Wilson Audio Sabrina X

Wilson Audio Sabrina X

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?

Their 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.

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 utilised 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.

You 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 aluminium 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

Tweeter from the XVX

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.

The Wilson tweeter combines ultra-low distortion, exquisite micro and macro contrast, and ultra-high resolution, all of which are accompanied by a sense of ease, accessibility, and supreme musicality.

Technically and musically, the MK5 is by a comfortable margin the most honest and engaging tweeter they have experienced to date.

Midrange

The 5.75-inch midrange driver is remarkably smooth throughout its bandwidth (which extends flat to 2 kHz, facilitating the elevated crossover point to the tweeter).

Midrange honesty, resolution, and beauty are the paramount qualities to all Wilson loudspeakers, and SabrinaX’s midrange is no exception.

The crossover points allow the driver to perform optimally within the “sweet spot” of its range.

Woofer from the Sasha DAWTM

The new 8-inch woofer designed and developed for the Sasha DAW’s bass module now finds a home in the SabrinaX.

This state-of-the-art driver is installed into an all-new, exceptionally inert bass cabinet, which provides the perfect platform for the driver’s intrinsically excellent dynamic resolution and transient performance.

Together, these elements contribute to a rich and yet ul- tra-fast midbass, which is, in turn, supported by an authoritative bass foundation. SabrinaX’s bass articulation, transient speed, and bottom-octave extension will demolish any preconceptions about the bass quality and accuracy that such a small loudspeaker can produce.

AudioCapX

The first design to benefit from Wilson’s recent integration of capacitor design and manufacturer into the factory in Provo, Utah, was the Chronosonic XVX.

Led by engineer Vern Credille, the design team developed a proprietary multi-wound capacitor specifically for the XVX, which the engineers dubbed Wilson AudioCapX-WA.

The team took a similar approach with Wilson’s smallest floorstander.

Now, SabrinaX’s crossover benefits from a version of the Wilson AudioCapX specific to its needs.

The new capacitor technology significantly lowers the noise floor to even greater extremes, allowing the listener to hear more detail and resolution.

Hardware

Unlike the plastic items found in many high-end loudspeakers, Wilson ports have always been heroic.

They machine  critical elements from a solid billet of 6061-T6 aluminium.

Over the years, they have refined their port shapes for better performance.

For the SabrinaX, a new geometry effectively reduces already low port noise.

The new model utilises 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.

Specifications Wilson Audio SabrinaX

Enclosures & Materials

Measurements

Dimensions