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Wilson watt puppy 6 vs. Sophia?

I would appreciate any input on how the Wilson watt puppy 6's compare with the original sophia speakers. I am looking to upgrade from my very old KEF 105.4 speakers. Both of these would fall into the upper price range of speakers I'm considering.

FYI - I've only heard very early versions of the wilson speakers (perhaps the original watts/puppies and whamm's when I lived in columbus, OH), but I do recal being blown away. It's also clear from reading many of the discussions on this website that the Wilson speakers are considerably improved from the early versions that I listened to.

I sould mention I currently live in Alaska so that I'm somewhat limited in the equipment I can audition here.

Thanks
jensmunk
siliab
362 posts
 
Sonic preferences aside, the Sophias are the more forgiving speaker and, therefore, the easier to incorporate into a variety of systems. I've heard them sound superb with a Naim integrated amp and Rega Planet CD player, a system that would be seriously subpar with any interation of WPs. So, if extensive expertise with Wilson speakers is not available to you where you live, I would go with the Sophias without hesitation. They can be made to sound absolutely fabulous with significantly less effort.
jensmunk OP
20 posts
 
Thanks to all for the input! It looks like I really don't have any bad choices.
johnjbarlow's avatar
johnjbarlow
175 posts
 
Siliab speaks the truth. I had an unbelievably hard time getting the Watt/Puppy speaker to settle down in my system. Once I did though, watch out! I do have to warn it was a very painstaking process, and expensive. If you go to the wilson feature and click ownership club, it is discussed at length.
mpit's avatar
mpit
56 posts
 
a bad setup witht the 6 still beats the daylights out of the sophia. after hearing these two speakers side by side how anybody could think the sophia is a better speaker blows my mind.

of course a lot of people bought the pinto!!!
rlawry
477 posts
 
I have owned the original Sophias and now Watt/Puppy 7's and both are terrific speakers. That being said, the WP7 is a better speaker IMO. Better bass and dynamics for the WP7 was no surprise. I wasn't prepared for the improvement in detail and soundstaging. The reason I ended up with the WP7 is that I was investigating whether it was worth upgrading my Sophias to Sophia II's. Wilson quoted $4K for the upgrade, the new tweeter and crossover, but the I cannot be upgraded to the slightly larger II cabinets. The dealer recommended going to the WP7 instead and he was right. However, you cannot go wrong with either.
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