Wilson Audio Sabrina X
HAS ARRIVED!
SabrinaX Excellence in All Things
Excellence
When it came time to upgrade the Sabrina, Daryl and his team faced a conundrum: how could they upgrade a loudspeaker already loved for its supreme musicality? His first goal was to preserve Sabrina’s affability and intrinsic listenability. When looking for ways to improve Sabrina, Daryl drew directly from his last project, the Chronosonic XVX. With those tools in hand, Daryl evolved an already great platform into a loudspeaker with even greater musicality—while at the same time, improving its transient speed, resolution, intimacy, and transparency. This video explores how he and his engineering team pulled it off. Introducing the all-new SabrinaX.
SabrinaX The Evolution
SabrinaX Drivers
SabrinaX Composite Enclosure
Wilson Capacitors
Evolution
The SabrinaX is a ground-up rethinking of the Sabrina, perhaps the most universally loved of Wilson’s small, floor-standing loudspeakers during the last several decades. The original Sabrina attracted a loyal, almost cult-like following. It was a rare combination of traditional Wilson virtues such as musical authority, dynamic resolution, midrange beauty and integrity, and a sense of inherent musical “rightness.” This list of achievements and qualities would be uncommon in any loudspeaker. When considering Sabrina's compact size and relative affordability, it becomes obvious why so many audiophiles and music lovers admire Sabrina. The design goal with SabrinaX was to preserve the original model's inherent affability, flexibility, and its astonishing technical prowess while, at the same time, elevate its resolution, bass-transient speed, and clarity, and overall resolution and transparency.
Enclosure
X-Material has long been Wilson’s core composite. In its third iteration, X-Material remains unbeatable for its rigidity, inertness, intrinsic damping, and extreme hardness. For this reason, Wilson Audio's engineers deploy X-Material in several different applications throughout Wilson's lineup. The original Sabrina utilized X-Material only in its baffle and lower spike plate. Now, the SabrinaX outer enclosure is constructed entirely from X-Material. The SabrinaX cabinet comes that much closer to the near-silent ideal Wilson has systematically pursued for decades. The music emerges through SabrinaX from a blacker background. Bass transient performance and clarity are vastly improved. Listeners will hear superior “silence between the notes,” which, among other factors, enhance Sabrina’s rhythmic timing and pace.
Similar to those designed for the XVX's midrange modules, a new low-turbulence vent replaces the aluminum unit used in the older model. The vent is milled directly into its X-Material enclosure. The intrinsic strength of X-Material makes complex vent shapes possible, which improves the musicality and the overall sonic presentation in the midrange.
Drivers
The tweeter chosen for SabrinaX is the Convergent Synergy MK5, which Daryl and the team developed initially for the limited-edition WAMM Master Chronosonic. The MK5 later became an integral part of the Chronosonic XVX’s design, and, most recently, in the Sasha DAW. The Wilson tweeter combines ultra-low distortion, micro and macro contrast, and high resolution with a sense of ease, accessibility, and supreme musicality. Technically and musically, the MK5 continues to be the most honest and engaging tweeter we’ve experienced.
The new 8-inch woofer designed and developed for the Sasha DAW’s bass module now finds a home in the SabrinaX. When the new woofers’ intrinsically excellent dynamic resolution and transient performance combines with the SabrinaX’s more inert cabinet, the result is ultra-fast and articulate midbass and a solid and authoritative bass foundation.
Hardware
Unlike the plastic items found in many high-end loudspeakers, Wilson ports have always been heroic. We machine this critical element from a solid billet of 6061-T6 aluminum. Over the years, we've refined our port shapes for better performance. For the SabrinaX, a new geometry effectively reduces already low port noise.
The new model utilizes the same Wilson designed and manufactured binding post as the XVX. It is easier to tighten by hand, and also features a banana plug option. This unique Wilson Audio connector resets the bar for reliability and sonic integrity for high-current connections.
The SabrinaX uses the same spike/diode assembly found in the Chronosonic XVX, which increases the mechanical impedance path and improves vibration “draining.” The larger diode also enhances the physical presence and beauty of the design.