Wilson Audio Chronosonic XVX First Impressions

I just spent over six hours today listening to my friend's new Wilson Audio Chronosonic XVX loudspeakers. Consistent with being blown away by the Master Chronosonic + Master Subsonic system at Maier Shadi's demo in Santa Monica, and consistent with a couple of reports by people who auditioned at Maier's both the Master Chronosonic and later the XVX and preferred the XVX, I am here to report officially that I think the XVX is now my favorite conventional cone driver speaker system. I think I prefer the XVX even to my longtime favorite dynamic driver loudspeaker, the mighty Rockport Arrakis.

Prior to the XVX, my friend had the Alexx. The height alone of the XVX over the Alexx affords the system the height and scale and grandeur I always notice and appreciate from very tall loudspeakers.

I don't know why the XVX is an order of magnitude better -- next level better -- than the Alexx. But I am certain that it is.

I think the XVX is the first dynamic driver speaker of which I was very aware that you can hear seemingly almost everything at fairly low listening volumes. It doesn't need to be played loudly to be heard comfortably.

In much the same way that people like to applaud their digital playback systems by saying "it sounds like analog," dynamic driver loudspeaker aficionados like to say their cone speakers have "electrostatic-like transparency." Believe me, if most dynamic driver speakers had "electrostatic-like transparency" we would not need electrostatic speakers.

As somebody who loves electrostatic speakers I have always been aware that speakers of other topologies are one or two steps less transparent than electrostatic speakers. I feel like the XVX truly has "electrostatic-like transparency" -- at least credibly so, and more so than any other cone speaker I've ever heard.

Just like I felt about the Master Chronosonic the XVX gives one the sense of unlimited dynamic capability. There is a limitlessness and an effortlessness to the sound that I do not hear from other box speakers. Other heroically inert box speakers sound tightly wrapped or button-downed by comparison -- like some portion of the sound is trapped in the box and having trouble freeing itself. The XVX sounds open somehow -- a sonic presentation I associate with planar speakers, not with big box speakers.

I know, I know, I know. I am thinking and saying the same things you are: these are meaningless statements as you can't compare loudspeakers in different systems from fault-prone memory; you will never be able to hear an XVX versus a Rockport Arrakis, or an XVX versus a VSA Ultra 11, in the same room with the same associated components at the same time, etc., etc. I know, and I agree with you.

All I am saying is that if you put a gun to my head and told me I had to buy a dynamic driver loudspeaker system for my personal system and cost was not a factor. . . I would say take the gun away from my head. Then I would tell you I will order XVX + Master Subsonics.

Without intending to be coy, I couch this is terms of "the XVX is the box speaker I would I buy if I had to buy a box speaker for myself" rather than "the XVX is the best box speaker I've ever heard," because I cannot hear the Von Schweikert Audio Ultra 11 and the Evolution Acoustics MM7 and the Rockport Arrakis and the YG XV in the same room in the same system as the XVX + Subsonics. So it just does not make any sense to declare, and it is analytically defective to declare, that the XVX is the best speaker I have ever heard.

My view that if I had to buy a box speaker I would buy the XVX + Subsonics is a combination of what I heard from the XVX, what I vaguely remember from hearing these other other speakers in other systems, and my slight prejudice against ceramic drivers which I would be worried I might find uncomfortable over a long period of time. (I would worry the same about beryllium drivers and about diamond encrusted drivers.)

I have owned only planar loudspeakers my entire life. I literally couldn't bear to listen to Wilson Audio speakers with metal dome tweeters. I have never been a big fan of Wilson Audio speakers in general. But I thought I heard magic from Maier's demo of the Master Chronosonic, and my experience today proves that that inkling was correct.

I don't know how or what Daryl Wilson did to achieve it, but I am reporting that to my ears the XVX is a very, very special speaker. It is a stunning achievement in dynamic driver loudspeaker design specifically, and in loudspeaker design in general.

PS: Assuming they physically fit in Michael Fremer's listening room, I have no doubt that Michael will upgrade his Alexx to XVX. He might go in not wanting to upgrade, but after hearing these there is no way he's going to be happy without the XVX.

Wilson-XVX.jpg
 
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I would agree that as a rule, subs are not ideal when placed behind the mains. but there is no guarantee that placing them in front is necessarily best. There are many factors to consider. Are the subs and mains the same brand and if so, it is assumed the manufacturer can make an optimal recommendation based on the system design and listening distance from the speaker. Ideally they can use impulse response and laser measurements to confirm equal arrival time at the listening position . If the brands between subs and mains are different, all bets are off. This is compounded if the amps are different and have different group delays. A good starting point is to keep the subs and main drivers in the same plane to begin, and then experiment. It may be that the best placement (i.e. equal arrival time for subs and mains) is a bit behind, a bit forward, or in the same plane. In my experience with a myriad of systems, there is no way to know this a priori. With dsp and impulse measurements, it's pretty straight forward to optimize. In analog systems, impulse measurements using the crossover frequency can still be used and are most likely the gold standard but even then, subjective sonic refinements can be very useful to dial things in to your liking.

