Steve Williams
Site Founder, Site Owner, Administrator
I heard Paul's Magico speakers in his studio a few years ago and was quite impressed (not withstanding however that he played one of the Tape Project 1" master tapes 
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Is Wilson losing their marketing edge?
- Thread starter caesar
- Start date
Seated. Listening to recordings. And not expecting an inanimate object - an amplifier - to somehow reproduce that which has not yet been produced as far as it knows, ie, something other than the recording.
Tim
Actually I think Paul still has the Magicos; they're just being used in a different system if I remember correctly.
As far as I remember reading the system was very complex - eight deeply modified by the Bottlehead people SET tube amplifiers, active crossovers and needed fine tuning to play at its best and Paul took it to his residence.
No doubt - I would choose Wilson also. Out of curiosity, though, how long ago was the evaluation done by these studios? And were both Magico and Wilson scrutinized, and on what specific grounds was Wilson chosen?
Yes, I understand that this was happening in the past. But a friend told me that Overture has switched from Wilson to Magico because Overture believes that Magico is more accurate in reproducing to what is on the recording. They supposedly still demo Spectral, but with Magico now, confirming what I said in my original post.
But, of course, not all of us are interested in reproducing exactly what is on the recording. Some of us find it kind of dull ... Instead, many of us want a concert in our home.
And furthermore, good marketing, which is what this thread is about, is not about subjective opinions anyways. Face it, the consumers are having an extremely difficult time making sense of the dozens of products in the market place. Very few speakers are compared and contrasted, and the consumers are bombarded with all kinds of opinions from various gurus and hacks alike. Great marketing, on the other hand, is about helping the customer make sense of this ambiguity in the marketplace. By presenting a simplified message that gets at what the customer is looking for, the company can carve out a spot in the customer's mind about what the brand stands for. For example, Volvo = safety, and why go with the #2 Avis for rental cars over the #1 Hertz? Because they try harder.
So Wilson's failure was that while they were on top of audio speakers for so long, they never created a clear message in the mind of the customer of what they stand for. Now comes Magico and they happen to have an accurate speaker. (The Overture owners, and Jonathan Valin himself, would agree with humble me in the claim that Magico is the more accurate speaker.) So Wilson has to carve out an alternate product position in the customer's mind instead of fighting a losing battle. If Wilson can no longer be accurate, as Magico has captured that space, why not be the "real sounding speaker"?
Steve Williams
Site Founder, Site Owner, Administrator
My understanding, and this is second - hand, is that the top guys who own Overture are interested in "accurate reproduction of the recording" and they believe that Magico does this better than Wilson. But you may know a lot more about this than me.
At least Wilson has never pulled a M5/Q5 on their dealers/customers.
One Magico dealer trying to unload their demo M5s for less than half price posted this in their ad:
"Although the new Q5 is getting alot of press, IMHO the M5remains as Magico's masterpiece in dynamic reference loudspeakers - full ofsubtle nuances missing in the new covergirl Q5s. The M5s also lack the"metallic" sound intrinsic in an "all metal cabinet design."
One Magico dealer trying to unload their demo M5s for less than half price posted this in their ad:
"Although the new Q5 is getting alot of press, IMHO the M5remains as Magico's masterpiece in dynamic reference loudspeakers - full ofsubtle nuances missing in the new covergirl Q5s. The M5s also lack the"metallic" sound intrinsic in an "all metal cabinet design."
Yes, very true. Magico has had some major marketing screw-ups, to say they least!
And with all the hype Magico has gotten from the press, and mainly Jonathan Valin, the Magico sound doesn't really appeal to the many audiophiles.
Spectral as an amplifier with body and emotion? Umm, not sure what Spectral you are listening too---certainly not their house sound.
Bruce B
WBF Founding Member, Pro Audio Production Member
Glad to know that I'm not the only one who has fallen victim to people putting words in my mouth and misrepresenting things I have said. Misery does love company I guess.
That's my objection Frantz, I said the spectral amps have the body (heft) and resolution to let the emotion in the music through, whatever that may be. I didn't say the amps were a source of emotion. We all know that would be bollocks.
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