Genesis 1.1 VS Wilson X2 Alexandria

garylkoh · Apr 30, 2014

rockitman said:
Now that is the definition of exemplary customer service. A brand you can expect to back you up many years ahead. I hope to meet you one day, Gary.

I always look forward to meeting WBF members in person. I look forward to meeting you one day too!!

Bodhi said:
Thanks for the feedback Mak, it would seem the commentary suggesting you need to raise up your listening chair is unfounded. What is impressive is how much better evidently the G2's are compared to the classic RS2B's. Incidentally, do you have the Genesis 2's with the single towers & integrated bass drivers, or the version with the separate bass towers? It would be nice to have the room for a system like that, though i'm not complaining about my S5's

Bodhi, you may be referring to the Genesis II.5. Those have 3 tweeters and a line-source midrange. I would not be surprised if on that model, the soundstage might be seating height related if one or two of those tweeters go out of spec. Then, the high frequencies might be steered, resulting in it being height critical.

The Genesis II is line-array tweeters/line-source midrange and seating height would not matter.

Bodhi · May 1, 2014

garylkoh said:
Bodhi, you may be referring to the Genesis II.5. Those have 3 tweeters and a line-source midrange. I would not be surprised if on that model, the soundstage might be seating height related if one or two of those tweeters go out of spec. Then, the high frequencies might be steered, resulting in it being height critical.

The Genesis II is line-array tweeters/line-source midrange and seating height would not matter.

Hi Garry, yes as soon as you mentioned the Genesis II.5 it clicked that was the model I was referring to. As always, I (and i'm sure most other WBF members) appreciate your technical input. Your explanation makes sense, though I wouldn't have thought those emit-r variants would go out of spec unless they've been over-driven or messed around with. I know the older Emits from classic Infinitys do come up for sale now and then often out of spec which is probably related to age. In any case, what I read was just one opinion.

Just out of interest Gary, on the Gen II's what was the reason for starting the midrange ribbon and tweeter array approx 50cm from the base of the midrange/tweeter towers, instead of going down to floor height as per the IRS-Beta's or RS1B? Was that due to cost considerations (ie: using the same midrange panel as the II.5)?

Cheers,
Bodhi

garylkoh · May 1, 2014

Ribbons do go out of spec - due to the extremely fine photo-etched film, even though they do not move much, there is still considerable fatigue. One day, I measured a few 20 year old tweeters (a couple still working) that came back on trade-in. They were almost 6dB down from our standard.

On the Genesis II, the 48-inch midrange on the G-II is much cheaper than the 72-inch midrange on the G-1. Also, the line-array of tweeters will have to match the midrange - and you would need 15 tweeters for the 48-inch and 20 to match the 72-inch. You would always buy transducers in quantity, and so using the same midrange on the G-II as they did the G-II.5 made economic sense.

With the Infinities, they didn't have a line-source midrange, and had to contend with a line-array of midranges. However, it was easier to mix and match.

MrAcoustat · Dec 11, 2014

jadis said:
I have heard the Genesis 1.1 in two different rooms and different equipment. I have heard the Alexandria I also in 2 different rooms and different gears as well, plus I have heard Steve's Alexandria 2 a few months ago. Both speaker systems sounded different as Gary mentioned and even if they were A/B'ed in the same room with the same audio gears, I think they would still sound very different. The Genesis 1.1 with its bass towers will have the edge in powerful, articulate and deep bass response. The Alexandria impressed me with its mid bass wallop and control. And I have so far heard the best Paramita 'Earth Drum' rendition on the Alexandria with Burmesters driving them. With the Genesis' wide wings, I would imagine it would benefit from a much wider room than the owner's system here in Manila. The depth of image was excellent and tonally, there was almost nothing to fault. I should say that too about the Alexandrias. The owner of the Alexandrias here had a much larger room than the Genesis room. It would been very interesting to hear what happens had the Genesis 1.1s been in that bigger room. And I know that when the 1.1s arrived in Manila it was due to be delivered to that bigger room but the owner suddenly had a change of heart and went Wilson.

The Genesis 1.1s:

Wilson Alexandria 1s:

Did you mean with this ????? every time i hear that one i tell myself sure wish that people who think that panels don't do bass where here.

garylkoh · Dec 11, 2014

MrAcoustat said:
Did you mean with this ????? every time i hear that one i tell myself sure wish that people who think that panels don't do bass where here.

View attachment 18157

Yes. That's the one. Seems that I have to listen to it countless times everytime I am in Manila. Plus Way Out West.

MrAcoustat · Dec 11, 2014

Gary for me a very long time favorire is track #4 of this Bis 1983 album a real torture for a system.

