Is Wilson losing their marketing edge?

Ron Resnick

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I'm sorry, but this is LOL.

+1

Little I have heard in speaker design evolution has sounded as inconsistent as has Wilson’s switch from a metal dome tweeter to a soft dome tweeter. I think it changed the entire “house” sound of the company’s products.
 
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asiufy

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If I may, being a recent Wilson Audio "convert", the tweeter is just the tip of the iceberg for the evolution of the Wilson products.

Ever since we did our first event, with Alexia Series 2, we got tons of compliments, but also some very honest assessments from clients that that was the first Wilson speaker they've ever liked.

This also happened (quite a bit actually) with Sabrina. It's amazing how "compatible" that speaker is. I've met folks whose favourite Wilson speaker is Sabrina!

Daryl's "hand" in all this can't be understated, as he's taken his father's magnum opus (the new WAMM) and distilled as much as he could from it down the line. I'm very excited to get our pair of Sasha DAW in a few weeks, since the initial reports from friends and dealers is very, very positive!


cheers,
Alex
 

DaveyF

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+1

Little I have heard in speaker design evolution has sounded as inconsistent as has Wilson’s switch from a metal dome tweeter to a soft dome tweeter. I think it changed the entire “house” sound of the company’s products.

+1

The soft dome tweeter that Wilson now uses is a huge upswing in SQ over the old Metal dome.


Alex, I think the new Sasha DAW could be a major player at the price range it is supposedly coming in at....although IF one had the room ( it had better be huge!)..and the upstream amp power, the new Maggie 30.7 will always be a very strong alternative, at that price point.
 

microstrip

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I'm sorry, but this is LOL.

Sorry, IMHO it seems you are only able to see the tip of the iceberg and not the basic ADN of the Wilson speakers. I have owned many Wilson speakers since the Wilson WATT Puupy system V and the basics of articulation , liveliness and detailed micro dynamics are still there in an evolutionary design.
 
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microstrip

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This too anecdotal, picking up Myles to explain liking TT and tape with Magico. You can similarly say that Steve, Tima, and two of Gian's friends (and that's 100 percent of the known Wilson population in the main Milan group) who are all Wilson owners, are primarily analog.

There are a lot of apogee and Logan owners who are digital only.. Means nothing.

These days there will be a lot of digital around. Duh

You are misunderstanding and misrepresenting my argument - Wilson surely sounds great on analog. My argument was the opposite - many brands are not able to reproduce adequately all the information involved in top digital. Adding noise to the subject does not help also.
 

microstrip

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+1

Little I have heard in speaker design evolution has sounded as inconsistent as has Wilson’s switch from a metal dome tweeter to a soft dome tweeter. I think it changed the entire “house” sound of the company’s products.

Ron,

There is much more than a tweeter in a speaker. Ask people who own X2S2 or MAXX speakers.
Do you consider that the sound of Gryphon speakers is "inconsistent" between models?
Or ProAc's, that also have used many types of tweeters, but keep a family sound.
 

microstrip

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BruceD

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Hmmm--well the Wilson tweeter issue still raises commentary--I'll go against the grain here and say my recollection of the attack and dynamics of
my original Watt 3's--yep, the version with the Tube Trapped Focal "Spitfire" was enthralling:p!
YVMV

BruceD
 

Lee

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Good/bad digital and good/bad analog are just going to be revealed moreso by a pair of Wilsons.
 

Lee

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Hmmm--well the Wilson tweeter issue still raises commentary--I'll go against the grain here and say my recollection of the attack and dynamics of
my original Watt 3's--yep, the version with the Tube Trapped Focal "Spitfire" was enthralling:p!
YVMV

BruceD

What tweeter issue? The CST now used is sublime.
 

BruceD

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What tweeter issue? The CST now used is sublime.

Oh no issues with Moi! ;)I sorta gathered the conjecture was the original Watt Focal was overly etched and tad fatiguing -no?-- I did not find it so
I've owned further Wilsons and heard the latest incarnations and fully agree with you on the current sonics.

BruceD
 
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Lee

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Oh no issues with Moi! ;)I sorta gathered the conjecture was the original Watt Focal was overly etched and tad fatiguing -no?-- I did not find it so
I've owned further Wilsons and heard the latest incarnations and fully agree with you on the current sonics.

BruceD

There was some fatigue on the earlier inverted ones for sure.
 
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Ron Resnick

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Ron,

There is much more than a tweeter in a speaker. Ask people who own X2S2 or MAXX speakers.
Do you consider that the sound of Gryphon speakers is "inconsistent" between models?
Or ProAc's, that also have used many types of tweeters, but keep a family sound.

I’m not sure what you’re arguing about. If the brightness and fatiguing nature of a tweeter makes me want to stop listening to music then nothing else in the speaker matters.
 
