What's next after Sasha's ??? A new endeavor

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Cellindo

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I've been using my Wilson Sasha's for almost 5 years now and I reckon that they offer plenty of qualities, mostly on the audiophile side.

I'm now looking for a new pair of speaker with the following criterias:

* size shall be not larger than Sasha's, ideally.

* the make and finish shall be too notch. It's not a question of technologies inside, but more the pleasure of owning a perfectly well thought and executed product.

* New speakers shall match perfectly with my Accuphase A-65 class A amplifier.

* I want to retain the following positive attributes of the Sasha's ie. High level of transparency, excellent sound stage, bass well controled which is not exciting my 29 m2 room (with 3.5 m, high celling and very solid walls), really great PRAT.

* The point I miss the most with the Sasha's is a lack of 'presence', immediacy and sense of 'freedom' for the Music. The Wilson speakers propose an intellectual way of rendering the musical feeling. It is up to me to make the effort to listen. What I'm looking for is a more immediate connection to the Music, having no effort (even inconscient) to do and being immersed into the musical event. In one word, despite lots of great audiophile qualities, the Sasha's are musically too "introverted" for my new tastes.

* The other improvement point shall be on timbres. Despite a good linearity, I can now hear the disparity of materials used for each drivers in the Sasha speaker. I need something more 'seamless' on timbres such what Vivid Audio, Zellaton, (somehow TAD as well) can propose.

I do rule out the TAD CR-1 because of its redhish wooden finish that my wife cannot accept (and would be difficult for me probably).

I also rule out all Vivid G series because of the side firing woofers that would not accomodate well my set-up.

The Zellaton are too expensive and seems to sound splendid only with the uber expensive CH Precision electronics.

I'm considering Verity Audio Parsifal or Sarastro, Nola Metro Grand gold, some Rockport, SF Strad (but its size is a killer I guess for my wife), YGA Carmel 2 (Hailey are out of reach financially).

I also need to listen to the Kaiser Chiara, Raidho D1 and D2, Living Voice RW, the new Kharma S7-S, etc ...

By experience, I know that usually I'm not emotionally touched by speakers with Ceramic drivers like Marten or alike. But who knows with Gauder or some other exotic brands.

Obviously Magico could be on my list too with the S3/S5. However I never ever had a satisfying demo with this brand. Maybe I just don't like the Soulution (or souless ...) electronics.

Any suggestions for help ??? I will be in Munich next month and I do look forward finding there my new dream speakers.

Thanks for all positive comments. I do respect and still like very much the Wilson Audio brand but I want to enjoy a deeper immersion into the musical events from each audio track. Actually, the Maxx 3 and Alexandria know how to do that, but not the 'smaller' Wilson models. Thus my willingness for a change of brand.
 
When in Munich check out some horn speakers. Immediacy and life are their strengths and should go very well with the Asccuphase amps.
 
There are many great brands, and many great choices. But what I read into your comments is that you are looking for an efficient musical speaker, a speaker with soul, a speaker that can capture the passion of the moment the music was created, as opposed to the "audiophile sounds" type speaker that checks all the audiophile boxes of bass control, separation, using the latest man made materials, etc. If that's correct, I would suggest:

1. Sonus Faber Anniversario. Sounds like Strads, has a wonderful musical presentation and a soul, but with a more conventional look. I believe they have been discontinued, so you will need to find a used pair. They come in the Violin finish or the Graphite.

Here is a video: http://youtu.be/UgKVT8NYZok

2. Focal Scala V2 Utopia III - very efficient to drive and my wife loves it's look! Maybe yours will too. But, requires a good 350-500 hours of break in. This is what I own in my family room.

3. Sonus Faber Stradivari - yes, it is wide, but it is beautiful, and efficient. A masterpiece from the master. That's what I own in my main listening room and the new "Red" finish is jaw dropping gorgeous.

4. Sonus Faber Olympica III - one of the few newer Sonus Fabers to have recaptured some of the magic of the old Sonus Fabers IMO.

5. See what comes out at Axpona and Munich.
 
As somebody who is very familiar with both Wilson and Accuphase, enjoys the kinda presentation that you're looking for, and just so happens to agree with your synopsis of the Sasha's sound - here's what I'd encourage you to check out:

Tidal 'Piano' loudspeakers. Rich in tone and gorgeous to look at, these slim towers catch my attention every time I hear them. Personally, I feel like Tidals "entry level" Piano is more tonally fleshed out than the rest of their offerings - which tend to rely on ceramic drivers. I think these have the immersive tone that you're looking for, but they won't have the bottom end or dynamic heft of your Sasha. Despite that fact, I'd encourage you to audition these speakers should you ever have a chance to do so.

Rosso Fiorentino 'Siena' loudspeakers. After having just posted a fairly positive 'review' of my Rosso Volterras in a different thread, I'm a touch hesitant to throw up a bunch of superlatives as I don't want to come across as a fanboy. Nonetheless, I can't ignore the fact that these speakers really do offer exactly what you're looking for and then some. The top end is way more natural, extended, and smoother than the Sasha's. The midrange is slightly more open and more tonally rich. The bass is full, quick, and strong. And best of all - they'll work brilliantly with your Accuphase. Ultimately, these speakers will give you the presence and tone that you're looking for, all the while maintaining the kinda linearity that you'd come to expect from a speaker at this level. Oh, and did I mention the numerous fit and finish options? As somebody who used to be in your shoes (more or less), I can't recommend these bad boys highly enough!

