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Speaker upgrade question - Wilson vs Focal

Hey audiogoners!

Thinking of upgrading and need the community/expert input.

Thinking of upgrading from a set of usher mini ones that I've had and loved for a few years.

I listened to a bunch of speakers, Focus Audio, Martin Logan, B&w, higher end ushers, Wilson audio, and Focal.

The ones I liked the most were the Wilson Audio Sasha DAW and the Focal Sopra 3. 

Loved the forward and detailed instrumentation on the Wilson's, especially the Sasha DAW, but liked the vocals slightly better on the sopras, though instrumentation on them was not as crisp as on Wilson's. But the two are very close.

Music is mostly jazz, classical, light rock, electronic and occasionally symphonic metal / European metal (night wish, sonata Arctica, dream theater). Mostly jazz though, vocal and instrumental. 

Trying to decide between getting the Wilson audio yvette, ( Sasha is too expensive and Sabrina's don't deliver enough) and Focal Sopra 3. Though I can wait a few years and get the Sasha then second hand.

I won't be considering other brands since I already did that research run around. These two brands work best for me and synergize well with my inwall home theater speakers (origin d87s).

I will be powering them using a McIntosh mc452 /C2600 for 2 channel, mostly LPs (McIntosh mt10) and tidal streaming and a anthem 1120 for home theater. 

What you guys think? Go for the Yvettes, wait for the Sasha's or go for the focals? 

Thanks.


128x128mepstein10
sfseay's avatar
sfseay
495 posts
 
Wilson speaker’s are for old guys with tinnitus or hearing damage.  They sound great!
audiotroy's avatar
audiotroy
3,585 posts
 
Sfseay,  Wilson speakers the current iterations are sounding way better than previous generations, so really don't understand your comment.
We are concerned that the OP's Mac gear will not sound optimum on the Wilson's which tend to sound a bit more mellow in the top end vs the Focals.

The new Focals are very good, they still have a few issues but overall Focal's latest speakers are really good and the new Beryilum tweeters are really excellent.

We would think the Focals greater detail would be better with the softer sound of the Mcintosh gear.

This is why we are recomending the Vimbergs fantastic imaging like the Wilson with superb detail.
Dave and TroyAudio Doctor NJ not a dealer for any of the speakers under discussion.
rbstehno
1,401 posts
 
If you like your Usher’s, I’m surprised you wouldn’t want to go with the Usher BE10’s or BE20’s. I had the Usher Mini Dancer II’s with the DMD tweeter and I listened to many speakers when I wanted to upgrade. The Focal’s were to thin sounding until you went way up in the food chain. I really like the Wilsons, but you have to spend more than 2x more to get the same sound quality compared to the larger Usher’s.
I went with the larger Ushers and don’t regret it 1 bit. Also, if you also consider the looks of the speaker (minor consideration to me) the Ushers are gorgeous.
audiotroy's avatar
audiotroy
3,585 posts
 
Rbstehn, we were Usher dealers for quite a number of years the BE 10 and BE 20 were excellent, they would be outclassed by some of the newer loudspeakers currently on the market but boy were they good for the time. Part of the issue was the speakers size and weight.
Personally would take a set of Focal 3 over the BE 10 or 20 which would still give you lower bass response, but the newer Focal tweeter is a better overall transducer then the Usher's DMD tweeter.


Dave and TroyAudio Doctor NJ
rbstehno
1,401 posts
 
I disagree. I haven’t heard a Focal speaker that I could listen to for any length of time that didn’t cost $40k or higher (utopia series). Of course I haven’t heard all of the Focal speakers but the non-utopia focal speakers that I have listened to all needed a sub (2) to sound decent. The focal utopia series starts around $40k which is 2x more than the Usher BE20’s. On the other hand, you get full range sound from the lower priced Wilson’s and they keep getting better the higher up the food chain. Same goes for the Usher’s, full range sound starts with the Mini Dancer 2’s on up. The usher dmd tweeter is awesome and has got great reviews. I used to have the older usher compass speakers with their silk dome tweeters and the dmd tweeter is far superior. That’s 1 of the reasons the ushers sound so good, it’s the dmd tweeter.
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