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microstrip

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I’m not sure what you’re arguing about. If the brightness and fatiguing nature of a tweeter makes me want to stop listening to music then nothing else in the speaker matters.

I am trying to explain that IMHO there is not such thing as an individual bright and fatiguing tweeter, unless it poorly designed or a failure. It is its use in a complete speaker that can make the speaker bright and fatiguing. And the we still have the system match to help.

Did you experience brightness and fatigue in Steve system? I can assure you his Lamm's would reveal it if was there - they are very trustful amplifiers, exposing any metallic or brightness tendency.

BTW, Prodigy's could be much more fatiguing than old Wilson's - but carefully paired with proper amplifiers they sounded great, as we both know very well. The balance of the old Wilsons also needed a proper choice of electronics and source to sound excellent, the new ones accept a broader range of ancillaries. All IMHO, YMMV.
 

DaveyF

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I am trying to explain that IMHO there is not such thing as an individual bright and fatiguing tweeter, unless it poorly designed or a failure. It is its use in a complete speaker that can make the speaker bright and fatiguing. And the we still have the system match to help.

Did you experience brightness and fatigue in Steve system? I can assure you his Lamm's would reveal it if was there - they are very trustful amplifiers, exposing any metallic or brightness tendency.

BTW, Prodigy's could be much more fatiguing than old Wilson's - but carefully paired with proper amplifiers they sounded great, as we both know very well. The balance of the old Wilsons also needed a proper choice of electronics and source to sound excellent, the new ones accept a broader range of ancillaries. All IMHO, YMMV.

That is not entirely correct, IMO. The Focal inverted metal dome has a bright and hard/ringing nature, regardless of what speaker it was inserted into. And yes, I heard it sounding that way in all speakers that it was utilized in. Including all the Wilson's. Therefore, I guess you could state that it was poorly designed and /or a failure!
 
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morricab

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Once a juggernaut like Wilson gets established, powerful psychological and economic forces take over (social proof, speakers marketed by a large number of authorities (including Fremer, ATkinson, and many others), dealers one may like may recommend them, potentially putting the power of reciprocity in play as well.) Although powerful as standalone forces of influence, these forces of persuasion become much more potent in combination with each other than as stand alone...

And furthermore, how did Magico join Wilson as the other of the BIG TWO? If it weren't for Sterile Jon Valin constantly marketing them in his every review over the last 10 years, they are likely would not quite be there... I wasn't around earlier, but Valin is by far the best audio writer today. (GOAT? maybe, but I haven't been around for much of J Gordon Holt or much of HP's career.) Compared to other "audio journalists" out there today, it's like Michael Jordan playing against 7th graders. (It's just too bad Valin is playing baseball instead of basketball.)

And at what cost? While Tom Martin and "Worthless to the Audio Fans" Robert Harley caged and castrated Harry Pearson, Sterile Jon Valin has violated and shattered the brand promise of TAS. Whereas as before one knew where HP was coming from with musical sounding gear like NOLA and Scaena, Valin has pushed "transparency to source"/ analytical gear that he likes. We can only imagine how HP felt in the last years of his life as TAS was pushing Magico Q5 with Soulution and Consoulation or Magico Q7 with the UBER ANALYTICAL, "best DAC extant", the Berkeley Reference DAC....

http://www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/lets-call-the-whole-thing-off/
http://www.theabsolutesound.com/art...rol-amplifier-and-bp-1-mk-ii-power-amplifier/

This, of course, has given Valin immense power, as he can get any piece of gear he wants. And manufacturers are literally begging him to review their stuff.

But for the audio fans, it has wasted their precious time and money and has caused confusion. Simple example: I am looking for a $10K dac for my 4th system for a small room. Sterile Jon is about to review MSB. Do I take away precious time away from my family, work, and other responsibilities during the busy holiday season to bother with it, or since he likes frequently analytical gear, is it going to be a waste of my time?

So for those of us who are not into box speakers and don't really care for Magicos or Wilsons or for analytical sounding gear, the marketing forces are not on our side...


I fond of the old TAS, it being quite helpful in establishing a consistent audio philosophy (truth to real, unamplified music as a reference) even if I didn't always agree on HPs gear choices...now I can't read more than a few pages of "ad copy" from TAS. I also agree that Magico would not be anywhere close to what it is without the endorsement of JV over many years of being it's champion. I would say the same for Soulution as well...
 

morricab

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[
Hmmm--well the Wilson tweeter issue still raises commentary--I'll go against the grain here and say my recollection of the attack and dynamics of
my original Watt 3's--yep, the version with the Tube Trapped Focal "Spitfire" was enthralling:p!
YVMV

BruceD

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.
 
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bonzo75

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Exactly what I thought.

Wow I just realized this thread is from 2011. So Caesar has always been starting threads with questions?
 
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