Wilson Sasha's - All evolution in Wilsons are.....

Hi Peter,

I am using the Pass XA.5 with a BAT Rex preamp, Jade Audio cables, and the Tripoint Troy. Very synergistic combination. Detailed, controlled, and musical. Bass is very controlled and appropriately proportioned. It does not call attention to itself at the expense of the midrange.

If you are demoing the XA.5 brand new, it takes 200-300 hours before they really transform into an effortless presentation. I also noticed a slight midrange haze when breaking them in, which is no longer present. I think you are correct in trying to pair a tube amp with a solid state. Do listen to the Ref 5, but I personally find it too tipped to higher frequencies and you will probably sacrifice bass c/w the solid state preamp. The Ref 5 is alot like a solid state amp. I have heard the Sasha, and I believe it could benefit from matching electronics which provide some textural richness in the mids.

In regards the warm-up time, I do not notice much change with the XA.5. I had the X.5 series, and this took 8-24 hours to warm-up - no joke. The XA.5 sounds great freshly powered from standby, but it probably does improve slightly over the first hour. With the X.5, I would leave them on Friday night to listen over the weekend. With the XA.5, I turn them on only when listening.

The Sasha is a winner IMO. I have had my pair for several months now. I posted last year that the difference in the Sasha vs W/P8 was huge and others poked fun of me . It now seems that others are hearing the same now. As I have stated the Sasha sounds more like a mini Maxx 3 than an upgraded W/P 8.

I was not a big wilson fan to date...i think they are very dynamic but not very cohesive (particularly surprised by the Alex Series 2 and wasn't a huge WP 8 fan)...I went to a session with Dave Wilson to hear the Sasha's in NYC last December and must say i was pleasantly surprised. Still dynamic, but much more coherent than the WP8. i agree they have a winner here and the price is trending in the right direction (down). (Note: was played with spectral front end)

I am driving my Sophias with Canary tube monoblocks. The sound is effortless and dynamic. This is a great match.

Madfloyd, I had the same concern about the upper mids. However, I found out that Wilson's comment about sitting 1.1 - 1.25 x the distance between the tweeters is NOT just a suggestion. Sitting farther away than this gives the mids a steely, sharp edge. Get in closer as recommended and you are rewarded with a natural, cohesive sound that is organic and detailed all at once.

As has been mentioned before, I found out first hand how setting up a Wilson speaker is a pain in the a$$. Which begs the question of how many times detractors have heard them set up improperly? They can go from uninvolving and/or annoying to world class in a matter of inches.

Shakey

Got my Sashas last week ... still haven't got a chance to listen to them, since I sold my speaker cables and now I'm waiting for a new set, LOL.

My amps are Nagra VPA, Pass XA-30.5 and Dartzeel. I also still have the Sophia II speakers, so will be able to do a head to head comparo (instead of relying on aural memory, whcuh can be deceptive).

Stay tuned.