Which Wilson speakers released within the last 10 years are SET friendly (20W)?

[sheppard]

Wilson speakers have a reputation for being difficult to drive.

The amplifiers often paired with them are high-powered and mostly solid state (D'Agostino, ARC, Doshi, VTL, Boulder, McIntosh, Naim, Bryston, Ayre, Constellation, Mytek, Aesthetix, T+A, Moon, DarTzeel, Soulution, CH Precision, Krell, Mark Levinson, Rowland, Pass), with Lamm being the exception.
https://www.whatsbestforum.com/thre...-what-others-are-favorites.23617/#post-465407

Which, if any, of the speaker models they've released in the past 10 years would be a reasonable match for SET amplifiers in the 20W range? I know that Steve for example uses the Lamm ML3 with his Wilson Alexandria X2, but are there others in their lineup that could work in a typical living room (15' x 20')?

Summary of responses for SET friendly Wilson speakers (or Lamm SET anyways):
MAXX 3
3.4 ohm minimum impedance around 25 Hz
89.6 dB sensitivity
https://www.stereophile.com/content/wilson-audio-specialties-maxx-series-3-loudspeaker-measurements

X1 Grand Slamm
4.6 ohm impedance at 80Hz
95 dB sensitivity
https://www.stereophile.com/content...-1grand-slamm-loudspeaker-system-measurements

X2 Series II
3.5 ohm minimum impedance from 700 Hz to 1000 Hz
95 dB sensitivity

 

[microstrip]

IMHO unfortunately no. Although they have good efficiency, Wilson speakers have low impedance and are not good matches with SETs that have high output impedance.

Electrically their best speaker for SET was the Grand Slamm - high efficiency and adequate impedance.

 

[LL21]

Yes, agree with Micro who is far more knowledgeable than I. I have the original X1/Grand Slamm and still keep the reviews, tests and articles. I think it is about 95db efficient a fairly stable load at roughly 6ohms overall other than a 3ohm dip somewhere in the 17khz range from memory...and other elements that are typically measured apparently were fairly benign. Nevertheless, even the Grand Slamm loves high quality power and will do great things with it.

However, it certainly was not made within the last 10 years. That said, there are a number of them in great condition in circulation.

 

[tima]

Vladimir Lamm has shown his SETS with MAXX 3s. 4 Ohms, 90db. Still, Wilson's can belie their specs.

 

[steve williams]

Wilson speakers are an easy load to drive with SET but not all Wilson. I’ve been using X2 Series ll Alexandria with Lamm ML 3 SET and before that I used the ML 2.1 with the same speakers.

 

[sheppard]

Thanks for the responses. I'll update my original post as responses come in.

So at least as far as Lamm SET goes, the following speakers are reasonable partners:
X1 Grand Slamm
X2 Series II
MAXX 3

 

[microstrip]

Vladimir Lamm has shown his SETS with MAXX 3s. 4 Ohms, 90db. Still, Wilson's can belie their specs.

There are very different opinions on the use of MAXX3 with LAMM SETs. I have owned both, but not at the same time and I would advise anyone to be very prudent with such choice. Stereophile measured 3.4 ohm minimum around 25 Hz and 89.6 dB, IMHO it s not SET adequate. The X2 has similar impedance: 4.2 ohm in the bass, 3.5 in the 700 - 1000 Hz, but adds 4 dB to the sensitivity - a much better match IMHO.

 

[sheppard]

If I expand the range to Wilson speakers released within the last 15 years, would that add any more models for consideration?

For example, the more recent Watt/Puppy 8 is 92dB, though with a minimum impedance of 2.2 ohm at 77Hz. I believe Lamm exhibited the ML2.1 with the Watt/Puppy 8 in the past.
https://www.stereophile.com/content...s-wattpuppy-system-8-loudspeaker-measurements

I understand that phase angle matters as well but I'm still learning about it and don't have any intuition on how to interpret those phase angle graphs.

 

[tima]

There are very different opinions on the use of MAXX3 with LAMM SETs. I have owned both, but not at the same time and I would advise anyone to be very prudent with such choice. Stereophile measured 3.4 ohm minimum around 25 Hz and 89.6 dB, IMHO it s not SET adequate. The X2 has similar impedance: 4.2 ohm in the bass, 3.5 in the 700 - 1000 Hz, but adds 4 dB to the sensitivity - a much better match IMHO.

Perhaps. Wilson's are easier to drive than the numbers alone may imply. You and Mr. Lamm may disagree about what works well with his products.