WILSON AUDIO.....BIG NAME, BIG PRICE........ARE THEY THAT GOOD?

Pretty hard to advise on buying speakers without you auditioning them, and if you can audition them, you won't need anyone's advice.

Having said that, I was never a huge fan of the Watt/Puppy in early iterations and haven't heard the 8s so can't help there, Have listened to Sophia 3 and liked them a lot. I personally have older larger Wilsons and would never give them up (I also have other very good and very different speakers in other systems).

With Wilson, you pay more, but you generally get quality stuff.  OTOH, you might want to add the Vandersteen 5A to your list....

I've listened to most of the W/P incarnations, and have lived with the Sophia 2's for about 10 years now. I love the Sophias. The W/P 8 is a very fine speaker IF you like the Wilson sound. They are more dynamic than the Sophias (although all Wilsons go LOUD if that's your thing), but also more critical of setup, and like all W/Ps (although less than any earlier incarnation) they have what sounds to me like a "hollowness" in the mids. Not a glaring issue, for sure, but I would say more tailored to jazz and classical reproduction. The Sasha doesn't seem to suffer the same hollowness to my ear, and neither does the Sophia. The Sophia is easier to set up and optimize and is less picky about room acoustics in general - it's just a lot more forgiving than W/Ps. I haven't listened to the 8's extensively, but I did choose the Sophias over the W/P 7s at the time. Money no object, I would trade my Sophias for Sasha 2s which to me have dynamics of W/Ps without the midrange issues. That said, I'm very happy with the Sophias, and will likely live with them for another 10 or 20 years - if I live that long. FWIW, I've heard Sophias described as the Wilson speaker for people who don't like Wilson speakers, and to my ears it has some truth to it.

Unless Wilson goes bankrupt, which appears very unlikely IMO, I wouldn't worry about service and parts. They are very good in that respect.

IMHO, they worth it. I have Alexander pair with Coloseum. The best sound that I have ever heard. Very natural and it’s almost like spiritual experience when you listen to it. Money in the bank or even your investment don’t give you such pleasure in life.

Look, I know the new Wilson stuff is good but what about shelling out 6 grand for 14 year year old watt puppy 8's?

They (Sasha DAWs) didn’t sound bad to me. Powered by a stack of Naim gear. Not $55k good though. I expected more for that kind of payout.