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Sophia 2 against a wall, with Meridian processor?

I’m working with a difficult long and narrow room that requires my speakers to be placed on a bookshelf of pushed right up against the wall, on the short side of the room. I have a pair of Wilson Audio Cubs 1 that are currently in the bookshelf and they sound really poor. I went this weekend to listen to the Wilson Duette and Sophia 2. I’m considering the Duette because of the room challenges; I listened to the Sophia 2 because I could. I was quite impressed with both speakers, but not surprisingly thought the Sophia sounded better than the Duette. I’m going to be auditioning the Duette on the Wilson stands at my home and they will be placed right up against a wall.

The dealer is recommending that I go with the Sophia 2 and a Meridian processor with room correction. He said the Sophia 2 has the same footprint as the Duette when it’s on the stand. He said the Meridian would solve any problems I have by putting the Sophia up against the wall.

In all the reviews I’ve read about the Sophia it seems that placement is pretty important and I’m leery of the idea that I’ll get full potential from the Sophia against the wall, even with the Meridian.

So what do you think? Any advice on this issue is greatly appreciated.

Ken
kwilkins
14 responses Add your response
henryhk
648 posts
 
re Duette vs Sophias.....the Duettes were specifically designed for the issues you have while the Sophias definitely were not and just bass mgmt will not do the trick though improve things. My bet would be the Duettes or continue to look for others. The TACT processors are great but even then I suspect if you find speakers that can placed at the wall (no rear ports for example) then so much the better whatever processing you use.
cytocycle
1,043 posts
 
+1 for Trifield... Meridian really knows their stuff about multichannel.. my old EAD Matrix mode SUCKED for making 2 channel multichannel.. I don't use trifield for critical listening, this is just for my video system.
hikejohn
69 posts
 
Typically I listen in the Stereo mode....but the Trifield is pretty damn good....

John
hikejohn
69 posts
 
Mostly listen to analog...using the stereo mode...though the trifield mode is pretty interesting and rather good....affects different recordings in different manners....but it is very listenable...

John
eandylee
124 posts
 
Hikejohn,

How do you listen to music? Stereo or Trifield or other?
hikejohn
69 posts
 
Presently I have Sophia 2s with a Meridian 861 v4.25...not sure that the 861 will fix your problem...feel free to contact me.

John
septimious211f868
1 posts
 
If your CUB1s "sound really poor", adding Duettes or Sophias will NOT help improve the sound. The CUB Speakers sound amazing when properly set-up in the right room with the appropriate electronics. The Duette is perhaps slightly better sounding. The Sophias do not image as well as the CUBs, but do offer better sonics, mainly in the lower frequencies. I would try the front-ported 2-way Wilson WATCH surround speakers, set-up on a shelf, or wall-mounted. My second choice would be the Duettes, set-up on a shelf. Wilson floor-standing Speakers are developed and intended for use in medium/large dedicated acoustically treated rooms. To shoehorn a pair of Wilsons in a acoustically backwards room is as ridiculous as owning a Ferrari in Harlem.
gsm18439
895 posts
 
There are speakers that are designed to be pushed up against the wall. In particular, the Audio Note line of speakers have been designed for just such an application. They sound best when put into the corners.
ozzy62's avatar
ozzy62
3,132 posts
 
Agree with onhwy61. Your room sounds like a sonic nightmare. I wouldn't even consider spending the kind of $$ you are talking about with the constraints you have. If you can't allocate a different room, I would go with something much more modest and just live with the sound. Anything more will be money wasted.

Oz
s7horton
1,077 posts
 
I'll be interested to see how you like the Duette in your house on stands. Hopefully with the dealer setup?? I'm convinced that if you are going to spend the money for wilson, you really should spend the money to have the dealer set them up. (If it costs extra, sometimes it does not)
onhwy61's avatar
onhwy61
5,218 posts
 
You might be better off by going with an on-wall design like a Gallo A/V Reference or one of the Martin Logans. I think either of the Wilsons will sound fairly good, but not great. Your room really limits what you can achieve, so I would be wary about over spending.
cytocycle
1,043 posts
 
It's my understanding that the Meridian processors only process the bass; and cut it only. Look at Tact Processors if you are really looking for room processing power or DQX I believe is the other brand.

How about creating a false wall with fabric and placing the speakers behind that so you can actually get them out far enough. Use the Wilson voicing technique to see how far from the wall they have to be..
mcrheist
130 posts
 
You might consider calling Wilson Audio and ask their opinion. They are very particular about the placement of their speakers in owner's homes for optimal enjoyment.
siliab
362 posts
 
You NEED to speak to Wilson. I'm not a dealer so I do not have an enormous amount of experience with this, but I have played around with my own WP7s and they sound nasty when they get too close to the wall in back of them. The congestion, peakiness and bloat that I hear may be related to problems generated by putting the rear-facing ports too close to a room boundary. I can't imagine how a processor would effectively change the radiation of sound from these ports. Again, I'm merely a lowly consumer, so I could be completely wrong. But, I would still check with Wilson before plunking down the sheckels.
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