Proac D38, Wilson Sophia II, Avalon Ascendant???

I would suggest the oposite. I'm familiar with ProAc, owned Avalon Eidolon Vision for over a year (and heard Opus Ceramique, Ascendant and Symbol in MY system), and now own Sophia 2. To my ears, Sophia II is considerably better than the speakers you listed - it has better articulation, deeper soundstage and MUCH less colorations.

Chetiar - all Avalons I have tried (maybe with the exception of Isis) have somehow limited dynamic impact in my expirience. Even the Eidolons, which use 11" Eton bass driver.

Wilsons, on the other hand, have been known for years for great dynamics and bass impact. And Sophia II is no exception.

The problem I always had with Wilson speakers, was that they were too bright and fatiguing for my taste. But not any more. Sophia II - for whatever reason - is a major breakthrough from the typical Wilson "family sound". Properly burned in (read: after 400h), they are not bright or edgy AT ALL. Sophia II sounds very natural and well balanced through out the spectrum, fast, uncoloured, and with one of the most grainless high frequencies.

One of the Sophia's strenghts - and the do that better than almost any speaker I have tried - is the power and articulation they are able to provide in the vital lower midrange. If you love classical music as much as I do, you would love the way Sophia can reproduce the left hand of the piano, the baritone chest-tone or the chello. Most other speakers sound boomy and muddy in this region compared to Wilsons.

Amfibius - I agree with you that W/Ps sound VERY different to ProAcs. However, Sophia II is a different story.

I personally love ProAcs, Avalons and yet ... I was so impressed with the Sophias II, that I bought a pair. I never though that it could happen !

To me, they do everything ProAcs can do, but are much less coloured, more transparent and offer superior articulation. I atribute ths to their advanced enclosures, which are very inert. Listening to ProAcs, I always hear the contribution of MDF box.

Building a speaker is much more than just putting a bunch of speakers together in a DIY box.

I have heard a ton of DIY speakers, many of them using state of the art drive units, and most of the time was very disapointed.