Yes, I heard the speakers with the same gear. Though the comparison is not a failure if one cannot do that, having the same gear is a big help in drawing A/B comparisons.
Anyway, for the Wilsons I heard the Sabrinas firsts, then the Focals Sopra 3, then the Sasha DAW. I was not able to listen to a set of Yvettes, but basically, everything I heard said it was maybe 75% of the Sasha DAW. I will try to find a pair to listen to before I pull the trigger but that will depend. But that's why it is an odd choice of comparison because I heard the Sasha DAWs and Focals against one another, but really seriously looking at the Yvettes vs the Focals and wondering if I will be kicking myself if I go for the Yvettes and not wait for the Sasha DAWs. The price just is quite severe afterall.
I am not limiting myself, I just did the auditioning and liked what I heard from a particular manufacturer more than the other.
I found specific parameters that I liked about speakers, heard those that I thought matched those, did a thorough comparison and limited it down to a couple of particular manufacturers.
Ironic. I was told that the wilsons are more forward than the focals, but I noticed that the Wilsons were more laid back, especially in the vocal projection. My suspicion is that it has to do with the tweeter.
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I also forgot to mention, the room is 22 x 26, though the music area is closer to 22 x 15 |
Have you heard the Revels in the Focal price range??
Also, life is short. You really want to die knowing you waited several years to get the speakers you liked, or do you want to die knowing you spent those years listening to music with speakers you loved?
I have heard the Revels, not my cup of tea. As I stated earlier I did most of the research already. Since everyone has different listening preferences, ears, sound interpretations, I respectfully ask that we not go down the path of "listen to this speaker," what one person may find incredible, someone else may find dull.
Also, the revels will not synergize well with my D87s, so that was a no go for me. The ones I loved the best were Legacy Audio, Focal, and Wilson. Legacy won't work for me because the ribbon tweeter is very directional, but I did love its music reproduction. The focal's and wilsons matched my need for sound synergy and music reproduction, each having slight advantages depending on genre and recording quality (wilson is not forgiving of bad recordings or masters for instance), Wislon did incredibly well of instrument detail and separation while the vocals were incredibly forward (in a good way) on the focals because of the BE tweeter. I limited down to those two brands. |
Mepstein, neither the WIlsons or the Focals' will 100% synergize with your Origins.
We have been doing surround sound for over 30 years, if matching your origins is a priority, then the Wilsons will be a much closer sonic match, as their tweeter is also a soft dome, so at least they are in the same family.
Did you hear both of these speakers on Mcintosh gear?
The Mcintosh gear tends to be rolled off in the treble vs other brands of electronics which are more neutral, Mcintosh products mirror a more tube like presentation, which would favor the pairing with the Focals whose Beryilium tweeter does show more detail than the Wilsons, but then you are less close to matching the Origins.
If you are doing surround sound the most important loudspeaker is the center channel, the rest of the loudspeakers for back or surrounds the Origins will still work no matter which main speakers are chosen.
WIlsons tend to image better with a more holographic presentation than the Focals which throw a wide but less specific soundstage.
Personally we would recommend that you keep looking and not limit yourself to just these two companies.
We heard some speakers at Axpona that combine many of the traits of both of these speakes in a somewhat similar price point.
Dave and Troy
Audio Doctor NJ
Matching the origin is not exactly a priority, I just do not want them to clash. For music I generally do 2-channel, but since I have the theater setup already done and in the walls, no harm in also going that way. Mcintosh only does the 2 channel for music, and powers the front speakers for the theater via passthrough. The Anthem 1120 does the home theater. My setup is 70/30 for music/home theater. No disrespect meant, but it does seem that you are quite seriously pushing against both Wilson and Focal with my setup. May I inquire into why? Which speakers did you hear at Axpona that combined the traits? Where they on par with the other two? Not saying I will switch my view but would be interesting to consider.
I was looking at the Focal's, but just thought they were all bland. Same with the Dynaudios. I ended up with a used pair of Wilson Sasha's. They sound terrific after I forked over $500 bucks to repair a defective driver that fell apart after 5 years (I have old cheap klipsch that did not fall apart after 30 years). So, I guess I would say, want boring sound that is well built, get Focal. Want excitement that falls apart, get Wilson.
Which Focals did you listen to? I was not impressed with anything below the Sopra 2s. Also, I don't want my speakers to fall apart :(
Focals don't sound quite "Natural"
Wilsons will bore you to death.
These are the two you have narrowed it down to.
Doesn't your brother in law rep any other lines?
Like Vimberg for example??
What say yeah?
Not sure what brother in law you are referencing... Agree, that Focal does color the sound a little Have not heard of Vimberg before. I do like the looks of the cabinets, though I can't seem to find much information on them or dealers who have them to audition nearby. I won't be considering a speaker unless I am able to audition them. |
mepstein10 - I currently own Focal Sopra 2 speakers so my recommendation could be biased but would try my best to advise.
They’re really fine sets of speakers, especially non-fatiguing, vocal clarity, good mid-range, and good bass when pairing up with tube pre / power amps. Sopra 3 will definitely "do more." I mentioned pairing up with tube amps because when comparing with demos at dealer’s (they used Naims solid state amps), I found Sopra 2 abit too boomy to my taste, yet sound clarity and mid-range are superb. Hence I paired them with slightly "mellow, laid-back" Primaluna Pre / Power amps to get my best settings. I also demo-ed the Mastro Utopia, its sound characteristics differ from Focal and with superb headrooms for bigger rooms, but I still prefer the Sopras. If I had the money, will definitely go with Sopra 3.
