Drivers for "Sophia"

Jump to Latest
S

Stefan B

Member
2002-03-12 8:30 am
Sweden
hello.to
  • #1
    As you can see on my homepages I have made a pair of ProAc clones that I am very happy with. In the future I want to build a more "serious" speaker and in from my point of view a speaker like the Wilson Sophia would be just perfect.

    Anyone here know which drivers that is uset inthe Sophia?

    Any tips of other project, familiar to the Sophia?


    Kindly

    Stefan B
     
    E

    EngelholmAudio

    Member
    2002-02-11 2:13 pm
    Sweden, Blekinge
    www.engelholmaudio.com
  • #8
    Well...Stefan, we've been over this before! Choose Thiel & Partner units and stop messing about with these Scan Speak units! ;-D

    Wilson Sophia is, i guess, not VERY easy to clone...Although, many like the sound they give, but to be frankly, I have as many friends that dislikes 'em as I have heard fantastic reviews...

    Why not start something more 'new' by your self!?? Golden Age, in Alingsås Sweden, could help you out if you specify what kind of speaker you want! I guess you in your ProAv clone lack of deep bass, sensitivety and detail can always be better! There are a lot of interesting units out there... Mangers unit is very nice as well as good sounding! Match up with an Eton bass (the new 12 inch one...) and a fairly simple cross over...and your done!

    Or may be T&P tweeter + T&P midrange (they are releasing a new and, hopefully, better 5 inch'er) and add a bas driver (T&P, Eton, TC Sounds etc etc...Why not Skaaning? www.flexunits.com Have a look at thier mids and bass units! I guess they rock!

    I guess Micke can sell the nye Vifa ring radiator tweeter! Match that one with some fancy mid and a bass unit!

    Soooo many options...

    Well...let me know what ever it will be!
     
    M

    mp006ltk

    Member
    2004-10-02 5:54 pm
  • #9
    the drivers

    Hi all, The drivers are as follows:

    The tweeter is a custom version of the T120 in the Sophia version 1. I belive it has a lot lower resonance and a different chamber then the T120 or the current TD5 version. Wilson's new tweeter is a TD5 based custom driver, as they are now using tioxid domes. This driver is in the Sophia 2 and other wilson speakers. My guess is that they got pressure from focal to update their design to something that is still being made in order to save money and be able to phase out old product.

    The Mid is almost exactly an 18W 4 ohm revelator.

    The woofer is a custom version of the scan-speak 25W/8567-SE. This woofer was originally sold openly under the vifa name years ago but is now considered scan-speak OE only. It wouldn't matter anyway becasue the wilson version is 4 ohm with a few db higher sensativity. A REALLY good substitute would be the 26W/4867T00. In fact it might be better then the original design that wilson uses. It also has the almost perfect volume requirements if you make the box with one layer of 1/2" corian or phenolic grade X the way wilson does.
     
    M

    marchel

    Member
    2007-11-18 4:51 am
  • #10
    I used to be interested in the materials used by Wilson on thier box, Untill I read a review from stereophile. The box still resonates just like other high end speakers using more conventional materials, In fact, As I can recall, The curved plywood box of the B&W 801 and 800 is more enert than the box in Wilson Watt/puppy.
     
    M

    mp006ltk

    Member
    2004-10-02 5:54 pm
  • #11
    detailed drawings for a clone

    I drew up a complete set of drawings to make a clone of the sophia 2.

    All the material is 1/2" solid surface material except the base and woofer baffle which are phenolic resin grade X

    My plans differ from the real thing in that the ss 26w driver only needs about 2.5 cu ft. so I don'thave the bass compartment extending into the top half of the speaker the way wilson does. The top cabinet is larger and needs a brace that I didn't draw into the plans. The ports are aluminum pipe ends from mcmaster carr cut down on a lathe and drilled for fasteners. There are no mechanical fasteners. The difraction pad is made from buna-n foam from mcmaster carr. The rear binding post plate is easily made by order from front pannel express.

    I have attached a few pics.

    let me know if anyone wants the plans.

    You will need Alibre Design to view the parts and you will need the mid priced version to view the assembly as pictured.

    I think it would be darn near impossible to build these with ordinary wood tools. You would probably need to find someone with a cnc router.
     

    Attachments

    • front_sophia.jpg
      front_sophia.jpg
      17.1 KB · Views: 267
    M

    mp006ltk

    Member
    2004-10-02 5:54 pm
  • #13
    drivers

    I almost forgot the drivers.

    focal tc-120 TD5
    scan speak 18W 4 ohm revelator
    scan speak 26w aluminum 4 ohm revelator

    Also every test that I have seen shows the scan speak driver to be far lower in distortion then either the accutons as stated above or the skanning drivers that were also mentioned. Not only are they cheaper but they are better too. If you doubt me take a look at zaph's site. I don't agree with him on evertyhing he says, but his driver reviews are very well done, and saves many of us lots of money on expensive driver that are more boutique and hype then good.
     
    You must log in or register to reply here.
    Top Bottom