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Am I broken? Am I stuck? Do I have to return my audiophile card now?

Hi Everyone,

 

I hope you're all doing well!  I am looking for a little advice or input and see if others have experienced this, or am I broken?

 

First, I want to say I am a Wilson fan boy.  Love 'em, hate 'em, whatever, but I love their speakers.  I will also fully admit that I've been in love the with the idea of owning Wilson's since I was a teenager.  Well, about a year ago things worked out - I had the money and we moved into a house (from a condo) - so I auditioned a few different speakers but the Wilson's were what ended up being my choice, specifically SabrinaX's.  I LOOOOVE them.  I drive them with an RME ADI-2 DAC into a Luxman L-509X.  To me, it sounds fantastic.  What one reviewer said about the Sabrina's is what I feel most accurately expresses how I feel about them.  It was something along the lines of, "I enjoy every moment I spend listening to the Sabrina's and think about listening to them every moment I am not listening to them."  

 

But the Sabrina's have one flaw.  They aren't Sasha's, or really, WATT/Puppies as those were the speakers my young self always wanted.  But I wrote off the Sasha's at the time because they were more money, and are MUCH bigger.  Life was good.

 

But then my dealer had a Wilson event and I met the one and only Peter McGrath.  What cool dude.  Anyway, I mentioned to him my love for Sasha's and he fired back that the DAW's were going to be soon replaced that my dealer could probably work out a pretty sweet deal on a pair. 

 

My dealer auditioned the DAW's for me with a pretty modest (relatively speaking) amp, at my request.  A Hegel H120 using the internal DAC/Streamer.  Well, the DAW's easily blew my Sabrina's out of the water here.  The imaging was far, far sharper, bigger deeper, taller stage, far more detailed, actual SLAMM and the dynamics...  Oh brother, the dynamics....

 

So here's the thing, my dealer is amazing just doesn't know how to say "no" so he's offered me a smookin' good deal on a trade in for my Sabrina's for the Sasha's.  I can very comfortably afford to do the swap.  My wife is fine with the size/looks of the DAW's.  Everything is a go!  But...  But I come home and listen to my Sabrina's and think, "This is friggin amazing!" and so I am left not pulling the trigger.  I'm actually happy with the sound, despite knowing that there is better.

 

The other side of this is that I used to want to pursue a better amp/DAC for my Sabrina's but now I don't really.  After having heard the DAW's I know the Sabrina's will never reach that level, regardless of gear.  So spending on a amp/DAC seems silly when, if I am going to spend the money, I know I should just get the DAW's as that will offer a greater improvement.

It's like I've stale mated myself!  

I don't want to change my Sabrina's because they sound so good.  But the DAW's do sound better.  But I am happy with the Sabrina's!  And so the circle goes...

So am I broken?  Am I to be stripped of my audiophile card?  Has anyone else experienced this where they can fully acknowledge that there is better than what they have, but still not have the motivation to make the leap?  Or maybe I'm just being cheap (I do also want to support my dealer because he's amazing)?

Maybe I'm alone here in how I feel.  But I suspect there are a few audio-friends who may understand.

Happy listening,

-Paul

 

bigfatpaulie

Showing 5 responses by ghdprentice

ghdprentice
6,423 posts
 

Wow. That is a conundrum. 
 

How about this. Talk, or pay your dealer to audition the new speakers in your home. Then let your ears / heart decide. The problem is you are actually comparing a known with and unknown… You have not heard the new speakers in your acoustic environment. I think this might make the decision easier.

ghdprentice
6,423 posts
 

@pmiller115

I have seldom ever experienced compromise in the pursuit of the high end in either my home theater or audio systems. There are some rules: always research the heck out of any purchase, and never spend less that twice as much on the next purchase.

I started building my audio system about fifty years ago… I had some mis-steps in the first couple years. But after I got my feet on the ground,,. That was the end of any compromised steps forward. I now own the very best main audio system and headphone system I have heard.
 

We (partner and I) reached a great home theater with flagship Meridian processors and top notch speakers and amplification about 18 years ago and have just been upgrading monitors since (Sony 77” OLED currently). While I am sure there is an opportunity to improve the processor at this point, when I do, it will be to, the forefront, and I doubt there will be any compromise.

ghdprentice
6,423 posts
 

@pmiller115 

Thank you for your follow up comment. 
 

Yes, we are using compromise in the same way. I have found that sideways moves in audio equipment virtually always amounts to compromise; trading one set of strengths and weaknesses for another. I did that a few times in the first few years into high end audio. This is where I came up with my personal rule of thumb, never invest less that 2x in upgrading a component. Typically, unless you like warm sound and you bought a hyper-detailed component (research precludes this) then all aspects of sound quality improve at the new level. Hence, no compromise.

 

I think a lot of controversy in this pursuit comes from sideways moves. Lots of folks have fairly simple objectives at first… like high levels of detail and slam, for instance. They get a component that accentuates the characteristic they like and it’s a giant killer… the best ever. Then over time the get more experience and become aware of more nuances… then you are in the realm of compromise, unless they are moving up. Really high end stuff is really good at everything in their desired sound type. 

ghdprentice
6,423 posts
 

Thanks for the update. You have a good wife… I’d hold on to her. You must be quite the waffler. 
 

Congratulations on your purchase. Yeah, that’s why more expensive speakers are more expensive… performance. I’m happy you did it. You will enjoy them more each time you listen to music. 

ghdprentice
6,423 posts
 

@carlsbad2 

 

I don’t see your system posted. So where do you come up with this assessment? Have you pursued high end audio for decades? Experience with hundreds of systems? What are the values upon which you base your judgement of Wilson… that you cannot afford them? And therefore they are not worth it? 

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