Loved the Sabrina's!

[Jagman]

After reading about Wilson speakers for years I had never actually heard them. I have managed to hear or own a reasonable amount of very good to excellent speakers but I have never heard anything quite as pleasing as the Sabrina's a couple of weeks ago. I'm going back for a longer listen and would like to hear the Sophia's as well since I've seen some good deals on the used market. The Sabrina's were driven by an Audio Research tube amp. I'm not sure about the cables, but will check after good advice from folks on here. I had and still have my eye on a pair of B&W 802 Diamonds, and haven't ruled out a pair of 803's, but these Wilson's really turned my head. My biggest concern is my McIntosh MA8000 integrated amp. At 300wpc I feel like I'm at the minimum amount of power I would need but not sure with Wilson's. Any thoughts on my amp and either the Sabrina's or Sophia?

[Still-One]

I wouldn't give up on your 8000 just yet. I heard the Sabrina's powered by Parasound's integrated amp and they sounded wonderful. Sure you can find many more expensive amps that will do better but what Wilson was trying to show is that you don't need $20k amps to make Sabrina's shine. I hope you can swing Sabrina's.

[chessman]

I have Sophia 2 speakers, which I would characterize as pretty easy to drive. They are 4 ohm. I am not sure how directly that compares to Sabrina, but I agree with Jim, don't give up on your integrated amp without trying it.

[Jagman]

Originally Posted by Still-One

I wouldn't give up on your 8000 just yet. I heard the Sabrina's powered by Parasound's integrated amp and they sounded wonderful. Sure you can find many more expensive amps that will do better but what Wilson was trying to show is that you don't need $20k amps to make Sabrina's shine. I hope you can swing Sabrina's.

Me too Jim! They really seem to fill a nice niche for Wilson and the sound is one of a much larger speaker. I also think they are gorgeous to look at
I will be able to hear them at the dealer with a Mac MA7900, so I should get a good idea.
Kevin

[Jagman]

Originally Posted by chessman

I have Sophia 2 speakers, which I would characterize as pretty easy to drive. They are 4 ohm. I am not sure how directly that compares to Sabrina, but I agree with Jim, don't give up on your integrated amp without trying it.

Randy- the Sabrina's are 87 sensitivity and 4 ohm as well. I've heard they are fairly easy to drive but the 87 would suggest not as easy some other 89 and 8 ohm speakers, I.e. B&W Diamonds. How do you like your Sophia's?

[cmalak]

Jagman...the MA8000 will have plenty of power to drive the Sabrinas to unbearably loud levels without breaking a sweat. The sensitivity rating of 87 dB is about average and you could drive the Sabrinas in a medium sized room with 30wpc to very loud levels (95dB assuming you set 10ft away). The extra power should give you the extra headroom on very dynamic music to hear dynamic peaks with no problems.

More important when matching an amp to the speaker is the speaker's load as described by its impedance and phase curves. The Sabrina is nominally rated as a 4ohm load but it does dip down to 2.5ohms at 139Hz, according to Wilson Audio's website, but don't know if there are other significant dips or combinations of dips and difficult phase angles, because that's all the info given. When Stereophile or Hifi Critic review the speaker, they will publish impedance measurement curves. But in any case, given the use of an Autofromer, the MA8000 should see a stable load and should have plenty of amperage to drive Sabrina's load.

Figuring out whether it makes a good sonic match will be the fun task at hand Enjoy the research/shopping phase and looking forward to hear where you come out on speaker selection. Best of luck.

[cmalak]

Double post. Sorry. Admin, please delete.

[Jagman]

Originally Posted by cmalak

Jagman...the MA8000 will have plenty of power to drive the Sabrinas to unbearably loud levels without breaking a sweat. The sensitivity rating of 87 dB is about average and you could drive the Sabrinas in a medium sized room with 30wpc to very loud levels (95dB assuming you set 10ft away). The extra power should give you the extra headroom on very dynamic music to hear dynamic peaks with no problems.

More important when matching an amp to the speaker is the speaker's load as described by its impedance and phase curves. The Sabrina is nominally rated as a 4ohm load but it does dip down to 2.5ohms at 139Hz, according to Wilson Audio's website, but don't know if there are other significant dips or combinations of dips and difficult phase angles, because that's all the info given. When Stereophile or Hifi Critic review the speaker, they will publish impedance measurement curves. But in any case, given the use of an Autofromer, the MA8000 should see a stable load and should have plenty of amperage to drive Sabrina's load.

Figuring out whether it makes a good sonic match will be the fun task at hand Enjoy the research/shopping phase and looking forward to hear where you come out on speaker selection. Best of luck.

Thanks Cyril. You're correct that the research and shopping phase is fun! I appreciate the feedback on the MA8000. I hope to get back for a full audition with a Mac Integrated this week or next at the latest. I'm going to take a serious listen to the Sophia's too since I've seen a few pairs around used for good prices.

[chessman]

Originally Posted by Jagman

Randy- the Sabrina's are 87 sensitivity and 4 ohm as well. I've heard they are fairly easy to drive but the 87 would suggest not as easy some other 89 and 8 ohm speakers, I.e. B&W Diamonds. How do you like your Sophia's?

Jagman, I have had the Sophia 2 speakers for a number of years now (over 5). I have been incredibly happy with them. I will admit that room treatments, component isolation and adding subs with an active cross-over all made huge improvements to the sound, but those are problems for almost any speaker. BTW, I agree with Cyril that the impedance curve of the speaker tells one more about "easy to drive" than an overall sensitivity number.

[Charles]

Originally Posted by Still-One

I wouldn't give up on your 8000 just yet. I heard the Sabrina's powered by Parasound's integrated amp and they sounded wonderful. Sure you can find many more expensive amps that will do better but what Wilson was trying to show is that you don't need $20k amps to make Sabrina's shine. I hope you can swing Sabrina's.

I haven't heard the Sabrina's yet but the important thing to keep in mind is that Wilson is not going to make an entry level speaker that is a difficult load. The 8000 working off the 4 ohm tap will, IMO, get 98% of what the Sabrina is capable of sonically, amp wise. Agree with Jim. Sabrina will shine with the 8000.