I have Sophia 3 with Mc452 plus D150 as a preamp and a Freya just for the tube stage .Im also using audioquest water xlr ,I believe the Sophias need even more power to really get them to sound their best .Overall Im satisfied with the sound so far. |
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Transparent Audio Music Wave Super cables now are in use; the Sophia II's have more mid, more bass; the speaker itself has opened up in ways no other cable has done for my system. |
I don't have this problem with my Wilson Sophia II's. In addition, I use Acoustic ZEN cables, They are bi-wire on one end and not on the other. I simply use both wires on the speaker end and the one set coming from the amp. I do not feel the Sophia's are bright. I use Conrad Johnson Pre's and CJ tube and SS amps.
J |
I have the W/P 5.1s and though detailed, would not consider them bright (which I define as upper midrange glare or treble prominence/imbalance).. However, I bought mid-range MIT speaker cables (HD-60), so they probably go a long way to reduce what others may attribute as brightness in the W/P. |
@jahatl513, yes the XA25 has enough power for my listening habits and how easy the Sophias are to drive. It can play louder than I want to listen and I haven't noticed anything lacking compared to the two higher powered SS amps I've used.
Congrats on the ART150...along with a GAT 2, the Sophias will sing.
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That is very interesting to hear medwardo. I just picked up my first pair of Sophia 2’s this past weekend. Still assessing them. I will say for anyone listening. My Revel Performa3 F208’s held a good ground but the Sophia’s are in a different class. I’m not a cable expert nor hound so I will do some research. I’m using Zen Technologies cables from previous set up. It is a bi-wire cable so I actually used both +’s on one terminal and so on for negatives. I have a GAT 2 and no worries. It is still burning in so I can say as well my Premier 17 LS pre runs well with them as well. My amps are Premier 12 mono’s w/ C1 Teflon upgrades; super great amps. My new CJ ART 150 arrives tomorrow so the GAT2 w/ ART 150 and Wilson’s should be a great set up. I’ve always wanted to try PASS amps as well. Your XA25 has enough power? |
I've been running a set of Sophia 3s for about 6 years with CJ amp/preamps: ET3SE/ET250S and then moved to ET5/MF2550.
I have loved my CJ/Sophia combo for years (and still do).
I was more than willing to trade out the lumpy bass of the ET205S for it's glorious midrange. Moving upstream to an ET5 and then the MF2550 improved the sound across the board and definitely tightened up the bass...it was a magical pre/amp combo with these speakers.
(I recently replaced the MF2550 with a Pass Labs XA25. The MF2550 had a location-specific buzz that I couldn't get rid of, so it went to my second system, where it doesn't buzz. ???)
In all the years I've had the Sophia's, I've found that the "hot treble" that people talk about really depends on your cables and your hardware. With the ET3SE, yes, hot treble, even with the hybrid ET250S amp.
Once I moved to a complete Shunyata Sigma cable loom (save for SCs), put in a Shunyata Triton & Typhon, and the ET5/MF2550 combo, no hot treble. YMMV
Finally, I will say that the Pass XA25 is an awesome amp for the very dynamic Sophia's...it makes the CJ amps sound bass-shy, flat, and muffled by comparison. No hot treble with the Pass either.
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I have Wilson Watt 8's in a 18 x 13 room on the long wall in a properly treated room with many hours in placement. Driven by Pass X250.5, ARC Ref 6, and a hot rod VPI Super Scout Master Cardas Neutral cables own power line with high end socket and power distribution with $300 power cables.
I cant say enough about this system I'm 54 and been listening to Hi Fi since I was a kid as my father was in the business.
I have had many speakers, but none sound as natural as these, with my Amp I can make them have great bass Slam, imaging is breathtaking, (THis has a lot to do with my Preamp) even my 25 and 26 year old sons who don't care noticed the difference. They are none fatiguining and even sound pretty good outside the sweet spot. Have had them about 2 years. Listen mainly to classic rock and blues. some classical and jazz on the side.
I only herd the original Sofia and it wasn't bad, but it was no Watt 8. And I like them because the head comes off so it splits the weight if I have to move or sell them.
The only way I would sell them is to upgrade to Sasha 2's
Past speakers
B&W 801 III
Magnepan MG3.6 with mye stands
Audio physics Virgo III (a Great speaker)
Rebuilt Quad 57's ( Still have)
Spendor SP1/2E
Von Schwekart VR4jr (got rid of them in a week)
ADS L910 and oldie but goodie...still have them and they are excellent.
ATC SCM19v2 in a second system, hooked up to all manyly gear great speaker
Klipsch Lascalla and Cornwall, My favorate with SET 2a3 amps
and many
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I currently have the Sophia 3's. I have had paradigm S8, B&W 801 Matrix S2, and B&W 800 d2 prior to the Sophia 3.
The S8 was great value for the price. Very happy with those speakers.
The Matrix was my first speakers into the high end speakers way back. They sounded great and still remember when I first listened to those speakers.
I had the 800 d2 for a short time before I was able to get my hands on the Sophia 3. The sophia 3 in my opinion presents a better wider sound stage than the 800 d2 and a little more bass. It is in my opinion more well rounded. I was able to hear the Sophia 2 at a friends home prior to the Sophia 3 and from what I got from it was that the Sophia 3 sounded just a little more balanced.
I have also listened to the Magico S3 and while nice they don't sound like a big speaker like the Sophia 3 and compare more to the Sabrina. |
Ramb128 You speak highly of Wilson. Have you owned Sophia's or others? |
I have listened to both the 2 and the 3's and purchase the 3's It adds a little more base and they sound more balanced in my opinion.
You have people who hate on Wilson Audio and say they are bright. When dealing with Wilson Audio they are very revealing and any weakness or bias in the electronics will be heard. Pic your amps and speaker placement very carefully. The Focal Sopra sounded dull to me and didn't have that live performance aspect to me so as you can see it really depends on personal preference. |
I had a pair orf Sophia 2s and wasn’t impressed. Great midrange, but that was about it. Sold them and bought a pair of Focal Sopra ones and added a subwoofer. Much happier with this combination. |
Mark. Thank you for your experienced thoughts. Did you ever solve your brightness issue you had when you switched from the AR’s?? I also looked at your pictures and saw you had a shot of your speaker wire on the amp and it was connected at 8ohns not 4? My inexperience wonders what I missed with that?
j |
I have Sophia twos and I am very pleased with them. My previous speakers were Rockport Mira monitors along with a wisdom subwoofer. That set up sounded outstanding, but I longed for a full size, full range speaker and really wanted to give that approach a try. I listened to some Wilson watt puppy version seven’s, Which sounded very nice indeed. I chose Sophia 2 because I wanted slightly more modern speaker. The fit and finish, the way the grills attach, and the look and feel are quite important to me. Obviously they must sound good, or what good are they?! The Sophia 2’s do not disappoint. I was lucky to find a pair on the secondhand market that were recertified by the Wilson audio factory. That means they were refurbished so to speak, looking flawless, packed in Wilson crates. I highly recommend searching for a factory recertified pair. Many dealers have access to them, so ask around!
When I first bought them I was using an audio research 100 watt tube amp and an audio research tube preamplifier. The sound was excellent. Now I have changed direction quite a bit and I am using a Devialet Expert 220 Pro. The sound is still excellent, though a bit different.
Good luck!
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