802D vs. wilson Sophia

[js24]

Has anyone compared these two head to head?

I'm comparing the 802Ds against other manufacturers (i.e. aerial, Martin Logan wilson).. I'm not sure which one to get yet but leaning to toward the wilson sophia at this point...

thanks for your input

[RobP]

I own B&W N803s so this comment is going to hurt, I have heard both the wilsons and the 802d's and prefer the sophias. My opionion.

[js24]

thanks for the input soundgravy...
up until few weeks ago.. I thought the 802D was DA BOMB... but.. after I heard the Sophia...8O
Hmmmmmmmmmm..... man... I might have to leave this forum for good..... :cry:
I'll be doing A/Bs a few more times to finalize my chnoice...though

given I still love B&Ws and this is the dedicated forum, I'll refrain myself from making any further comments on the Sophia vs. 802D

[Andrew M Ward]

Try this

Whatever you do! Don't use "stero Store" music for your demo material, try both speakers with real music, stuff you would listen to in a normal situation.

Old Ohio Players Gold CD
Lynerd Synerd Street Survivor
Bad Company Straight Shooter

Whatever it is, but not Diani Krall... Unless you happen to actually listen to that stuff. I love Jazz, just not radio Jazz or Stereo Store Jazz,

it makes for a bad demo, I urge you to listen to your future speakers using music you actually listen to. !!!!!

It can be extremely revealing! you may find wildly differing results...

[js24]

Andrew,
I listen to classical music 90+% of time...
I demoed those speakers with my reference classical CDs for 1hr each.. and I've attended numerouse live classical concerts ever since I was like 5..
..
no offence, but I don't believe in judging hifi equipments with contemporary music. .. I consider myself a serious music lover than an audiophile..

my 703 sounds fine with pops and Krall (yes I do have a handful of her CDs).. yet it falls short with some serious classical concertos and orchestral pieces...even with the chamber music..(in very short words, this applied to the 802D vs. Sophia comparison,.. fine I said it.. )

I appreciate your input, though :T

[Andrew M Ward]

Excellent news

I just hear too many stories of people being demonstrated speakers with music they don't listen to and recordings that are nothing like the recordings they might own or choose to buy.

could you name a few of your favorite classical segments (composer & Director & Label) i'm fascinated to dive in.

I have a hundred or so Classical CD's - the usual assortment of romantic period stuff -

Holst
Richard Strauss
Mahler

any suggestions of spectacular material would be appreciated.

[Fraise]

I own B&W N803s so this comment is going to hurt, I have heard both the wilsons and the 802d's and prefer the sophias. My opionion.

I'm a former 803 owner to switched to martin logan ascents. between the 802Ds, sophia's and martin logan prodigies (now discontinued but since i havent heard the summits i wont cooment) I'd pick the logans first, then sophias and lastly the 802's. I just with the martin logans had the same kind of finish as the wilsons.

[js24]

Andrew
good to see another classical fan in the forum
I can see your taste- Mahler R. Strauss and Hoslts.. BIGGIES!
I'm a Mahler fan as well- my favorite is the symphony #2 (top 3 symphonies ever written IMHO- Beethoven 9, Brahms 1 and Mahler 2 - for those not familier with these works, some say the latter two are Beethoven 10 and 11 respectively-)

here are just s few of my typical test CDs
Lalo - symphonie espagnole/ Saint Sean vioin concerto 3
Maxim Vangerov soloist, EMI; the 802D crushed the 803D with this recording

Beethoven- triple concerto/choral fantasy
Pierre Laurant Aimard piano, Warner Classics

Mozart- Sinfonia Concertante
Midori Violin Sony classical (this is a DSD recording -sounds super bright and piercing with the 703 and 803D)

Vivaldi Four Seasons Anne-Sophi Mutter soloist, DG (another very bright recording and demands good bass output from speakers i.e. my 703 falls significantly with this while the 802D sounds much better and the Sophia... I won't say)

Mozart K622 MuFi Free/Stereophile CD - Antony Michaelson Clarinet
Clarinet sounds very beamy and intrusive and somewhat congested with the 703, 803D, but a little better with the 802D

