Tima, I haven't liked a single big cone except in a very big room. Rooms like Mike are almost non existent. The Zellatons at Audio Arts exist in a very well done set up and he has put a lot into the room. In more normal rooms, I like Jazzhead's with the Martens, that's it. More of an exception. I do not like a single Wilson/Magico type system. I can always hear the crossovers or the room interactions or both. So it is not a generalization. I can understand why this will be considered an overreaction by others. As far as I am concerned, it is not. And if anyone does ask me, I strongly never recommend these speakers. I can appreciate that Sasha 2s are much better than Sasha 1 and Alexia 1, and I like them better than Focals or some Magicos, but I really see no sense in having them over a much cheaper stat, or a speaker like the one above. I can appreciate what the Wilsons do better than the speakers in the above article (more bass, more body, more detail), but I have never been in a room where they (and their ilk) have failed to create tell tale bass booms that distracts me from the sound, or fails to make the speakers disappear drawing attention to the speakers, etc. It is not a generalization on my part that I believe 95% plus audiophiles have speakers oversized for their room. Also, those systems color the recordings much more than at Anamighty's in terms of system signature
Zero Distortion: Analog Shootout at Anamighty Sound, Paris
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Tima, I haven't liked a single big cone except in a very big room. Rooms like Mike are almost non existent. The Zellatons at Audio Arts exist in a very well done set up and he has put a lot into the room. In more normal rooms, I like Jazzhead's with the Martens, that's it. More of an exception. I do not like a single Wilson/Magico type system. I can always hear the crossovers or the room interactions or both. So it is not a generalization. I can understand why this will be considered an overreaction by others. As far as I am concerned, it is not. And if anyone does ask me, I strongly never recommend these speakers. I can appreciate that Sasha 2s are much better than Sasha 1 and Alexia 1, and I like them better than Focals or some Magicos, but I really see no sense in having them over a much cheaper stat, or a speaker like the one above. I can appreciate what the Wilsons do better than the speakers in the above article (more bass, more body, more detail), but I have never been in a room where they (and their ilk) have failed to create tell tale bass booms that distracts me from the sound, or fails to make the speakers disappear drawing attention to the speakers, etc. It is not a generalization on my part that I believe 95% plus audiophiles have speakers oversized for their room. Also, those systems color the recordings much more than at Anamighty's in terms of system signature
I agree with you Ked.
I was guilty as charged myself for attempting to use cones too big for my room and the efforts to even get them to image convincingly was very difficult and then all the panels and bass trapping required was incredible - I ended with a very dry room although my bass was quick and controlled albeit typically “conal” in its inability to not really sound like real bass but the bass of a cone in a box.
Having followed your journey since the start and from regular comms, my observation is that you have rarely enjoyed the large “super cones” systems feeling that they were never really coherent. On the other hand, more often than not I recount you being very excited by some standmount systems or other smaller systems that get out the way - examples would be the B&W Italian standmount system, Christoph’s Acoustats, Toms’s modded Tannoy, the Audio Machina in Essex.
Interestingly the giant horns don’t appear to suffer the same vagaries in your experience nearly as much as evidenced by positive experiences with AG Trios, WE various in loads of rooms, the monstrous single drivers like Yamamura and Pnoe, the Horn Universum in several settings, the Tune Audio Anima in various places.
This is not to say that giant horns also don’t have the same issues from your journeys - I won’t point these out so as not to disgruntle / stir a hornet’s nest but I don’t think these have occurred as often.
I have recently become very aware of the restrictions that crossovers themselves impart to speakers and listening crossoverless for some time myself really cements it going back to normal systems (not to say single driver doesn’t have its own issues). I am personally going nowhere near large multi driver speakers with very complex crossovers and that also applies to dsp crossovers, the latter I find rob the music of its life.
Cheers
I was guilty as charged myself for attempting to use cones too big for my room and the efforts to even get them to image convincingly was very difficult and then all the panels and bass trapping required was incredible - I ended with a very dry room although my bass was quick and controlled albeit typically “conal” in its inability to not really sound like real bass but the bass of a cone in a box.
Having followed your journey since the start and from regular comms, my observation is that you have rarely enjoyed the large “super cones” systems feeling that they were never really coherent. On the other hand, more often than not I recount you being very excited by some standmount systems or other smaller systems that get out the way - examples would be the B&W Italian standmount system, Christoph’s Acoustats, Toms’s modded Tannoy, the Audio Machina in Essex.
Interestingly the giant horns don’t appear to suffer the same vagaries in your experience nearly as much as evidenced by positive experiences with AG Trios, WE various in loads of rooms, the monstrous single drivers like Yamamura and Pnoe, the Horn Universum in several settings, the Tune Audio Anima in various places.
This is not to say that giant horns also don’t have the same issues from your journeys - I won’t point these out so as not to disgruntle / stir a hornet’s nest but I don’t think these have occurred as often.
I have recently become very aware of the restrictions that crossovers themselves impart to speakers and listening crossoverless for some time myself really cements it going back to normal systems (not to say single driver doesn’t have its own issues). I am personally going nowhere near large multi driver speakers with very complex crossovers and that also applies to dsp crossovers, the latter I find rob the music of its life.
Cheers
For Tima's reference, the B&W standamount system mentioned by Bill above was when Gian, his friend Marco, and I were touring Italian hifi. Gian took me to what he said as per him was the best set up guy in Italy, a dealer named Dmitri. We heard a B&W standamount there that was so well positioned, that Marco went back straight home and tried to reposition his Wilson Alexandria X2S2 to achieve a similar stage and bass response.
