Wilson Sabrina and 300dr

It's worth looking at a Forum thread by Blownaway from late last year. The conclusion appears to be that a 272/250DR would be OK with the Sabrinas so your system should be more than up to it. The Sabrinas have had some really positive reviews particularly in terms of musical involvement, including in partnership with Naim amplifiers. One nice thing about them is that they are not too big, and come in lots of paint colours so should be easy to accommodate. You could always ask the Wilson dealer for an honest opinion - they are not going to want to ship the speakers to someone with an underpowered amplifier. I've never heard them of course, but from what I've read they sound very appealing indeed, so in your position I'd give them a go.  

Does anyone else (those who played pc games back in the early 90s!) see a certain resemblance between the Sabrinas and the Day of the Tentacles baddies!!

Timmo1341 posted:

Does anyone else (those who played pc games back in the early 90s!) see a certain resemblance between the Sabrinas and the Day of the Tentacles baddies!!

If I don't read anything funnier today ... I will go to bed smiling ...

Day of the Tentacles...

Wilson Sabrinas...

Did not you consider Kudos Titan 808 like alternative ? pretty much on the same price bracket and probably a better match with Naim amps.

Regards

Roberto

All, many thanks for your help! Also reached a dealer who said they work together - "although 500 always better". No surprice. Seems like a viable option for me.

roberto, did consider but they did not pass the wife-filter unfortunately. Would love to have demoed them at home as am using s20 now. Thats life..

br Lars

Really ? they are not so much bigger than Sabrinas.

Regards

Roberto

I am with you, but for my wife Other factors play in like the split cabinet and being all dark on the front baffle also for the white speaker. Its a tough filter :-)

Hi Lars,

my my opinion is that there are better matches out their for your Naim gear. I have heard many Wilson based systems and as a Naim fan there isn't a pair I would desire to own.

At that price you could go for a pair of Kudos Titans, Neat Ultimatums or my speaker of choice, ART. All more efficient and easier to drive than the Wilsons and IMHO, all better at playing music better than the Wilsons.

Also, I heard the base Marten speakers at Whittlebury, and I have to admit at £6500 they are a bit of a bargain.

Hi Polarbear, highly appreciate your thoughts. Thats exactly whats bugging me about the wilsons - how good a match with naim. I can easily homedemo in denmark as there is a dealer and they are available, so will have a listen.

I have offer for homedemo of ART alnico 8.3 compact from Derek that I will take him up on. Very compelled by the many positive comments here and that model is ok in terms of size for my household. 

Titans not accepted by wife, but heard rumours of a mini titan on the forum, so maybe that will be something.

only heard small neats, so will have a look at the ultimatums. Any model you can recommend?

again, many thanks!

Lars

Lars -

My local dealer sells Wilson, Naim, ARC, and a whole lot else.  He does not drive Wilsons with Naim.

A speaker you might consider is the Vandersteen 5.  Superb with Naim.  I don't know availability in your area, but it's one of the few American-built speaker companies that works well with Naim. 

Not wishing to second guess Mr Bear, but he helped me immensely in my settling finally on a pair of Neat MF 9's.

The sheer sense of scale they impart is quite stunning, and they're quite happy with my NAP 300 DR, though, again, he's been trying to talk me into a NAP 500 ever since I bought them. 

I can only guess that their replacement, the XL 10 is even better, and, curiously enough there's a pair of each available over on Fleabay.

Hi Lars,

I had Neat Ultimatum 9's for a period and I have very fond memories of them, they have since been replaced by the Ultimatum 10's and I have to admit that I have never heard them which is a real shame.

I currently use ART Deco 20's which I have had for around 10 years now. The Beauty of ART is that they are very efficient and don't require a big amp. I have a Nap 500 with mine but a NAP 300 is more then sufficient.

My worry with the Wilsons is that they do require huge currency shifts and IMHO are better suited to big Krells etc and a NAP 300 may sound a little soft around the edges. A home den with your own music would be a must with them.

ART will ship you a pair, even in Denmark and if they are not quite right they can adjust them for you. I had mine adjusted in the mid and upper frequencies as I like my speakers very fast and detailed.

Kind Regards

PB

Hi Lars,

I have used Wilsons System V speakers for years with Naim. They sound wonderful !

I also have used them with Krell and they sound even better.

Different people have different tastes in music and in music reproduction systems, so just because I like the sound as produced by my systems doesn't guarantee that others will be equally impressed.

Near to me in the UK is a retailer - Oxford Audio Consultants - who sell both Naim and Wilson. I don't know where you are based but i'm sure they would provide good advice and be able to demonstrate.

