Oh no, I've got a hankerin for some Wilsons!!!!

[jimbo]

Having heard both the Summits and different models of the Wilson on various occasions, I agree with Audiophiliac that though they are different it would be a toss up for me as to which is best or even which I perfer. Both models are so clean that you here what the upstream cpmponents are doing rather than the spaeaked itself. I used to believe that cables were about the same intil I started auditioning better speakers, it became obvious pretty quickly that the people who are saying that cables do not make a big difference in the sound that they are listening to lesser speakers or other components. The reason that I prefer ML over Wilson has strictly to do with my pocketbook.

 

[JohnP]

Sorry for my absence, don't get online much on the weekend. Thanks for all the advice(and even the few "pokes" taken at me), lots of very helpful info. I was not wanting the Wilsons for my "Ego Factor" , I'm not wealthy and I plan to buy used, but I want a better speaker than what I have and I'm just not to turned on my ML's new look. For $11,000 they could have atleast made the damn things look bigger and better than the previous, less expensive models. Oh well, I'll keep on looking see what I find.

Those Audio Artistry Beethoven look serious man!! Damn. Would most likely have a hard time fitting those babies in my room but I would LOVE to have em!! I also have those Von Schwirt(probably misspelled) in mind. They seem to be up my alley. Thanks for all the tips/help everyone.

Sincerely,
John

 

[Joey_V]

Sorry for my absence, don't get online much on the weekend. Thanks for all the advice(and even the few "pokes" taken at me), lots of very helpful info. I was not wanting the Wilsons for my "Ego Factor" , I'm not wealthy and I plan to buy used, but I want a better speaker than what I have and I'm just not to turned on my ML's new look. For $11,000 they could have atleast made the damn things look bigger and better than the previous, less expensive models. Oh well, I'll keep on looking see what I find.

Those Audio Artistry Beethoven look serious man!! Damn. Would most likely have a hard time fitting those babies in my room but I would LOVE to have em!! I also have those Von Schwirt(probably misspelled) in mind. They seem to be up my alley. Thanks for all the tips/help everyone.

Sincerely,
John

John,

I dont think we ever meant to "poke" at you. A speaker is as personal as underwear, except you get to show it off to others while you should'nt really think about showing off a pair of underwear.

Seriously though, a speaker is a personal choice so if it's truly Wilson that you like, nothing we say or nothing anyone else says, for that matter, really.... er... matters, period.

Sorry that the new ESL models arent appealing to you.. there are many other good speakers out there including the Wilsons you were looking at. We mentioned a few that are at the Wilson price range, retail or used. Have fun with the continuing search for audio nirvana and keep us posted as to what you ultimately decide, irregardless of brand.

I think by now you know that we're all speaker whores, regardless of brand.... so pics pics pics!

But I'm glad they made the Summits slightly smaller than the Prodigy, otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to fit a fridge sized appliance in my room/living room.

Joey

 

[Audiophiliac]

Yes. Happy trails to you in your search for nirvana.....and I dont mean visiting K.C.'s grave in the middle of the night in a rainstorm with nothing but your flannels on. There are soooo many wonderful speakers out there....even ones that we have never heard of.

 

[asindc]

The Sophia's as far as any 'normal' speaker with dynamic drivers go, are nice. They look good in a room and they are very easy to drive - a 50 watt tube amp will do it. Of course a more powerful amplifer will reward with even better sound.

Compared with the Summits though, the Sophias lack space and 'air' The Sophia's image well but are not in the same league as the Summits. The Sophia's are superb in the reproduction of the micro and macro dynamics of music but in contrast the Summits are on a different planet and are breathtakingly fast.

When reproducing low bass there is no contest here. The Summits twin powered subwoofers per cabinet offer outstandingly tight and accurate low frequency response. The Sophia's single passive 10 inch driver can't compete.

It's probably unfair on the Sophia to compare them with the Summit's. But I guess Wilson Audio have priced them the same as the Summit's so this makes the comparison a fair one.

These were my impressions almost exactly! I really like the sound of the Sophias, but they are missing that airy soundstage that MLs have.

With that said, consider me impressed with the Sophias and the Watt Puppys. I heard them both, properly set up with tube monoblocks (I don't remember which) at Overture in Delaware. I have also heard the Sophias properly set up at a local DC store. Each time I heard them, they impressed as imaging very well, with authentic, though laid-back, reproduction. The terms that generally come to mind in recalling the listening experiences are relaxed, effortless, yet faithful.

Between the Sophias and Summits, however, I would choose Summits for the more dynamic soundstage and better handling of the low end. Between Sophias and Vantages... I guess that would depend on my bank account! If I'm on any kind of budget, then the Vantages win out, even if I could afford the Sophias. Then again, if money was not an issue, I'd be auditioning ML Statements right now!

 

[IWalker]

Don't ignore the AV123 line arrays you mentioned. The components they are using in those are perfect for a line array setup...and if you can spare the space to have a massive line array in your place, those should be pretty great, for a price significantly lower than even the used options you're looking at. The physics of a well executed line array are hard to argue with IMO. MUCH lower distortion (due to many more drivers/much less power per driver), less boundary interaction (floor and ceiling at least). Also, a ribbon tweeter sounds closer to stats, imo, than any dome tweeter I've heard. Their main problems, distortion and horizontal dispersion, are taken care of almost completely in a line array configuration...so you get the best of both worlds.

AV123 one of the few companies out there that make DIY not seem worth it (if they build what you're looking for) ... outstanding value with outstanding customer service. It helps alot that you miss the HUGE retailer mark-up, by them being internet direct.

 

[JohnP]

I've been doing a little reading on the AV123 line arrays as well as the Von Schweikert speakers. I have my name on the list for the line arrays, just going to have to wait for them to come out and see what everyone thinks of them. Man, those Von Schweikert's are something else!! Side note: if you guys haven't figured it out yet, I like big speakers. I could pick up their VR-6 or even the VR-7's used for a pretty good price. They sure seem like a nice speaker but I've never heard them before. Also, like I said before, I will never be without Martin Logans, love em to much. Just wanting to try something different(and BIG) in the listening room.

John

 

[IWalker]

Take a look at vandersteens (5As in particular). I hear rave reviews about them as well. Aerial 20Ts are a little expensive, but use the awesome Raven tweeter. (I've made a promise to myself that I'm going to DIY something with those tweeters one day)

I can't imagine that the line arrays won't be amazing. The 2 drawbacks of line arrays are generally size and cost. You seem to not care about size (in fact, bigger seems to be better!) and they've somehow managed to keep the cost down to a very reasonable level...so they should be phenomenal.

 

[JohnP]

Yeah I think those line arrays are going to be something else. Can't wait to hear peoples thoughts on them after they are out, should be interesting.

I do like big speakers, one reason being that well I guess I'm kind of "old school" and like em big(man that just doesn't sound right ). Secondly, being a ML fan/owner I'm used to those nice big tall images/sound stage and if it ain't a ML it better be big to accomplish that, IMO.

John