Horns are directional. They need a big space but not necessarily an ideal room in terms of symmetry, corners, etc. Minimal treatment, if at all. Best horn rooms have had a normal carpet at the most. And these have been the best rooms following Mike's. Panels also can be fit to disappear more easily but again size needs to be managed. Like Lissnr did, he sold his Divas and got Duettas (smaller speakers), and they worked better. That is smart. The German distributor of Analysis owns both Amphtryon and Omega, uses the latter. We tried in his room, despite the lesser bass, the Omegas just felt right. And that was a 6m*4m room. For some reason people think upgrade with speakers works only one way, bigger and costlier. With cones, that is almost certainly a disaster because your existing cone is probably too big.
Horns are directional. They need a big space but not necessarily an ideal room in terms of symmetry, corners, etc. Minimal treatment, if at all. Best horn rooms have had a normal carpet at the most. And these have been the best rooms following Mike's. Panels also can be fit to disappear more easily but again size needs to be managed. Like Lissnr did, he sold his Divas and got Duettas (smaller speakers), and they worked better. That is smart. The German distributor of Analysis owns both Amphtryon and Omega, uses the latter. We tried in his room, despite the lesser bass, the Omegas just felt right. And that was a 6m*4m room. For some reason people think upgrade with speakers works only one way, bigger and costlier. With cones, that is almost certainly a disaster because your existing cone is probably too big.
Thanks for the follow-up. My reference to generalization was about "The truth is big cone speakers... " - I have a natural skepticism with sentences starting with "The truth is..." when it comes to audio systems. 
But I grant that it can get attention in writing.
I don't listen to crossovers, although I may find an effect you experience while calling it or ascribing it differently. The closest I can put your comment into the language I use (and experience) is in terms of coherence. Though that involves more than crossovers. I find myself sensitive to timing issues and in speakers that includes disjointedness between the drivers. While there's always room for improvement, I find Wilson does a good job with their crossovers even though they stretch their midranges moderately high or their tweeters moderately low. They keep getting better at it, imo. Admittedly I don't seek out horns.
Is 6m*4m a big or small room for you?
But I grant that it can get attention in writing.I don't listen to crossovers, although I may find an effect you experience while calling it or ascribing it differently. The closest I can put your comment into the language I use (and experience) is in terms of coherence. Though that involves more than crossovers. I find myself sensitive to timing issues and in speakers that includes disjointedness between the drivers. While there's always room for improvement, I find Wilson does a good job with their crossovers even though they stretch their midranges moderately high or their tweeters moderately low. They keep getting better at it, imo. Admittedly I don't seek out horns.
Is 6m*4m a big or small room for you?
Kedar, I enjoyed very much another great report! Thank you!
On phono stages it seems that you generally prefer the valve phonos over the solid-state phonos. Since tubes have the most opportunity to make noise mischief with such low signal levels (as opposed to tubes in a power amp which is receiving a line-level signal) why do you nonetheless like valves in your phono stages?
Were you ever able to compare the Thomas Mayer phono to the Allnic or the Aesthetix?
François, welcome to WBF!
Bill, very interesting observations!
On phono stages it seems that you generally prefer the valve phonos over the solid-state phonos. Since tubes have the most opportunity to make noise mischief with such low signal levels (as opposed to tubes in a power amp which is receiving a line-level signal) why do you nonetheless like valves in your phono stages?
Were you ever able to compare the Thomas Mayer phono to the Allnic or the Aesthetix?
François, welcome to WBF!
Bill, very interesting observations!
Thanks Ron.
As mentioned in the article, I preferred the burmester and the Lyra phono against the respective phonos shot out against. I also find the largest ying yang worth doing at the phono section. Over here, I liked the phasemation a lot, in some cases and records, over the Thrax. The Thrax with a well suited cart seemed to hold itself better as passages grew more complex, but that wasn't a valve alone factor.
I think the Mayer version that the General has, and Allnic and Aesthetix are made for different system style applications. Aesthetix seems to work best in large cone and planar systems. Allnic works in those systems too and also sets based, but I have never heard it in a horn system myself. The Mayer is a very low gain and non-flexible phono that I have heard in only a full Mayer system with very efficient horns and the purest of vinyl.
My liking for Allnic comes from finding a great compatibility with stats at UK Paul's, followed by subsequent compares in cone systems where I found it to out do competition once the recti was rolled. I think Aesthetix is equally good, and would be with panels, which is what you had. But Allnic is easier to manage than aesthetix. I hope to get to compare Allnic and thoress in a set based system. In a horn system, with all valves, I think a valve phono would not give up on noise advantage to an SS phono, but I will be willing to try more SS phonos.
Tima, I will reply to you later, too much to type over phone
As mentioned in the article, I preferred the burmester and the Lyra phono against the respective phonos shot out against. I also find the largest ying yang worth doing at the phono section. Over here, I liked the phasemation a lot, in some cases and records, over the Thrax. The Thrax with a well suited cart seemed to hold itself better as passages grew more complex, but that wasn't a valve alone factor.
I think the Mayer version that the General has, and Allnic and Aesthetix are made for different system style applications. Aesthetix seems to work best in large cone and planar systems. Allnic works in those systems too and also sets based, but I have never heard it in a horn system myself. The Mayer is a very low gain and non-flexible phono that I have heard in only a full Mayer system with very efficient horns and the purest of vinyl.
My liking for Allnic comes from finding a great compatibility with stats at UK Paul's, followed by subsequent compares in cone systems where I found it to out do competition once the recti was rolled. I think Aesthetix is equally good, and would be with panels, which is what you had. But Allnic is easier to manage than aesthetix. I hope to get to compare Allnic and thoress in a set based system. In a horn system, with all valves, I think a valve phono would not give up on noise advantage to an SS phono, but I will be willing to try more SS phonos.
Tima, I will reply to you later, too much to type over phone
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