I recent acquired a pair of Wolf von Langa (WVL) Chicago speakers. Without having auditioned them or any other WVL speakers. Purely based on gut feelings that they would be special. Special because of the presence of two features: (1) open-baffle and (2) field coil. The bet has turned out beautifully: Chicago is one of the two best things that have happened to my audio system (more so than any other component). I have found my dream speaker and cannot imagine using any other speaker.
The smaller WVL SON has been reviewed and universally acclaimed. The more expensive WVL Audio Frame series, London, Chicago and Berlin, have not been reviewed in the English language. Of Chicago, I could find only two reviews back in 2017, one in German and one in Russian. There has been very little user feedback on the Audio Frame series in the English language. I was told that Chicago is a bigger and more refined SON.
Chicago is a 4-way speaker: a cabinet (made of aluminum frames) contains two 15” woofer modules, stacked on top of each other, fastened via screws (which makes assembly and disassembly very easy for installation). A crossover board is placed between the 2 woofer modules. On the top shelf of the cabinet sits the mid-range driver and the AMT tweeter. The mid-driver and the tweeter have two different configurations (each configuration is set by the manufacturer and cannot be changed post-manufacturing): the mid and the tweeter are embedded side by side in an acrylic panel, or the mid driver is placed in its own open-back box with the tweeter sitting on top of the mid-driver box. The crossover board divides audio signal stream into 4 stratums, T, M, WM (upper woofer) and WB (lower woofer). The back panel of each driver or driver box is open, making them dipole – sound waves project both forward and backward with practically equal force. The dipole structure creates a spacious surround-sound effect.
Of the two features, it must be the field coil technology, more than the open-baffle feature, that makes the WVL speakers so special. The mid and the two woofers have no permanent magnets attached to them. An external power supply (PSU, 2 rows of triple outputs) sends DC to each of the 3 drivers of each speaker, magnetizing the drivers as long as the PSU is on. There are 3 knobs and associated biasing meters on the front panel of the PSU, whereby you can adjust the DC current output for each of the Mid and woofer drivers to suit the acoustics of your room and your taste. The sound created by the field coil technology is exceptionally organic, natural and transparent, much more like live music. Before Chicago (around $64K), I had Revel Salon2 ($24K) and Magico S7 (>$58k). I also auditioned Wilson Alexx V (>$135K) and Von Schweikert Ultra 7 (>$180K). While the bigger Alexx and Von Schweikert 7 have bigger scales, Chicago sounds much more musical for the organic and natural sound. I have not heard SON (around $18K) but can understand why many listeners who attended the audio shows regard SON as the best speaker system they heard in the shows regardless of prices. What makes SON so special must also be the field coil technology that is applied to its bass-midrange driver.
Chicago is rated 95db in efficiency with 8-ohm nominal impedance. 10W-30W SE amp could drive them very well. I use a premium-quality integrated solid-state amp outputting 320W into 8 ohm (and 460W into 4). The result is wonderful. Chicago can play at much louder volume without diminishing musicality or introducing fatigue (which was the case with Salon2 or Magico7; at the same loud volume they became unlistenable with distortion) – the effect is thrilling and exhilarating concert hall level sound in terms of width and depth.
The WVL speakers are for music lovers who frequently listen to live music. As experienced in live music, bass from double-basses and cellos of an orchestra is taut, clearly defined in body and fast. The bass from live music does not have the boom-box exaggerated effect many rock music listeners crave for. I have been to some of the world's greatest concert halls in Europe and the U.S. and listen to chamber music regularly. To my ears, the WVL sound is closest to live music, much more so than other speaker I have heard to date.
Fellow users of the WVL Audio Frame series: please kindly share your experience.
The smaller WVL SON has been reviewed and universally acclaimed. The more expensive WVL Audio Frame series, London, Chicago and Berlin, have not been reviewed in the English language. Of Chicago, I could find only two reviews back in 2017, one in German and one in Russian. There has been very little user feedback on the Audio Frame series in the English language. I was told that Chicago is a bigger and more refined SON.
Chicago is a 4-way speaker: a cabinet (made of aluminum frames) contains two 15” woofer modules, stacked on top of each other, fastened via screws (which makes assembly and disassembly very easy for installation). A crossover board is placed between the 2 woofer modules. On the top shelf of the cabinet sits the mid-range driver and the AMT tweeter. The mid-driver and the tweeter have two different configurations (each configuration is set by the manufacturer and cannot be changed post-manufacturing): the mid and the tweeter are embedded side by side in an acrylic panel, or the mid driver is placed in its own open-back box with the tweeter sitting on top of the mid-driver box. The crossover board divides audio signal stream into 4 stratums, T, M, WM (upper woofer) and WB (lower woofer). The back panel of each driver or driver box is open, making them dipole – sound waves project both forward and backward with practically equal force. The dipole structure creates a spacious surround-sound effect.
Of the two features, it must be the field coil technology, more than the open-baffle feature, that makes the WVL speakers so special. The mid and the two woofers have no permanent magnets attached to them. An external power supply (PSU, 2 rows of triple outputs) sends DC to each of the 3 drivers of each speaker, magnetizing the drivers as long as the PSU is on. There are 3 knobs and associated biasing meters on the front panel of the PSU, whereby you can adjust the DC current output for each of the Mid and woofer drivers to suit the acoustics of your room and your taste. The sound created by the field coil technology is exceptionally organic, natural and transparent, much more like live music. Before Chicago (around $64K), I had Revel Salon2 ($24K) and Magico S7 (>$58k). I also auditioned Wilson Alexx V (>$135K) and Von Schweikert Ultra 7 (>$180K). While the bigger Alexx and Von Schweikert 7 have bigger scales, Chicago sounds much more musical for the organic and natural sound. I have not heard SON (around $18K) but can understand why many listeners who attended the audio shows regard SON as the best speaker system they heard in the shows regardless of prices. What makes SON so special must also be the field coil technology that is applied to its bass-midrange driver.
Chicago is rated 95db in efficiency with 8-ohm nominal impedance. 10W-30W SE amp could drive them very well. I use a premium-quality integrated solid-state amp outputting 320W into 8 ohm (and 460W into 4). The result is wonderful. Chicago can play at much louder volume without diminishing musicality or introducing fatigue (which was the case with Salon2 or Magico7; at the same loud volume they became unlistenable with distortion) – the effect is thrilling and exhilarating concert hall level sound in terms of width and depth.
The WVL speakers are for music lovers who frequently listen to live music. As experienced in live music, bass from double-basses and cellos of an orchestra is taut, clearly defined in body and fast. The bass from live music does not have the boom-box exaggerated effect many rock music listeners crave for. I have been to some of the world's greatest concert halls in Europe and the U.S. and listen to chamber music regularly. To my ears, the WVL sound is closest to live music, much more so than other speaker I have heard to date.
Fellow users of the WVL Audio Frame series: please kindly share your experience.
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