This is THE great day :-)
Re: This is THE great day :-)
That's a brilliant report, Max, thank you for writing it. I'd started to worry that maybe you weren't so happy, but I know that horrible period when you're waiting for something to break in properly and wondering how to get a handle on the sound. It seems like all has fallen into placev beautifully! Congratulations again.
Nerdcave: ...is no more! 
Sitting Room: Wadia 581SE - Rega Planar 3/AT VM95ML & SH - Bluesound Node II - Copland CSA 100 - Audioplan Kontrast 3
Kitchen: WiiM Pro - Wadia 151 - B&W 685s2
Sitting Room: Wadia 581SE - Rega Planar 3/AT VM95ML & SH - Bluesound Node II - Copland CSA 100 - Audioplan Kontrast 3
Kitchen: WiiM Pro - Wadia 151 - B&W 685s2
Re: This is THE great day :-)
Nice write and congrats. When I had Sophias it took over 200 hrs of play before the hit their peak though the biggest change happened after about 90 hrs
SonicTransporter Optical i9, Roon, opticalRendu, Sonore Signare LPSU, Chord DAVE, Merrill Audio Element 116 Monoblocs, Wilson Audio Sasha 2
Re: This is THE great day :-)
@Diapason yes it was a horrible period, impossible to find a good speaker position and full of doubts about amplifiers (especially after the poor experience I had with Magicos S3 in the same setup), and thinking insanely to buy back the SF Elipsas (the "Dulicchio" shop behind my house has another pair new).
But the worst break-in period I remember, was about MIT cables a couple of years ago, longer than Wilsons...
Now I can say the wait was worth it. The Wilsons are a step forward from SF Elipsas in almost all parameters, excluding two of them: 1) scene is gorgeous in both speakers, no winner, and 2) voices and mids in general seems to be better in SF. Everyone knows that the Sonus Faber brands has its stronger vaule in mids presentation, they still seems more "materic".
Both fascinating too but in a different way.
But the comparison with Elipsas is wrong: Winson Sophias should be compared with SF Stradivari for the same price class range. As I told you in the past, Stradivari was impossible to insert into my room due to 10+cm larger than Elipsas, and the Elipsas was at their limit if you remember the photos of my room (I will post them again).
@HiFiFan, same as above, and thanks for your moral support :)
About some Wilson's common thoughts...
"Titanium inverted dome tweeter is too bright" : yes, because it is "titanium" made ;) I listened three time the new Sabrinas and, after that, I decided I want these Sophias before they migrate to soft dome tweeter. Sabrina are far from Sophia sound, and in my opinion far from typical Wilson sound and presentation, despite of the good reviews. And the price difference between Sabrina and Sophia is not big if compared to the superior performance of the Sophias. I'll be happy to be proven wrong in the future, but it is still my opinion.
"Wilson bass is often boomy" : before W/P 7, yes. But more than 15 years and many models after, I can say the bass is fantastic, one of the best I listened. Of course the best performance implies the best possible matching with the amplifier, and with Spectral (but with its very high damping factor :D ) there are no problems at all.
-Massimo
But the worst break-in period I remember, was about MIT cables a couple of years ago, longer than Wilsons...
Now I can say the wait was worth it. The Wilsons are a step forward from SF Elipsas in almost all parameters, excluding two of them: 1) scene is gorgeous in both speakers, no winner, and 2) voices and mids in general seems to be better in SF. Everyone knows that the Sonus Faber brands has its stronger vaule in mids presentation, they still seems more "materic".
Both fascinating too but in a different way.
But the comparison with Elipsas is wrong: Winson Sophias should be compared with SF Stradivari for the same price class range. As I told you in the past, Stradivari was impossible to insert into my room due to 10+cm larger than Elipsas, and the Elipsas was at their limit if you remember the photos of my room (I will post them again).
@HiFiFan, same as above, and thanks for your moral support :)
About some Wilson's common thoughts...
"Titanium inverted dome tweeter is too bright" : yes, because it is "titanium" made ;) I listened three time the new Sabrinas and, after that, I decided I want these Sophias before they migrate to soft dome tweeter. Sabrina are far from Sophia sound, and in my opinion far from typical Wilson sound and presentation, despite of the good reviews. And the price difference between Sabrina and Sophia is not big if compared to the superior performance of the Sophias. I'll be happy to be proven wrong in the future, but it is still my opinion.
"Wilson bass is often boomy" : before W/P 7, yes. But more than 15 years and many models after, I can say the bass is fantastic, one of the best I listened. Of course the best performance implies the best possible matching with the amplifier, and with Spectral (but with its very high damping factor :D ) there are no problems at all.
-Massimo
Dgt: MSB Analog,MacMini,Audirvana+,HQPlayer Analog: Technics SL1210mk2, Dyna XX2 Mk2, Lehmann Decade Amp: Spectral DMC 15SS + Spectral DMA 200S2 Spkr: Wilson Sophia 3 Cbl: Spectral UL-38 HD/MIT SL-Matrix 26