B&W N800 vs Wilson WP7 vs Revel and others


I plan to upgrade my N802's in the near future and have a few speakers on my short list. I an interested in hearing everyone's thoughts or opinions. My short list includes:

B&W Signature N800's
Wilson WP 7
Wilson WP 6
Wilson Sophia
Revel Studios and Salons
JM Labs Utopia
Sonus Faber Amati

My current system includes Krell FPB 350 mono's and 7.1 processor. I will be using the latest EMC 1 cdp. Thanks
Bill
wvick

Showing 3 responses by holzhauer

I personally removed Wilson and B&W from my list some time ago. I agree with the above posts which urge you to audition as many speakers as possible. I'm amazed sometimes how poorly a speaker I was excited about actually sounded.
Also, I have had luck asking employees of the better shops what their favorite speaker is. Many time it has taken me down a better yet less traveled road.
Wvick,
If you get a chance, try to hear the Shahinian Diapasons. I arrived at them after listening to the Watt/Puppies, Wilson Grand Slams, B&W 800's, Soundlabs and Thiels. You can get a brand new pair for $12,000. A lot of money but compared to others a real deal. Gordon Holt compared them favorably to the Wilson Wamms. These loudspeakers make no compromises in the reproduction of live music at live levels!! There are no U.S. dealers that I know of yet they have been in business a long time. For the money you will save on the speakers, fly out to New York and hear what I believe is the best speaker in the world.

Forgot to mention Quad 988's. Absolutely fantastic loudspeaker. I heard these at Promusica in Chicago and they were very impressive. They are the personal favorites of several Promusica employees who have access to speakers many times the price.