Is Wilson losing their marketing edge?

[Al M.]

Amen,
That was the most important sonic change that WA made, as their speakers were pretty much unlistenable for most people. And let's not forget how some guys in the media, like "worthless to the audio fans" robery harley excoriated wilson for using that "old" technology.

Of course, sonically, that tweeter change differentiated wilsons from magicos, which tend to put emphasis on upper midrange, lower treble. And now the new sasha puppy will further differentiate the speaker with a more robust bottom end than the magico in the same price category.

I am afraid you are generalizing here. I have heard the Magico S1 as being tipped up towards upper midrange/lower treble, but not other Magico speakers. It also depends on set-up and gear choices of course.

 

[metaphacts]

Did Wilson do as you have recommended, because if they did, it must have made no difference!

I was involved with speaker designs using the Titanium Dioxide Focals in the early/mid 90s, but not with Wilson. Yes those things were done in those designs.

By the time I joined Wilson, the CST had replaced the Focal based Wilson tweeters.

 

[metaphacts]

HI Metaphacts,

Thanks for the kind words. Kind of surprised that you lack the curiosity to fully understand why Wilson is successful. Nevertheless, congratulations on your contributions to Wilson Audio success.

Have a great life!

Thanks Caesar.

Please don't for one second believe that I and/or my colleagues at Wilson do not spend a great deal of time working to understand the complexities of the broader market and the Wilson brand's place in it. Nothing new really as Dave was a student of markets and brands well before forming Wilson Audio.

That said, a spirited forum discussion yields many insights for a good listener (reader). Whether I actively participate or not doesn't really matter. It could even be suggested that staying out of the discussion allows others' opinions and observations to flow more freely.

As always, ymmv.

 

[DaveyF]

I was involved with speaker designs using the Titanium Dioxide Focals in the early/mid 90s, but not with Wilson. Yes those things were done in those designs.

By the time I joined Wilson, the CST had replaced the Focal based Wilson tweeters.

When you state ' notched out' we are presuming in the x-over, is that correct? If so, I would think that you now have a speaker that is probably rolled off vs. a speaker that can scale the heights above what..15khz? Still makes me state that this tweeter is a faulty design, IMO

 

[LL21]

[


To date, the only Wilson I really liked was the original X1 Grand SLAMM. With 95db sensitivity and an easy load driven by a good SET it was really one of the best box speaker sounds I have heard.

Interesting...which of the X1/Grand Slamms did you hear? Perhaps all 3 generations? (plus, there was the 5 upgrade just before the Alexandria came out.)

 

[morricab]

Interesting...which of the X1/Grand Slamms did you hear? Perhaps all 3 generations? (plus, there was the 5 upgrade just before the Alexandria came out.)

I heard 1and 3.

 

[LL21]

Very nice. Curious...did you notice any differences that you recall? I remember reading that some treble improvements had been made along with crossover which improved cohesiveness.

 

[dbeau]

I heard 1and 3.

Great - reinforces my opinion and experience with X1 v3 (over the years) using different high level preamps, amps, speakers and now with SS preamp/Krell and valve amps (PL HP KT150s).

 

[caesar]

I am afraid you are generalizing here. I have heard the Magico S1 as being tipped up towards upper midrange/lower treble, but not other Magico speakers. It also depends on set-up and gear choices of course.

Agree. And it also, depends on what you are comparing to... Latest wilson sasha watt puppy is marketing itself as having prodigious bass...

 

[caesar]

It was Joni's idea... ;-)

Sorry, I don't really do female vocals and audiophile music... Usually get my fill once a year at audio shows...

 

[caesar]

Gentlemen, heard the terrible news that AudioNet went belly up recently. I don't believe AudioNet voiced their amps with Wilson speakers, and when Vincent Jason Sirinious reviewed them in stereophile it came across as they were leaner than a size 2 model...

And then a few months later, the company goes under... Not the only reason for failure, but had they worked great with wilsons, they may have been able to last...

 

[C.A.P]

Agree. And it also, depends on what you are comparing to... Latest wilson sasha watt puppy is marketing itself as having prodigious bass...

THEY DO ! Having heard them with tubes to say the least . Im sure it would be a tad better with SS . It isnt promenent subwoofer bass but REAL sounding and fast as the recording gives ! Daryl has done wll with the custom Scan speced 22W paper driver, Delightful to say the least !

 

[caesar]

THEY DO ! Having heard them with tubes to say the least . Im sure it would be a tad better with SS . It isnt promenent subwoofer bass but REAL sounding and fast as the recording gives ! Daryl has done wll with the custom Scan speced 22W paper driver, Delightful to say the least !

Definitely a point of differentiation with the more mild-mannered (in comparison) Magico... interesting how the new Magico S5 will compensate ...

 

[caesar]

Big congratulations to Wilson Audio on bringing Robert Harley and Computer Audiophile geek to their camp!

For their competition, including Magico, it's like taking a double left to the liver from Mike Tyson...
how many of these can they take?

More analysis to come...

 

[Ron Resnick]

Big congratulations to Wilson Audio on bringing Robert Harley and Computer Audiophile geek to their camp!

For their competition, including Magico, it's like taking a double left to the liver from Mike Tyson...
how many of these can they take?

More analysis to come...

What was the original analysis?

 

[spiritofmusic]

Since there are 23 pages and 455 posts, 456 incl this one, talking about a Wilson spkr none of us have heard, I would say this fact alone makes the title of this thread laughable in the extreme.

 

[XV-1]

Since there are 23 pages and 455 posts, 456 incl this one, talking about a Wilson spkr none of us have heard, I would say this fact alone makes the title of this thread laughable in the extreme.

we have a winner

 

[caesar]

What was the original analysis?

The TAS guys tried to create a counter force to the Wislon juggernaut, but now looks like harley, one the magico guys has defected back to wilson... more to come...

 

[caesar]

Gentlemen, if you are not interested in the marketing side, you are in the wrong place... please do not read, please do not whine...unsubscribe.. life is to short...

but if you have a curiosity about why the audio business is the way it is stay tuned. kids are screaming...

 

[Mike Lavigne]

caesar, to make a point.......you actually have to make that point.....especially in a now 9 month dormant thread. all you did was tease something. we assume from the timing you are jumping on the current XWX interest. but, of course, you have not yet explained that. and the significance of what Harley does or does not do is far past it's sell-by date.