Congratulations Marty! I hope to catch up with the Amigos by next year as hopefully the pandemic Is dealt with. I still have to meet Russ too!
Alexx V arrive in NJ
- Thread starter marty
- Start date
Tasos, remind me to keep you away from my wife. She hasn't figured that out yet.
Congrats, Marty!
Glad everything worked out, and now, on to enjoy your gorgeous pair of XVXs
thanks!
Alex
Glad everything worked out, and now, on to enjoy your gorgeous pair of XVXs
thanks!
Alex
Wow Marty, your room and those speakers look fantastic. Eager to hear your comments as the speakers wake up and come to life.
Ouch! Tell you what- If I live to 100 I'll stop by and buy your demo pair, assuming I have more than 3 neurons left to hear with.Congrats, Marty!
Glad everything worked out, and now, on to enjoy your gorgeous pair of XVXs
thanks!
Alex
It’s way too early to discuss the sound of the A V’s as they are just shaking off their crate dust but after 2 days a few things are becoming apparent. Best perhaps to talk a bit about the differences I’ve noticed between the new speakers and the Alexandria’s they replaced.
To begin, one can’t help realize rather quickly the enormous difference in the treble domain due to the use of the Synergy tweeter vs the well known Focal beryllium tweeter in the Alexandrias. The Synergy silk soft dome presents a lovely top end with lower distortion, greater detail, and a better integration to the frequencies below its bandpass. The Focal tweeter is a good tweeter, but it can, particularly when driven hard, become a bit strident. It's no wonder that Wilson has often demo'd with tube amps with Alexandrias. It's an excellent match for the Focal tweeter. The Lamm ML-3 is the best amp match for the beryllium tweeter that I have heard in an effort to maximize good sound from a tweeter that can be less than forgiving and have an "edge" when pushed. This is not a trait of the Synergy. It is overall smoother, more refined, and does not call attention to itself like the beryllium tweeter can. It’s no surprise that the Synergy tweeter (all variants) have been a cornerstone of the Wilson speaker line for several years now.
One unanticipated effect of the new tweeter is a bit more flexibility with regard to the vertical listening position. I’ve always felt that D’Appolito designs (and modifications thereof) can be bears regarding placement. The Alexandrias are some of the very worst speakers in this regard. When Wilson provides detailed tables to allow the speakers to be set up precisely for ear height, they ain’t kidding. If you are sitting a half inch above or below the ideal position for spot-on integration of the beryllium to the midrange drivers in the Alexandrias, the sound can be unbalanced and even utterly atrocious. I have always thought that this is the main reason people come away from shows often not liking what they heard at a big Wilson demo. It makes perfect sense that when speakers are set up for ideal placement for a listener of a certain height, the ear height of the many listeners who then sit and listen will be inaccurate for a wide range of listeners who will therefore not hear the speaker properly set-up. This is just an unavoidable fact of life for Alexandrias. XLFs, and other speaker in their line. Many of us recall the “Venetian blind” effect of many dipole and electrostatic speakers that impose vice-like listening position requirements horizontally. Well, the big Wilsons do this for vertical positioning. If Wilsons are not set up exactly to your ear height, they just won’t sound their best.
This is where the Synergy tweeter confers some benefits vs the older tweeter. I don’t know if its because the beryllium tweeter has a concave dome whereas the new tweeter is convex, or whether it is a crossover point difference, a polar response effect on frequency radiation or something else, but there is certainly a bit more flexibility in the vertical listening range to achieve good overall sound with a bit less of a vertical Venetian blind effect in the A-V’s compared to the Alexandrias. Of course, this means essentially nothing in the context of how the system will sound for its primary listener in their own home. Rather, this is of more importance in assuring that a multitude of listeners can have a positive listening experience when hearing Synergy-based Wilsons either in a showroom or any home environment. It’s is comforting to know the new tweeter allows more listening position flexibility in dealer showrooms as it’s just not practical to set up the speaker perfectly for each new listener, each with various ear listening heights. All of this is a long way of saying that the new tweeter, in addition to sounding better, is a slightly friendlier design from a set-up perspective.
