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Wilson Sophia vs Aerial 7/9

My next speaker move will likely be to full range, so trying to start understanding how models compare.

I've read good things about these here for years, and recently heard the Sophia 3 at a local store and was impressed. (not to mention the Sasha, omg that was some experience, driven by a pair of Ayre mx-r, but out of my price range alas). The Sophia 1/2 used are in my range, as are the 7b/9. Of course the lower models would be a more comfortable spend but if pressed I could save longer for the higher.

Wide range of music, so hard to pin down on that. More to the rock/pop/jazz side of things than classical, but some of that as well.

Amplification is Ayre AX-7e. (Is this even a good match for either of these speakers?) Should I be considering something else?

Thanks for any advice or insight.
joncourage

Showing 3 responses by teajay

teajay
1,655 posts
 
Hi Joncourage,

I'm a little confused regarding what Aerial speaker model you are refering to in your post. I'm just about done reviewing Aerial's new model the 7T speaker for the website hometheaterreview.com. In my opinion it far surpasses the performance of both the Wilson Sophia and Sasha in significant ways and retails for $10000.00 which is still alot less expensive then either of the Wilsons. If you want more details E-mail me your phone number and it would be a pleasure to share the details regarding this superlative speaker's performance.
teajay
1,655 posts
 
Hi Brownsfan,

Thanks for sharing what you heard in a demo of the 7T's. It not only proves that personal taste and system synergy is so important, but always take another person's opinion in consideration and then go listen for yourself.

In the context of my system the Aerial 7T was the first box enclosure speaker that out preformed my bi-amped, Mystand mounted MG-20's to my surprize. The rest of my system is reference level and other very highly regarded box enclosure speakers had not come close to this level of performance in my room. So go figure, I wonder what got in the way of thier performance when you heard them?
teajay
1,655 posts
 
Brownsfan,

Jusr wanted to share with you and the others on this thread:

1) Just took the 7T's out of my system, my auditioning process was complete for my formal review, and put the MG-20's back in place. Both of these are great speakers that offer similiar sonic virtues which is amazing to me because of the different approachs, planar vs box enclosure design, yet they both sing with a musical voice which is outstanding. The biggest diference between them is in the illusion of were you are setting in a concert hall or jazz club. For example, if you like about 10th row in a symphonic hall you would like the 7t's, if you rather be mid hall, about 20th row you would prefer the 20's. It's personal taste not what's right or wrong.

2) Went over to hear my friend's system, who after he heard the 7T's in my system sold his Magico Q-3s and replaced them with 7T's, who has much smaller room then mine. Yet, the 7T's were superlative in this acoustic space and still performed like they did in my rig.

Just food for thought. My hunch is something was going on, not with the 7t's unless they were malfunctioning, but with the setup or rooms. I struggled in my full length review on the 7T's to come up with flaws regarding their performance, so something was radical wrong I believe the day you heard them.
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