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Random Noise 23
Wilson Audio’s Sasha W/P Loudspeaker
Crossing the threshold
The Sasha W/P duo arrived at the Noble Pile
in three intimidating crates: for the bottom
P units, one crate each; in the third, the
upper W’s cheek by jowl. Total weight, 605
lbs. (Yes, Virginia, that’s what the man
said. Six hundred and five lyubs.) Having
exchanged manly pleasantries with the
departing trucker, I found myself facing a
task for which I should have recruited help.
Inasmuch as I am not issuing these remarks
from the far side of the grave, I managed.
The remarkably heavy P units stand on
casters. One rolls them out of their upright
crates and walks them to their destination.
Clever idea – except that I had a three-inch
rise and door saddles to contend with. My
hand truck did the trick.
Uncrating and setting up the Sashas took an
afternoon and the following morning. One
doesn’t rush these things. Peeling off the
protective plastic sheathing, which Wilson
recommends doing when the enclosures are at
room temperature, began to feel like a
career. Ars longa, vida brevis. (My ass
droops, life is short.)
I did mention in a prefatory column that, as
with my Series 8 WATT/Puppies, I intended in
good, contrarian fashion to install the
Sashas, minus spikes, on Acoustic Revive’s
quartz-based underboards. (Acoustic Revive
and I are having a long-distance love
affair.) And discovered that I couldn’t. The
P’s footprint is larger than the Puppy’s:
the underboards’ dimensions don’t reach.
Externally, the P differs from the Puppy in
more ways than size. Compared with the
Series 8’s relatively austere contours, the
bottom unit’s lustrous, soft-edged angles
and Deco-like wings, along with the W’s
seductive slopes, contribute to one’s
impression of a strikingly handsome
sculpture. As for the floor-coupling spikes,
of necessity, the setup has gone by the
book. (Distant huzzahs from Provo! We
audiophiles hear everything!)
My Integris CDP developed a glitch that
requires correction at its Canadian source,
where, as I write, it languishes. A NuForce
CDP-8 and P-9 preamp, both en route, will be
taking its place. The mono power amps, then
and now, are NuForce Reference 9SEV3s. (I’ll
mention – again – that I work for NuForce.
And why squander a perfectly serviceable set
of parentheses? I’ll also mention that I’ve
banished “monoblock” from my vocabulary as
one of our avocation’s cheesier terms. I’ve
even seen it spelled “monobloc.” Pass the
freedom fries.)
Random observations
With their impressive fit and finish and
eye-popping elegance, the still mute Sashas
have found a place in my heart. Wilson’s
painted surfaces seem to me better than
ever, and they’ve always been meticulous.
Granite-like in hardness and weight, the
proprietary composites that comprise the
Sasha’s enclosures, which Wilson calls its
X, M, and S materials, boast a finish of
seamless elegance calling polished marble to
mind. As to weight, the aches linger on. I
accept them as vital signs. (Heard the one
about the old fellow who wakes up one
morning and says to his wife, “Don’t talk to
me, I’m dead.” Wife: “Oh good grief! What
now? What makes you think you’re dead?” Old
fellow: “Nothing hurts.”)
Among departures from WATT/Puppydom, felt
diffraction pads replace a spongy substance.
The felt is said to stand up better to humid
climates. Sturdy, well-made grilles conceal
drivers and pads. None of that genteel
camouflage for me! This audiophile drinks
his Geritol from dirty glasses! The grilles
are in the attic where they belong.
Another felt pad lines the W’s underside. As
with the WATT, the W’s spikes create a
separation from the P that Wilson apparently
feels requires damping: a thoughtful touch
and a further departure from earlier
practice. Again as with the WATT, a choice
of rear spikes angles the W to best address
the listener’s distance from the speakers.
Ear height also figures via an easily
understood chart capping the P. Continuing
with departures, the crossovers for the
tweeter, midrange and woofers reside in the
P, which probably explains why the W seems
to weigh less that the WATT. A removable
plate at the P’s upper rear accesses
resistors, which, need be, can be changed to
adjust the crossovers to atypical room
conditions. The resistors likewise serve as
fuses for tweeter and mid. The woofers’
crossover resistor is got at through the P’s
base.
Wilson claims that nothing about the Sasha
is a Series 8 carry-over. Superficially, the
tweeter and woofers resemble their forbears.
We’re given to understand that behind the
woofer cones sit heftier magnets in a
beefier embrace. Weight alone would seem to
confirm. Similarly, we’re told that the
tweeter benefits from developments employed
in Wilson’s larger systems. Of similar
provenance, the W’s midrange driver looks
nothing like the 8’s.
It speaks!
