Best complement to Wilson Sophia 3s?

[LL21]

Dleroy,

Yes, that's why i like checking in around here. Welcome to WBF!!

 

[andromedaaudio]

A preamp should give the sound the character you want , i like my poweramp to be a non colouring amplifieng device , a preamp is very important , thats why i love tube pre , solidstate power

 

[LL21]

A preamp should give the sound the character you want , i like my poweramp to be a non colouring amplifieng device , a preamp is very important , thats why i love tube pre , solidstate power

FWIW, I agree. I run a CJ GAT into a Gryphon Colosseum on the basis that i like my digital voicing and my pre...and then want that sound to get the benefit of limitless dynamics and as clear a pass thru (Colosseum) as i can.

 

[andromedaaudio]

Nice stuff i bet it sounds terrific , i am also working on a big (MTM module ,Double woofer module )/ non resonant /no more ceramic membrane , i like/want more sound impact
You see if one improves the efficieny of a speaker the knife cuts both ways

FWIW, I agree. I run a CJ GAT into a Gryphon Colosseum on the basis that i like my digital voicing and my pre...and then want that sound to get the benefit of limitless dynamics and as clear a pass thru (Colosseum) as i can.

 

[LL21]

Andromedaaudio,

Sounds interesting. Pls keep us posted!

 

[andromedaaudio]

Yes off course , i ll put it up on the site which i have to translate also .
When its finished i can put my system in all out assault thats for sure

 

[LL21]

great!

 

[Cameron]

Dieroy...welcome to the forum and this thread. As you might have read I did end up ordering VTL for my Sophia's. I heard SS, Tubes, and hybrids and ended up here. Frankly I could have lived happily with either the Spectral or VTL, acknowledging their differences, as they were both terrific.

Mike as for servers I use Windows home server as it comes Pre installed on the RIPNAS. I also used Twonky for a while to get at the files on my Mac, but I never got it optimized so I went to only WHS.

And finally I did order an Audience Adept Response power conditioner for my set up.

I should have everything here within 3 weeks and will continue to update if I have anything worthwhile to say.

Best to all.

 

[flez007]

Not sure if I am arriving late to the thread - the best sound I have heard from a pair of Sophias came from a Levinson 33 amp, but of course I have not heard them all... Gryphon or Audio Research could also be interesting options.

 

[LL21]

The Watt 8s are quite diifferent from the Sophias (which i thought sounded good with ARC equipment, but i did not experiment with other equipment). But i did experiment with the Watt 8s and was shocked to hear how good they sounded with the MBL Reference monos. So was the entire management team of the Dealership. It was the best a number of us ever heard the Watt 8s...including ARC, Krell monos.

 

[flez007]

The Watt 8s are quite diifferent from the Sophias (which i thought sounded good with ARC equipment, but i did not experiment with other equipment). But i did experiment with the Watt 8s and was shocked to hear how good they sounded with the MBL Reference monos. So was the entire management team of the Dealership. It was the best a number of us ever heard the Watt 8s...including ARC, Krell monos.

Lloyd - did you hear the MBLs amps in a while-MBL reference stack? I am asking this because I just heard them last week partnering with a pair of Avalon Time speakers and liked them a lot!

 

[LL21]

Lloyd - did you hear the MBLs amps in a while-MBL reference stack? I am asking this because I just heard them last week partnering with a pair of Avalon Time speakers and liked them a lot!

Hi. i have not heard them in a while...but i remember distinctly my impressions i walked away with after comparing the Krell Evo 600s to the MBL ref monos. The evo 600s were more 'transparent' in that the sound seemed to come from space more, rather than from the speaker. However, it also was slightly 'ghostly' and distinctly thinner than i would have preferred. The MBL had a weight with more than sufficient power that drove the Watt 8s to make music more than sound. The level of midrange magic as well as mid bass bass punch were superior to the Krell monos imho. I have heard a lot of people like the super high powered Class A amps with Avalons (like Pass Labs)...i suppose MBL fits that basic profile of super-high current, high powered mono amp. I think we liked both the ARC Ref 3 pre and the MBL 9010 pre on the system.

 

[dleroy]

Well, my current situation is this: I've been offered a substantial discount on the dealer's new demo Sophias and he is willing to knock down the price on complementry electronics as part of a sale. But the shop (the only one in my area) offers only Mcintosh and Mark Levinson. Now it is my understanding that the Sophia is forgiving of amplification, and indeed, I'm told, that this quality was considered during the design process of the speaker, leading be to believe I could get by with an integrated say the Mac 6600 I mentioned earlier, but I've begun to think about ML, specificly the 532h and either a ML or Mac pre. Any thoughts on this would be appreciated. Sorry if I'm being a bit redundent in my post but this stuff keeps swirling around in my head.

