What are the most popular speakers/ speaker brands on WBF?

[AudioGod]

What seems to be the consensus around here ?

 

[Another Johnson]

You’ve been posting long enough to know that there is no consensus.

You have haters and fanboys for every option. Pick one.

 

[Argonaut]

What seems to be the consensus around here ?

That vacuously inane threads like this one are entirely pointless .

 

[Robh3606]

Mine!!!!!

Rob

 

[Yeti]

That vacuously inane threads like this one are entirely pointless .

Let him down gently won’t you.

 

[dcathro]

I would expect the most popular brands to be headed by Wilson, then maybe Magico.

I think Wilson has the most fanboys.

 

[dcathro]

I think Wilson has the most fanboys.

Which probably means it has the most haters too

 

[ssfas]

... and fangirls. My wife chose Wilson. She saw them in the store window display. She liked the colour.

So we booked in for a demo 12:00 on a Saturday and lunch at 13:00 at a favourite restaurant opposite. We were early for lunch.

 

[bonzo75]

... and fangirls. My wife chose Wilson. She saw them in the store window display. She liked the colour.

So we booked in for a demo 12:00 on a Saturday and lunch at 13:00 at a favourite restaurant opposite. We were early for lunch.

That's one of the best reasons I have read for selecting Wilsons or any speaker.

Which was the restaurant?

 

[Another Johnson]

... and fangirls. My wife chose Wilson. She saw them in the store window display. She liked the colour.

So we booked in for a demo 12:00 on a Saturday and lunch at 13:00 at a favourite restaurant opposite. We were early for lunch.

If I remember it right, In The Wilson Way book David’s wife (Sheryl Lee (sp?)) tells a story where one of her friends wants to buy some speakers for her audiophile husband.

Sheryl Lee invites her over to listen to the WAMs while they chat about her preferences.

They walk into the listening room and without hearing a note, the friend is overwhelmed by the beauty of the WAMs and decides that’s what she wants.

The Wilson custom colors can add $10k to the cost, but at that level (mid to upper six figures), what’s another 1 or 2 in the second digit from the left?

Wilson certainly has lovers and haters. Until I heard a decent demo, I was a Wilson agnostic. I was never a hater … but now, after demos good enough to show them off, I’m a very happy owner. YMMV

 

[Ron Resnick]

I truly don't understand the lover versus hater polarization when applied to something like a high-end audio loudspeaker. Is "hater" used merely as hyperbole and internet exaggeration borrowed from polarization in other aspects of life outside of audio?

I totally get "loving" a speaker. I'm sure -- I would hope -- we all love our own speakers, which is why we selected them. But I don't "hate" loudspeakers I didn't select; I just don't care for them. They are not my cup of tea. I am not interested in them. I don't care to spend time with them.

The intensity of my interest, or more accurately, disinterest, in speakers I don't care for certainly does not rise to a level of emotional intensity which could be described accurately as "hate." How can a mild emotion like disinterest or apathy about a hobby product be amplified into, or reasonably be described as, "hate"?

 

[dcathro]

I truly don't understand the lover versus hater polarization when applied to something like a high-end audio loudspeaker. Is "hater" used merely as hyperbole and internet exaggeration borrowed from polarization in other aspects of life outside of audio?

I totally get "loving" a speaker. I'm sure -- I would hope -- we all love our own speakers, which is why we selected them. But I don't "hate" loudspeakers I didn't select; I just don't care for them. They are not my cup of tea. I am not interested in them. I don't care to spend time with them.

The intensity of my interest, or more accurately, disinterest, in speakers I don't care for certainly does not rise to a level of emotional intensity which could be described accurately as "hate." How can a mild emotion like disinterest or apathy about a hobby product be amplified into, or reasonably be described as, "hate"?

I have to say that my wife hates the look of a lot of high end speakers - she hates Wilsons the most (calls them Daleks).

