New WAMM details

[MadFloyd]

If the new WAMM is essentially just an enlarged XLF with a doubling of M-T-M drivers -- rather than a more radical, new design with four columns or with some innovative driver like an electrostatic midrange or a plasma tweeter or some other major "wow" element -- how is this going to sell for the better part of $1,000,000?

There's one born every minute?

I will say that the most impressed I've ever been by Wilsons were the (original) WAMMs where the source was tape and the electronics were Doshi. It was an incredible experience!.

 

[Steve Williams]

There's one born every minute?

I will say that the most impressed I've ever been by Wilsons were the (original) WAMMs where the source was tape and the electronics were Doshi. It was an incredible experience!.

You must have heard that at Paragon

 

[mauidan]

"The new WAMM will consist of two main full-range array towers, with sub towers an optional upgrade with controllers. Compared to the original WAMM and the current Alexandria XLF, the new WAMM will have better performance and will be more massive as well as taller. It will also be more adaptable to various room sizes and acoustical environments due to the ability for micro-tuning in the time domain. Like the original WAMMs, the architecture as developed so far will allow for future upgrading." -http://www.audiosalon.com/brands/wil...dio/wamm-2015/​

 

[Ron Resnick]

For $800,000 or so I think the sub towers should be included. (So what if the sub towers are "optional"? Thors are "optional" on XLFs.)

 

[MadFloyd]

You must have heard that at Paragon

Close! Larry's house actually.

 

[Mobiusman]

think 'Corvette'........or maybe a better example is the '2017 Ford GT40'. it says something about the company.

the WAMM is a 'halo' product which keeps the brand relevant and in the buzz and the news. they want to stretch it out as long as possible. once they reveal all the details the effect starts to fade. i'll indulge them the tease and drama. 'what's good for Wilson Audio is good for the high end'. I think I heard someone say something like that before.

if you were a Wilson dealer you would want customers asking questions, getting on the email list, talking upgrades. and make no mistake, the dealers are the real Wilson customers.

maybe there will be new tech and maybe not.

personally I applaud the commitment it takes to do something like this and it can only bring more light to High End audio in the short term. and possibly more 'whales' will be attracted to this hobby instead of another Ferrari or investment art......it could boost revenues in the highest of the high end and cause a trickle down too......I do hope that the buyers of these speakers actually listen to them regularly and they are not in some seldom used room at one of their summer homes.

I totally agree with Mike because there is evidence that it is a great marketing strategy to create an unatainable product that most of us cannot possibly own or even imagine, to serve as the flagship of a desired line for most of us to aspire towards and then make us feel better when we can purchase some aspect of it. Porsche has used this technique for years with their race cars and has helped make Porsche the reference sports car for many decades and the dream of almost all car enthusiasts. Even though divorce forced me to sell my 911 more than a decade ago, I still think about it every time I see a 911 on the road.

Also, anyone who has tried to create their own magnum opus knows, it is incredibly exciting to develop and rewarding when the project reaches key milestones. So I commend David Wilson, even though I would not be a potential purchaser for the new WAMM because I do not own Wilsons.

On a strange note I would like to share a totally chance experience that you might find interesting. I was at a CES when the audio portion was still held at the Jockey Club, I believe January 1980. As I was was wandering the halls on the first day of the show, I saw a sign that said Wilson Audio Specialties, a company I had never heard of and walked inside to see the strangest speaker I had seen since the Soundlabs, Dayton Wrights or Joh Iverson's Force Fields (yes I saw and heard them). In this remarkably empty room stood a man I now know to be David Wilson, who was so gracious and excited to talk about his new baby, that we rapidly got engaged in his musical interests and his recording experiences, especially what he had to do the piano to record Ragtime Razzmatzz. Only then did we turn to this strange thing/speaker (The WAMM) looming over us. I understood some of its components, like the RTR arrays, the D'appolito configured low tweets/mids and of course the more conventional components and mammoth woofers, but he still took the time to explain in detail some of the many aspects I did not understand or comprehend. He has clearly so excited to play the speaker, but he was waiting for a particular person to arrive for the audition--Arnie Nudell, the designer of the then reigning king of audio the Infinity IRS (whatever version). When Nudell arrived, as luck would have it he sat next to me to occupy the other best seat in the room.

