What do Wilson Benesch Speakers Sound like?

DevAAudio

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Wilson Benesch Loudspeakers.

https://www.devaaudio.com/blog/wilson-benesch-speakers-sound-like

I am so impressed with Wilson Benesch's mission statement and I find it relevant for all music lovers!

"Music is an art form. From sound to silence; a simple, single instrument, to a full orchestra, music is capable of transforming, uplifting and emotionally stirring us like perhaps no other art form. Music is a global language; it transcends age, ethnicity, culture and class. Music has been central to our culture since the dawn of man, spanning our evolution. It is capable of joining us to our ancestors, describing human development, documenting our progress and reflecting perhaps most faithfully the human condition according to time. In every sense it is a collaborative document of humanity that can be transformed, sampled, improvised and referenced according to the generation of the time.

Our mission is to enable access to this art form; revealing every detail, nuance and timbre of the recorded artist through the world’s ultimate, reference audio products. Through an iterative process of design, underpinned by highly ambitious research and development programs, Wilson Benesch puts you closer to the artist than ever before."

Mission Statement - Wilson Benesch loudspeakers

https://www.devaaudio.com/blog/wilson-benesch-speakers-sound-like
 

bzr

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Mar 30, 2013
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Accurate, fast, no bloat. World leaders in applying cutting edge material because of it's sonic attributes, half price of magico, haha...
 
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heihei

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Fast, accurate, no bloat is a pretty good starting place. Neutral is also a good one-word descriptor.

A few other thoughts.....

WB put a lot of thought / effort into mechanical crossovers. As such, despite typically being 3/4 - way speakers, the electrical crossovers are very simple. A couple of things result from this: (1) the speakers are easier to drive than their sensitivity would suggest, and (2) music feels like it flows from the speakers, rather than being forced. As such, they don't need to be driven "flat out" to sound good.
Another feature is the coherence across the frequency range despite the use of different materials across the drivers. As such, it's hard to hear the handoff across them as you can with some speakers. Their narrow profile also means they disappear pretty easily into the soundstage - I'm not an expert on panel speakers, but I suspect this is what some would refer to as being stat-like.

What don't they do well? The bass isn't the deepest or most impactfull, but it is fast, tight, and tuneful. The depth and impact is easily addressed by adding in WB's Torus subs, but not everyone wants to do this.

The above is based on hearing the Endeavour, ACT One Evolution, and Resolution (which I now own), plus a pair of Torus subs, at home. I also heard the Eminence at Munich this year.
 
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Sablon Audio

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I’ve owned my ACT for about a decade now and agree with the sentiment of the two posters above. From a domestic perspective (and many of us need to share a room with family members) the finish is excellent with glossy carbon fibre and walnut burl from the same supplier that Bentley use for their dashboards. The sound is competent across all technical parameters, with very good transparency courtesy of the directly driven midrange driver and expansive imaging. As Adam has mentioned, the bass doesn’t extend terribly low and I would say the treble is slightly recessed though I have since upgraded my tweeter cap to a Rike with silver duelund bypass to ameliorate this concern. Like many speakers, they benefit from a healthy dose of current to come to life though I do have quite a large room with a 13ft ceiling.
 

leyenda

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I think heihei nailed it. I had two long auditions of the ACT in the past. Back then, coming from stats, the ACT caught my attention for its coherence and unboxy sound. In the end, I wanted more dynamics and characters so did not end up with the ACT. The Chimera was also cut from the same cloth. Some time later I saw some updated models with added (Murata??) super tweeter but too bad did not have a chance to try.
 

Mosin

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Mar 11, 2012
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It is seldom that I even remember a room from an audio show, but back in 2009 (I think) Wilson Benesch was shown at RMAF with de Haviland's best electronics. The room was outstanding. Rarely am I impressed at a show, but that was one of those times.
 

Sonic Guild

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Mar 1, 2017
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Anyone can describe the difference in terms of sound signature between the “ported” Vector and “sealed” Resolution or any other sealed Wilson Benesch? Plz be descriptive as much as you can.
 

Sablon Audio

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If you get bored waiting for answers on what are relatively little known speakers, I can describe the sound of my rear ported ACT
 

Sablon Audio

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ACT is the classic 2.5 way floor standing model. Very open and coherent are the main attributes, with excellent midrange detail as that driver doesn’t have a crossover. The treble extension is a little reticent however I managed to fix that with a spikier sounding Rike S tweeter cap bypassed with Duelund silver.