Sempre Libera- Anna Netrebko as the hot chick diva, Arias from Verdi to Puccini
I thought she and this recording sucked (Stereophile gives very high(est?) rating on both) until I heard it through the Sophia

Beethoven symphony 5 and Brahms Violin Concerto
Simon Rattle Berlin phil./ Kyung Wha Chung Violin, EMI
Best interpretation of 5 I ever heard on recordings (best ever was Abbado with the Berlin*LIVE*) Brahms Violin sounds so delicious

[js24]

Fraise,
I can see your taste
Acutally, the third player of my last session of the ML Summmit
It sounded so much more laid back than the B&W, arguably excells the Sophia in vocals, and yest it is soooo transparent, very good bass, too (powered woofer!)
to my ears, it lacks dynamics and soundstage... and emotional involvements
I've been posting some of my impressions on the Summit here and at the audiogon.. (ID: Jungsan)

[KyaDawn]

Sorry for bringing up an old thread, but I think it's still a very relevant topic and I'm surprised it hasn't been discussed more.

What are you thoughts of the B&W 802D vs. the Wilson Audio Sophia 2?

For myself, I demoed both and I bought the 802Ds. It wasn't that I didn't like the Sophia 2s, but I preferred the 802Ds. At the same time, I don't remember much about the Sophias, other than I thought they sound great with live music, classical and jazz, and not so good with this golden oldie-type CD the dealer put in.

It probably didn't help that I heard the Alexandria X-2s immediately after the Sophia 2, and that was so far in another class that it made me forget the Sophias immediately. The X-2s had a very precise and coherent 3D soundstage (the trombone came right toward me and was floating in front of the rest of the band) with this particular jazz disc the dealer put in, which the Sophia 2 didn't produce on any material, though admittedly I didn't hear the same discs with both speakers.

I'll probably listen to the Sophia 2s at the dealer again for fun and for more comparison with the 802Ds, but I'm interested to hear other people's opinions of the two.

[sunshdw]

Has anyone compared these two head to head?

I'm comparing the 802Ds against other manufacturers (i.e. aerial, Martin Logan wilson).. I'm not sure which one to get yet but leaning to toward the wilson sophia at this point...

thanks for your input

What amps/processors would you be using to power these?? What was the dealer you A/B'd using??

[Race Car Driver]

I own B&W N803s so this comment is going to hurt, I have heard both the wilsons and the 802d's and prefer the sophias. My opionion.

I totally respect your opinion.

However



VS





The 802 wins on looks alone. :lol:

[sikoniko]

I heard the Maxx3's, the Watt Puppy's and the Sophia's at CES last weekend. I prefer the Sofia's based on what I heard, but there was a lot of variables.

[KyaDawn]

I heard the Maxx3's, the Watt Puppy's and the Sophia's at CES last weekend. I prefer the Sofia's based on what I heard, but there was a lot of variables.

Preferred the Sophias vs. the Maxx 3 and Watt Puppys or vs. the 802D? In either case, please elaborate.

[sikoniko]

There were a lot of variables, so I wouldn't be able to conclude based on my observations, but at CES I heard the Maxx3's, the Watt Puppy's and the Sophias. Each with different electronics, and each in different rooms. Of the three, I preferred the Sophias. That is to compare the Wilson speakers against themselves. Nothing to do with B&W speakers.

The Maxx3's were too forward for me, the WP's had too much bass and the Sophias seemed the most balanced. Rebelman liked the WP's better, but based on his own personal demo's where he controlled the variables, not what we heard at CES.

I will say that the speakers I saw at CES make B&W 800D's seem like a great deal when you consider what you get for the price. like penny's on the dollar. too bad its still above my price range.

My favorite rooms had TAD, CAT, DynAudio 30th anniversary, Hansen, and the Sophia's. B&W speakers were not represented in a listening room.

[DM3000 Owner]

I heard the Watt Puppy 8's last year with about $150K of VTL gear last year. They were amazing and the bass was well balanced. But they had this room dialed in to the T and seemed to spare no expense.