 

[steve59]

Look at contributors sigs. You'll start to see we all like what we like. There's a bit of Chevy vs Ford, ahem, Ford vs Chevy crap that happens here, but it usually flames out pretty quick. As long as the speakers cost 6 figures they get interest here.

 

[MarkusBarkus]

How can a mild emotion like disinterest or apathy about a hobby product be amplified into, or reasonably be described as, "hate"?

...probably just "internet" hate, not real hate, which is reserved for Brussel sprouts, people who talk on cell-phones in restaurants, and leaf-blowers.

 

[Salectric]

If I remember it right, In The Wilson Way book David’s wife (Sheryl Lee (sp?)) tells a story where one of her friends wants to buy some speakers for her audiophile husband.

Sheryl Lee invites her over to listen to the WAMs while they chat about her preferences.

They walk into the listening room and without hearing a note, the friend is overwhelmed by the beauty of the WAMs and decides that’s what she wants.

The Wilson custom colors can add $10k to the cost, but at that level (mid to upper six figures), what’s another 1 or 2 in the second digit from the left?

Wilson certainly has lovers and haters. Until I heard a decent demo, I was a Wilson agnostic. I was never a hater … but now, after demos good enough to show them off, I’m a very happy owner. YMMV

I totally understand loving the appearance of the original WAMM. It was a beautiful assemblage and totally unique. But sometime after that Wilson abandoned wood veneers and went to automotive paint, a move I just don’t understand. Different strokes for different folks I guess.

For my tastes, and just speaking of visual aesthetics, I much prefer my current speakers where the front is solid Birds Eye maple.

 

[ssfas]

I truly don't understand the lover versus hater polarization when applied to something like a high-end audio loudspeaker. Is "hater" used merely as hyperbole and internet exaggeration borrowed from polarization in other aspects of life outside of audio?

I totally get "loving" a speaker. I'm sure -- I would hope -- we all love our own speakers, which is why we selected them. But I don't "hate" loudspeakers I didn't select; I just don't care for them. They are not my cup of tea. I am not interested in them. I don't care to spend time with them.

The intensity of my interest, or more accurately, disinterest, in speakers I don't care for certainly does not rise to a level of emotional intensity which could be described accurately as "hate." How can a mild emotion like disinterest or apathy about a hobby product be amplified into, or reasonably be described as, "hate"?

I went to a demo once, the system was well over $500,000 and the speakers about $120,000, so I may have had expectations of enjoying it. I found the speakers so overbearing I left after 10 minutes. "Hate" is an emotional description that is a short-cut to actually trying explain what I didn't like. But then it's not necessary to get poetic describing the sensation of being hit repeatedly on the head with a mallet.

The Wilson custom colors can add $10k

Not if the colour is exactly the one the wife wanted, or should I say, was within the limited range of options she might consider.

When at the audio dealer he showed my wife the usual candidates he offers to clients with 'difficult' wives - Franco Serblin, Sonus Faber etc. - all that Italian design stuff. She "hated" all of them. So it was the Titanium Grey Wilson.

 

[Ron Resnick]

I have to say that my wife hates the look of a lot of high end speakers - she hates Wilsons the most (calls them Daleks).

Fair enough!

 

[Ron Resnick]

Look at contributors sigs. You'll start to see we all like what we like. There's a bit of Chevy vs Ford, ahem, Ford vs Chevy crap that happens here, but it usually flames out pretty quick. As long as the speakers cost 6 figures they get interest here.

I often look at posters' equipment lists in signatures. They tell me a lot.

 

[microstrip]

I truly don't understand the lover versus hater polarization when applied to something like a high-end audio loudspeaker. Is "hater" used merely as hyperbole and internet exaggeration borrowed from polarization in other aspects of life outside of audio? (...)

Yes, fortunately these feelings seem to be restricted to a few audio forums (not most of them) and a few sellers of competing brands. In real world the aficionados I know do not show such behavior.

 

[Ron Resnick]

In real world the aficionados I know do not show such behavior.

I agree generally. (Kedar may be an exception. I think he genuinely "hates" Wilson.)