Alexandria X-2 Series 2 In the Room

zbub · Aug 4, 2015

Greetings from another X2.2 user!
Personaly I have had several audition sessions with XLF at my dealer's place, and I would say XLF are smoother and warmer not only in the treble region but down to midrange as well. This was surprising at first, as I thought the main difference to the X2.2 was the silk dome tweeter (well and the port as well). I am not sure if the upper modules are larger with XLF but I am sure the crossover netwok should be different.
For me though, I still DO NOT have complaints on my X2.2 even after spending hours and hours with XLF. I had to work a bit to tame the occasional brightness of the Ti tweeter, but the sound I have in my system right now is anything but bright. If I can find an used XLF at a good price I may consider the switch, otherwise I am perfectly OK with what I have right now.

Steve Williams · Aug 4, 2015

I feel the same. I prefer the silk dome tweeter but at the end of the day I am very happy with my X2 series ll

chuck · Jul 12, 2016

I just switched from the X2.2 to the XLFs with a Thor's Hammer Subwoofer. Boulder 3060 on the XLFs and a Boulder 2060 on the Thor.

Steve Williams · Jul 12, 2016

Congratulations on that Chuck
How do you cross the sub with the XLF or are you playing the XLF full range and supplementing the bottom end with the Thor

still-one · Jul 13, 2016

Congratulations. I have not had the opportunity to hear XLF's with Boulder gear. I would think it is a great combination.

LL21 · Jul 13, 2016

chuck said:
I just switched from the X2.2 to the XLFs with a Thor's Hammer Subwoofer. Boulder 3060 on the XLFs and a Boulder 2060 on the Thor.

still-one said:
Congratulations. I have not had the opportunity to hear XLF's with Boulder gear. I would think it is a great combination.

I have heard X2s with Boulder 2060 and thought it was an excellent combination. My preference for the Gryphon gear with big Wilsons is only a personal preference. Congrats to Chuck as well...look forward to reading all about the setup!

In fact, i am actually more curious about the Thor than i am about the fantastic XLF! Would love to hear more about how you feel it adds to the XLF presentation!

chuck · Jul 16, 2016

The Thor/Boulder combo has been a surprise. Heard the XLFs with Thor/Parasound at RMAF and Thor/Anthem at the dealer, so didn't expect much. XLF run full range with Thor/Boulder supplementing --seamlessly adds the bass I never knew was missing. It is a fuller soundstage, if that makes sense. IMO the Thor needs a great amp to really work in a 2 channel music system, otherwise lack of control can be distracting. For movie soundtracks it is great.

LL21 · Jul 16, 2016

Congrats!!! Its also about setup i imagine. Even with my relatively 'tiny' Velodyne DD18, setup has been critical so that i dont hear it except for the sense of weight/realism/surround that we get when its on.

Ron Resnick · Jul 16, 2016

Steve Williams said:
I feel the same. I prefer the silk dome tweeter but at the end of the day I am very happy with my X2 series ll

I prefer the silk dome tweeter on the Alexia and the XLF, but with Steve's top-of-the-line Lamm electronics and careful acoustic room treatment I completely forget that Steve's speakers use the metal dome tweeter.

Ron Resnick · Jul 16, 2016

LL21 said:
. . . In fact, i am actually more curious about the Thor than i am about the fantastic XLF! Would love to hear more about how you feel it adds to the XLF presentation!

I share this curiosity. The Thors have always been to me enigmatic, mystical beasts.

Are you using one Watch Controller for both Thors, or does each Thor have its own Watch Controller? (Wilson Audio actually recommends a Watch Controller for each Thor for maximum room integration flexibility in difficult rooms or set-ups.)

Ron Resnick · Jul 16, 2016

still-one said:
If the question was for me I have to say there is no single answer but several contributing factors. I was very happy with my 111F's and at that time the only speakers I felt challenged my MBL's were its bigger siblings the 101MK2, the Xtremes, Sonus Faber Aida's and the Wilson X2S2's and XLF's. The Xtremes and XLF'S are just too expensive and for me same with Aida's. It is also quite possible these 3 speakers are too large for my 2-Chanel room and moving my system to one of our larger rooms might not get the acceptance I would desire.

I was keeping my eyes out for 101's. The issues here included no local dealer and MBL's really sound best driven by their own amps.

Thank you, Jim.

It is very interesting to me when an audiophile switches from one type of speaker (omnidirectional Radialstrahler) to a completely different design (dynamic driver). Looking back on the MBLs and comparing your memory of them with your Wilsons I would be grateful for your comments on differences in sound-staging. Do you miss the omnidirectional sound of the MBLs? Or do you now prefer the more clearly-delineated center imaging of the Wilsons? Which do you think is more true-to-life?

