Wilson Audio- The rest of the story


The rest of the story:
06-05-10 I posted my Wilson Sophia II right speaker had developed a razor thin crack in the cabinet between the top and bottom portion of the speaker. There was much debate within myself as to what course to take. My first option was to return the Sophia II’s and have the cabinets rebuilt with the same drivers. My second option was to return the Sophia II’s and pay additional money for the new Sophia III’s. I decided to return the Sophia II’s and I am now the proud owner of Sophia III’s.
Although originally disappointed with the development of the razor thin crack in the Sophia II, this experience has reinforced why I believe in Wilson Audio. My dealer and Wilson Audio have been above reproach during this whole ordeal. Wilson Audio arranged for the Sophia II’s to be picked-up and returned free of charge. The Sophia III’s were shipped 1 day early. There has been much debate over the cost of Wilson Speakers relative to their performance. I am not rich and it has taken me over 20 years as a music lover to get to this point. Lots of selling, trading, and saving to own Sophia III’s. I love the Wilson sound: the clarity, the pinpoint/life like imaging, and no other speaker I know of has the Wilson dynamics. With proper matching of equipment, the Sophia’s are simply magic to my ears (and my wife). The great news for me is the service matches the quality of the sound. I realize from my own experience and submit that we purchase high-end products for several reasons: sound quality, pride of ownership, expectation of outstanding customer service. Wilson Audio and my dealer has exceeded my expectations of what high-end should be! I’ve only had them for a couple of days, but here are my initials impressions.
Bass- tighter and significantly more impact
Mids- slight haze has been removed
Tweeter- too soon to tell
Overall I can’t see any current Sophia II owner not being extremely satisfied if they upgrade to the Sophia III’s. More to come as they break-in!
My system: Densen B-350 mono-amps, Densen B-250 preamp, Rega Apollo CD player, Kimber Hero interconnect, Clear Day double shotgun speaker cable.
ricred1

Showing 6 responses by ricred1

French_fries,

There are in deed many fine speakers out there and it comes to personal taste. I never say I own the best of the best, I prefer a more humble approach. I do believe it's important to recognize when a Company goes above and beyond of ones' expectations!
Rossman,

Wilson was more than fair on the price of the upgrade!!! Well worth the additional cost.
Wpines,

No company or manufacturing process is 100% perfect regardless of cost! There are problems with million dollar homes, expensive cars, and yes expensive speakers. It's my understanding the defect was the result of faulty glue from a supplier. It's impossible to know what the profit margin is, because I don't know the manufacturing cost, research, advertising, and other intangibles expenses that go into producing Wilson products. There are many companies that build expensive products with horrible customer service. My point is that Wilson Audio provided outstanding customer support to me and it was important for me to recognize their efforts, just as I recognized the defect!
James63,

It has been a while since I have listened to the Magico V2's, it would be easy to BS you, but I don't want to give you bad feedback.

Compared to the Sophia II's, the III's offer greater bass impact, more texture in the mids, and a slight haze has been removed that enables the listener to hear more details and see further into the soundstage. In a couple days I will provide further analysis.
Musictime,

I agree with you, none of my friends are familiar with Wilson Audio. I've been into music since I was 12 years old and I just hit my 45th birthday. I've owned many speakers (Klipsch, DeVorve, Artemis, Audio Physics) and I just love the sound of Wilson Audio. That dosn't mean there aren't other great speakers and I'm fine knowing that some hate the sound of Wilson. Wilson's aren't the most expensive speakers and I doubt very seriously that any logical person would purchase a speaker just to say I own it considering most people don't know what they are. I hope I have my Sophia III's for the next 10 years or more.
It’s been a couple of weeks and I’m amazed with the Sophia IIIs. Instead of using audiophile terms, let me sum the differences between the Sophia II’s and III’s. The III’s are just more musical! To me there are no better words to explain the differences between Sophia II’s and III’s.
Has any other Sophia I or II owners compared them to the Sophia III’s? If so, I’m curious as to what your impressions are?