 

[andromedaaudio]

For me its easy , i would go second hand and leave the new 5 series for what it is , and buy a 432 and a 326 s for example , i doubt hifi gets that much better at any price .
I never heard the 6600, i did hear a mac tube integrated and some other mac tube power amps , but with your preferences /music it might be a different story .
What also could be a nice mix although ive never tried it is a mc intosh tube pre /levinson poweramp ,to get kind of best of both worlds .
gr hj

 

[FredTam]

Dear Steve,
I am in the very similar situation as Cameron.
But I do own the Sophia since December 2010 I am now thinking about replace the pre-amp and later the power amp to one of the following 2 choices :
1. Spectral DMC-30SS Series 2 + DMA-260 - I did several auditions with Sophia 3 & Magico M5 in the past 12 months in both Hong Kong and New York
2. Jeff Rowland Corus + 625 - I did several auditions with speakers from Avalon in Hong Kong
The reason why I am thinking about options 2 is the sound with Avalon speakers, the gorgeous look, and very important factor - I do own the Jeff Rowland Aeries Dac

Would you mind sharing with me your thought ?
Thanks.

 

[docvale]

Dear Steve,
I am in the very similar situation as Cameron.
But I do own the Sophia since December 2010 I am now thinking about replace the pre-amp and later the power amp to one of the following 2 choices :
1. Spectral DMC-30SS Series 2 + DMA-260 - I did several auditions with Sophia 3 & Magico M5 in the past 12 months in both Hong Kong and New York
2. Jeff Rowland Corus + 625 - I did several auditions with speakers from Avalon in Hong Kong
The reason why I am thinking about options 2 is the sound with Avalon speakers, the gorgeous look, and very important factor - I do own the Jeff Rowland Aeries Dac

Would you mind sharing with me your thought ?
Thanks.

I listened to the Spectral + Sophia III setup you are referring to (source was SDR4000SL) and it was really good.
No clue about the performance with the JRDG electronics you are inquiring about instead. I listened several times to the previous generation (Capri preamp + IcePower monoblocks) and it did not convince me. But these new guys should be way better.

 

[FredTam]

Thanks Valerio.
Yes, the source was SDR4000SL at my last audition about a month ago.
Before that, I listened to the same set up with Meridian Sooloo, it was still very very good.
I remember both set up were with Spectral / MIT cables as well.
I guess I don't have to worry about mix and match and concentrate more on music.

Best regards,
Frederick

 

[docvale]

....
I guess I don't have to worry about mix and match and concentrate more on music.

Best regards,
Frederick

That is always good
But it's perfectly reasonable for you to spend this significant money the best way.

 

[Cameron]

 

[Cameron]

The end of the story.

I started this thread in January - and your input helped shaped the final result. Thank you. Here is what I ended up with (pictured above): Wilson Sophia 3s, VTL 6.5, VTL 450 mono blocks, Linn Klimax Source (latest rev), QNAP NAS, Transparent cabling, Audience Response Power, Oppo 95 CD player.

I was hesitant to write immediately after it was installed (April) ... I wanted to live with it for a long while prior to posting. Here is the punchline - I love it. It was amazing from the start, and has seemed to get better and better. I'll acknowledge that "better" and "amazing" are essentially useless words, but they serve to provide a directional indication of how I feel about the system. I won't attempt to verbally describe a sonic and emotional experience - but trust me, it is good.

Is it good enough to justify the expense? Most people would say no - and that comment comes before they know the dollar sum (which I don't share)! But the value I place on the manner in which music is conveyed, and the emotional implications thereof, makes it important to me. The practical side of me says "it does have resale value, so it won't be a total loss."

Two more points. First - what happened to Spectral? I loved the sound of Spectral. Loved. And I often wonder what would have happened had I gone that route. That said, in the end the VTL simply connected with me on a "wavelength" that struck the right nerve. Not by a landslide, but enough for me to make the call. I can't technically argue the "tubes vs SS" thing -- you guys would eat me alive for my lack of knowledge on that front. I can only say that, for me, this was the best of the options I heard and could afford.

Second - NAS/Network/Digital. Here again I can't argue the vinyl vs. digital thing. I can tell you that a few hardcore vinyl guys - with enormous dollars put into their rigs - tell me that they are stunned at the 'analog' and 'tangible' presence that this system generates - particularly the higher res material, though well recorded is well recorded regardless of resolution. To be clear, I've not one record to my name, so I don't really know what they mean. Clearly I don't know what I'm missing with vinyl - which is fine for now. I chose to go digital because the cost of entry to vinyl (and space as I live in Manhattan) was too high. So I'm "all in" digital and, for now, am not looking back. One word of caution - the Network/NAS thing is buggy. It will work like a gem for months, then, for no apparent reason, freak out. No music. Sometimes it self corrects(don't know why) and sometimes I have to bring in the techies. Just strap in for this frustration if you go this route. And when you're down because of technical issues, know that our vinyl brethren are still in business.

Thanks again to all...