Then Wilson humbly and slightly nervously began the demo, using Roland components if my memory serves me right. It was instantly apparent that we were listening to something that transcended what us audiophiles considered the current pinnacle, namely the IRS's. It was huge, powerful, vibrant and totally without enclosure, something I thought only line arrays, planars and the Force Field could do.

I do not remember much more about the sound, because I became preoccupied by what was happening next to me, Arnie Nudell having a panic attack upon realizing the undeniably, that he was no longer the king of audio and that there was a new gunslinger in town. Being the gentleman he is and was then, David Wilson, having no doubt why Nudell was hyperventilating, was still so gracious and tried to compliment him and his many achievements, especially the IRS.

While Wilson Audio has more than any other company transformed high end audio, speaker design and speaker pricing since then, I totally applaud David Wilson's personal ethos as he choses to complete his dream by designing the new WAMM. Bravo Mr. Wilson. It is certainly not about the money as some naysayers might suggest.

 

[Folsom]

For $800,000 or so I think the sub towers should be included. (So what if the sub towers are "optional"? Thors are "optional" on XLFs.)

Well, they were not in Dave's listening room with sheets over them... Wilson has no fears about aggressive price scaling, clearly, since the cost to make vs. retail here is above and beyond all their other products by a good margin. Usually I believe most companies have costs that are hard to account for, but in this case, no. There's a privilege factor involved, no doubt.

 

[awsmone]

With the announced of the Yvette with the third iteration of their current soft dome, and same arguments about musicality versus technology it would seem highly probable that we will be seeing nothing new in the tweeter department.....just improved version?

 

[audioblazer]

so many rumors abound about the MSRP

I have heard $800K and only 100 pair to be made with the prospective buyers to come from previous Wilson owners

I guess we will know soon

Was told its USD380k

 

[Steve Williams]

Was told its USD380k

time will tell. There's a lot of stories out there being told

 

[analog brother]

that price sounds realistic, for what has been unveiled thus far.

 

[zbub]

Was told its USD380k

Wilson could/might offer two configurations of the new WAMM - either a pair of main speakers or 4 towers with subs. Based on Wilson's pricing strategy for Sasha/Alexia/Alexx/XLF, a pair of the main WAMM would retail 75 to 100% more than the model under, therefore 350k to 400k makes sense, and the new subs would add another 150k to 200k a pair...

Which begs the question of whether the main WAMM pair will sound better than XLF plus a pair of Thor for about the same price? Same could be asked if the XLF sounds better than ALEXX with a pair of Thor??? I personally believe the majority of WAMM purchases will be the 4 tower option.

 

[Ron Resnick]

. . . Same could be asked if the XLF sounds better than ALEXX with a pair of Thor??? . . .

+1

 

[microstrip]

. . . Same could be asked if the XLF sounds better than ALEXX with a pair of Thor??? . . .

+1

Yes. I have owned the Alexia and listened many times to the XLF. The XLF had greater midrange resolution and was much more nuanced than the Alexia. Better transients and detail. More lifelike. Although the Alexia is a great speaker, IMHO we can not compare them. The difference between the XLF and the Alexia is far greater than the difference between the Alexia and the Sasha II.

 

[Steve Williams]

I personally believe the majority of WAMM purchases will be the 4 tower option.

I agree

 

[mauidan]

 

[analog brother]

looks complicated

 

[MRJAZZ]

View attachment 29176

View attachment 29177

Looks like they might be using a 4 inch ScanSpeak Illuminater mid range below, and above the dual 7 inch drivers.
Cheers.....

 

[Folsom]

The R&D looks very fun, and painful for your toes possibly.

 

[FrantzM]

What about the WAMM details that were to be unveiled ??!!!????

A few drivers?