Sohphia 3 vs Martin Logans?

Mmm...not exactly. She just asked if there were any smaller speakers that would sound as good. She doesn't play mind games or anything like that.

Anyway, I think I've gotten enough out of this thread. Thanks to everyone for their advice.
 
Hey, I get it. My wife loves music too, but I respect her too much not to listen to her input. I agree that finding a compromise is cool !!

What's your budget ?
 
Last edited:
Bachtoven said:
Under $20K.
Click to expand...

Your idea of going to audition the speakers you mentioned, is very sound thinking. Of the ones you are looking at, the Revels would be my choice, the do nothing wrong. But you will know more when you go listen. One big plus with the Revel speakers are that they're very good off-axis, the sweetspot is much larger than the ML's that you have now. I do think including your wife in the audition process is a good idea, she might really enjoy the process.
 
MDP said:
Your idea of going to audition the speakers you mentioned, is very sound thinking. Of the ones you are looking at, the Revels would be my choice, the do nothing wrong. But you will know more when you go listen. One big plus with the Revel speakers are that they're very good off-axis, the sweetspot is much larger than the ML's that you have now. I do think including your wife in the audition process is a good idea, she might really enjoy the process.
Click to expand...

If she's anything like my wife, the only way I'm getting her into a stereo store is if the next stop is a jewelry store that sells large diamonds.
 
I'm obviously biased, but I think you would miss the transparency of MLs if you went to a non-planar speaker, unless you moved further up the non-planar line to the point that the differences in that regard become minimal. For Wilsons, I think that starts with the Sashas at minimum. In my own personal experience and in observing my friends' tastes, you have take a huge leap from where you are now to make switching from planar to non-planar (or vice-versa) worthwhile.
 
Bachtoven...Your electronics are very good. The 5-channel Parasound amp you have is very neutral. I can imagine the combination with your MLs will be very transparent, open, airy and fast but lack a bit of body and warmth. With that in mind, you may want to consider speakers that will complement the neutrality of your electronics with some of these added traits and that still fit the form factor and WAF that you are seeking. With that in mind, I would definitely look at the Sonus Fabers (the new Olympica line will fit in your budget - tops out at $13.5K - but maybe also the Elipsa SEs, which list for $23K but you can probably get them under $20K new and ertainly cheaper for a used pair). The Wilson S3 and Revel Studio speakers will also sound more fleshed out with added body than your MLs but won't necessarily add any warmth. You will have the issue of having mixed speakers for your main L/R, center, surrounds and sub which may be an issue from a coherence standpoint. With that in mind, you may want to check out a review of the Revel Performa speakers that got reviewed recently in the Jan 2014 Sound and Vision magazine.The entire Performa set-up (main L/R, center, 2 surrounds and a sub) retailed for $13.3K and acquitted itself very nicely on both 2-ch and HT duties. Comes in different veneers so you can choose what fits best with your decor and WAF. Just another thought.

Finally, for a box speaker that has electrostat transparency, speed and coherence yet gives you a better foundation in the lows and hence a weightier presentation, you should seek out to audition the Thiel 3.7s (or the new 2.7s). The speakers disappear, are extremely resolving, open and transparent and sound like a single-driver speaker, speaking with one voice. What they are not is warm and fleshed out. They will need more full-bodied (to use a wine analogy :-)) electronics to partner with them in which case you are talking about a whole system redo.

Some pics and links of the above for your viewing pleasure/research:

Sonus Faber Olympica IIIs: Olympica III

13(3).jpg
12(3).jpg


Sonus Faber Elipsa SE: Elipsa SE

2(23).jpg


Wilson Sophia 3: Wilson Audio: Sophia 3

product_soph3a.jpg




Revel Studio 2: Studio2 Floorstanding Speaker | Revel

prod_43_634503022030573454_Studio2-Front-Angled-Mahogany-Finish-no-Grille.jpg


Revel Performa 3 Line: Performa3 Speaker Series | Revel

prod_223_635216940484957314_F208_Angle_Walnut_IMG_9955%20copy%20-%20web.jpg


Brochure for the line: http://www.revelspeakers.com/downlo...erforma3 Speaker Series Brochure CES-2013.pdf

Hope this helps
 
I am not certain having never owned them. Good question for the dealer. My guess is the open baffle design of the Elipsa may need a little bit more space around it and behind it than the Olympica (but it also has a much bigger woofer driver than the 2 smaller mid-woofers used in the Olympca III, so it may need less boundary reinforcement but I am guessing here. It also depends highly on your room and where the room nodes are, so voicing a set of speakers to your room will be different for each speaker that you audition. Again, bring a description or picture of your room with you when you audition the speakers and hopefully the dealer is knowledgeable enough to give you a sense of which would be better suited or more flexible to place (in case you have limitations in terms of placement). Good luck and enjoy the fun of researching/auditioning/shopping for new speakers (sometimes it's half the fun :-)).
 
Bachtoven said:
Under $20K.
Click to expand...

sell your Theos, buy a pair of M/L Montis and with the money left over you can upgrade upstream of your speakers / improve room acoustics.

With regards to your original question, I just recently auditioned a pair of Sophia's (electronics were all Ayre), while a very enjoyable listen, were they worth the 2X the price of my M/L Spire's and Velodyne DD-15 combination…….no. In defense of the Sophia's the dealers listening environment was nowhere near as good as mine or certainly one which you would expect to audition a five figure pair of speakers.

Personally I have never heard a pair of speakers reproduce the sound of the piano like Martin Logan …….(for the $$ spent) The one exception to this IMO would be Maggie's, which just might be THE best value in speakers on the planet.
 
That won't solve either issue: too big for my wife, and I'm becoming less enamored with 'stat's sound--it seems a bit cold and sterile, although extremely clear and revealing.
 
Let us know how the visit at your local dealer goes and what you auditioned. Would be interesting to see if there is a certain house sound that you gravitate to. Good luck.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top