And lastly, I'd back XV-1's recommendation. Compression horns throw out a unique sound. While the presentation isn't for everybody, there's no denying that a good horn speaker will do things that many other designs struggle to do. For example: I have a pair of Klipsch RF-7 II's sitting at my abode. You know, the kinda speakers that most audiophiles wouldn't even give the time of day. While I admit that it took me *ages* to get the speakers setup to where the horn would no longer draw attention to itself, I've been very impressed with the sound after the fact. Let me put it this way, whenever I compared them directly to my Wilson Audio Watt Pups, the Klipsch matched and even better their super expensive counterparts in numerous areas. The Klipsch threw a wider soundstage, gave the music a much more realistic sense of scale, delivered a more immediate presentation, and offered a sense of controlled power that ya just don't get with most cone n' dome loudspeakers. Of course, the Wilson's were still better at giving you all of those audiophile nicety's, and they still made for a great listen. Just the same, it's an experience that showcased (to me) just how good big horns with big drivers can be.
 
Price range?

I don't understand why you think side-firing woofers are a disqualifier?

The NOLA Baby Grands are way more speaker than the Metro and should be on anyone's list if they are affordable.
 
Hi JackD

A good friend of mine told me excellent feedback regarding the VR speakers.
However, the larger models are certainly not available in France where I live. Maybe in other Eurepean countries ...

Thanks anyway. I will try to experience the VR speakers at the Munich High-End Show next month !

JackD said:
Accuphase A-65 Class A you say?

VR-44 Active would be my recommendation. These sound stunning with Valvet A3.5R Class As.

Von Schweikert Audio VR-44 Aktive Loudspeaker | The Absolute Sound
Click to expand...
 
I've got Raidho, Rockport, Kaiser, Wilson Benesch, Kharma and Nola at my disposal as well as having quite a lot of experience with Wilson. I would like to help in any way I can.
 
XV-1 said:
When in Munich check out some horn speakers. Immediacy and life are their strengths and should go very well with the Asccuphase amps.
Click to expand...
The only issue is there are few horn speakers the size of a Sasha which meet the OP's requirements. Even Cessaro's smallest model; Chopin and the Avantgarde Uno are bigger. Not sure if that's a deal breaker though.
 
Bodhi said:
The only issue is there are few horn speakers the size of a Sasha which meet the OP's requirements. Even Cessaro's smallest model; Chopin and the Avantgarde Uno are bigger. Not sure if that's a deal breaker though.
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I was thinking the same thing. I like SOME horn speakers (Volti Vitorri's being one of my favs) - but they are big buggers.
 
With a Class A, 60 watt amp (and that's a gorgeous Accuphase btw) - I'd want a >90db efficient speaker. Also, you might look for low-order crossovers since you seem to value coherency and presence (for instance, this would not be Rockport).

Since you are in Europe, Living Voice and Avantgarde are obvious as is Sonus Faber. Devore Fidelity seems another good idea if they have a representative near you. Finally, Voxativ out of Germany might be the cat's meow on that amp. Beautiful, Schimmel piano finish and a high end custom driver.
 
Cellindo, just as a footnote, It is unlikely you would have heard a satisfying show setup with the S3/S5's as firstly they need up to 1000hrs to fully break in and open up, and thier resolution, transparency and linearity mean they can sound good or bad depending on the choice of upstream equipment. Secondly synergy is essential, and the best I found was with Vitus Class A power. Finally Myles Astor will tell you that correct setup is key to allow these speakers to disappear and to get good sound stage depth. Few show setups get it right. An exception was Magico's room at CES 2014 where they won Soundstage's Best of Show with the S3's, Vitus SM-102 mono's & a Vitus MP-L102.

With the above said, based on your requirements (depending on budget), you could also look at the Avalon Eidolon Diamond (a much underrated speaker imho), Marten Coltrane Tenor , Vandersteen 5a Carbon and Vandersteen 7.
 
Mike said:
I was thinking the same thing. I like SOME horn speakers (Volti Vitorri's being one of my favs) - but they are big buggers.
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Indeed the horn speakers are usually interesting musically speaking but space constraint is real and high efficiency speakers tend to force a change to low wattage SET tubed amp.
I won't be able to revamp speakers and amp.
Also, aside from Avantgarde, in term of look, fit and finish the horn speakers are sometimes not too stylish ....
 
Hyperion said:
I've got Raidho, Rockport, Kaiser, Wilson Benesch, Kharma and Nola at my disposal as well as having quite a lot of experience with Wilson. I would like to help in any way I can.
Click to expand...

Dear Hyperion,

I've already noticed that your carry many brands that are of serious interest to me.
I even said to my wife that we should do a week-end in Stockholm one day. ;-) Who knows ...
 
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