Wilson Sophia's...Anybody?

The other week a buddy of mine and I went to the only true Hi-Fi shop in Charlotte and listened to some different setups. We stumbled upon some Wilson Sophia's and I must admit, the sound these babies presented was an outright pleasure to listen too. The upper spectrum and midrange has got to be some of the most musical, natural, flowing, transparent and open sounds I have ever heard.

Now, I have to be honest. These speakers aren't cheap and they are not for everybody. I would not recommend them for listening to heavy rock or distorted music but let me tell you guys, with what I listened to on them? Wow is all I can say. It's the only speaker that I have heard in decades that I'm really yearning to hear again and that's saying something as I have heard many hundreds, if not thousands of sets of speakers in my life.

I'm gonna talk to my bud John who works there and see if I can't arrange an "after hours" listening session with some of my music and gear to see if my observations remain the same. You know, it's funny....I have heard speakers that cost 40K, 80K and these Wilson's are the one that definitely raised an ear over all of the rest and they only cost $11,700*.

These are the only speaker I could see myself owning if the Tyler Linbrooks ever take a walk.....We'll see. More listening and testing on different genre's of music must happen first but DAMN, these sounded good. Real good.

Ahhhh, here ya' go. Here's a pic of the pair I heard.....



Only difference was that the pair I heard was in silver. *Please note, I just Googled the image and discovered that there are different models within the Sophia lineup. DOH! That said, don't hold me to the actual price until I have a chance to go back up there and find out which model Sophia's I'm actually talking about.

I can only imagine what they would sound like with the Cary and a shhhhweet CDP. Think John would let us drag them into bigger room? That small room didn't do them justice.

No, they did not and I don't think John would mind at all. Hmmmmm, the Cary? We might have to go make a trip up there while it's here....I'll talk to John Thursday or Friday and see what we can't arrange.

Make it so, #1!








Careful, Jerry's watching this thread.

Tom, remember to take your gear there to listen, that way only the room and the speakers are the difference. Thank for your mini review.

Those look Awesome, would love to hear them!

Careful, Jerry's watching this thread.

That's ok. Deep down in the depths of his mind, he knows he's not getting the Cary back.....














Well, that also depends on how it sounds on Sparky [my rig] too.

Roy, trust me. When we go back up there and give it a listen with all different types of music, you know fo' damn sho' y'all won't be able to hold back my thoughts. Good or bad.

You know what? I just had an epiphany. The best way to describe the midrange and top end is that these speakers take the sound to "the next level". I never knew that there was another level in audio reproduction as my current rig rivals and/or ousts other rigs costing multiple tens of thousands more. Even though the Tyler Acoustic's Linbrooks Signature Series are a fantastic, accurate and fun speaker, when comparing the mids and highs? There is no comparison. The Wilson's win the battle of musical accuracy and reproductive capabilities hands down. Not even close. Just need to learn a little bit more about the lower octaves before I start figuring out how I'm gonna get 'em. At this point in my audio journey, I don't want to make a foolish change.

What I found interesting is that they use the same [Seas-Millennium] drivers as The Tyler's use. Not the same exact drivers, but they are from the same company.

I'd love to have a set of Wilson speakers. Heard many good things about the Watt Puppies too. Unfortunantly, at that price I doubt I'll ever own a pair.

Okay Tom,

Any updates? Did you take a serious listen this weekend to the Wilson Sophia's? I figure if I pulled the trigger on some Legacy Whispers to stimulate the economy, it is now your turn.

Any updates? Did you take a serious listen this weekend to the Wilson Sophia's?

Don, unfortunately no. You know how when YOU have plans and then you get home and the wife has "her" plans? Well, life happened this weekend. I still haven't hooked up the Cary, nor have I talked to John.

Good news. Unless life happens again tomorrow, I will have plenty of time to go see John and hook up the Cary. The wife is out of town and it looks like I will have a very short workday ahead of me. Actually, thanks for bumping this thread. You just reminded me to take some of my reference albums with me to work so they are with me when I go. I don't know whether or not you know it yet......but you rock. Thanks!

You better call me if you do this Teusday! Fucktard! I'll help ya drag that bad-ass amp down there.

Those photos look like the Wilson Audio Sophia 2's. I listened to a pair of the Sophia 2's and the Sophia 3's the other day at a shop in Atlanta. They were connected to a pair of Rogue Audio Apollo mono blocks and a Rogue Audio Hera 2 preamp. I was pleasantly surprised by the sound. We listened to Diana Krall, Frank Sinatra and others. The music and vocals sounded fantastic; sounded like the music was being played live. One thing I quickly learned was that a crappy quality recorded CD will easily become noticeable with this gear.

I was as impressed with the Rogue Apollo mono blocks (tube amps). They are rated at 250 watts with an on the fly triode / ultralinear switch. The guy allowed me to bring my Carver Research (Lightstar) preamp and connect it to the mono blocks and speakers. While I thought that the Rogue Audio tube preamp sounded more detailed, the Carver preamp was right up there with the overall quality.

The Rogue Audio Hera 2 preamp was listed for roughly $8,000
The Rogue Audio Apollo mono blocks were listed for roughly $10,000
The Sophia 2 speakers were listed for roughly $16,000
I forgot what the Sophia 3's were listed for. However, they are the upgrade the Sophia 2's.

Very nice speakers and damn nice Rogue Audio gear!

If you are really wanting to get some Wilson's I know there is a place in Ann Arbor, MI that had a good deal going on the Watt/Puppies due to the Sasha's taking over. I think they were selling for around 9-12K for a pair which compared to their normal price was great.

Also same place had the MAXX 3's set up. wow is all I can say on those. Expensive but they are great sounding, still want to hear the Alexandria series as those are just crazy.

Wilson's can handle any music. But be careful, they are VERY revealing. Any weak links in your system may be exposed. I think most Carver and probably all the Sunfire gear should sound pretty good.

Bump for Eddie...........