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Sonus Faber vs Wilson

I currently own a pair of absolutely gorgeous Serafino Tradition speakers. They are about 3 months old and I’ve finally got them positioned nicely in my room. They are being driven by a Gryphon Diablo 300. Great soundstage and imaging even off access. Tremendous detail and I just love the way the speakers look. I must add that it’s really important to me how all this stuff looks in my home. I love the tight fast and nuanced delivery of the Gryphon but not loving the way it looks…alas..that sound made the decision for me and I’ve hidden it away so my wife doesn’t have a coronary.

So….this brings me to my newest quandary. My local dealer has a gorgeous dedicated listening room in the lovely Biltmore hotel just minutes from my home. (Very dangerous…!) There are a pair of Wilson Sasha DAW speakers that sound…well…that sound like the best speakers I’ve heard. I absolutely HATE the way they look…and I would dread getting them up the three front steps of my home…but that sound….

Do I keep the lovely sounding and gorgeous looking Serafino’s or swap them for the ugliest best sounding speakers I’ve ever heard.? 
(There is an $18k price difference so there’s that too…!)
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Showing 2 responses by bthartman

bthartman
32 posts
 
I'm sure you made the right choice to keep the SF.  I own the previous Sasha speaker (series 2), which I traded in original Sabrina's for to get a demo pair.  While the Sasha DAW is certainly a great speaker, particularly when you get to this level it really is a matter of personal preference.

What I think you might consider is to upgrade your dCS Bartok to the Rossini DAC (and maybe even getting the Rossini Master Clock as well).  The Bartok is certainly a great DAC and I was considering it when I upgraded my digital front end a couple months ago.  But after doing a side by side comparison of the Bartok and Rossini in my home system, and hearing from a dCS representative on an online forum that there are no current plans to upgrade the Bartok mapping algorithms, the Rossini is a significant step up in sound quality.

Of course another alternative would be to keep the Bartok but add the Rossini Master Clock to it.  From what I've read, that still won't quite equal the Rossini in SQ but it will certainly be closer.
bthartman
32 posts
 
Well, GG107, I’d say your wife’s opinion only shows that the tastes (and ears) of musicians are as varied as they are for everyone else. There are certainly plenty of musicians who have a different opinion about Wilson speakers and find them to be wonderful. As an amateur musician myself, I also know that the perception of the music is very different from the stage, and behind your own instrument, than it is from several rows out in the audience. Which is one of the reasons I often ask friends to play the Flamenco guitar I had built by a Luthier several years ago - it sounds very different from across the room than it does when I’m playing it.

I’d also point out that Peter McGrath of Wilson audio is a highly respected recording engineer (including of Classical music), and certainly doesn’t share your wife’s opinion.

Your wife’s opinion is certainly valid - for her and perhaps you. But to suggest that those of us that don’t share that opinion are unfamiliar with the sound of live performances is, in fact, rather offensive. It’s simply a matter of different tastes.
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