As noted above in this thread, they do benefit from a fair bit of current to wake up but are in many ways lovely sounding speakers in a rather compact and beautifully finished box. I’ve had mine for about a decade now.
 
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Sonic Guild

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Mar 1, 2017
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ACT is the classic 2.5 way floor standing model. Very open and coherent are the main attributes, with excellent midrange detail as that driver doesn’t have a crossover. The treble extension is a little reticent however I managed to fix that with a spikier sounding Rike S tweeter cap bypassed with Duelund silver.

As noted above in this thread, they do benefit from a fair bit of current to wake up but are in many ways lovely sounding speakers in a rather compact and beautifully finished box. I’ve had mine for about a decade now.

What about ported vs sealed models?
 

heihei

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Jul 24, 2017
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Resolutions are not sealed - they are ported at the bottom. I don’t believe any of their designs are fully sealed - the square series has passive radiators for example.

The porting via base makes the slightly less sensitive to rear wall placement. I can’t think it makes much difference to the “house” sound as described above.
 

caesar

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Gentlemen, not trying to be the skunk in the garden, but virtually any experience (and audio is an experience), may be described with abstract language... But that description is meaningless...Talking about beach vacations, "it was warm, the sand felt great, the water was blue, and we all had a great time"... don't know if someone is sitting on a beach in Hawaii or near a stinky puddle somewhere after a hard day and enjoying himself.

In 6+ months this thread has gotten barely any traction because this speaker, which has been around longer than most brands, has not been marketed well and no one can communicate why anyone other than the people who happen to have heard it and like it should listen to it.

So someone please compare and contrast these British Wilsons with the well-marketed American Wilsons or Magicos or Focals, that most people have heard? That way we can make sense of what its virtues and faults really are.
 

Loheswaran

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Dec 19, 2014
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IMHO they are cut from the same cloth as Focals. Whenever I have heard them they are pretty cool, incisive, and analytical. They are beautifully made.

Whenever I hear the likes of Wilsons they are paired with Audio Research which I think are quire warm. I have heard Magico with either those 'golden sounding' DArtzeels (which couldn't drive them) or on Constellation (my dream amp).

Focals are now always demoed with Naim amps - very musically dynamic but too cool for me.

Ceaser -

For great big speakers that the OP is writing about, the need for WBF members to always compare like for like within their own system context is going to be nigh on impossible - it's not like switching cables, or a CD player.
 

DevAAudio

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Jul 25, 2018
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Thanks for all the comments so far in this thread...:)

I've been working on a personal review of the Wilson Benesch Geometry Series for a while now. I just published it on my blog if anyone would like to read it? As a relatively new audio dealer I feel so fortunate to be able to represent the line and strongly encourage people to make the effort to find a place to hear them in person!

https://www.devaaudio.com/blog/wilson-benesch-geometry-series

Cheers,
Deva

View attachment DSC_1379.jpg
 
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caesar

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Gentlemen, so here is where I’m going with this. High end audio is a subjective experience. There is no best. Best is only in people’s imagination of “real”. Unless one follows the herd, it’s nearly impossible for the consumer to make any sense of anything in a noisy, unpredictable, chaotic environment yet is the high end audio market. Most audiophiles are unhappy. In effect, the “best” is the best marketed.



The interesting thing about the British Wilsons is that they have been around a lot longer than most companies . Yet no one knows what they’re about.



To overcome this they need to simply state how they are different. What is the core idea of the British Wilson? What is the essence that makes them different?



And this concept has to be stated in the language normal people understand , not in abstract audiophile garbage that means nothing to nobody and everything to everyone (phrases such as clean bass, illuminated midrange, and big soundstage that reviewers recycle are completely worthless because they apply to anything).



This differentiating phrase also has to be concrete. Volvo = safety. BMW = ultimate driving performance. Fedex = overnight delivery. Southwest = the low fare airline.



With high end audio being a subjective experience, there is an alternative subjective interpretation to each marketing message. But as long is the core audience connects with the core message and finds it profoundly meaningful is all that matters.

Here are some successful audio companies:

Magico = no distortion (if you believe that. not credible to most of us, as we detect a strong , strong, strong, sonic signature );
YG= greatest speaker on earth (again, not credible but gets attention) ; spectral = best engineering (maybe so to the measurements guys, but is the epitome of sterile to the rest of us).

