Q3, Sasha or Sophia?

Seta · Mar 1, 2011

I've always been a Wilson guy, having own W/P 3/2, 5, 6, and 7. From reading through comments on various forums, I sold my W/P 7 and ordered the new Sophia 3.

Later, the dealer made an error and ordered the wrong color for my Sophia, so he's offering quite a discount on the Sasha (or money back). Meanwhile, I visited another dealer with a Q5 on demo and was very impressed with the sound. He too said I should really consider ordering the new Q3 (which he doesn't have on display).

Anyone that heard the three speakers can give me some guidance? Should I take the leap of faith and order the Q3?

JackD201 · Mar 1, 2011

Seta,

You in the Philippines by any chance? If so, I've heard the same Q5s and was also quite impressed. I don't know if the Q3 has made it to ASEAN yet. AFAIK even Ken Chan at Sound Chamber HK, who usually gets stuff before MNL, Jakarta, Sing and KL do doesn't have them yet.

They're all very good loudspeakers and choosing between them will likely boil down to your personal tastes. Enjoy the hunt!

Jack

Seta · Mar 1, 2011

Jack,
I heard it in Bangkok. Driven by Soulution Electronics. Quite something.
Dealer said he will take delivery of the Q3 by the end of Q2, and want deposit now, so deciding...

Gregadd · Mar 1, 2011

Sasha. Heard the Q5 not Q3.

ack · Mar 1, 2011

Short: don't buy vaporware, thus put no money down now - wait to listen first; Q3 and Q5 are bound to be different, by definition.

caesar · Mar 1, 2011

How big is your room and what is your ancillary equipment?

Do you have a system now? Or are you starved for good sound?

To my ears, Wilson has always had dynamic, visceral, and explosive bass as its distinguishing characteristic, but not so for Magico. Being a repeat Wilson customer, you have definitely enjoyed the Wilson sound. Will you like the Q3 just because you liked the Q5? And did you compare the Q5 to the Maxx 3? Maybe you would have liked the Maxx3 better in the same room, and maybe not...

I wonder if it makes sense to wait for a product that you may or may not like.

Bruce B · Mar 1, 2011

I'd also go for the Sasha and never look back! You won't regret it.

mullard88 · Mar 1, 2011

Hi Seta,

I have only heard the Watt/Puppy 7. Heed ack's advice. This is a hobby and not a life or death situation. Be patient and wait to listen to the Q3 before making a decision.

Seta · Mar 1, 2011

caesar said:
How big is your room and what is your ancillary equipment?

Do you have a system now? Or are you starved for good sound?

To my ears, Wilson has always had dynamic, visceral, and explosive bass as its distinguishing characteristic, but not so for Magico. Being a repeat Wilson customer, you have definitely enjoyed the Wilson sound. Will you like the Q3 just because you liked the Q5? And did you compare the Q5 to the Maxx 3? Maybe you would have liked the Maxx3 better in the same room, and maybe not...

I wonder if it makes sense to wait for a product that you may or may not like.

Thanks all. I know it sounds very silly to buy a pair of speakers you have never heard. I'm surely will avoid that with the exception that there are enough first hand experience from WBF members (the most reliable of all forums out there) that the Q3 is similar to the Q5, or better yet had compared Q3 with the Sasha.

My room is 6x7m with high ceilings. I am using on-loan speakers now - Wilson Benesch A.C.T., which I will return once I get the new pair. My amps are the new Nuforce ref18 monoblocks.

The reasons why I always like Wilsons is because they sound "live". I tried Avalons, Thiels, B&Ws, ATCs. which are better in some areas but it doesn't sound right to me.
Having heard the Q5, it sounded as "live" but more refined and dimensional compared to W/P 7. I wouldn't say it has less "slam" nor "impact" it may be not in your face as the W/P but further into the sound stage. But the impact was there - felt not only heard. I have not heard the Maxx3 or bigger speakers (which the Q5 should have been compared to price wise) so those may be even better.

Sasha on the other hand is great and it is way ahead of the W/P 7 in terms of refinement. However, to my ears the Sophia 3 sounded quite close to it in most areas, that's why I decided to go for it in the first place. However, with good discount, the Sasha is obviously a better buy.

My dilemma is that a) should I take the money back and wait to hear the Q3? b) go ahead and get the Sasha. For option a) I will also have to return the WB A.C.T - leaving me with no speakers!

mullard88 · Mar 1, 2011

Hi Seta,

Are you happier with the Sasha's sound or the Sophia's sound. If you are happier with the Sasha's sound, then go for it and enjoy the pleasures of the hobby. You have a big room, you can acquire a pair of Q3 later. It is always more fun to have alternatives ready for whenever your mood swings and you wish to listen to your music through a differently colored lens.

ack · Mar 2, 2011

@Seta -

You are apparently smitten by the Q5, and in my view, for very good reason; I find it stunning too, but still with limitations (you'll find many threads on this here). As such, it's not the perfect speaker, and chances are the Q3 will be less perfect still, although Magico has been known to put out newer and cheaper products that improve on the older more expensive ones, so you never know.