PS: I know that many people feel the MBL speakers sound best when driven by MBL amps. But it is not clear to me why this should be. I would think that a high current amp with proper impedance matching for the MBL speakers from another manufacturer should work well too. I can report that I liked very much the way hybrid Aesthetix Atlas amps sounded on MBL 101E Mk. IIs.

bonzo75 · Jul 16, 2016

To me the MBLs sounded much better driven by Spectrals and Ypsilon

chuck · Jul 16, 2016

1 Thor, 1 Watch Controller

Steve Williams · Jul 16, 2016

chuck said:
1 Thor, 1 Watch Controller

Chick

Im still trying to find out if you are running your XLF full range with Thor to supplement the bottom end or you cross over at what frequency

chuck · Jul 16, 2016

Both. The controller allows me to set it up two ways, one for 2 channel music (ARC Ref40) and the other for HT (Anthem D2V 3D).

Steve Williams · Jul 16, 2016

I'm interested in where you cross over the Thor to the XLF

Steve Williams · Jul 16, 2016

I run my X2's full range and use a pair of Fathom subs to supplement the bottom end. I cross the sub at 43 vz. So I run X2 full range and use the Fathoms to supplement from 16-43 Hz

chuck · Jul 16, 2016

50 right now.

still-one · Jul 16, 2016

Ron Resnick said:
Thank you, Jim.

It is very interesting to me when an audiophile switches from one type of speaker (omnidirectional Radialstrahler) to a completely different design (dynamic driver). Looking back on the MBLs and comparing your memory of them with your Wilsons I would be grateful for your comments on differences in sound-staging. Do you miss the omnidirectional sound of the MBLs? Or do you now prefer the more clearly-delineated center imaging of the Wilsons? Which do you think is more true-to-life?

PS: I know that many people feel the MBL speakers sound best when driven by MBL amps. But it is not clear to me why this should be. I would think that a high current amp with proper impedance matching for the MBL speakers from another manufacturer should work well too. I can report that I liked very much the way hybrid Aesthetix Atlas amps sounded on MBL 101E Mk. IIs.

Ron
Good question. I would be the first to admit that MBL's might not be for every listener. When MBL's are properly set-up the room is almost energized by the music. The speakers disappear and the soundstage is similar to what I hear at most live performances even if the source is a studio recording. There are many listeners who prefer their music be focused in a narrow band between the speakers and I do not challenge that choice. It is a wonderful illusion on many recordings. Until I decided to purchase my X2's I really thought the I would stick with MBL and move up to 101 MK II's at some point ( and dream of Xtreme's in one of my large rooms) I would listen to other speakers and always felt there was something missing. I knew it would require a speaker with the capability of producing a tall soundstage to get me to swap out the 111F's and the X2's do just that.

To answer your first question the X2's are truer to what a studio recording sounds like while the MBL's sound more like I am listening to the band/group/orchestra actually playing the music.

The best set-up I have ever heard was at the MBL dealer/distributer in Singapore. It was a audio epiphany and nothing before or since has come close to the top of the line Xtreme set-up. Not XLF's with dual Thors Hammers, not Magico S7's with a pair of their subs, not a all Gryphon set-up...............

My Momentum's matched very nicely with the 111F's and handled them much better than McIntosh 1.2k's did so there are other amps that will do the job. i just know what the MBL gear can get them to do.

XV-1 · Jul 17, 2016

still-one said:
Ron
Good question. I would be the first to admit that MBL's might not be for every listener. When MBL's are properly set-up the room is almost energized by the music. The speakers disappear and the soundstage is similar to what I hear at most live performances even if the source is a studio recording. There are many listeners who prefer their music be focused in a narrow band between the speakers and I do not challenge that choice. It is a wonderful illusion on many recordings. Until I decided to purchase my X2's I really thought the I would stick with MBL and move up to 101 MK II's at some point ( and dream of Xtreme's in one of my large rooms) I would listen to other speakers and always felt there was something missing. I knew it would require a speaker with the capability of producing a tall soundstage to get me to swap out the 111F's and the X2's do just that.

To answer your first question the X2's are truer to what a studio recording sounds like while the MBL's sound more like I am listening to the band/group/orchestra actually playing the music.

The best set-up I have ever heard was at the MBL dealer/distributer in Singapore. It was a audio epiphany and nothing before or since has come close to the top of the line Xtreme set-up. Not XLF's with dual Thors Hammers, not Magico S7's with a pair of their subs, not a all Gryphon set-up...............

My Momentum's matched very nicely with the 111F's and handled them much better than McIntosh 1.2k's did so there are other amps that will do the job. i just know what the MBL gear can get them to do.

plus 2. I have heard the same system in Singapore. sounded amazing.

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