Wilson Alexandria Speakers...Why not a bi-amp solution from Wilson for this chassis?

ALF

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I have these speakers, Desert Silver, and I have always wondered why Wilson does not allow a bi-amp solution within this chassis? It seems that this could be a super solution to address bifurcating the amplifier demands that are presented with this speaker. Any thoughts?
 

FrantzM

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Apr 20, 2010
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Hi

I've become a fan of bi-amping recently, actually I like multi-amping with active crossover in lieu and place of the passive x-overs but in the absence of multi, bi would do ... It would have been an interesting option for the X-2.. I would however surmise that the X-2 doesn't seem to have bothersome "amplifer demands" to use your terms. it is driven to good success with as low as 18 watts..
My own side of things would be to drive it with however much power it can take but that's me ;).. Yes I am interested in what Wilson would have to say bout this ...
 
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FrantzM

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I wouldn't say "cannot"... they can even if their crossover were a series type crossover, which I doubt. I wouldn't also say that it doesn't "need" bi-amping. It is a choice and IMO a good if more complicated choice. Bi-amping and Multi-amping on which I will soon open a thread have considerable advantages...
 

Phelonious Ponk

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Jun 30, 2010
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Hi

I am become a fan of bi-amping recently, actually I like multi-amping with active crossover in lieu and place of the pasive x-overs but in the absence of multi, bi would do ... It would have been an interesting option for the X-2.. I would however surmise that the X-2 doesn't seem to have bothersoem "amplifer demands" to use your terms. it is driven to good success with as low as 18 watts..
My own side of thins would be to drive it with however much power it can take but that's me ;).. Yes I am interested in what Wilson would have to say bout this ...

I think the time has come for high-end speaker manufacturers to begin building speakers that easily allow users to bi-pass internal crossovers and build active, multi-amp solutions -- based, of course, on manufacturer guidelines regarding crossover frequencies and maximum power per driver. I'm sure a speaker like the Alexandria has an excellent passive crossover network that gets in the way of the amplifiers' control of the drivers as little as possible. I'm also sure that, given proper electronic crossover and a separate amp for each driver in the system, "as little as possible" would get quite a bit littler. Would it be audible? I don't know. But the odds that it would be significantly more audible than half of the magic audiophiles hear every day are very, very high.

I look forward to your thread, Frantz.

Tim
 
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ALF

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:cool:
Wilson speakers cannot be biamped. A good way to fry the drivers in the upper modules. Besides the X-2 doesn't need biamping even if it were possible. I drive mine with 32 wpc

Hi Steve,

Yes, I drive my x-2 speakers with the same 32 wpc delivered by Lamm amplifiers.:cool:

These are wonderful amplifiers, but there are limits when trying to move this whole chassis in a desirable way. As Frantz has mentioned, they can be driven with 18 wpc; however there is still the bottleneck trying to get over the hump to effectively move the bass drivers.

However; the bass chassis does appear to benefit with some relief. Many X-2 owners, in a clever way, find a solution around this issue via integrating a subwoofer, or more, into the mix to enhance the performance of their systems. Without an available biamping option within this chassis, the subwoofer solution becomes the only way to successfully drive these transducers when the owner desires to feed the sweetness of the listening range with a SET or similiar amplifier. I find for myself, find the more robust Lamm R 1.2M amplifier at the 4 ohm speaker taps works better with setting the whole chassis at ease...there many solutions that do the same for their owners...VTL, ARC, and others.
 

Steve Williams

Site Founder, Site Owner, Administrator
:cool:

Hi Steve,

Yes, I drive my x-2 speakers with the same 32 wpc delivered by Lamm amplifiers.:cool:

These are wonderful amplifiers, but there are limits when trying to move this whole chassis in a desirable way. As Frantz has mentioned, they can be driven with 18 wpc; however there is still the bottleneck trying to get over the hump to effectively move the bass drivers.

However; the bass chassis does appear to benefit with some relief. Many X-2 owners, in a clever way, find a solution around this issue via integrating a subwoofer, or more, into the mix to enhance the performance of their systems. Without an available biamping option within this chassis, the subwoofer solution becomes the only way to successfully drive these transducers when the owner desires to feed the sweetness of the listening range with a SET or similiar amplifier. I find for myself, find the more robust Lamm R 1.2M amplifier at the 4 ohm speaker taps works better with setting the whole chassis at ease...there many solutions that do the same for their owners...VTL, ARC, and others.

Well get a pair of JL Audio Gotham subs and you'll never look back :)

which tap do you use for the ML3
 

ALF

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Well get a pair of JL Audio Gotham subs and you'll never look back :)

which tap do you use for the ML3

Now...if we could get the fine folks over at JL to expand their paint shop and therefore be able to match the Wilson finish options...;-).

Steve, did you try the Thor while you were deciding on the subwoofer solution for your system?

Currently, the 4-ohm taps; I have also tried the 8-ohm taps with some success.

