What drivers do they use ? Which company makes them ?
Why don't they use exotic materials like Beryllium or diamond ?
Why don't they use exotic materials like Beryllium or diamond ?
Wilson Audio drivers
- Thread starter Audiophile666
- Start date
AFAIK they are using drivers from many manufacturers, but they had a long relationship with Scan Speak and Focal (previously).
It has long been rumored that Wilson uses "of the shelf" drivers. If true, there is nothing wrong usind "spec" drivers. They claim to have listened to all sorts of exotic drivers and find conventional drivers to be best. Again, there is nothing wrong with that. It is results, that matter.
The real question is what drives the costs. Getting the best drivers, conventional or otherwise can be expensive. Michael Fremer suggested it cost money to give your employee's health insurance. No one ever proved they actually get health insurance.
One thing is for sure, fit and finish is precise. They make great speakers that can compete with the best.
The real question is what drives the costs. Getting the best drivers, conventional or otherwise can be expensive. Michael Fremer suggested it cost money to give your employee's health insurance. No one ever proved they actually get health insurance.
One thing is for sure, fit and finish is precise. They make great speakers that can compete with the best.
If I am not mistaken, Wilson's drivers are mainly sourced from a company called SB acoustics located in Malaysia. It was founded by several Danish engineers from Scan Speak who sought to establish a speaker manufacturing company that used Danish Scan Speak engineering but coupled with the reduced manufacturing costs in Malaysia that they could not achieve in Europe.
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If they use off the shelf drivers and nothing exotic like Beryllium
What justifies the high price ?
Lack of knowledge of options from users
Fit and finish. I visited Steve and witnessed first hand the precision. Just getting the finish takes hours of sanding and painting. Precision alignment of the drivers. When you use off the shelf drivers do you realize how many of them don't make the cut. Even if you don't' give them health insurance ,you can't hire teenagers out of high school. You need experienced craftsman and technicians. Then you have to pay therm well enough so they don't leave and start there owwn company.
Yes there is some snob appeal.
Yes there is some snob appeal.
This rumor is incorrect. Wilson does use driver manufacturers to do a partial build to Wilson specs and then they finish the drivers at Wilson. Wilson does extensive development in house. They have tested exotics like beryllium and diamond and rejected these materials based on performance.
You don’t buy Wilson on specs. You buy them on your personal evaluation of their performance.
When DAW was young and doing development of his advanced Kluges, it was true. It has not been true for a long time.
I wish there were more first rate dealers who are capable of giving a good demo. But there aren’t. In another thread someone said that even LMC in Scottsdale had not given a convincing demo.
Wilson has literally evolved from a garage level kid built Mom and Pop operation to what it is today. They do have significant overhead at this point. Wilson is still a “family “ business, but the actual workers are skilled craftspeople.
If they weren’t able to deliver the goods, the wait would not be as long as it is. I used to shake my head when someone told me they liked them. I was not an easy convert. But at this point, I can’t imagine giving them up.
I have had many Stereophile class A rated speakers over the years. At this point it is very clear to me that there is a HUGE range of performance that Stereophile is willing to lump together in their class A category.
Anyone who is seriously interested in the Wilson evolution will enjoy John Giolas’s history book. It is well written and very informative. You can get one directly from Wilson. Or you can read one for free at many Wilson dealer showrooms.
FWIW, John is now a high level employee at dCS. He is a very nice guy and, in my view, a good writer.
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How can that possibly be since there are all those wonderful system videos out there to educate those poor bastards!
Michael Fremer took a Wilson factory tour last November. You may be surprised at the attention to detail.
This is a video tour MF took six years ago and it goes into driver research, including why they don’t use Be or Diamond.
The fact that they have their custom drivers made by third-party companies is nothing wrong by itself. Many manufacturers do it that way. I think it's better to be more focused on the final result rather than the specific parts used.
They’re already building their own caps. They’ve already set up their in-house paint shop. They’re already designing and final building their drivers. There is more Wilson sweat on Wilson products than is customary in the speaker industry.
If you want a souvenir of the WAMM Master Chronosonic, get your order in for the Sasha DAW before it’s too late. The DAW midrange and tweeter come from the WAMM Master Chronosonic. The new Sasha V midrange and tweeter are out of the Chronosonic XVX.
If you want a souvenir of the WAMM Master Chronosonic, get your order in for the Sasha DAW before it’s too late. The DAW midrange and tweeter come from the WAMM Master Chronosonic. The new Sasha V midrange and tweeter are out of the Chronosonic XVX.
And finally, the experience and knowledge. Which is priceless. Skilled craftsmen and engineers are worth their weight in gold.
At one point they did use metal tweeters. My Sophia II’s had inverted dome tweeters that I think were titanium. The original Sasha WP also had an inverted dome metal tweeter but my Sasha ll‘s have a soft dome tweeter. Maybe they just use the materials that currently sound best.
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