Wilson Audio Sophia Mk. 1

These are stunning speakers which have been babied and driven by all Naim electronics. If you are looking at these, you probably know what you are looking at, so I don't need to elaborate too much. If you have any questions please don't hesitate to contact me. I am  rating these as an 8, but I suspect you'll think they are a 9. The only significant blemishes include some scratches on the very bottom of the back. I think they were caused by the hand cart I used to move them. I actually only realized they existed when I started moving the speakers around for the first time in 2 years. The scratches aren't a big deal, and after the day you place the speakers, you won't see them unless you have a habit of crawling around on the floor behind your speakers. :) Bottom little is that some guys are a little anal, and you will most likely end up thinking they are a 9, but I'll call it an 8, and then you get to be pleasantly surprised. I'll include pix of the bottoms of the back, and describe where to look for the scratches I'm talking about in the caption.
 
In terms of things that matter to the sound, they are pristine, all of the rubber surrounds are immaculate, zero oxidation, and are still very soft and supple. They come in 'Desert Silver.' Think of it as a champagne/tan with a high gloss finish. It is about as neutral as any color can be, and do a good job helping these rather large speakers blend into most decors. The color is difficult to photograph, because Wilson uses super-high gloss automotive paint For a couple of the pictures, I used a 5500k photoflood (i.e., same as daylight) to photograph them. I'll note that in the caption as well. Most of the pic has a reddish tinge to them because the speakers reflect some of the redness from the walls in my listening/theater room. Wilson apparently use the same paint that McLaren paints their cars with, so guys have ordered their Wilsons color-matched to their McLaren. Must be nice. :) 

Local pickup in the Chicagoland area is strongly recommended. If you can work with me as far as timing, I can probably drive 50 miles in your direction to take the edge off if you'd like. Wilson builds all their speakers out of a proprietary inert material that is, shall we say, not so light. Crating + freight will be high, and you probably won't want to pay for it. 3% surcharge will apply to paypal transactions. Cashier's check is an option, but I'll need you to send me a picture of the check in advance so I can authenticate it. Comes with the original spikes and the fancy leather-bound manual. The only thing I don't have that came with it is the wrench to install the spikes, but you have one of those anyway.     


This pair of speakers were purchased by my late father, and I have owned them for the past 2 years. They have only ever been placed in 2 spots since coming from the factory. They are Wilsons, so the term 'overengineered' is a massive understatement. These things are built to live forever.    

Ignore the imaage numbers below. Looks like Audiogon has shuffled my images. Also, other things that look like big blobs or, or long different colored blobs aren't blemishes, they are reflections of overhead lights or light colored objects in the room.

Image 3 are the speaker cloths, if you want to use them.
Image 4 is the midrange port machined from solid billet aluminum.
Image 5 shows the scratches on the left speaker. Look about an inch from the bottom.\
Image 6 was taken with daylight balanced lighting. If you look at a spot about 2 inches about the top left corner of the Wilson name plate, that's what they'll look like.
Image 7 - again, you'll see 2 small scratches on the bottom inch. There's a third on the right side that you can't see well in the photo.

http://www.onhifi.com/product/wilson_sophia.htm

I always used to kind of chuckle at the guys who had to sell something
because of their wife or because they are having a kid. Well, it turns
out that trading down on your speakers in exchange for a son is actually
pretty cool. I'd recommend trying it sometime  :)