I must say that most people can't get two speakers in a room to work and a 4 box speaker system is much more difficult to get right.
 
I have had many big panels but the physics of crossovers, phase and group delay aren’t really different.

Physics of panels is very different from box speakers - the consequences in crossover design , phase and group delay are extreme. Even panels can be very different - the ESL63 is a true enginious point source and the Soundlab A1 mylar is uniformly driven full range.
 
Can't we assume that someone from Wilson personally set up these WAMM's? Are you saying the set up is incorrect?

The person who did the initial set up was trained by and contracted by Wilson to set them up. I am saying that I do not know the set ups. The only pictures I saw were speakers in the very early stages of set up. I try not to comment on the sound of something I have not heard. It's not very productive.

The one comment made about the sound made me question resistors. It was my reaction to the word used. Sometimes people with very large amps tend to break in speakers continuously at higher than sensible levels over days at a time. When done, this can damage the resistors on the back panel - they still pass signal but the sound is quite compromised. The fix is simply to replace them with a fresh set.
 
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I must say that most people can't get two speakers in a room to work and a 4 box speaker system is much more difficult to get right.

Unless that 4 box system is made by the same manufacturer, it's not just difficult, but essentially impossible, at least without some compromise somewhere. The issue is whether you can ultimately align everything to get to an overall sonically favorable result. In most situations, this is a classic "perfect is the enemy of good" scenario. Although perfect may not be achievable, good can be very good indeed.
 
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I'm wondering how much good sound you can with those bare stone floor surfaces.

Forget about it. These extremely large rooms in old buildings with high ceilings, plenty of wood ornaments and plaster, filled with cushioned sofas can not be analyzed from the small room audiophile acoustics perspective. I have a friend with such a room and envy it!
 
I so want to participate in some of these threads but not sure how to without being looked down on because I am a manufacturer. We have good topics here and many people with different experiences.
 
Physics of panels is very different from box speakers - the consequences in crossover design , phase and group delay are extreme. Even panels can be very different - the ESL63 is a true enginious point source and the Soundlab A1 mylar is uniformly driven full range.
Lol you don’t even get what I am talking about...:rolleyes:
 
Unless that 4 box system is made by the same manufacturer, it's not just difficult, but essentially impossible, at least without some compromise somewhere. The issue is whether you can ultimately align everything to get to an overall sonically favorable result. In most situations, this is a classic "perfect is the enemy of good" scenario. Although perfect may not be achievable, good can be very good indeed.
even if it is a total product from one place it is still very difficult to set up. This is just an experienced observation. Its just plain hard and takes a lot of time and effort and in some rooms will never work. I'm not saying it can't be done but it does really require MORE MORE MORE
 
David,

Please tell all these people that I will happily exchange my pair of musical Lamm ML3's and the LL1 for a pair WAMM's , even considering they are hard to amplify according to yours and their preferences... :)
Some of these guys spent that much on a couple of power cords but since they've been Ching Cheng'd perhaps you have a shot at getting their cords.:)!

david
 
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Come on Bill you know everything on the internet is true!!!!!!!! LMAO
I'm sure there would be a lot less skepticism had I creamed myself in the presence of such might systems instead of coming out and saying that they were dead and boring.;)

david
 
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The “Transformer” look of the Wilson’s certainly adds nothing to the gestalt of that beautiful chateau. No WAF applied there. Then again, is there any high-end speaker that would look good in that room? Maybe something like an Alsyvox panel or Sonus Faber would get closer? (Off topic a bit I know.)
 
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The “Transformer” look of the Wilson’s certainly adds nothing to the gestalt of that beautiful chateau. No WAF applied there. Then again, is there any high-end speaker that would look good in that room? Maybe something like an Alsyvox panel or Sonus Faber would get closer? (Off topic a bit I know.)

We can't have everything. Surely a small orchestra playing chamber music would look much better in this decor. But they are nicely color matched to the room ...

I find every speaker very intrusive in a living room. Normally they must be placed exactly where they visually disturb the room. Stereo is an horrible standard in this aspect, multichannel allows us to disguise speakers much better. An work of art must be unique and fill a defined space, but unfortunately we always get speakers in pairs. :rolleyes: IMHO even the beautiful Sonus Faber Guarneri Homage's loose most of their beauty when placed in the room.
 
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