Dave, thanks for sharing! Dangerous with upgrade options :-) the neats look great, but with 1,5m dont pass the wife-filter

PB/Don very clear on wilson thats really helpful. Good idea with the dealer, spoke w two based in UK today (am here for work), and they both said the combo would work. Hard to say if in selling or advicing mode.

PB, its really a great homedemo model that ART has and a good direct distribution setup for them. This really makes a difference when outside UK/US like I am. Looking forward to hear them. Not sure I would dare to tweak :-)

Thanks,

Lars

ART do the tweaking for you Lars, don't panic 

Choosing speakers is very personal, take your time. Take our opinions onboard but go for the pair, YOU enjoy most. I took years finding my perfect pair of speakers which older members of the forum will remember 

It certainly did. Years and years. It's nice to see you posting Mr. B. 

Its a lot of fun and also tricky to find the right speaker. By far biggest driver of the experience, and as you say very personal.

Last time I homedemoed 8 candidates. This time, as am going for a level with physically larger candidates, I have found that the wife-filter significantly and rapidly reduces the option space. I am actually very happy with the short-list - frontrunner ART and check-out of wilson. Now if ARTs live up to expectations, its gonna be an easy journey, if not and wilsons likewise, then I am already out of options :-) i truly find this forum unique in sharing experience to help us all get the music replay we hope for. Certainly works like that for me.

Thanks, Lars

Hungryhalibut posted:

It certainly did. Years and years. It's nice to see you posting Mr. B. 

I am never far away and happy to pass on my experiences where I can 

Don Atkinson posted:

Different people have different tastes in music and in music reproduction systems, so just because I like the sound as produced by my systems doesn't guarantee that others will be equally impressed.

 

That is the most refreshingly honest and accurate single sentence I have read on this forum in nearly fifteen years here.

Lars, sorry - not meaning to divert your thread.  Best wishes and looking forward to reading more about your adventure.

regards, Jeff A

Hi Lars,

Yes, Naim amps and more so, full Naim electronics systems, can very successfully partner with the Wilson Sabrina's, and other Wilson models, for what it is worth.   Both Naim and Wilson place a strong priority on dynamics in music and this commonality is one of the reasons these American high end speakers work very well with Naim's own unique British approach to electronics.    Wilson is also introducing a new model called the Yvette which might be an interesting alternative to the Sabrina in the instance that you have a larger room, and could afford the more costly new model from Wilson Audio.   When a Naim system is used with Wilson's you tend to get all of the Naim musicality carried intact for a number of reasons, not least of which is that the Wilson's aim for neutrality in their speakers.    Put another way, the style of sound and character of the amp is preserved and communicated in a Wilson system.    The Wilson's add their own unique presentation style; with an expansive soundstage, taught, defined and well controlled bass, and a tonally sophisticated full range window on the music.

As others have noted, don't rely too much on other's words, however articulate.   Try to make time to hear these things for yourself.    

Good luck,

Bruce

Hi Bob, thanks for sharing your experience. I will surely do a homedemo to make up my mind. Are you then also saying that sabrinas can easily be driven by the 300dr? Had a quick look at the yvette, seems interesting. Any sense of placement against the backwall for such a speaker, ie how close to the wall they work? Many thanks, Lars

Jeff Anderson posted:

Don Atkinson posted:

Different people have different tastes in music and in music reproduction systems, so just because I like the sound as produced by my systems doesn't guarantee that others will be equally impressed.

 

That is the most refreshingly honest and accurate single sentence I have read on this forum in nearly fifteen years here.

Lars, sorry - not meaning to divert your thread.  Best wishes and looking forward to reading more about your adventure.

regards, Jeff A

Thank you Jeff, most appreciated.

Cheers, Don

LARSDK,

Although I never heard Sabrinas with Naim but I had a chance to compare Kudos S20 and Titan 88 to Magico S3  in full Naim system (NDS/555DR/552/500).

Magico S3 was much better then both Kudos to my ears.

I would say that Magico were more coherent, more powerful, little darker but at the same time more transparent, natural and to my surprise; musical!

After a while with Magico I did not want to back to any Kudos.

S3 are also easy to drive - even olive NAP 140 can do this (but NAP 500 do this much, much better of course)

They are also much more expensive but if you consider Sabrinas ...

It is really good option for 500 series in my opinion so maybe you should also try it (300DR is not far away from 500)?

Magico will replace S3 model with S3 mkII soon (within few months) so you can expect some special price from your dealer.

Piotr

Thanks Piotr! Will check them out - I think the local wilson dealer also distribute magicos. Br Lars

Could be some philosophical conundrum in place here !

Naim gear is never thought of being backwards when it comes to being forward. Ditto with Wilson.

provided the listening space is big enough not much can go wrong.

in a smaller Brit room all sorts can go definitely wrong. Balance is really only a thing when real estate is a compromise.