My local dealer where I go to dream has the Wilsons hooked up with the Dagostino integrated and a Luxman CD player, and it sounded heavenly. He also has Ayre and AR. I’m not familiar with Wilsons speakers, but they were $19K retail. I don’t play in that league, but it was a sound I would aspire to having at home!
Sabrina X Amp Suggestions
I recently upgraded from an old book shelf speaker (Proac 1SC) that I have been using for 10 years to a newly acquired Wilson Audio Sabrina X. I have a small listening space (around 200 square feet) so a small floorstander like Sabrina X is perfect for me. I would love to get some suggestions on what would be considered a typical amplifier match for a Wilson - I am sticking to the big popular brands and nothing too obscure due to resell value.
I am now using an old integrated amplifier Goldmund 390.2. I am indifferent whether the upgrade path is a better integrated amplifier or moving to a amp / preamp set up. I listen to mostly vocal, jazz and small to medium scale classical music and would hope to obtain a sound that is airy, detailed with good resolution and clean bass and a bit of sweetness (not overly so to make the make music too dark or muddy) to make music involving and engaging.
I have been reading a lot of posts here and it seems that many people with Wilson use ARC Ref 6 or Ref 5SE paired with Pass X250.8 or X250.5 to good results. I have not heard of the results but the descriptions seem to deliver a good engaging soundstage (attributable to the ARC preamp) with detailed, neutral and clean sound from the Pass. Sounds close to what I look for.
Would love to hear your views on this set up with the Sabrina X, or any other amp suggestions. Thank you in advance!
I am now using an old integrated amplifier Goldmund 390.2. I am indifferent whether the upgrade path is a better integrated amplifier or moving to a amp / preamp set up. I listen to mostly vocal, jazz and small to medium scale classical music and would hope to obtain a sound that is airy, detailed with good resolution and clean bass and a bit of sweetness (not overly so to make the make music too dark or muddy) to make music involving and engaging.
I have been reading a lot of posts here and it seems that many people with Wilson use ARC Ref 6 or Ref 5SE paired with Pass X250.8 or X250.5 to good results. I have not heard of the results but the descriptions seem to deliver a good engaging soundstage (attributable to the ARC preamp) with detailed, neutral and clean sound from the Pass. Sounds close to what I look for.
Would love to hear your views on this set up with the Sabrina X, or any other amp suggestions. Thank you in advance!
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My experience with Sabrina is similar to @moto_man experience. I drove them with 40 watts of Pure Class A in a giant space for well over an hour and they never clipped or faded, volume was more than enough. I am not saying more power wouldn't wring more out of this speaker but I am saying something similar in the sense the published spec looks scarier than actual reality of them being "hard to drive". |
You might take a look at Coda amps, I have the #8 and would say it has a sweet, airy sound. I think the reviews say the same. They will also give you the necessary current and a good amount of Class A performance. The Coda site is unexplainably out of date, and I recommend you read reviews and visit reseller sites for up to date info. |
I shopped in reverse in that I purchased a McIntosh MA12000 first and then shopped speakers at McIntosh dealers. I went McIntosh because I wanted good resale value. I liked the idea of an integrated, but after buying what was, for me, a very big purchase, another &19K for a speaker was a stretch, but after hearing the Sabrina X, I realized that the purchase of the MA12000 would go to waste without a good speaker. Well, that rational pushed me further down the rabbit hole. I soon realized that I much preferred vinyl over streaming, so purchased a great turntable. Then I reasoned that a separate phono amp was probably a better way to go, power cords, interconnect, power outlets, a very comfortable low back couch and room treatment. I also wanted what I'm missing, so picked up a pair of REL s/812. That’s the problem with the small Wilsons...everything counts. Now, five months out, I'm still waiting for the Sabrina X to arrive. I hear that Wilson is having issues with delivery of one of the speaker drivers. Any more delays and I'll have to sell some of my cars to feed this obsession. |
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