My Wilson Journey...

slowGEEZR

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Sep 20, 2010
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Steve asked me to post some photos of my setup and talk a little about how I got to where I am in my Wilson journey. So, now that I've gotten off my easy chair and taken some photos, I might as well begin.

The first time I heard Wilson's was at a dealership near Washington DC, back in 2005 or 2006. I thought they were jammin' but never thought twice about owning them, as I thought they were pricey and I wouldn't get the boss's approval. Here we are, along with our cats upon our first Wilson encounter.
http://slowgeezr.smugmug.com/Music/Audio/i-qrNqGm4/0/XL/576103_10151282601759447_922058696_n-XL.jpg

But, I got a little ahead of myself, let me start over...
I have always enjoyed music and can still remember standing with the guys, waiting for the school bus back in '63, listening to the girls giggling over the new fab four from England. Being the musical snob I have always wanted to be, I blurted out one of my first of many ill thought out predictions. I said, “Yeah, they're ok, but they'll never replace Elvis!”. I then held up my mighty “6 transistor” radio (no lousy 2 or 3 transistor radio for me) and blasted an Elvis tune to drown out their Beatles song. The guys and I got a big kick out of that.

I guess I've always been an audiophile in the making. I blame my Dad, as he always had big band music playing at healthy volumes in our home. I remember him teaching me how to use the tonearm on his Dual turntable (1019?) correctly and how to wind the tape on his Akai reel to reel and listening to the music flowing via the Scott amps and Bozak speakers. No Victrola in a box in our house! I knew that someday, I'd have a great home system, too. The Vietnam War came along and I joined the Air Force and was (fortunately) sent to Okinawa. I bought a Pioneer surround amp, four Pioneer 901 speakers (15 inch woofers!) and other gear. Then, one day I heard Bose 901's and bought those, too. My journey had really begun. That is, until I discovered that I really enjoyed riding motorcycles on the race track! For the next twenty years or so, my true hobby was motorcycling and audio took a back seat. Eventually, I returned to audio after hearing some Martin Logans. I purchased some Aereus (Aerei for plural?) and was quite happy until I heard those dang Wilsons!

Fast forward to retirement and moving to the Austin, Texas area. I met Casey, of ne plus ultra, via a Porsche Club of America buddy. This friend owned Wilson WP7's and I thought they sounded fantastic. Casey made me a deal I couldn't refuse on some WP8's and I have been smitten with their qualities ever since. To me, they sound like real music, real life, not “prettyfied” like some other brands. I listen to live music weekly and I think Wilson's sound more like true life than other brands. One thing I have noticed is that the WP8's improve with every improvement I've made to my system. I am still somewhat stunned by how their character changed for the better when my Ayre QB-9 was upgraded to DSD status. I have been able to clearly hear changes brought about by different cabling, too. They respond very well to room treatments and clearly let me know when I had too many bass traps! I have used tube amps and transistor amps, but my favorites so far are my Pass Labs amps. Ok, enough jibber jabber, here are some photos.

As you walk up the stairs to my media room, this is the view.
http://slowgeezr.smugmug.com/Music/My-Audio-System/i-BkWHnTd/0/X2/DSC01900-X2.jpg
All of the treatments are GIK. I got the front center wall treatments at RMAF when the guy from GIK yelled out into the room, that the first $150 gets them. The room is 15.5 ft X14.5 ft, so there is not a lot of space. It does open into a hallway and a bathroom, so I get good bass.


This pic shows the seating area. Cheap, but comfy. The bass traps are GIK.
http://slowgeezr.smugmug.com/Music/My-Audio-System/i-73ML373/0/X2/DSC01903-X2.jpg

A couple of posters from my favorite Austin band, the South Austin Moonlighters.
http://slowgeezr.smugmug.com/Music/My-Audio-System/i-KrLD6CT/0/X2/DSC01891-X2.jpg

I control the digital side with the iPad and iPod. Recommend this album, BTW.
http://slowgeezr.smugmug.com/Music/My-Audio-System/i-qRc4pmH/0/X2/DSC01890-X2.jpg