Raw components need to simmer. I did mention
that my Integris CDP has been returned to
its designer for necessary work. So – and
here I play upon your sympathy – imagine
your impatient reporter having installed a
newer-than-new NuForce CDP-8 and P-9 preamp,
and of course the spanking-new speakers,
firing up the system, and muttering, “So
what were you expecting, milk and honey?”
(The NuForce Reference 9SEV3 mono amps have
been in use for a few months.)
I’d grabbed the first thing to hand, a
Philips CD featuring orchestral works and
arrangements for children’s chorus by Zoltán
Kodály. Nasal, gritty, congested, honky (no
epithet intended), thick, muddy, offputting;
in a word, boring. I’ve been here before.
And time marches on. What surprises me is
how little time it’s taken for the system to
flourish. Several days of 24-hour play
(listening room doors shut tight at night)
have brought matters a good deal closer to
Truth, Beauty and the American Way.
What’s with the “American Way” you ask. I
can’t resist having a little fun with an
extravagant Sasha report Wilson posts on its
Web site, WilsonAudio.com. The text, a
summary in English of a Portuguese review,
launches its panegyric by complimenting Dave
Wilson for having modified the WATT/Puppies’
aggressive American posture to a more
sophisticated European sensibility. Perhaps
I overstate. Here’s how the comments begin,
and they only get riper as the rave lumbers
on: “Sasha embodies (or rather, personifies,
considering its humanness…) the new spirit
of America, one of dialogue between American
and European cultures, under the [aegis] of
a sincere wish to put aside the too often
conflicting approaches to perfection in
sound reproduction.”
The “new spirit of America.” Isn’t that
lovely? I see a diaphanous, backlit image of
our president hovering overhead. Yes, we
can!
Still and all, a journalist setting about
evaluating speakers with unfamiliar hardware
treads on thin ice. Uncharted terrain.
Questionable neighborhood. I ask that you
bear with me. When the Integris CDP returns
I’ll be on firmer ground. Thicker ice.
Whatever. Meanwhile, the CDP-8, which my
NuForce people regard as a development as
significant as their Version 3 amplifier
board, and the P-9 two-piece preamp, impress
me as well endowed consorts. I’m likewise
delighted to dismiss any anxiety I had
regarding the NuForce monos’ ability to deal
with the Sashas’ brief descent to 1.8 ohms
from a nominal four-ohm impedance. If I knew
what the hell phase angles are about, I’d
mention a challenge there too. Something I
read. Perhaps nothing to it. Anyway, the
amps are doing their thing. When they need
to be authoritative, spacious and big,
that’s what they are. They also do petite
quite well.
OK, we’re here. What road did we take?
The story of an inspiration’s provenance:
attending a concert in Vienna’s Musikverein,
Dave Wilson was struck by how one perceives
live music in an acoustically superb
setting. The experience is said to have led
to developments in Wilson Audio’s recentmost
speakers, which of course include the Sasha
W/P. Euterpe’s blessings upon the man’s
head! Long may he thrive! In Dave Wilson we
find yet another of nature’s noblemen who
actually believes that sounds emitting from
loudspeakers ought to be modeled on those of
unamplified live music. You do understand, I
hope, that unamplified live music is
becoming as rare as snow leopards. Outside
of opera houses, classical concert and
recital halls, amplified sound prevails.
Even so, if a speaker system convincingly
conveys the harmonic complexities, timbres
and dynamic subtleties of live music within
a similarly convincing recreation of the
ambiance in which it occurs, it’s likely to
convey whatever it’s asked to do with equal
authority. I put that to the test with a few
electro-acoustic discs I have on hand. My
wife mistook the low end on one of them for
something rather menacing coming from
elsewhere in the house.
Some years ago a Fanfare colleague commented
on an organ recording’s exemplary low end. I
usually trot it out when I have something
new to evaluate. The disc, Argo 417 159-2,
recorded in 1984 and released in ’86 (Chris
Hazell, producer; Simon Eadon, engineer),
offers Paul Hindemith’s organ sonatas
performed by Peter Hurford in Ratzeburg
Cathedral, Ratzeburg, Germany. I’m not a
great Hindemith fan, but oh, those big
pipes! The recording, which I normally play
to assess a system’s bass capability,
reached out and held me tight. My canned
world was awash in glorious, truth-telling
growls!
But I should mention – call it a warning to
naifs with rose-tinted expectations – that a
revelatory speaker system won’t render
beautiful that which isn’t. Nor should it.
The Sashas excel at disclosing what it is
about a good recording that sets it apart.
The system is equally adept at nailing
lesser efforts as near and distant misses.
Any device that puts one this much closer to
what’s on the disc is best characterized as
exceptionally honest.
And yet, having lived with the Sashas long
enough to take their measure, I think the
better term is “inviting.” This is a speaker
system that makes you want to listen.