I’m still well short of finding the best speaker placement and listening position so further comments at this time are unwise. The thing is starting to sound good but I have a long way to go.
To begin, one can’t help realize rather quickly the enormous difference in the treble domain due to the use of the Synergy tweeter vs the well known Focal beryllium tweeter in the Alexandrias. The Synergy silk soft dome presents a lovely top end with lower distortion, greater detail, and a better integration to the frequencies below its bandpass. The Focal tweeter is a good tweeter, but it can, particularly when driven hard, become a bit strident. It's no wonder that Wilson has often demo'd with tube amps with Alexandrias. It's an excellent match for the Focal tweeter. The Lamm ML-3 is the best amp match for the beryllium tweeter that I have heard in an effort to maximize good sound from a tweeter that can be less than forgiving and have an "edge" when pushed. This is not a trait of the Synergy. It is overall smoother, more refined, and does not call attention to itself like the beryllium tweeter can. It’s no surprise that the Synergy tweeter (all variants) have been a cornerstone of the Wilson speaker line for several years now.
One unanticipated effect of the new tweeter is a bit more flexibility with regard to the vertical listening position. I’ve always felt that D’Appolito designs (and modifications thereof) can be bears regarding placement. The Alexandrias are some of the very worst speakers in this regard. When Wilson provides detailed tables to allow the speakers to be set up precisely for ear height, they ain’t kidding. If you are sitting a half inch above or below the ideal position for spot-on integration of the beryllium to the midrange drivers in the Alexandrias, the sound can be unbalanced and even utterly atrocious. I have always thought that this is the main reason people come away from shows often not liking what they heard at a big Wilson demo. It makes perfect sense that when speakers are set up for ideal placement for a listener of a certain height, the ear height of the many listeners who then sit and listen will be inaccurate for a wide range of listeners who will therefore not hear the speaker properly set-up. This is just an unavoidable fact of life for Alexandrias. XLFs, and other speaker in their line. Many of us recall the “Venetian blind” effect of many dipole and electrostatic speakers that impose vice-like listening position requirements horizontally. Well, the big Wilsons do this for vertical positioning. If Wilsons are not set up exactly to your ear height, they just won’t sound their best.
This is where the Synergy tweeter confers some benefits vs the older tweeter. I don’t know if its because the beryllium tweeter has a concave dome whereas the new tweeter is convex, or whether it is a crossover point difference, a polar response effect on frequency radiation or something else, but there is certainly a bit more flexibility in the vertical listening range to achieve good overall sound with a bit less of a vertical Venetian blind effect in the A-V’s compared to the Alexandrias. Of course, this means essentially nothing in the context of how the system will sound for its primary listener in their own home. Rather, this is of more importance in assuring that a multitude of listeners can have a positive listening experience when hearing Synergy-based Wilsons either in a showroom or any home environment. It’s is comforting to know the new tweeter allows more listening position flexibility in dealer showrooms as it’s just not practical to set up the speaker perfectly for each new listener, each with various ear listening heights. All of this is a long way of saying that the new tweeter, in addition to sounding better, is a slightly friendlier design from a set-up perspective.
I’m still well short of finding the best speaker placement and listening position so further comments at this time are unwise. The thing is starting to sound good but I have a long way to go.
Last edited:
Elliot G.
Industry Expert
I can assure you it did not come from me. I do not belong to ANY social media and would never post under any circumstances. For goodness sake, I don't even text! (Although the last time I did, I learned I won the Nigerian lottery. How do you think I managed to pay for the speakers?)
Marty, congrats on the new speakers. I would be surprised if you felt the need to re-engage the subs but I don’t have any experience with either the speakers or your room. It just seems like the Alexx Vs should be able to adequately provide the low end.
One benefit of doing this is excellent image height within the soundstage.
And congratulations!
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