The wealth itself is not a problem, the problem is when it becomes an idol.
It's very difficult to recognize that.
DIYers are not immune to that either.
Well, it's really funny to see how testosterone steers our sensory perception. And there's more to that. Bigger than those Joe next door has. And humongous ugly speakers to impress the missus, eh? Apologies for all the ladies that love Wilsons or other speakers in this range. If any.
I had the opportunity to listen to the Wilson Sophia and the Sonus Faber Amati hommage (one of the most beautifilly crafted speakers ever) quite some time ago. Both sounded lovely from a subjective POV - especially with female voices - but I had the feeling that my own speakers sound much more accurate or real-life or whatever one would call it.
But I can easily imagine that a lot of peaople would like their sound. I guess the Alexandria (which is still one of Wilson's least ugly models) would have the same sound signature but with more headroom.
Regards
Charles
But I can easily imagine that a lot of peaople would like their sound. I guess the Alexandria (which is still one of Wilson's least ugly models) would have the same sound signature but with more headroom.
Regards
Charles
This speaker has been discussed a lot in the past, and the conclusions were that this is not a high end speaker in sound quality, but a high end speaker in expensive materials and visual design, and it's sold for that to customers who care more about that. the build quality is good, the components high quality but the technical design and execution has a lot of faults in it.
I actually heared that speaker more than once, it was owned by a rich friend who replaced it with JBL M2's because he did not like the sound. And those (still expensive, but a lot cheaper than Alexandria's) JBL's are neutral in sound, and are loved by him. They measure good, and in the right (big) space they do sound very good, even with the standard (rather noisy) crown amp that JBL recommends with it. The owner uses custom build Purifi amps and a MiniDSP flex with it in stead that are a lot more neutral in sound than the Crown. But even with the Crown, the JBL is a milion times better than the Alexandria that was amped by Bryston amps.
Price does not always (very often not) equal quality, so don't be fooled by that.
I actually heared that speaker more than once, it was owned by a rich friend who replaced it with JBL M2's because he did not like the sound. And those (still expensive, but a lot cheaper than Alexandria's) JBL's are neutral in sound, and are loved by him. They measure good, and in the right (big) space they do sound very good, even with the standard (rather noisy) crown amp that JBL recommends with it. The owner uses custom build Purifi amps and a MiniDSP flex with it in stead that are a lot more neutral in sound than the Crown. But even with the Crown, the JBL is a milion times better than the Alexandria that was amped by Bryston amps.
Price does not always (very often not) equal quality, so don't be fooled by that.
I notice they can be adjusted for delay and pointed at the listener. I've also heard that each box uses different materials to manage resonances and to keep them separate.
They use some sort of absorption material across the baffle and the edges are beveled.
So most the mystical magical diffraction issues people imagine just are not there.
Most the issue is typical MTM problems and huge center to center mounting problems.
The materials used for the cabinets dont ring and are done well
As mentioned off axis they are full of the expected dips, and only so much can be done with the center to center spacing.
Remove one midrange and tighten the center to center spacing
otherwise same old skinny baffle with bevels that everyone expects and does anyways.
The impedance curves roller coaster, people seem to be " ok" with horrible crossover peaks.
So the only concern for most is the 1 or 2 ohm dips in the woofer sections.
They want power it is a difficult load and distortion would ramp up with any amp regardless with 1 or 2 ohm dips.
So most the mystical magical diffraction issues people imagine just are not there.
Most the issue is typical MTM problems and huge center to center mounting problems.
The materials used for the cabinets dont ring and are done well
As mentioned off axis they are full of the expected dips, and only so much can be done with the center to center spacing.
Remove one midrange and tighten the center to center spacing
otherwise same old skinny baffle with bevels that everyone expects and does anyways.
The impedance curves roller coaster, people seem to be " ok" with horrible crossover peaks.
So the only concern for most is the 1 or 2 ohm dips in the woofer sections.
They want power it is a difficult load and distortion would ramp up with any amp regardless with 1 or 2 ohm dips.
Well, a lot of us have seen the response of such almost square baffles, which in essence is the case here (although the adjacent baffles of course have their effects). Well, the tweeter is a bit rectangular. With a bit of useless foam.