A look towards the equipment rack. The 4 terabyte external drive sits behind the Ayre and is the only thing I can hear from the listening seat. When it is putting music into RAM, I can hear it spooling up. This lasts about ten seconds until the music starts and is user definable, that is, I can define how large the memory cache can be.
http://slowgeezr.smugmug.com/Music/My-Audio-System/i-wHkk3h7/0/X2/DSC01894-X2.jpg

XP – 20...
http://slowgeezr.smugmug.com/Music/My-Audio-System/i-xpdQLRn/0/X2/DSC01895-X2.jpg

Ayre, Mac Mini, PPP...
http://slowgeezr.smugmug.com/Music/My-Audio-System/i-cvQ4dSs/0/X2/DSC01896-X2.jpg

TTW Gem II Copper...
http://slowgeezr.smugmug.com/Music/My-Audio-System/i-BhhMpFv/0/X2/DSC01897-X2.jpg

One more look at that copper platter...
http://slowgeezr.smugmug.com/Music/My-Audio-System/i-Hgwrxt3/0/X2/DSC01899-X2.jpg

BAT VK-P5 and disconnected Scout...
http://slowgeezr.smugmug.com/Music/My-Audio-System/i-mKwjzGd/0/XL/DSC01898-XL.jpg

One of the XA100.5's on SRA platform...
http://slowgeezr.smugmug.com/Music/My-Audio-System/i-zTkXdZz/0/X2/DSC01901-X2.jpg

I keep my vinyl and CD's, etc in the adjacent bedroom...
http://slowgeezr.smugmug.com/Music/My-Audio-System/i-QrPHWDQ/0/XL/DSC01906-XL.jpg
http://slowgeezr.smugmug.com/Music/My-Audio-System/i-7t78CmV/0/X2/DSC01907-X2.jpg
http://slowgeezr.smugmug.com/Music/My-Audio-System/i-GQdHPNG/0/XL/DSC01905-XL.jpg

My fabulous Wilson Audio Watt Puppy 8's!..
http://slowgeezr.smugmug.com/Music/My-Audio-System/i-XBvwXpv/0/XL/DSC01902-XL.jpg
http://slowgeezr.smugmug.com/Music/My-Audio-System/i-GdRVBjK/0/X2/DSC01893-X2.jpg

An older picture, showing the color better...
http://slowgeezr.smugmug.com/Music/Audio/i-x79NFBw/0/XL/DSC01651-XL.jpg

So, that about does it. I've got tons of photos of old gear and such and will be happy to answer any questions. See you at RMAF!
 

LL21

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Dec 26, 2010
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Great read! Great speakers...the 8s are my favorite of the Watts. What cables are you using? I am curious about both your signal and power cables.
 

slowGEEZR

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Sep 20, 2010
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Great read! Great speakers...the 8s are my favorite of the Watts. What cables are you using? I am curious about both your signal and power cables.

Thanks. My cables are nothing special price wise, but after listening to many different cables they are what I have settled on for a while. I'm using some twenty year old silver audioquest balanced interconnects from my DAC to the preamp. I bought them from a friend after comparing them to much more expensive interconnects, which they soundly (pun intended) beat. The rest of the balanced interconnects are all Mogami microphone cable. I tried some $20K interconnects to my amps and they were better, but I wouldn't spend that much for the difference in sound. I got a much better return by upgrading the DAC! I absolutely love my speaker cables and would compare them to anything I've heard. They are made by Douglas Cables, here in Austin. The build quality is also as good as anything I've seen. The power cables I will probably upgrade when I get around to it. I'm currently using very inexpensive Pangea power cables. I did hear an improvement when I swapped in some $6k power cables to the amps, but not $6k worth! I am interested in possibly going to an all Shunyata power cable system in the future. My tonearm cable is a DIN type made by Steve Huang in Toronto. I have sent them back to him to get them fully shielded, as my BAT requires shielded cables. I had forgotten that when I originally purchased the cables. With my VPI Scout, I used shielded Straightwire Maestro II's and recommend that interconnect for RCA connections.
 