I also listen to symphonic orchestra with diverse combination of instruments, but I found the best separation so far is B&W 800 D3 the top of the line speakers. B&W lower ranges (e.g. 802 and below) are "too forward" for my taste and could be due to drivers’ size with different frequencies response. When comparing to Sopra 2, my view Sopra still at times "mixing up" the cymbals, trumpets, and piano together slightly with no clear separation, but still better comparing to my old KEF700 speakers, plus other demo-ed speakers e.g. Sonus Faber, Tannoy, plus the lower range B&W speakers.
The B&W 800 D3 price is definitely out of my range and could be an alternative. In my case, Sopra 2 suited my requirements with good compromises, coupled with price / performance ratios plus good dealer’s support in my area. Have not demo-ed the Wilsons but from what I heard their Alexia range and above are quite well-known.
Hope it helps .
Thanks for the advice. I do a solid state amp with a tube pre-amp (both Mcintosh). I am not a fan of B&W. They are fine speakers, but not my cup of tea. |
One nice thing about several Wilson models is that you can adjust the tonal balance. I'm not sure how many know about this.
They have removable resistors in the crossover which can be accessed to adjust the balance to suit.
I am pretty sure I've heard at least one pair that was "juiced up" at the dealer this way. If you find the treble / mid / bass balance not what you are looking for you can probably adjust it.
Best,
E
This I did not know. That's actually really cool. Thanks for the info on that. |
6 of one, 1/2 dozen of the other. Blow yourself into a new dimension.
SoundLabs Not sure I follow... |
I checked out the BE10 and BE20, due to prodding from our community, which were magnitudes better than the mini ones. Didn't hear a huge difference between BE10 and be20. Unfortunately that the BE10 and replaced with a higher end unit soon, but that should not be a big factor in my consideration.
Also it seems everyone thinking I'll be getting these at full price. So let's fix that misconception.
The ones I'm considering are demo units. I can get a demo Yvette for 15.7k, a demo Sopras for 13k and an usher BE10 for.8.9k.
Though consideration in order right now are Yvettes, BE10s and Sopras. Though the Mac deal is something worth considering, though I did hear plenty of people who powered Wilsons with McIntosh with no issues.
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I compared the Focal Scala to Wilson Sasha back to back with the same electronics and room and preferred the the Wilson Sasha. The Focal was too forward and in my face. Actually got a headache within 30 minutes every time I tried over a few days. I tried repositioning and tried to like them but failed. I kept the Wilson Sasha which is laid back , dynamic , visceral and does bass with impact together with natural mids and tops. I haven’t heard the Focals and Wilson’s you refer to. Hope this helps
That's what I liked about the Wilson's as well, the natural sound and slightly more relaxed approach. Might want to consider looking at some of the previous generation big Wilsons, which are probably a tad less in the used market than the DAWs. Maxx3, or even Grand Slamm if you came across them. The drivers for the Sasha were taken from the Maxx3......
Hi go for wilson sasha's mk 2, great speakers, i have a pair, i have seen them go for £17000, great bargain great sound,
I have been thinking that, but honestly, the changes they made to the Sasha DAW compared to the Sasha 2 is pretty substantial. |
Thanks for all the help. I found a great set of Sasha Daws for an amazing deal so I went with that. |
enjoy the new Daw they are the best Wilsons we have heard in a long time. What will you be using for the rest of the system?
McIntosh mc 452 for power Preamp McIntosh c2600 Sources - 1) McIntosh mt10 with clearaudio talisman v2 cartridge 2) Sony Hapz1es with modwright truth mod 3) McIntosh t450 transport 4) Allo one signature for tidal ( to be replaced by lumin or ayrender later) I mostly use the turntable. |
if you can get a demo pair of yvette’s in a good color for 15k i suggest that you might consider jumping on it. the speaker is all about music as it should be. many reviewers(fwiw) have called it the best wilson yet considering price/performance ratio. if it’s boring to you as mentioned above i think you must have a very dark system which is boring. i’ve never heard wilson’s called boring.
Too late. Pulled the trigger on the DAWs, though the deal I got was better than the one for the Yvette. So I can't complain. |
Gentlemen, let's please keep it civil. You are both entitled to your opinion, but let's keep insults and unnecessary jabs to a minimum. It is juvenile and we are better than that.
Now, I can agree with @RIAA the experience I had listening to the Sashas DAWs were very different compared to what GoChurchGo may have been heard. None of us have the same ears, so honestly speaking we do all hear differently and can have completely different preferences. Especially since we are no doubt not comparing the same music on the same sources.
For instance, I was listening to them on D'Agostinos and then on Mcintosh C2600/MC452, which I felt was a much better amp and preamp to use.
I am not a huge fan of the ARC amps, and when I heard them before I was not impressed with how they drove the speakers. But that is my opinion.
On that note, @GoChurchGo, might be worth listening to the Sashas again with a different amp/preamp just to see if it was the source and power that was not ideal. I am very surprised that your experience was so different compared to mine.
Regardless, I appreciate the input from everyone, including negative feedback on particular brands, because that helps me think about the decision critically and not get swept away in emotion, or looks, or the opinion of the audio dealer, who has skin in the game. Thanks again, everyone. |
