I had the same thing happen to a pair of Sophia 2s that I had purchased in the fall of 2007. They were demos and were probably a year or two old I would guess. I originally thought it was an adhesive line from the frisk that is used to cover and protect the speakers during shipping. Upon closer inspection (the cracks were exceptionally small) I found it to definitely look like the paint was cracking. I called Wilson Audio directly and explained what I was seeing, and the fact that is was isolated to only one speaker at that point. The gentleman I spoke to was extremely kind and helpful, and he asked if I thought I could capture the cracking on some digital photographs and email them to him. With some creative lighting and "Twister-like" contortions to be able to get the cracks to show up, I snapped a few pics and immediately emailed them to him. Within 20-30 minutes of receiving my pictures he contacted me, informed me that they had received a defective batch of the phenolic resin used for that part of the cabinet construction (M material) a couple of years ago (they use M and X material both on the Sophia) and the cracks were actually where the M material panels were delaminating/separating, and not just cracks in the paint. I voiced my concern over repairing and repainting of the speaker, and whether or not it would be affecting my other one that had been fine to that point. He squelched my concerns instantly by telling me that I would have no worries about the repair or the paint finish, because they would be destroying the defective speakers and would be building me a brand new pair from the ground up. Suffice it to say, I saw this as the epitome of customer service. There is no doubt that they could have reused my drivers, crossovers, ports, Puppy Paws, and other miscellaneous accessories, but NOOOO, they would have no part of this. It was a brand new pair of speakers and any changes that I wished to make if I so desired. I did "so desire" and had the new speakers painted in the gorgeous Porsche Macadamia Metallic, instead of the standard black that I previously had. It was a new color for Porsche, and a new color for Wilson that had only been used one time before the build of my Sophia 2s. The very first pair of Wilson Audio speakers painted in what had now become almost a signature color that is being widely used to showcase their new products from Maxx 3s, to Sasha W/Ps, and even the new Polaris Center. That first pair was a pair of Alexandria 2s that were custom painted for a gentleman in Hong Kong. I do have the first pair of Wilson Audio speakers produced for the United States, and the second pair in the world. I know, book whoopdy doo, but it is kind of cool to go to their website, go to CES 2010 blogs, go to dealer open houses and see that very color being widely used today, when a year ago it was almost non-existent.
If I were you, I would take the time to contact customer service about the defects you have experienced and see if there is anything that can be done to assist you, even though you are not the original owner, and I feel pretty certain that they are not under warranty. I could not, nor would not ever try to speculate on what, if any action they may or may not take, but it would not hurt to ask. I would also approach the topic more with the "honey approach" rather that the "vinegar approach" if you know what I mean.
Good luck to you, and happy listening to a great speaker even if you have to live with hairline cracking that may never get repaired, get any worse, or maybe not even be noticed if you don't point them out to visitors. Mine were so minor that it could have easily been missed.
Feel free to contact me if I can help you in any way.
Cheers!