LL21

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Great stuff, Slowgeezer, Thanks for that.
 

jfrech

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Some awesome photography too ! Didn't realize you live close by, I'm in Dripping Springs....

I used to own WP8's also...really awesome speaker, and I know Casey @ Ne Plus Ultra does a incredible set up and dial in...congrats and what a great story

Love the cat pics :)
 

rsorren1

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Sep 6, 2013
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Steve, thanks for sharing. Great pictures and beautiful room / set-up. I previously owned W/P8 in that color! Another Austin-ite! You have quite a few WBF members your way whose systems I've heard and yield spectacular results: JFRECH, GSHELLY, BABYBEAR.
 

LL21

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Dec 26, 2010
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Steve, thanks for sharing. Great pictures and beautiful room / set-up. I previously owned W/P8 in that color! Another Austin-ite! You have quite a few WBF members your way whose systems I've heard and yield spectacular results: JFRECH, GSHELLY, BABYBEAR.

TX has more than a few serious audiophiles...there is also Albert Porter who is still finetuning his system having gotten Grande Utopia EMs and a whole slew of Stillpoints, PAD and Allnic toys...
 

slowGEEZR

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Sep 20, 2010
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Some awesome photography too ! Didn't realize you live close by, I'm in Dripping Springs....

I used to own WP8's also...really awesome speaker, and I know Casey @ Ne Plus Ultra does a incredible set up and dial in...congrats and what a great story

Love the cat pics :)

Thanks John! You may not remember, but I visited your place with Lenny, back when you had the Maxx 3's. I absolutely loved your system then and bet it must be incredible now! Yeah, Casey did a wonderful setup for me and is a genuinely good guy.
 

slowGEEZR

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Sep 20, 2010
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Colorado Springs, CO
Steve, thanks for sharing. Great pictures and beautiful room / set-up. I previously owned W/P8 in that color! Another Austin-ite! You have quite a few WBF members your way whose systems I've heard and yield spectacular results: JFRECH, GSHELLY, BABYBEAR.

Thanks, rsorren1! Yeah, I've heard John's Wilson system, (though not his Rockports!) Gayles Alexandria's and Arnies' Rockports Arrakis. Killer systems all! Gayle and Arnie have been to my home a few times, too, though not John, yet. We have quite a few audio guys here and I regularly get together with many of them, as we alternate holding audio meets to listen and BS!
 

slowGEEZR

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Sep 20, 2010
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TX has more than a few serious audiophiles...there is also Albert Porter who is still finetuning his system having gotten Grande Utopia EMs and a whole slew of Stillpoints, PAD and Allnic toys...

You got that right and a lot are in the Austin area. I've got three friends, who live nearby, that built their own systems and they are outstanding! One buddy designed and built his own DAC, preamp, amps and speakers, while another built his amp and speakers from someone else's design, while the other one designed and built his own pre, amp and phono pre! Other friends have various speaker brands, Wilson, Usher, Martin Logan, etc.
 

sbo6

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Nice system, slowGEEZR. Maybe sometime I can come over for a listen? :)
 

MadFloyd

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Great thread and beautiful pics, thanks for sharing!
 

slowGEEZR

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Sep 20, 2010
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I thought I'd update my Wilson journey. I still have the WP8s, as the sound has improved with every update I've made! Here is my current setup with pictures and descriptions. I'll be happy to answer any questions.