American Wilson = authentic “audiophile” experience- perfect execution of audiophile vocabulary;



Zu audio = convey emotion of normal, non-audiophile music ( many audiophiles find Zu “colored”)



But No one outside of a “handful” of people knows what this is for British Benesch wilson. So The British wilson needs to eliminate the uncertainty. Otherwise, people are paralyzed by choice and will buy the b&w, Magico, Wilson, or focal instead .



And they do - these are the most popular brands. Or they jump on something new that a reviewer likes and wants more of, and calls “BEST”.



A lot but of times the company is not able clearly define that core, so reviewers do that for them, often acting as their chief marketing officer.



Once the core brand message is clearly defined , it needs to be shared. The best way to do that is to compare and tie that to a concept people already know . In Hollywood, $100 plus million movies may be green - lighted based on simple analogy. Famous high-concept pitches : Speed is Die Hard in a bus; alien is jaws in a spaceship. By invoking mental schemas that exist, they can greatly accelerate the learning process for a new concept. If the British wilson can powerfully do this it may be very rewarding.



But they need a constant, multi-year effort for this. Valin has Magico as his reference and fremer has the American wilson as his reference. It’s constant reinforcement every time those guys write and compare to what they have and know. And these brands earn product of the year awards every year, on top of that - for even more publicity.



Not an easy journey. But better late than never. Good luck to British Wilsons!
 
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DevAAudio

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Jul 25, 2018
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"With high end audio being a subjective experience, there is an alternative subjective interpretation to each marketing message. But as long as the core audience connects with the core message and finds it profoundly meaningful is all that matters...." -caesar

Wilson Benesch = Pure Emotion

When you listen to a Wilson Benesch speaker it not only sounds good but it feels good. When a speaker can transform sound into a visceral experience through nuance, subtleties, textures, layers, sense of space, dynamics and ease then it is special. That's what Wilson Benesch does in my opinion. When setup properly they disappear and draw you into the music. Before you realize it you are lost in the music and if you close your eyes you find yourself almost in a state of meditation. Below are some of my customer's comments. It is telling that they chose words that explain emotion and feeling rather than just focusing on sound qualities :

"I was a little under the weather but listening to music on these systems revived my spirit."
"I will honestly remember this experience for the rest of my life."
"I'm more than impressed... I'm truly inspired."
"Your ears will hear new expressions and you will smile like you haven't smiled in a long time."

So I agree... marketing is important and getting a message out helps motivate people to put forth the effort to want to try and experience new products or brands they are not as familiar with. But ultimately it's about the listening experience and whether or not your system helps you connect with the music you love. In my opinion Wilson Benesch accomplishes that goal. There are not too many dealers in the USA. I am always happy to host a visit at devAAudio in the Kansas City region for those interested in experiencing the "British Wilsons!". If you love audio I think it will be a very memorable experience.

-Cheers,
Deva
 

Sonic Guild

Well-Known Member
Mar 1, 2017
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81
"With high end audio being a subjective experience, there is an alternative subjective interpretation to each marketing message. But as long as the core audience connects with the core message and finds it profoundly meaningful is all that matters...." -caesar

Wilson Benesch = Pure Emotion

When you listen to a Wilson Benesch speaker it not only sounds good but it feels good. When a speaker can transform sound into a visceral experience through nuance, subtleties, textures, layers, sense of space, dynamics and ease then it is special. That's what Wilson Benesch does in my opinion. When setup properly they disappear and draw you into the music. Before you realize it you are lost in the music and if you close your eyes you find yourself almost in a state of meditation. Below are some of my customer's comments. It is telling that they chose words that explain emotion and feeling rather than just focusing on sound qualities :

"I was a little under the weather but listening to music on these systems revived my spirit."
"I will honestly remember this experience for the rest of my life."
"I'm more than impressed... I'm truly inspired."
"Your ears will hear new expressions and you will smile like you haven't smiled in a long time."

So I agree... marketing is important and getting a message out helps motivate people to put forth the effort to want to try and experience new products or brands they are not as familiar with. But ultimately it's about the listening experience and whether or not your system helps you connect with the music you love. In my opinion Wilson Benesch accomplishes that goal. There are not too many dealers in the USA. I am always happy to host a visit at devAAudio in the Kansas City region for those interested in experiencing the "British Wilsons!". If you love audio I think it will be a very memorable experience.

-Cheers,
Deva

Thanks for the info about the WB speakers.
I am considering the ACT evo as an option for my current hunt of new pair of speakers.
But I am little hesitant because it has only one 7 inch bass driver. Which feels not justified at this price point. Should I be concerned about the dynamics, slam and how low it goes?
 
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