Say what you want about Wilson

[taters]

I read the recent thread about the XLF. The bottom line is the speakers will sell no matter what the measurement's read. Wilson customers are dedicated to the brand, Just like Mc Intosh or Audio Research. They have a built in clientele. That is why they are so successful.

 

[rockitman]

I read the recent thread about the XLF. The bottom line is the speakers will sell no matter what the measurement's read. Wilson customers are dedicated to the brand, Just like Mc Intosh or Audio Research. They have a built in clientele. That is why they are so successful.

Wilson fans are dedicated to the sound and music !

 

[Bruce B]

The Playback Designs units are selling despite their poor measurements. It's the best DSD I've ever heard!

 

[Elberoth]

I read the recent thread about the XLF. The bottom line is the speakers will sell no matter what the measurement's read. Wilson customers are dedicated to the brand, Just like Mc Intosh or Audio Research. They have a built in clientele. That is why they are so successful.

This is a false reasoning. Ppl buy the Wilsons because they sound GOOD. Before I got my Wilson Sasha, my listening room graced Avalon Eidolon Vision, Audiostatic and Quad electrostatic speakers and many others. Then I tried Wilsons, and to my surprise, I discovered that they sound better than the other speakers I tried. So they stayed.

Stating that they measure bad is also false, on many levels. IMO thay measure just avg - there are some speakers that seem to have flatter freq response, but there are also many competing speakers that measure worse. From my experience, optimising speaker just for the flat FR, is a great recipe for sonic disaster.

With the help of computers, you can engineer a speaker to have a flat or nearly flat FR in a matter of hours.

 

[microstrip]

I read the recent thread about the XLF. The bottom line is the speakers will sell no matter what the measurement's read. Wilson customers are dedicated to the brand, Just like Mc Intosh or Audio Research. They have a built in clientele. That is why they are so successful.

Anyone is free to read and interpret a thread like he wants. But for many people the bottom line is where we write a conclusion, a summary of our findings. IMHO you are presenting your interpretation, that in no way summarizes or expresses what the majority of the participants wrote. Your explanation of Wilson success ignores the most significant aspect - they have developed, manufactured and distributed products that sound excellent since long time. Surely the dedication to quality, the promotion and the excellent dealer network helps to create a clientele, but sound quality is the key parameter.

 

[microstrip]

The Playback Designs units are selling despite their poor measurements. It's the best DSD I've ever heard!

Bruce,
I was not aware of the poor measurements. I really have to try it in DSD mode!

 

[andromedaaudio]

For the record here , does anybody know who was the first manufacturer to produce resin based cabinets for loudspeakers, was that dave wilson ??
Just curious , im just since 10 years involved in this high end thing .

 

[Elberoth]

I think Goldmund was using metaacrylic as early as in the mid-80s. They also pioneered the aluminum cabinets.

 

[Elberoth]

I found this interesting comment on another forum:

Goldmund has been on the leading edge of speaker design throughout its history. The Goldmund Dialogue in 1981 was made of cast granite powder loaded methyl methacrylate, the forerunner of many of the high tech synthetic materials used in cabinets today. They started making aluminum based enclosures in the mid 90s, well before others discovered the advantages. There are many other things but enclosures are the easiest to see.

Disclaimer: I ran Goldmund's US arm (International Audio Technologies) from 1986 through 1993.

 

[Bruce B]

I found this interesting comment on another forum:

powder loaded methyl methacrylate

Dentures!!

 

[microstrip]

I think Goldmund was using metaacrylic as early as in the mid-80s. They also pioneered the aluminum cabinets.

Elberoth,

You were faster than me. I was thinking about the old Dialogue's. The Goldmund Dialogue in 1981 was made of cast granite powder loaded methyl methacrylate.See this post of Bill in Audioaficonado:

http://www.audioaficionado.org/mbl-dcs-goldmund-etc/18058-goldmund-video.html#post415227

 

[andromedaaudio]

Thanks interesting , the epilogue is now a mixture of steel and aluminium

 

[A.wayne]

For the record here , does anybody know who was the first manufacturer to produce resin based cabinets for loudspeakers, was that dave wilson ??
Just curious , im just since 10 years involved in this high end thing .

Nothing new all was tried in the early 80's if not earlier. The issue for me back then was how unnatural it all sounded compared to wood, even marble was tried ...

My first all acrylic TT , 1976 ...

 

[microstrip]

Thanks interesting , the epilogue is now a mixture of steel and aluminium

You are forgetting brass. It is mandatory in Goldmund mechanical designs - it is needed to damp the steel resonances.

 

[DonH50]

Brass is fundamental -- what does that mean? Brass is an alloy found in numerous varieties... Fundamental as in required?

I have not heard Wilson's in a while but always thought they sounded pretty good. I never thought they were astoundingly better in sound or measurements than some others, but have always represented one of the SOTA speakers out there.

 

[Gregadd]

Invite me to say what I want about Wilson and here is what I come up with. Despite mounting rather mundane drivers in rather mundane enclosure at ever increasing prices Wilson maintains the loyalty of his customers and is the darling of the audio press. Customers have no trouble substituting his previous perfect speaker for the latest. Price never seems to be a problem and the audio press never tires of presenting him with awrds
An enviable market position that must keep Alon Wolf awake at night.

 

[microstrip]

Brass is fundamental -- what does that mean? Brass is an alloy found in numerous varieties... Fundamental as in required? (...)

Don,
Thanks for spotting my wrong use of the word - just edited it. Goldmund mechanical ground and use of brass to dissipate resonances were a common subject in hifi magazines in the 80's.

 

[rockitman]

Invite me to say what I want about Wilson and here is what I come up with. Despite mounting rather mundane drivers in rather mundane enclosure at ever increasing prices Wilson maintains the loyalty of his customers and is the darling of the audio press. Customers have no trouble substituting his previous perfect speaker for the latest. Price never seems to be a problem and the audio press never tires of presenting him with awrds
An enviable market position that must keep Alon Wolf awake at night.

I also think they also keep non wilson owners awake at night too...Not sure how you can describe any wilson speaker as mundane. Thanks for the laugh. Cheers !

 

[Gregadd]

Christian I've seen a lot of Dave Wilson videos. He constantly defends his decision to reject exotic tweeters. The silk dome tweeter is a classic design. That's what I mean by mundane.

I would post the video. But they are omnipresent.

 

[flez007]

It is no secret that I am not a Wilson fan, but couriously I have always liked their sound amd shows, friend's systems and particullary during my las visit to Stereo Design in San Diego (Maxx2/Boulder setup) - I admire their manufactuing process and marketing, I have been very close to buy a pair more than one time (Duetto, WP7 and Sophia 2) but ended up deciding not to.