Thank you for the suggestions Soix and Tomic - I never considered JBL because i thought it was old tech and not very resolving - kind of like Klipsch - but I will go check it out. I got a private email from a gentleman who sold his Sasha 1's because of the harsh tweeters (he said they were unlistenable - don't really agree with that but...) and moved to Monitor Audio PL500 II's, I will check those out too. For those of you who are wondering what I am driving the Sasha's with, I am using Rowland Monoblocks which are the only amps I have heard (besides Burmeister) that sound beautiful. On amps I have tried Bryston, Classe, PS Audio BHK (I have heard the D'agistino and they sound like krells to me) - all sucked because the Sasha's are hard to drive. I have tried various cables, different preamps (I am now on Audio Research). Even the dealers admit that the Focal tweeter in the Sasha 1's are known to be harsh - the DAWS don't have that tweeter and the Alexia V's are just beautiful. Yvette's are a completely different animal - don't have the soundstage or dynamics for me, but they sound nice. Thanks for the input.
Speaker Suggestions $30K Sasha DAW competitor?
I have been contemplating some new speakers - I have Wilson Sasha 1's which sound fantastic, but the highs can be screechy on some songs. I listen to rock, alternative, punk at concert volumes. I am looking at the Sasha DAW's and ?? I just heard the Alexia V's - they are what I want, but they come with a $70K price tag - just too much - man did they sound absolutely stunning - I think they are THE BEST Wilson's in the entire line - if anyone has that kind of cash you should go hear them - stunning. I wanted to consider the PS Audio FR30's (which I have not heard) before I made a final decision, and was going to Boulder to hear the FR30's, but PS mandates that you have to be vaccinated and boosted - my doctor said don't get the booster - PS can do whatever they want - but I draw the line on my health - so that one is out (I have their DAC and support has been great). One of the reasons I liked the FR30 is the ribbon tweeter tech which I perceive might be good in that speaker - I find them pretty smooth (have heard similar tech in the Martin Logan stuff - and they are smooth indeed). Not a fan of Magico, Sonus Faber or Elac - in my view and for my taste - they are not musical. Looking for floor standers. Thanking you all for your speaker input.
One speaker definitely worth auditioning if you can find them is the Verity Audio Amadis S. Made in Canada they tend to fly under the radar but they ooze quality and produce some of the best sound I’ve ever heard and never harsh. Here’s a review of the prior model,,, https://www.ultraaudio.com/equipment/verity_amadis.htm https://verityaudio.com/product/amadis/ Other excellent choices in your price range are Rockport Avior, Joseph Audio Pearls, and the beautiful Usher TD-20 (another one that flies under the radar with amazing value and sound right up there with Verity IMHO). Last, and although under $20k I’ll add the Vandersteen Quatro that I think punches well above its weight. Anyway, hope this helps, and best of luck. |
Screechy highs are usually attributed to the following: 1. Lack of room acoustic treatment 2. Speaker placement 3. Associated equipment - components and cables 4. Combination of all of the above I have Wilson Sabrina and there’s zero harshness. At any listening level. If your room is not treated, don’t be surprised if you end up back in square one with new speakers. Can you list the rest of your system and describe your room acoustics? Also the type of music you listen to…there’s just a lot of “hot” stuff there that’s going to sound harsher than the well recorded jazz, blues, rock or classical. That’ll be the trade off but you can mitigate it to a degree by addressing the items I mentioned above
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