Speaker upgrade question - Wilson vs Focal


Hey audiogoners!

Thinking of upgrading and need the community/expert input.

Thinking of upgrading from a set of usher mini ones that I've had and loved for a few years.

I listened to a bunch of speakers, Focus Audio, Martin Logan, B&w, higher end ushers, Wilson audio, and Focal.

The ones I liked the most were the Wilson Audio Sasha DAW and the Focal Sopra 3. 

Loved the forward and detailed instrumentation on the Wilson's, especially the Sasha DAW, but liked the vocals slightly better on the sopras, though instrumentation on them was not as crisp as on Wilson's. But the two are very close.

Music is mostly jazz, classical, light rock, electronic and occasionally symphonic metal / European metal (night wish, sonata Arctica, dream theater). Mostly jazz though, vocal and instrumental. 

Trying to decide between getting the Wilson audio yvette, ( Sasha is too expensive and Sabrina's don't deliver enough) and Focal Sopra 3. Though I can wait a few years and get the Sasha then second hand.

I won't be considering other brands since I already did that research run around. These two brands work best for me and synergize well with my inwall home theater speakers (origin d87s).

I will be powering them using a McIntosh mc452 /C2600 for 2 channel, mostly LPs (McIntosh mt10) and tidal streaming and a anthem 1120 for home theater. 

What you guys think? Go for the Yvettes, wait for the Sasha's or go for the focals? 

Thanks.


mepstein10

Showing 3 responses by rbstehno

I disagree. I haven’t heard a Focal speaker that I could listen to for any length of time that didn’t cost $40k or higher (utopia series). Of course I haven’t heard all of the Focal speakers but the non-utopia focal speakers that I have listened to all needed a sub (2) to sound decent. The focal utopia series starts around $40k which is 2x more than the Usher BE20’s. On the other hand, you get full range sound from the lower priced Wilson’s and they keep getting better the higher up the food chain. Same goes for the Usher’s, full range sound starts with the Mini Dancer 2’s on up. The usher dmd tweeter is awesome and has got great reviews. I used to have the older usher compass speakers with their silk dome tweeters and the dmd tweeter is far superior. That’s 1 of the reasons the ushers sound so good, it’s the dmd tweeter.
If you like your Usher’s, I’m surprised you wouldn’t want to go with the Usher BE10’s or BE20’s. I had the Usher Mini Dancer II’s with the DMD tweeter and I listened to many speakers when I wanted to upgrade. The Focal’s were to thin sounding until you went way up in the food chain. I really like the Wilsons, but you have to spend more than 2x more to get the same sound quality compared to the larger Usher’s.
I went with the larger Ushers and don’t regret it 1 bit. Also, if you also consider the looks of the speaker (minor consideration to me) the Ushers are gorgeous.
mepstein10 - The BE10's will blow away the focals and YYettes. No need for subs with the BE10's. I bought a pair of the Usher X-Towers a few months back. It has a little bit bigger midrange than the BE10 and they are 2 piece speakers so you can swivel the top part a little. Still 200 lb speaker. the bass module is 150lbs by itself. It was a toss up between these and the BE10's. To better compare the Usher BE10 to the Wilsons, you need to start with the Sasha's nothing lower in their line. The Usher's will give you a fuller bass than the Sasha's.
I drive my Ushers with a Macintosh C47 preamp with a new PS Audio BHK 250 signature amp.