Your right, the 800 series does not seem overpriced when you see all of this gear. "Typical" speakers are $15,000 and up, way way up.

[Miroku]

Wilson are pretty forward but so are B&W to my ear.

I was lucky enough to hear the Wilson Maxx 3 a few months ago at their first public auditioning at Audio Advice in Raleigh, NC. I thought they were just eerily realistic in their presentation of the sound. It was probably the most I've ever felt like the performers were right in front of me. I listened to the 802D a few minutes later and they sounded boxy and flat in the midrange and a bit bright during loud parts of high frequency like trumpet attack, or a sudden shout. I was left unimpressed with the 802d even though I've been impressed with them in the past. I guess there is a reason for that though, since you can buy 4 or 5 pairs of 802D for the price of the Maxx3s.

I think I my hearing may be heading towards a direction of wanting a more laid back sound. I don't know if I can part with my B&W's quite yet though

[wettou]

I heard these





A sign that hung in Albert Einstein's Princeton office famously put it this way: "Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted." It takes wisdom and experience to know the difference, especially for a loudspeaker designer.


Powered by these: Boulder 2050 monoblock amplifier
1000Wpc?

Of course I can't afford them so I will stop dreaming :B

[DM3000 Owner]

It was probably the most I've ever felt like the performers were right in front of me.

I had an interestign experience at The SHOW in Las Vegas last week. A live pinao performance was presented and taped, then played back.

The live performance sounded "veiled" to me. If I remember correctly, they had the room treated. Go figure.

[KyaDawn]

Wilson are pretty forward but so are B&W to my ear.

I was lucky enough to hear the Wilson Maxx 3 a few months ago at their first public auditioning at Audio Advice in Raleigh, NC. I thought they were just eerily realistic in their presentation of the sound. It was probably the most I've ever felt like the performers were right in front of me. I listened to the 802D a few minutes later and they sounded boxy and flat in the midrange and a bit bright during loud parts of high frequency like trumpet attack, or a sudden shout. I was left unimpressed with the 802d even though I've been impressed with them in the past. I guess there is a reason for that though, since you can buy 4 or 5 pairs of 802D for the price of the Maxx3s.

I think I my hearing may be heading towards a direction of wanting a more laid back sound. I don't know if I can part with my B&W's quite yet though

If the Wilson Maxx 3 sounds anything like the X-2s, then it should be a phenomenal speaker. As you pointed out, it's not a fair comparison with the 802D considering the Maxx 3 is going for around USD$70,000, which makes it even more expensive than the Nautilus. Now THAT's a comparison I would like to hear about. I've never head the Nautilus, so it would be interesting to see how these 16 year-old speakers measure up to today's competition.

I've heard the X-2 Series 2 and they were absolutely amazing, but on the same day, I heard the 800Ds and I thought they held up very well against the X-2s, despite being around 1/7th the price. Certainly when you get into the price ranges of the Maxx 3 and X-2s, the law of diminishing returns is in full effect.

That's why I think the 802D vs. the Sophia 2 is such an interesting comparison. That and the 800D vs. the Watt Puppy 8 are the only models where B&W and Wilson Audio are comparable in terms of pricing. The Wilson line basically begins where the B&Ws end.

Interestingly, Wilson also has a 2-way monitor called the Duette which is their least expensive non-surround stereo speaker, but at USD$12,500, it's about four times more expensive than the B&W equivalent, the 805S.

On that note, anyone else have any comments between the Sophia 2s vs. the 802Ds?

[george_k]

Heard the Alexandria's playing Patricia Barber's Cafe Blue on Vinyl....very nice!

[style]

Hi,
the Alexandria x2
by CoupdeFoudre in Montreal.. :T

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HlEMTsay_u4

well is the top model, but the Sophia is a very grest speakers (in 2 channel & HT too).

@Race Car Driver
I'm a B&W fans but with

The 802 wins on looks alone

uhmm is a big statement...in design the 802D is a hummer sure, with its sound
won lots of awards for many years ....
I have listened to the Wilson TopAudio 2008 are fantastic ...

