mobanmarketWilson Audio’s new Sasha V loudspeaker (that’s “V” as in victory, not “five”) extends the line that began in 2009 with the debut of the Sasha 1 model. The installation manual includes a page titled “Sasha Evolution,” with elegant line drawings of the various versions of the Sasha loudspeaker—now four—which were preceded by the two-box WATT/Puppy combo, which dates from 1989. The Wilson Audio Specialties Sasha V ($48,900/pair) replaces the prior Sasha model, the Sasha DAW, in the Wilson lineup.
The hefty, floorstanding Sasha V maintains a close family resemblance. The new Sasha’s width and height are almost identical, logging 14½” and 45 1/16″, respectively. The cabinets gain an inch in depth and now measure 23 15/16″. The cabinets’ subtle beveling is slightly different; probably only recent Sasha owners would notice. Extra thickness in the cabinets adds 9lb for a total of 245lb per speaker. The cabinet’s sculptural elements are enhanced by a range of available automotive-grade paint finishes; the review pair is handsomely kitted out in Satin Oak Green with Slate Gray grilles.
The changes made by Wilson designer/CEO Daryl Wilson and his team are mainly on the inside. New to the Sasha line is a 7″ rear-vented paper-pulp composite midrange driver that Wilson designates with the term QuadraMag, first deployed in the costlier Chronosonic XVX model and used in several models since. Also used in other V-series speakers but new to Sasha is the 1″ doped-silk Convergent Synergy Carbon tweeter, which employs a printed carbon rear-wave chamber. Twin, 8″ paper-pulp–composite woofers, the same as those utilized in the Sasha DAW, complete the driver complement.
The V in “Sasha V” and in the other Wilson “V” speakers—the XVX, Alexx V, and Alexia V—indicates Wilson’s proprietary V-material, which is employed alongside older proprietary cabinet materials designated X and S. Other upgrades include the Acoustic Diode footers (previously offered as an option), and new AudioCapX-WA copper capacitors in the crossovers (below); Wilson now manufacturers capacitors in-house, so they can make exactly the capacitor needed in each speaker, including the Sasha V’s.
In a Facetime conversation, I asked Daryl Wilson if the Sasha V contained “trickle-down” technology. He responded, “I’ve heard that phrase a lot. That’s not the way we innovate and develop. We don’t wait to just put something only in our largest loudspeaker. Whatever we are working on will be distilled and used no matter where it fits and then used again. Our new copper capacitors were ready now, so we used them in the Sasha V. We didn’t hold them back.”
Published specifications for the new Sasha V reflect a mix of constancy and change. A few items stand out. There is a modest increase in the upward frequency extension, to 32kHz, surely due to the new tweeter. Specified low-end extension remains the same as for the Sasha DAW, at 20Hz. Specified nominal impedance is 4 ohms, with a minimum of 2.36 ohms, at 82Hz; this is very similar behavior to that of the Sasha DAW model. The capacity of partnering amplifiers for Wilson loudspeakers has always been something to pay attention to. Helpfully, Wilson includes a full impedance curve in the installation manual. The specifications state a reduction in the rated sensitivity to 88dB/W/m (equivalent to 91dB/2.83V/m for a 4 ohm–rated speaker) for the Sasha V, from a rating of 91dB for the Sasha DAW. I asked Daryl Wilson what might account for this. “Overall frequency response, if you were to average it, is the same,” he replied. “Because the measurement was frequency-specific, at 1kHz, that one measurement was a bit higher on the Sasha DAW than for the Sasha V.”
Beginning in 1993 with their Grand SLAMM Series, Daryl’s dad, company founder David Wilson, started using custom-made resin-based composite materials of varied density and resonant properties in Wilson speaker enclosures. Wilson’s proprietary materials are extremely dense and heavy, and they can be machined. In the Sasha V, Wilson’s “X-material” is used most, employed in the cabinet walls, which are now 25% thicker than they were in the previous model. The “S-material,” with its own set of properties, is used in the baffles surrounding the drivers. The newer “V-material” is said to further deaden vibrations between the upper and lower modules, like some sort of magic acoustical mayonnaise.
