(Wilson Sophia) they had a very unnaturally truncated decay
What were you listening to? Are you sure it was not the recording? Could it be the setup or room? I find this observation surprising on such respected speakers.
FWIW: It is impossible to truncate the signal. Over damped designs (such as infinite baffle) tend to sound light in the bass but very musical. Under damped designs (more common) have a "bass hump" but tend to oscillate or resonate like a bell long after the sound stops (these do not sound musical as they add their own timbre or "puddingy" sound to the music and have a poor transient response...you can spot these designs from the frequency plot - just look for a bass hump or bump prior to where bass roll off begins)
=> What I am trying to say is that a lack of a resonant decay is actually something to aspire to in a speaker as it means it is highly accurate. The only difficulty with these designs is in getting enough bass output to please people who are accustomed to prodigious bass.
This "clinical" sound may take getting a lot of getting used to as it not common in most modern speakers which tend to favor light weight cones with small magnets and under damped designs that have prodigious bass for a smallish box (great value for money with warm prodigious bass but lacking refinement).
Suggestion => Demo the Sheffield labs drum tracks disc if you get another opportunity to compare these speakers. The "resonant" designs will add their own coloration to the sound whilst the "damped" designs will not. Spend a bit more time auditioning the Sophias if you can - they may be more accurate than you think on a first impression! Another test is to try many different types of music and see which speaker gives you the greatest difference in bass sound => this speaker will be adding the least of its own coloration whilst the "one note bass" or resonant speaker will have a tendency to sound quite similar in the bass on most tracks.
If after a while/more experimentation you still find Wilson Sophia has an "artificial truncated decay" sound that simply does not suite your tastes - then save yourself some trouble and do not go to any lengths to audition ATC (a critically damped type design).
IMHO, you should check out Watt Puppys as they may be more in line with your tastes...a very good dynamic and forward sounding speaker with a lot more warmth in the bass than the Sophias.