Besides, 'pointing each box to the listener', this is not a PA array, why would anyone bother... And even if, there are enough examples of better ways (Focal?). I don't want to be overly critical, but it's a lot of gimmicks and voodoo to me, these man cave toys. I would like to see a detailed measurement Klippel style.
Isn't that the point though? It appears a good idea, but 0-degree axis is rarely representative. If anything it's one to avoid.
Isn't full range bass more important for perceived loudness?
A top of line Scanspeak will play >2k LR4 at 100db all day probably.
A top of line Scanspeak will play >2k LR4 at 100db all day probably.
I was trying to stick to the thread's purpose, but I'm giving in and joining the distraction now. The tone of a lot of these discussions is kind of amusing if you think about it. You have a company that successfully charges up to a million dollars for their speakers, but everyone has better ideas: Wilson should just smarten up, figure out how to make good speakers like everyone else, tell people how they build them, get rid of the character they have intentionally designed into their products, and then charge a lot less for them. I'm sure they'll sign right up for all of that.
I realize hating the rich is all the rage these days, but is it really so hard to see that Wilson is a successful company that knows what they are doing and who they are marketing to? They aren't fools, and neither are their customers. If I could figure out how to sell speakers for a million dollars, I'd gladly do it too. Come to think of it, make that $10 million/pair, and maybe I only need to sell one pair. Or on the flip side, if I could vastly increase my net worth, being able to casually drop a million for some speakers probably wouldn't make me feel stupid. For some reason, my not knowing how on either front doesn't make me feel superior though. Guess I need to work on my attitude.
If you want to sell luxury products, you have to differentiate them from all the others somehow. Why are so many current BMW and Lexus grilles hideous? Or how about the Bangle Butt? Is it because they're too stupid to design something prettier? Why did B&W go off on a tangent with treble response that looked like a sizzle-fest for like a decade? I don't have to like it, and I don't have to buy it. That doesn't make me a genius or them morons.
Regarding prices: a relative worked for an investment management firm years ago. His colleague used his bonus for one year to buy a new Ferrari AND a membership to the most expensive country club in the city. This wasn't in a finance mecca; it's a city that stretches to claim a population of one million. There are more people out there with staggering amounts of money than most realize, and what's a shocking price to us is not worth a second thought to them. It's not just the handful of rich people the media hates and screams about constantly. If you're thinking they're all robber barons from finance or some other hated class, a number of times I've looked up a multi-million-dollar home out of curiosity to find the owner was employed by our local public university (that churns through million-dollar-a-year presidents and coaches like they're candy).
I realize hating the rich is all the rage these days, but is it really so hard to see that Wilson is a successful company that knows what they are doing and who they are marketing to? They aren't fools, and neither are their customers. If I could figure out how to sell speakers for a million dollars, I'd gladly do it too. Come to think of it, make that $10 million/pair, and maybe I only need to sell one pair. Or on the flip side, if I could vastly increase my net worth, being able to casually drop a million for some speakers probably wouldn't make me feel stupid. For some reason, my not knowing how on either front doesn't make me feel superior though. Guess I need to work on my attitude.
If you want to sell luxury products, you have to differentiate them from all the others somehow. Why are so many current BMW and Lexus grilles hideous? Or how about the Bangle Butt? Is it because they're too stupid to design something prettier? Why did B&W go off on a tangent with treble response that looked like a sizzle-fest for like a decade? I don't have to like it, and I don't have to buy it. That doesn't make me a genius or them morons.
Regarding prices: a relative worked for an investment management firm years ago. His colleague used his bonus for one year to buy a new Ferrari AND a membership to the most expensive country club in the city. This wasn't in a finance mecca; it's a city that stretches to claim a population of one million. There are more people out there with staggering amounts of money than most realize, and what's a shocking price to us is not worth a second thought to them. It's not just the handful of rich people the media hates and screams about constantly. If you're thinking they're all robber barons from finance or some other hated class, a number of times I've looked up a multi-million-dollar home out of curiosity to find the owner was employed by our local public university (that churns through million-dollar-a-year presidents and coaches like they're candy).
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