  • GEAR: Wilson Audio Watt Puppy 8 speakers with upgraded Carmen Red paint. They are using the IsoAcoustics Gaia I isolation feet. SVS SB 4000 subs. The subs are sitting on IsoAcoustics Aperta Sub XL stands. Turntables: Currently only using the Luxman PD 191A with its 10" LTA-710 tonearm. This tonearm is a joint development of Luxman and SAEC. I am awaiting a new stand and phono amp for my main turntable, a modified by me TTW GEM V2. It has a 42lb copper platter and a heavily modified Jelco 750 tonearm. The tonearm cable is a DIN type made by Steve Huang. I will place this table and its rack and phono pre against the wall to the left of the seating position. The phono cartridge currently in use by the Luxman is an Ortofon Cadenza Bronze. Various other cartridges include: Hana SL and Hana ML, Clearaudio Virtuoso, Soundsmith The Voice. I also have ten different headshells, which I rotate from time to time. The phono amp is the BAT VK-P5, which is sitting on IsoAcoustics Orea Series isolation feet. The corresponding SUT is by K&K, who by the way, has retired. The preamp is the Pass Labs XP-20 with the Tubulus umbilical replacing the standard connection to its power supply. Quite an upgrade. The power amps are Pass Labs XA 100.5 mono blocs. They have proven to be excellent with the Wilsons, IMO. Digital: Innuos ZENith mk3 Server/Streamer, with 4 TB SSD storage. Innuos Phoenix USB Reclocker. Ayre QB-9 Twenty DAC also sits on IsoAcoustics Orea series isolation feet. Sansui TU - 919 Tuner. All gear except powered subs and the mono blocs are connected to the PS Audio Power Plant Premier. The amps are connected to a PS Audio Duet Power Center, which has a Shunyata Power Defender plugged in. There is another Shunyata Power Defender (left channel) and a PS Audio Noise Harvester (right channel) plugged into the corresponding power outlets to my subs. Most of the gear rests on Adona AV45 racks, while the amplifiers are on SRA platforms.

    Cables: Speaker cables are MG Audio Designs Planus III foil cables. I have tried five different speaker cables with my Wilsons and these are by far the best sounding, to me. All interconnects are Mogami Neglex 2534 Microphone cable except: Audioquest silver cable from preamp to amps, Straightwire Maestro from SUT to phono pre. The turntable has its own cable to the SUT. I use Morrow SUB 4 cables to the subs, Morrow Audio Reference USB cables (2) and RW System CAT 6 ethernet cable. I also have two Morrow Audio Ethernet CAT8 cables on the ready for when I add the Innous Phoenix Net to the system. The power cables on the subs are regular cables and the power cables on the mono blocs and Power Center are all Essential Sound Products Gerald Veasley Signature Music Cord Pro cables. I use a Shunyata Anaconda Helix Alpha power cord to the preamp.

    Room: The room is 19'6" wide x 30'10" long x 8'6" high. There is an additional 3'2" that extends past the left side of the rear of the bar. One of the rooms back there is my record room. The Wilson's tweeters are 62" from the front wall, 58 and 3/4" from the side walls and 163" from ear position sitting up and 165" when reclining. Ear normal sitting height is 1 inch above tweeter and reclining is 1 inch below.

    Acoustic Treatments: Dead center on the front wall are two 4' x 8' Poly diffusers that I made. I used two sheets of 1/8 inch Peg board. I used T-Slot framing rails and 1" x 3" x 8' boards to screw the peg boards into after inserting into slots on the T-Slot rails. To get the boards to sit perfectly together, I used twisted wire to crimp them together. 36 joins were needed, but the end result was a perfect fit, no over or under hang! Then covered. On each side of that diffuser are four 1" thick GIK Wood Slot Acoustic Panels. Due to soffit, some cutting was required. In the front corners are two GIK Tri Trap Corner Bass Traps. I have two more of them, plus two GIK Soffit bass traps, but they are not required in this room. I'm currently running the subs at -11db! Atop the corner traps are home made diffusors, made by a very good friend of mine. The white diffusors, are twelve Auralex T'Fusor Diffusers. Next are the four GIK 2A Alpha Pro Series 2" Panel Diffuser/Absorbers. Moving towards the rear of the room is one GIK 242 acoustic panel, to absorb any reflection off of the wall by the exit double doors. In the rear of the room are some home made slap echo diffusers, which eliminated the barely perceptible slap echo in this large room. There is also one above the 242. These were also made by my friend. I currently have installed four GIK 242 acoustic panels on the ceiling. Oh, I also intermittently use another 2A Alpha Pro Panel a few feet behind the main listening chair, leaned against the front of the bar. Future acoustic work will include putting two GIK Evolution Poly Fusers on the doors to the listening position's right side and two on the corresponding window to the left. I have two of them and am awaiting the other two.

    Pictures in my next post.
 
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