Wilson Sophia II vs. Thiel CS3.7

Anyone else audition these two loudspeakers?

I am using Vandersteen 5A's whith Ayre electronics. If you visit their website, Richard says that Ayre is very popular with their customers. The Vandy Quatro wood IS a better speaker...it has a different midrange driver, and a different crossover. When last I heard the Wilsons, they made my ears bleed.

hee4

I have sophia 2, I couldn't find a good reason to upgrade it system 8. I have observed that speaker has a amazing potential and could be used wisely top equipment. Check my setup and Elberoth's system. You will see how heavily we invested on sophia 2 based systems. Just check, you will realize quickly.
Thiel? I have never heard one but 100% I am sure wilson has better second hand value when you sell or upgrade. This is same for Europe, Asia, and States.

I hope this helps.

Mert,
Not sure how you can 100% guarantee resale value..But the $16K Sophias seem to be going just over $9K used and the $13K 3.7s are selling between $8-9K. So I would think resale would be a few bucks in favor of the Thiels.
I have to go with Stringreen on this one, My wife and I have heard 4 models of Wilsons at two different dealers and they became painful for us too.
We got to spend a few hours listening to the 3.7s at Thiel with Ayre/Krell gear and, although I have always really liked them, For the first time we came away wondering if we should sell the 7.2s and get a pr. It also confirmed to me that when you put Krell amps and Thiel speakers together, great things happen.

I have not heard the Sophia but I have done a direct A/B comparison of Thiel 3.7 and Wilson Audio Duettes.

I was originally looking to audition of a pair of Wilson Audio Sophias. But my closest dealer (two hours away) only had the duettes on the floor. He also said he had a pair of Thiel 3.7 that I might like. I was not looking at Thiel at the time but I made the trip anyway. The room was 17X20X9 with a Music Fidelity integrated amp. Following is a quick over view of my thoughts. If you find the post helpful I can give additions details, just ask.

Thiel 3.7:
I do not know where to begin. This speaker did it for me in every way. The mids were extremely detailed! The highs were much more detailed then the Duettes. The bass was balanced, it was never boomy or lacking. The sound stage was HUGE and still pinpointed each musician. They were also the only speaker the has disappeared for me. I though other speakers sounded natural in the past but after listening to the 3.7 it has given me a new perspective on what I was missing. I also could not here a crossover in any way. They also looked great IMO.

The good
details, details....
sound stage was huge
bass was tight and clean
seemed to play "as a whole" (one driver)

The bad
might be fatiguing on extended listening? they were not bright but did have a lot of information. I listened to this speaker for about two hours at 75-80 dB with out fatigue.

Wilson Audio Duette:
I listened to these right after the Thiel 3.7 (same room, electronics, CDs, songs, dB...) Though the dealer towed these in a little more than the thiels. I really wanted to hear the Sophia but they were not on the floor...

Well I am sure these are good speakers and great for book shelves, but after the Thiel 3.7s they were a big let down. The sound stage was big (though a little smaller than the 3.7). The highs were not very detailed in comparison to the 3.7s. The bass seemed to have a lump around 100hz (could have been the room) and became very distracting. The midrange was very good. It seemed natural and unforced. But the 3.7 were more detailed in the mids too.I think I would have really like this speaker if I had not heard the 3.7s right before it. After the fact they left much to be desired.

The good:
great midrange.
wide sound stage.
"fun" to listen too.

The bad:
Bass was a little lumpy (room?)
highs lacked detail.
easy to drive

Conclusion:
All in all IMO (flame suit on) the Thiels make the Wilsons sound like "Mid Fi". Meaning to me, over done bass and laking detail. The Duette lacked detail in the upper mids and highs by comparison (not tonal balance but actual detail). They had a lumpy bass that drew attention to itself (the bass had good tone though). The 3.7's bass was just as deep if not deeper and was more balanced.

But again you should use your own ears. You may not like the same things I do. I listen to Hard Rock mostly any values tonal balance and dynamics very highly.