I have read various descriptions of the composition of Wilson’s cabinet materials. “Epoxy, loaded with crushed granite, carbon, and pulp” is one. In a previous review, I described a Wilson speaker as made out of “composite mixes of resin and cellulose.” It would be easier to get info out of Jack Smith and the Justice Department than to get the cocktail recipes for these proprietary materials from Wilson Audio. After I offered Daryl limited immunity, he was willing to state on the record, “It’s a high-density phenolic resin. It’s a soup that’s exactly the density, and with the fill material necessary, to get the performance characteristics that we need.”
Setting the table
With Wilson loudspeakers, you have to put your back into your hi-fi—though every buyer of new or certified-used Wilson speakers can expect assistance from a dealer. However, I did the preliminary setup myself with a little help. Having been through it before, I was prepared; the shipping company agreed to roll the three heavy wood crates—two for the woofers, a third containing both upper cabinets—up the driveway and into the garage; that was the end of their involvement. The woofer cabinets arrive with casters installed so they can be rolled out of the crate and into position. That was step 1. Step 2 was hiring my son and one of his homies, for beer money, to carry the uncrated cabinets up to the second floor where my listening room is located. These were big guys, but they were sweating by the time their job was done.
Toward the rear of the woofer cabinets on each side are twin “woofer blades”; they look like handles but also serve an acoustic function: helping to dissipate vibrational energy between the upper and lower cabinets, a design change from earlier models. Made out of solid “X-material,” they are strong enough for lifting these 200lb woofer modules.
Giving thanks for the casters (and strong, young people), I rolled the lower cabinets into the positions previously occupied by the Sasha DAWs, like a drink cart rolling down the aisle on a jet. The upper cabinets are not light, but I was able to place them on top of the woofer cabinets and connect them. Wilson does not design its speakers for biwiring; the lower cabinets feature one ± pair of nice, solid speaker taps, which connect internally to the woofers; from there the crossovers split the signals to the midrange and tweeters farther up.
The protective film covering the cabinets for shipping needs to be removed. Looks like thick Saran Wrap to me, and it is a pain to peel off.
With the Sasha Vs placed and connected, the next step was optimizing the “propagation delay adjustment,” which Wilson also calls “time-alignment.” The two-cabinet Sasha V is the first floorstander in the Wilson lineup that is designed to allow these parameters to be modified. In plain English, hardware allows for altering the relationship between the upper cabinet containing the midrange driver and tweeter, and the lower cabinet containing the twin woofers, to optimize the relative arrival times at the designated listening position. The design and setup is aimed at optimizing the “sweet spot” for a single listener.
This is achieved by adjusting, with the use of calibrated spikes, the rake angle and front-to-back distance of the upper cabinet in relation to the lower. The setup is based mainly on two parameters: the distance of the listening position from the cabinets, and the height of the listener’s ears above the floor. With that information and the table, you can find the optimal settings for the rake-angle and front-to-back position of the upper cabinets. A thorough and well-written installation guide provides precise directions and tables. I figured it out, so you can, too—but if any of this sounds intimidating, remember that this is all your dealer’s responsibility, not yours.
What the exact goal of this setup is and how well it is achieved is a complex topic that other colleagues have addressed. Jim Austin’s review of the Wilson Alexx V includes a thorough explication. In particular I note Jim’s comment that “it’s better to be close to perfect time-alignment than it is to be far away.”
Changing horses midstream
The Sasha Vs had time to properly burn in prior to the arrival of Chris Forman of Innovative Audio in Manhattan, who was tapped by Wilson for the task of final installation. Chris was trained by Wilson Audio Specialties in their protocols and carries out many installations of Wilson loudspeakers in this region. Out came the tape measure and blue masking tape for the floor, to mark exact measurements. I had previously taped the positions of the Sasha DAWs; they still occupied the spots Wilson’s Peter McGrath had chosen for them several years earlier.
There are no right angles in my listening room, in my 1872 Queen Anne Victorian, and the old wood framing on the second floor bounces like a trampoline when you walk across it. Room nodes? Fuhgeddaboudit. It would take a physics dissertation to figure it out—it’s like being inside a very large string instrument. On the upside, when things work out, it’s the best-sounding room for hi-fi I have lived with.
In discussing all this, Chris Forman said something that bears repeating: “There may be more than one sweet spot.” It’s best to relax and remain open to alternatives. There is more than one way to skin an audio cat.
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COMPANY INFO
Wilson Audio Specialties
2233 Mountain Vista Ln.
Provo
UT 84606
(801) 377-2233
wilsonaudio.com
ARTICLE CONTENTS
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Page 2
Specifications
Associated Equipment
Measurements
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