Further, several recordings that have never
impressed me as especially well produced
have been redeeming themselves in small but
significant ways. The Sashas probe as well
as invite.
Which brings me to…
A change of plan: I’ve been playing these
speakers with NuForce electronics. I must
say, they’ve matured quite gracefully
(recommended burn-in 75 hours). I’m getting
a strong sense of impeccably resolved,
uncolored sound, which is what I so like
about Aurum Acoustics’ Integris CDP. I’ll
probably finish these comments before the
Integis’s return. I see little reason not
to. When I reinstate the Integris I’ll do a
brief follow-up. The speakers deserve the
attention.
Nor am I knocked off course by a powerfully
effective mid-steam addition to the
listening room:
It’s difficult to quantify changes in how
one perceives his environment. In addition
to the pair on hand, two more Acoustic
Revive RWL-3 room-treatment panels arrived
for evaluation. At Lee’s suggestion, we
dismantled the shelves and took down the art
from the wall behind the system and hung the
four panels in a straight line across.
What was a good listening room has taken on
the character of a well-appointed sound
salon. The panels’ mojo is explained in
near-English at Acoustic-Revive.com.
Whatever goes on with these handsome
objects, the Sashas stand as the
beneficiary. (Me too.) Given a well produced
recording, a rock-steady image seems
independent of the room.
I have the greatest respect for Ken
Ishiguro’s innovations. Of all the Acoustic
Revive products in use here, apart from the
magical RR-77, nothing has made so immediate
an impact as these four wall-arrayed panels.
Chapter and verse
Revelations can sometimes intrude when and
where you least expect them. Lee came down
from her painting studio for a lunch break
and asked if I’m familiar with something
she’d just heard on our Public Radio
station, a Debussy piece based on the
Indonesian gamelan. Orchestral? Yes. I
checked my New Grove. I was right, nothing
fits. Lee googled Debussy and the gamelan
and discovered that what she heard was a
transcription for orchestra of a work for
piano, “Pagodes” (“Pagodas”), from a suite
entitled Estampes. I asked if she’d like to
hear the piano original. Yes. So there we
were in the listening room, which, thanks to
the silk-faced, honey-hewed panels, now has
the look of a Zen sanctuary.
I keyed in track 13 of a Sony CD, SK53111,
volume 2 of Paul Crossley’s complete Debussy
for solo piano. The music embraced us. I
don’t exaggerate: the modern concert grand
was there in all its opulence and immediacy.
David Mottley produced and Bud Graham
engineered these sessions at Snape Maltings,
a prominent UK venue, in 1992. The disc
appeared the following year. I hadn’t played
it in ages.
I expect it’s the Sasha’s exemplary low end
– deep as a mine shaft and clean as a
thunder clap – that contributes in good
measure to the richest sound I’ve heard in
this room. At the same time, I hear the
Sasha’s midrange and tweeter revealing a
disc’s every mote and iota, which, as
earlier mentioned, is a good thing only if
the production’s a good thing. It’s anything
but a good thing to discuss lows, mids and
highs as freestanding entities if the
reporter intends to emphasize a speaker’s
seamless coherence. Bear with me. One has
his limitations.
Marvelous music
beautifully recorded. A drop-dead sound
system. A geezer’s answer to puppy love.
 The
German violinist Carolin Widmann’s solo CD,
Reflections I, Telos Music TLS 116, a
co-production with West-German Radio,
Cologne, includes a work in six parts by the
Italian avant-gardist Salvatore Sciarrino
(b.1947): a brilliant and exceedingly
difficult assemblage of “extended technique”
sounds primarily engaging the speakers’
treble and upper midrange – sunlight
glinting on water and crystal. Another
revelation.
From mind-boggling brilliance to warmth: a
favorite five-CD set, Deutsche Grammophon
463 284-2, the Emerson String Quartet
performing Dmitri Shostakovitch’s fifteen
string quartets before a live audience in
Aspen, Colorado; Da-Hong Seetoo (1-10, plus
Adagio and Allegretto) and Max Wilcox
(11-15), recording engineers.
Shostakovitch’s Third String Quartet, the
first of the great ones, begins its quirky
journey in this production’s signature
warmth. When the music’s textures thicken,
the speakers draw you in to a place where
every bit of light and shade, line, curve
and angle are as clear as day. The third
movement, Allegro non troppo, arrives as a
slap in the face. Warmth gives way to a
bracing aggression. I’ve never heard these
performances quite like this.
The jazz I prefer looks toward
improvisation. It’s been my experience that,
more often than not, these sessions are
nicely recorded. I plan to do a separate
report on Nuscope, a Dallas-based jazz label
I admire for its commitment to edgy,
frequently fascinating, impeccably
performed, well produced music. Playing
several of the Nuscopes I have on hand via
the new speakers reinforces my impressions
of what it is that sets the Sashas apart.