JackD201 · Dec 12, 2014

garylkoh said:
Yes. That's the one. Seems that I have to listen to it countless times everytime I am in Manila. Plus Way Out West.

If you hang out with me, you'll not have to listen to it once! LOL!

jadis · Dec 12, 2014

garylkoh said:
Yes. That's the one. Seems that I have to listen to it countless times everytime I am in Manila. Plus Way Out West.

Gary,

That group, who I am very familiar with, would have their 'bible CD', to test any audio gears a few years before you visited - Cantate Domino. They use the 'O Holy Night' cut to rip out any benign tweeters.

One of them, with a killer system, would complain that his amps would alway clip with ensuing distortions and crackle through his speakers to a point that he would start changing his audio gears to get rid of this problem. His good friend gave him the best advise - throw out the Cantate Domino CD through the window and retain all gears.

microstrip · Dec 12, 2014

jadis said:
Gary,

That group, who I am very familiar with, would have their 'bible CD', to test any audio gears a few years before you visited - Cantate Domino. They use the 'O Holy Night' cut to rip out any benign tweeters. One of them, with a killer system, would complain that his amps would alway clip with ensuing distortions and crackle through his speakers to a point that he would start changing his audio gears to get rid of this problem. His good friend gave him the best advise - throw out the Cantate Domino CD through the window and retain all gears.

Cantate Domino is not an "easy to play" recording. I have listened to it tens of times playing lousy most of the time. But a few times I listened to it sounding superb - you feel you have a choir singing in front of you and you can almost watch each singer lips! BTW, IMHO the FIM CD version sounds much better than the standard CD - I have never listened to it in HiRez.

garylkoh · Dec 12, 2014

JackD201 said:
If you hang out with me, you'll not have to listen to it once! LOL!

I'll definitely be hanging out with you. Unfortunately, the Manila trip keeps getting delayed and delayed.

jadis said:
Gary,

That group, who I am very familiar with, would have their 'bible CD', to test any audio gears a few years before you visited - Cantate Domino. They use the 'O Holy Night' cut to rip out any benign tweeters. One of them, with a killer system, would complain that his amps would alway clip with ensuing distortions and crackle through his speakers to a point that he would start changing his audio gears to get rid of this problem. His good friend gave him the best advise - throw out the Cantate Domino CD through the window and retain all gears.

The track on Cantate Domino that I like to use is Mary's Lullaby - that shows up any distortion in any speaker. Some of the older masterings are pretty hard and harsh, and that might be why the amps would clip and destroy some tweeters. However, give a listen (if you have the chance) to the latest FIM pressing of the vinyl or CD. I can guarantee that these came from the original analog masters because I carried them back and forth for Winston.

garylkoh · Dec 12, 2014

MrAcoustat said:
Gary for me a very long time favorire is track #4 of this Bis 1983 album a real torture for a system.

View attachment 18158

Thanks, Andre. I loved an old John Gage LP called Construction in Metal or something like that. But I lost that album, and have not been able to replace it. I've ordered this and a couple more Kroumata Ensemble. Thanks for leading me to them.

MrAcoustat · Dec 12, 2014

garylkoh said:
Thanks, Andre. I loved an old John Gage LP called Construction in Metal or something like that. But I lost that album, and have not been able to replace it. I've ordered this and a couple more Kroumata Ensemble. Thanks for leading me to them.

Another one you may like is on ECM Japan UCCE-1098 Marilyn Mazur & Jan Garbarek ( Elixir ) she is awesome.

LL21 · Feb 10, 2015

garylkoh said:
...The track on Cantate Domino that I like to use is Mary's Lullaby - that shows up any distortion in any speaker. Some of the older masterings are pretty hard and harsh, and that might be why the amps would clip and destroy some tweeters. However, give a listen (if you have the chance) to the latest FIM pressing of the vinyl or CD. I can guarantee that these came from the original analog masters because I carried them back and forth for Winston.

Good to know! I actually have the FIM Cantate Domino...been a while and will pay attention next time...

amhifi · Apr 27, 2015

Hi, Gary, this is a bit off topic but do you have any spare parts available for Genesis V speakers such as the mid-bass coupler?
Or can the original one be repaired? it has a crease in it that does not seem to affect the sound much.

garylkoh · Apr 27, 2015

We do not have the original mid-bass coupler from the Gen-V but the new one works better. However, as it has a larger magnet structure, you will have to move the crossover that is directly behind the driver about 1 cm so that it will fit. Unfortunately though, the wires that go to the crossover on some units might not be long enough to get the crossover out of the way.

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Genesis 1.1 VS Wilson X2 Alexandria

garylkoh

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Bodhi

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garylkoh

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MrAcoustat

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garylkoh

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microstrip

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garylkoh

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