The Q3 was only demo'd at CES so no one could possibly have formed a good opinion of it, because no one has listened to it under controlled, optimized conditions. But I think it's worth the wait, if you were so impressed by the Q5. The problem is, you will probably have to wait a few months, not weeks, be without speakers if you don't buy something else, but may find yourself in a place having to sell your newly acquired Sasha's if you find the Q3 so much better.

Personally, I can't live w/o music for a week, and in a situation/conundrum like this I would go buy a used pair of B&W 805's to get me by for those few months.

Seta · Mar 2, 2011

ack said:
Personally, I can't live w/o music for a week, and in a situation/conundrum like this I would go buy a used pair of B&W 805's to get me by for those few months.

Good idea. Perhaps that's what I'll do. Go buy a used something for several months.

LL21 · Mar 3, 2011

Seta,

My two cents: 1) i defintely prefer Sashas over Sophias and if you get a better price on Sashas...all the better. 2) there is always something newer/better..and eventually it too will be at a used price. If you think you can hold onto the Sashas at that price until you hear the Q3, you may want to...but if someone pops in to the store and buys the Sashas at the discounted price, you (might) regret not grabbing them.. they are exceptionally good speakers.

If you have reason to believe the Q3s will far outpace the Sashas, hold out (caveat above)...if not, i suspect system optimization, room set up, etc...will have far greater influences on your overall sound given just how good the Sashas are. i have heard so many people listen to speakers that were in the same league find they preferred one over the other 8 times out of 10...and then find the reverse upon hearing the "lesser speaker" set up just right in someone's system.

Personally., when i have found sound i really, really liked at the right price that was a significant upgrade to where i was at the time, i have always negotiated hard, but eventually grabbed it and fortunately have not looked back once in 25 years. again, just my own 2 cents...the decision is totally yours!!!!!!!! good luck and please keep us posted!!!!

Seta · Mar 3, 2011

Thanks guys.

I had several incarnations of the W/P in my home for the past 15 years, so you know I will definitely like the Sasha (and I did audition them). But...sometimes you go around to find a reason for yourself to take the leap and change something. I really like how the Q5 sounded when I heard the pair and quite convince that I can live happily with them, at least for while if I don't change back to Wilson, but at $60k...it is sadly too expensive for me.

Since I have not heard the Q3, and no one seems to have them to give good solid feedback, I think I will go with the Wilsons for now. May be in a year I'll trade them in for something else.

VT Skier · Apr 15, 2011

I've heard all three, and the Q3 is, to my ear, the "better" speaker. And the Sasha W/P is also "better" than the Sophia. But the Q3 is $34,000, the Sasha is $27,000 and the Sophia is extremely good for "only" $17,000. And a lot will depend on your room, your electronics, and, most importantly, your taste in sound/music.

I'm choosing between the Q3 and SF Amati Futura, although I was very tempted by the Sasha. For me, the aesthetics ruled out Wilson because my system is in a living room rather than hidden away in a dedicated listening room.

KeithR · Apr 19, 2011

Seta said:
Thanks guys.

I had several incarnations of the W/P in my home for the past 15 years, so you know I will definitely like the Sasha (and I did audition them). But...sometimes you go around to find a reason for yourself to take the leap and change something. I really like how the Q5 sounded when I heard the pair and quite convince that I can live happily with them, at least for while if I don't change back to Wilson, but at $60k...it is sadly too expensive for me.

Since I have not heard the Q3, and no one seems to have them to give good solid feedback, I think I will go with the Wilsons for now. May be in a year I'll trade them in for something else.

no offense Seta, but not many folks even have a Q3. they were just put in production a month or two ago and there are still no published reviews yet (next TAS I believe)

i would certainly wait to hear both---i actually prefer the V3 to the Sasha myself.

ack · Apr 20, 2011

VT Skier said:
I've heard all three, and the Q3 is, to my ear, the "better" speaker. And the Sasha W/P is also "better" than the Sophia. But the Q3 is $34,000, the Sasha is $27,000 and the Sophia is extremely good for "only" $17,000. And a lot will depend on your room, your electronics, and, most importantly, your taste in sound/music.

I'm choosing between the Q3 and SF Amati Futura, although I was very tempted by the Sasha. For me, the aesthetics ruled out Wilson because my system is in a living room rather than hidden away in a dedicated listening room.

Curious - where did you hear the Q3? It made its debut at this year's CES and its worldwide rollout is in 3 weeks from now at my local dealer (who also set it up at CES)...

Lee · Apr 23, 2011

Tough call, based purely on listening at friend's places and shows, I think Sasha has slightly better midrange and highs but the setup seems critical on them.

The standout on the Magico seems to be the bass.

Q3, Sasha or Sophia?

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