather impressive sounding speaker with full bottom end nice imaging and overall great performance. The only problem I have with them is their $28k asking price.

Figured i would share.

Tonydec

I've been considering some used Sophias based on reviews. I should get out there and listen to some. Although I think Wilsons are expensive, I look at Magico pricing and think maybe not.

cobalt

IMO although the latest version of Sophias are a major improvement and a nice speaker although there is a lot on the market in that price range for less that are just as good. The latest version of the Sasha is a considerable jump in price but is a full redesign and major improvement. It does sit well within many price ranges with far superior sound over the Sophias and many other speakers costing more.

A.Wayne

Listened to the Sasha's a month ago and it was not to my liking, i would be willing to say it was the setup , the room was not ideal IMO and i could not get over the ringing in the mid-range.


The prices for decent Hi-fi today is redonculous, I'm glad i don't have to go there...

cobalt

Latest version? I actually found the new cabinets to reduce resonance to almost nothing. Didn't pick up on the ringing but i will be back Friday night for another go, the local rep will be there.

Will report back.

A.Wayne

Brand new and supposedly setup by the man himself Peter Mcgrath..

The ringing was not cabinet , but mid-driver related, i had suggested the room was a bit too live for the setup, they disagreed , but the ringing was obvious, ( piano ) and was evident even 1 ft from the speaker.

Could have been a faulty driver, we will see ...

cobalt

If you don't mind PMing me with more details I will be speaking with Peter tomorrow night. I would be interested in hearing both sides not to mention listening for the ringing you heard. Hopefully Jonathan Halpern from Tone Imports will be there too.

mzn50

Being on my third set of Wilsons

Watt/Puppy and Levinson
MAXX with Halcro
Sophia with Levinson

The Wilson speaker is potentially bright with the wrong equipment and cabling.. The evolution of WP to Sasha's is a fabulous improvement .. The ringing maybe as simple as the amp and freq and or the cables

My finding is get a Tube based output.. and or a less bright AMP .. for me.. a Hybrid Amp is the way to go... Best combination to date (and subjective) is LAMM equipment with these speakers.. magical in the right room
Wilsons are not for everyone.. but to me.. one of the best value in High End when properly matched

good luck

Matt

Tonydec

Good info Matt. So you think Sophia 2's would be a good match with McIntosh MC275's? I have them mono blocked. McIntosh C2300 for pre.

mzn50

wow.. there is a amp from the past.. sweet setup..what speakers do you have now ..?

I dont remember the watt/chan on the 275s.. but they do have both 4/8 ohm hook up options ??.. as the Sophia's at 87db .. I would try the 4-Ohm tap with the Sophia's.. this would be more inline with driving the speaker properly.. I think when positioned well.. toed in slightly and using the Wilson methodology .. I think you will be surprised at what your amp really sounds like..

cobalt

I agree with what you say I am using a Shindo Masseto tube Pre with Accuphase class A amps which I find to be quite neutral. I found the Shindo to be a step up from the Lamm although unless you experience it most people find it hard to believe, also cabling is critical. After several listening sessions I am considering pulling the trigger

Tonydec

The amps have 4/8/16 ohm taps. 150 watts per side when mono blocked. They are the Mk V version, with modern binding posts. My current speakers are the Onix Strata mini, 86 dB @ 8ohms.

A.Wayne

What color are you getting, Cobalt blue Sasha's .....?

mzn50

Tony
Using 4ohm taps would be ideal.. that should be a very sweet combination..
as a side note.. I found using pure silver or gold interconnects had a negative impact.. again as we all know.. cables are subjective.. but I had more success with copper interconnects - balanced of course !!!

Matt

A.Wayne

I would not suggest you drive the Sash'a with a tube amp , or one that does not have an 2 ohm tap, The bass will be horrible.

http://www.stereophile.com/content/w...r-measurements


Looking at the measurements here the Sash's drop to 2 ohm in the critical bass region with an phase angle of 45 deg, this will cause you amp with it's 4 ohm tap to distort.

Stereophile:

"Sasha's plot of impedance magnitude and electrical phase (fig.1) reveals the speaker to be a demanding load for the partnering amplifier to drive. Not only does the impedance drop below 4 ohms for most of the lower midrange and upper bass, with a minimum value of 2 ohms at 86Hz, but there is also an amplifier-unfriendly combination of 3 ohms and –43° phase angle at 61Hz."


Being subjective, the reviewer did not have an issue ( he claims) when listening from the 4 ohm tap on his Art's Shindo Corton-Charlemagne monoblocks........



Stereophile:

A little too much energy is apparent at the top of the midrange; whether this will be perceived as a forwardness to the Sasha's balance, or whether the relative lack of energy in the presence region will be heard as a slightly laid-back quality, will very much depend on the music played. This graph was taken with the Sasha's grille removed..


This is how i had auditioned them with grille removed and the ringing in the upper middle was too much for me , granted , this can be tamed with cables a bit high in inductance ( no silver here) and or tube amplfiers with a soft top end.

This is why it is very critical for in house listening , to get the best from the setup , cables et al .

Stereophile:"

It took me longer than usual to comprehend what the Wilson Sasha's measurements were telling me. Some of the individual measurements raised my eyebrows a little, but taking in the entirety of the speaker's measurements, it becomes apparent that the Sasha is the result of its designer carefully balancing each parameter to achieve a good-sounding whole. And judging from not only Art Dudley's auditioning but also my own, the Sasha does achieve that goal. With the Sasha, David Wilson has finally eliminated the upper-bass "blump" endemic to earlier generations of the WATT/Puppy, and that I felt to be that otherwise excellent-sounding speaker's Achilles' heel. But its impedance is still going to mean careful auditioning with a would-be purchaser's amplifier, to see if the latter is up to the task of driving the Sashas.

—John Atkinson


Industry speak .....


Impedance graph, not tube friendly ..