Wilson Sophia III vs Sasha

I was about to pull the trigger on a used pair of WP8s and my friend sold me his Sasha's. Unfortunately, he is moving overseas, but I couldn't miss this opportunity. I'm very, very satisfied with the change.

Bvdiman,

Thanks...What pleasure they have brought!

Branislav,

3 different opinions and that's what makes this "hobby" fun. I have listened to Sasha's but in a very expensive system. I asked the question to hear different perspectives, with the realization that I need to make the decision.

Psjulian and Jfrech,

I went from 2s to 3s and I think it was worth it, but now I'm questioning if the Sasha's are 15K better. Why 15K, because I can sell my Sophia 3s for 10K and still would need an additional 15K. Lots to think about.

Lenny_zwik,

Did you work directly with Rives to design your room treatment. My priorities are for the speakers to disappear, if it's a good recording... image depth, width, height, with spacing between instruments. I was wondering if the Sasha's would provide a significant upgrade on my priorities given all other things are equal. Will room treatments affect my priorities as much?

Kucharsk,

I agree that Sasha's are great; however it's about putting a system together. I have a concern about my amp being able to get the most out of Sasha's. I plan on taking my amp and preamp to a dealer to make sure they are capable of driving them. I don't want to get Sasha's and be required to upgrade my electronics. In the mean time I will try room treatment and possibly a sub.

Sounds_real_audio,

The ex-wife part is funny! I don't pay alimony, I don't have tons of money. I have a hobby that I love. I save and sacrifice to get my toys. If money wasn't an issue, I would buy what I wanted and that would be the end of it.

I use the Apollo as a transport and have it going into a Audio Research DAC7. I believe in investing in speakers first and build around them. I have heard differences between cables, amps, preamps, etc...however I submit from my experience you get the speakers you want and match the components to your speakers. I can't do everything at the same time; therefore my thought was speakers first.

Samhar,

My mind isn't made up. I posted the question as a means to provide food for thought. I think Audiogon, when members provide advice that's really meant to help, is a forum for brainstorming. The feedback has help me consider more cost effective ways of improving my sound. As a matter of fact I just went on Rives website and will contact them tomorrow. I just thought going from Sophia IIIs to Sasha's would provide the greatest sonic impact.

What transports would you recommend?

Thanks for all the advice. Based on the feedback I will look into room treatment and a better transport. I haven't heard significant differences with transports and would appreciate a place to start below 4K. I've already had home trails of Transparent Audio Ultra, Kimber Kable, and I concluded that Silver Cable provided me more of what I wanted.

Onhwy61

I had them set-up by a really good dealer in Austin, TX. They completely disappear and have great imaging. I'm just trying to see what I can improve.

MARC777

What affect has the JL-113s had on the rest of the audio spectrum?

Brian,

Please email me pictures of your room.

Rick

Elberoth2
I know Sophia 3s are great speakers. My priorities are spacing between instruments, imaging, and soundstage. I submit Sophia's perform these task well. My delima is how best to spend 10-15K? If Sasha's are significantly better at performing my priorities than Sophia's, will changing cables and/or electronics get me to Sasha's? I plan on at taking my amp and preamp to listen to Sasha's next week. I'm curious to hear the Sasha's with my electronics.

Bvdiman,
I'm currently looking at all of my options. I'm going to contact my local dealer tomorrow and set-up an appointment to hear the Sasha's with my current electronics. Hopefully during my visit I will have the opportunity to compare my equipment to other gear. My challenge is trying to get the most "bang for my money". I honestly love my current system. I just want to see how much it will cost to hear significant differences regarding spacing between instruments, soundstage depth and width. The other question I have is what change in equipment provides the most cost effective way to improve what I have? Time will tell!

Peterayer,

I'm working on the room first. I have already contacted Rives, but I haven't sent them my room information. Who is Jim Smith?

Thanks,

Rick

My room was 28'x 24' and open to the lower level. I recently added a wall and the room is now 21'x 24'. It's furnished with a couch and two chairs. Heavy drapes are on all of the windows.

Sounds_real_audio
Yes, the Densen is a Class A amp. The B-350 delivers 125W at 8 ohm, and 250W in 4 ohm. No local or global feedback. I would be required to spend significantly more money to improve the sound.

Well, I will be comparing Sophia IIIs to Sasha's, and both of them to Rockport Mira's next week. Soon my ears will answer my question? Thanks for everyone's input!

Samhar

I see no downside in comparing my speakers to other speakers. Sometimes the only way to appreciate what you have is to compare it to what you think maybe better. Once I'm settled on speakers I will invest in room treatment and upgrading my transport.

Samhar,

I will post a follow-up next week. I went through this before when I had Sophia 2s. I listen to B&W and Magico, but stayed with Wilson and upgraded my electronics.

Today I listened to Rockport Mira IIs and Wilson Sasha’s. I have Sophia IIIs and wanted to see if it was time to change speakers. I’ll preface my comments by stating, “there isn’t a perfect speaker, everyone hears differently, and audio has no absolutes, only preferences.
I took 7 CDs to listen to (Kem, Dave Koz, Jessy J., David Sanborn, and a few others). I prefer Jazz and a little R&B. I won’t go into every detail comparing the Mira IIs to Sophia IIIs, let just say, both I and my wife preferred the Sophia IIIs by a wide margin.
Sasha’s were up next. I could have listened to Sasha’s all day. It’s obvious that Sophia IIIs are cut from the same mold, but the Sasha’s do everything a little better. Not just more bass, more separation, height, and just a little smoother. My wife remarked,”Kem sounds like he is in the room”. If money wasn’t an issue, to my ears it’s a no brainer…Sasha’s! I submit Sophia IIIs are very, very, very good speakers and Sasha’s are Great! I will think about my finances for 1 more day. Stay with Sophia IIIs and get 90% of the Sasha’s or spend money that I probably shouldn’t right now. I guess another option is to save for a couple months and then get Sasha’s. Either way it's time to be grateful and thankful for what I have and enjoy the music!
The system consisted of my amp and preamp (Densen B350 and B250), Transparent Reference Cable, and DCS CD player as the source.

Johngp,

Sorry didn't see your post. I sold the Sophia 3s and decided today to get Sasha's. I hope to have them in a couple months.

Keithr

After having both in the same system and in the same room, I can't disagree with you more. Not because of what someone is telling me, or I'm just saying it to say it, but if the room is adequate, the Sasha's can do things that Sophia 3s can't do. As a matter a fact, with the Sophia 3s, I would listen with the volume @ 160, with the Sasha's I listen with the volume @ 140. I submit that Sasha's aren't as hard to drive as the measurements would suggest. I'm not saying that I wouldn't have better results with a more powereful amplifier, but my 100 watt Densen B-350s provide what I need. Sophia 3s are great at what they do, but I promise you Sasha's are at another level.

It's been almost 3 weeks now and I listen to more music than ever. Sasha's image and provide more space between instruments than any speakers that I've ever owned. I think I've reached the point where I'm finally done.