I will go with the Wilson!!!
style

[Audio_ElF]

The price comparision is interesting especially on imported items - in the UK the 802D is £8000 where list for the Wilson Sophia is £12,000. The 800D is £13,000.

So should the Sophia be compared to 800D or 802D. I suppose itdependa on your budget - just best to stop auditioning when you reach the level you're happy spending your money at. If you go that little higher there's almost always something thts better, or that you prefer.

Eloise

P.S. I've never been to CES but based on other shows: is a demo at CES really a good way to judge A-B between two sets of speakers?

[Kal Rubinson]

P.S. I've never been to CES but based on other shows: is a demo at CES really a good way to judge A-B between two sets of speakers?

?? It's impossible since each manufacturer is in a different room or, worse, different hotel.

Kal

[KyaDawn]

?? It's impossible since each manufacturer is in a different room or, worse, different hotel.

Kal

Kal, I'm especially interested in hearing your take on the 802D vs. the Sophia. I know you own the 802Ds as your reference pair. Have you heard the Sophias, and if so, how do you think they compare?

[Kal Rubinson]

AFAIK, I have never heard the Sophias.

Kal

[Miroku]

If the Wilson Maxx 3 sounds anything like the X-2s, then it should be a phenomenal speaker. As you pointed out, it's not a fair comparison with the 802D considering the Maxx 3 is going for around USD$70,000, which makes it even more expensive than the Nautilus. Now THAT's a comparison I would like to hear about. I've never head the Nautilus, so it would be interesting to see how these 16 year-old speakers measure up to today's competition.

I've heard the X-2 Series 2 and they were absolutely amazing, but on the same day, I heard the 800Ds and I thought they held up very well against the X-2s, despite being around 1/7th the price. Certainly when you get into the price ranges of the Maxx 3 and X-2s, the law of diminishing returns is in full effect.

That's why I think the 802D vs. the Sophia 2 is such an interesting comparison. That and the 800D vs. the Watt Puppy 8 are the only models where B&W and Wilson Audio are comparable in terms of pricing. The Wilson line basically begins where the B&Ws end.

Interestingly, Wilson also has a 2-way monitor called the Duette which is their least expensive non-surround stereo speaker, but at USD$12,500, it's about four times more expensive than the B&W equivalent, the 805S.

On that note, anyone else have any comments between the Sophia 2s vs. the 802Ds?

I was told that Wilson used the 802D as a comparison, or target, in development of the Duette. I haven't seriously auditioned the Duette but have heard them a little bit. Don't let their size fool you, they are not to be underestimated! I do not think that the 805 would really compare to them even though they have a somewhat similar sized cabinet.

[KyaDawn]

I was told that Wilson used the 802D as a comparison, or target, in development of the Duette. I haven't seriously auditioned the Duette but have heard them a little bit. Don't let their size fool you, they are not to be underestimated! I do not think that the 805 would really compare to them even though they have a somewhat similar sized cabinet.

Yes, I've heard the Duette is quite similar to the Sophia in performance, actually, and also in price! :B

I only brought them up as a footnote to my point that "The Wilson line basically begins where the B&Ws end", and in the case of stand-mount 2-way speakers, Wilsons begin way beyond where B&Ws end. :E

[Isaac]

:evil: Cheating on B&W? Your B&W's are going to be mad. :smackbutt:

[Dmantis]

I used to work for a Ultra High end company which carried all the above speakers.
There was always debate on which company was the best overall for all kinds of music.
Here is how my opinion played out.
The B&W line of speakers up to the 800's where magical with Classical, Jazz and soft rock. Once things heated up, they tended to sound clustered. I hated Heavy rock or Metal type music on them. They didn't play nice together.
The Wilson line didn't really care what you played on them but did favor female voice. It was tight and focused. Rock music passed but not my cup of tea.
Between these 2 companies , I have mixed feelings. B&W's sound stage is much bigger and open while the Wilsons are more tight and focused. So I guess it depends on what musical presentation you prefer. No clear winner here.
We carried Martin Logan and they are wall to wall yet focused as well.One of the very best Theater speakers I ever heard. Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon the end scene when the 2 girls fight in the Quan was amazing. When she broke her sword, you heard the piece fly threw the air and land clearly. Amazing as i have neer been able to recreate that experience on any other speaker package as well.
Dynaudio speakers in our store where probably the best over all speakers. They played everything well.