ALF
 

Steve Williams

Site Founder, Site Owner, Administrator
I too use the 4 ohm tap with better results than the 8 ohm.

I have heard the Thor and it is a remarkable sub however I purchased my Gotham's well before the release of the Thor. Also the Thor is passive and if you are going to buy a pair you will also need suitable amplification which when done will cost IMO almost 4 times that of a pair of Gothams. This plus the fact that the Gotham is an amazing sub and I am eternally happy with it and it's 3800 watt class D amp.

BTW, I am going to Scottsdale in the next few weeks with a good friend of mine to hear the new XLF vs the Sonus Aida, both of which use a silk dome tweeter
 

Phelonious Ponk

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....it's 3800 watt class D amp

Wow. This should be accompanied by those grunting noises Tim the Toolman Taylor used to make when introducing new power tools. :)

Tim
 

DaveyF

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BTW, I am going to Scottsdale in the next few weeks with a good friend of mine to hear the new XLF vs the Sonus Aida, both of which use a silk dome tweeter

Steve, I will be VERY interested in your report back once you have been to Scottsdale. IMO, the silk dome is a far superior transducer than the titanium dome that Wilson was using. Even though the silk dome is not in any way a new technology, I am of the opinion that the silk dome is at or near the pinnacle of tweeter's.
Yesterday, after a long session, the group and i were still amazed to hear the reproduction of air and the inhale/exhale precision of a female singer over my speakers. One of the group commented how that if he hadn't known this was a reproduction, he would have absolutely thought it was real.:)
 

andromedaaudio

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If i recall correctly what dave wilson said , the xlf has a 11 % bigger bascabinet than the alexandria .
With a high effeciency speaker like those top wilsons , your ampchoice widens considerably .
The sonus faber has a 90 db effeciency as far as i can remember .
What the tweeter concerns : sometimes its you lose some you win some , the titaniumdome can do something maybe the silk dome cannot and vice versa .
Interesting what the listening result will be .
The fit and finish of the wilsons is very cool , the maxx 3 alexandrias being my favorite , kind of roboticlike loudspeakers .
 

Phelonious Ponk

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Can you upgrade to the silk domes, Steve, or are they incompatible?

I've heard some metal tweeters that I really like, but overall, my favorite tweeters have always been silks. I don't know if they're more accurate; I doubt if they're more extended. But there is an easy, smooth, natural quality to them that's hard to beat.

Tim
 

Steve Williams

Site Founder, Site Owner, Administrator
Can you upgrade to the silk domes, Steve, or are they incompatible?

I've heard some metal tweeters that I really like, but overall, my favorite tweeters have always been silks. I don't know if they're more accurate; I doubt if they're more extended. But there is an easy, smooth, natural quality to them that's hard to beat.

Tim

Simply put I can't. The tweeter module as well as the tweeter is a different size and won't fit and the crossovers of both units are slightly different
 

LL21

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Steve, I will be VERY interested in your report back once you have been to Scottsdale. IMO, the silk dome is a far superior transducer than the titanium dome that Wilson was using. Even though the silk dome is not in any way a new technology, I am of the opinion that the silk dome is at or near the pinnacle of tweeter's.
Yesterday, after a long session, the group and i were still amazed to hear the reproduction of air and the inhale/exhale precision of a female singer over my speakers. One of the group commented how that if he hadn't known this was a reproduction, he would have absolutely thought it was real.:)

+1...very interested to hear about your thoughts on the 2 speakers!
 

microstrip

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I have these speakers, Desert Silver, and I have always wondered why Wilson does not allow a bi-amp solution within this chassis? It seems that this could be a super solution to address bifurcating the amplifier demands that are presented with this speaker. Any thoughts?

ALF,

IMHO, when we pay a small fortune for a crossover that was finely tuned and optimized for matching the speaker units with optimal characteristics it is a non logical step to use two different amplifiers for this speaker. And by-amping with similar amplifiers is usually a bad economy option. As far as I know, some manufacturers dropped the by-wire version because they found that inexperienced users (and sometimes dealers) were downgrading the performance of their speakers using them wrongly with two amplifiers or even different sets of cables.

Unless you were considering two pairs of ML3 :) you should not feel sorry for not having two pairs of terminals on your Alexandria's. I second Steve's wise advice about the subs.
 

Steve Williams

Site Founder, Site Owner, Administrator
ALF,

IMHO, when we pay a small fortune for a crossover that was finely tuned and optimized for matching the speaker units with optimal characteristics it is a non logical step to use two different amplifiers for this speaker. And by-amping with similar amplifiers is usually a bad economy option. As far as I know, some manufacturers dropped the by-wire version because they found that inexperienced users (and sometimes dealers) were downgrading the performance of their speakers using them wrongly with two amplifiers or even different sets of cables.

Unless you were considering two pairs of ML3 :) you should not feel sorry for not having two pairs of terminals on your Alexandria's.

I completely agree. This is why many/most Wilson users don't mess with the crossover by using TacT or DEQX etc
 

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