Red Toucan is another such label.
 For
the moment, however, as an illustration of
the Sashas’ strengths, let’s remain with
To Fly to Steal, with the Sylvie
Courvoisier, piano; Mark Feldman, violin;
Thomas Morgan, bass; Gerry Hemingway, drums.
Recorded by James Farber at Sear Sound
Studio, NYC, 2009 (Intakt CD 168, released
in 2010). The quartet’s disparate textures
contrast and coalesce in magical ways: in
the “Five Senses of Keen,” as one radiant
example, Feldman’s soulful, spot-on entrance
is soon enriched by Courvoisier operating
within her piano, creating a shimmering,
dulcimer-like effect alongside Morgan’s
gently plucked bass and Hemingway’s
similarly gentle way with metal. The music’s
effectiveness is enhanced to no slight
degree by the Sashas’ extraordinary
transparency and depth. Attacks and decays,
one’s sense of harmonic and spatial
correctness, and, once again, an
all-embracing low end contribute to one’s
eagerness to point his attention where it
belongs: at the music.
Summary
I’ve used “lifelike” in other reports and
meant it. It’s a matter of degree: good,
better, better yet. As a journalistic
expediency, “best” is permanently
conditional. The Sashas’ life-enhancing
character puts it a step ahead of the superb
Series 8. In short, the Sasha is a hugely
successful undertaking.
And why? Here your earnest reporter
speculates. Wilson pays what some might call
fanatical attention to enclosure resonance.
Several composite formulations, often
modified or freshly developed, are applied
where their resonance characteristics least
intrude. Tapping a Sasha with your knuckles
is like tapping a rock, topside and below.
And yet, topside and below, you’re tapping
different materials.
In addition to driver modifications and
replacements, there’s the abiding mystery of
those potted crossovers, about which
Wilsonians are as secretive as deep-cover
operatives. At the P’s topside-rear a small
metal label bears the speaker’s name,
provides its serial number and identifies it
as “Series 1.” I doubt anyone will be
surprised in due course by Series 2, and so
on. The WATT/Puppy line halted at eight.
Lastly, money. There are those who disparage
our hobby’s carriage-trade goodies. It’s
certainly true that audiophilia encourages
an environment wherein prices can range from
startling to delusional. I’m guessing that
somewhere out there a cable made with copper
from King Solomon’s sauce pans costs what
you’d pay for a weekend in the Space
Station. No surmise is beyond the pale. I’m
kidding of course, but we are all aware, I
think, of products that provide little more
than bragging rights. Now have a long, hard
look at this speaker. Squint. Scowl. Stare.
Blink hard to dispel the impression. It
won’t go away. You’re contemplating one of
the most meticulously manufactured objects
American audio has to offer. Then sit down
for a nice, long listen.
And that says it all.
The system and its peripherals
The NuForce CDP-8, which requires a preamp,
arrived with the two-piece NuForce P-9
preamp shortly after the speakers showed up.
The NuForce Reference 9SEV3 mono amps had
been on hand for a few months prior. I did
mention above that I propose to reinstate
the Integris CDP as grist for another Sasha
report.
Acoustic Revive (Japan) recently replaced my
AR interconnects with equivalents made with
thicker conductors. The new cables, not yet
for sale, will be soon. AR’s RCI-3 Cable
Insulators support AR speaker cables.
Three AR RGC-24 grounding conditioners sit
under the amps and preamp. (The NuForce
preamp and power amps provide grounding
screws.) The components array on Nordost
Quasar Points and AR’s TB-38 and RST-38
quartz-based platforms. A pair of AR RTP-2
Power Taps and a KingRex PSU (for the CDP-8)
sit on the floor on another RST-38 platform.
You can see in the photos where I’ve applied
three pairs AR RIQ 5010 and RIQ 5010W Solid
Natural Quartz Insulators. Two more pairs
sit atop the AR Power Taps. AR’s CS-2F
Receptacle Stabilizers occupy the system’s
vacant Oyaide wall outlets. SIP 8F and IP-2F
Shorting Plugs occupy the electronics’
vacant inputs and outputs.
Elsewhere in the room I’m using an RR-77
Schumann Resonance Generator, RD-3 Disc
Demagnetizer, and RIO-5 Tourmaline Negative
Ion Generator, all AR products. I did say
something about a love affair.
Wilson Audio’s Sasha W/P loudspeaker,
$26,950US/pair
Wilson Audio Specialties, Inc.
2233 Mountain Vista Lane
Provo, UT 84606
(801) 377 2233
www.wilsonaudio.com
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