Good luck with your choice.

[Pedro]

The 801D plays METAL better than Dyn C4, and also driving them with a ridiculous minisystem. To me this is the only BW speaker that can carry all type of music

And i agree that Wilsons are better, but they cost a lot more!!!

[DM3000 Owner]

The 801D plays METAL better than Dyn C4, and also driving them with a ridiculous minisystem. To me this is the only BW speaker that can carry all type of music

And i agree that Wilsons are better, but they cost a lot more!!!

Your not the one on youtude with the 801D and Wal Mart mini system are you?


Which Dynaudio speakers. A local delaer has a pair of the Saphires. They are outstanding but I can't say any beter or worse than my S800's from the little time that I spent with them.

[Dmantis]

The 801D plays METAL better than Dyn C4, and also driving them with a ridiculous minisystem. To me this is the only BW speaker that can carry all type of music

And i agree that Wilsons are better, but they cost a lot more!!!

I don't agree with you, the C4's are probably the best speaker under 20k. They can play anything you put on them and do it very very well.
But it's all subjective / personal opinion.

[Dmantis]

Your not the one on youtude with the 801D and Wal Mart mini system are you?


Which Dynaudio speakers. A local delaer has a pair of the Saphires. They are outstanding but I can't say any beter or worse than my S800's from the little time that I spent with them.

Your kidding right????

[wettou]

I was listening to a couple of SACDs last night and I found out that many Classical SACDs uses B&W Nautilus 800 series as monitor speakers :B

[Pedro]

I don't agree with you, the C4's are probably the best speaker under 20k. They can play anything you put on them and do it very very well.
But it's all subjective / personal opinion.

Ive listened the C4. THey have an excelent mid and high ranges, as the 801D, but they lack a little in the bass area. The 801D have more bass and as i said i loaded them with a shit minisystem (as displayed below) and they still amazing specialy for rock and metal, well detailed.

http://br.youtube.com/watch?v=d3lBVtDXrdY :B

Anyway you must hear the 801D cause the N801 are totally different IMO

[DM3000 Owner]

Your kidding right????

Why would I be kidding? The 30th aniversary Saphires are great speakers. I listened to uncomplicated music, vocals and accoustic guitar and they imaged extremely well and had a great lifelike sound. I only heard a few songs so I cannot pass judgment. If I had heard them on something more complicated maybe my view would be different.

Have you had any extensive listening sessions with them?

The dealer of course says that I should ditch my 800's and buy these but I don't trust him at all. I caught him in a lie about something else that I bought. He also claims that my Rega P9 and Shelter 901 analog setup is a "toy" and that I should buy a Pro Ject table from him. Pickins are slim for audio delaers where I live.

[emig5m]

Ive listened the C4. THey have an excelent mid and high ranges, as the 801D, but they lack a little in the bass area. The 801D have more bass and as i said i loaded them with a shit minisystem (as displayed below) and they still amazing specialy for rock and metal, well detailed.

http://br.youtube.com/watch?v=d3lBVtDXrdY :B

Anyway you must hear the 801D cause the N801 are totally different IMO

Can you tell me what group/cd/song this is in this other video of yours: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_1Wsj...eature=related

Thanks.

[Pedro]

The band is FIGHT formed by Rob Halford in 1993 when he left Judas Priest. This song DOWN belongs to K5 Demos album, one of that songs that wasnt include at War Of Words oficial album.

[emig5m]

The band is FIGHT formed by Rob Halford in 1993 when he left Judas Priest. This song DOWN belongs to K5 Demos album, one of that songs that wasnt include at War Of Words oficial album.

Cool, AllTunes has the song in lossless (or any other format you can think of, lol).