Field-Coil Speaker Review: the Wolf von Langa SON

[tima]

Wolf von Langa WVL 12639 SON LoudspeakerWolf von Langa WVL 12639 SON Loudspeaker System - Positive Feedback

Wolf von Langa WVL 12639 SON Loudspeaker System

positive-feedback.com

 

[dcathro]

Nice review Tim!

When I look at these speakers, it is hard to imagine how the large woofer can mate to the small fragile tweeter.

My speakers (3 way) have FC Bass and Mids, and AlNiCo Tweeters. The variability of the Q via the powers supplies is both a blessing and a curse. Blessing because of the ability to get a superior result and curse because of the added complexity.

 

[tima]

Nice review Tim!

When I look at these speakers, it is hard to imagine how the large woofer can mate to the small fragile tweeter.

My speakers (3 way) have FC Bass and Mids, and AlNiCo Tweeters. The variability of the Q via the powers supplies is both a blessing and a curse. Blessing because of the ability to get a superior result and curse because of the added complexity.

Thanks!

The SON is a different design. The field-coil driver covers a lot of the frequency range. Both speakers are very responsive.

 

[AudioHR]

What an excellent review!

I had the pleasure of hearing these speakers at the Munich High End Show paired with Air Tight electronics and Primary Control turntable/tonearm setup. Looking at the room you would never of thought it could sound good but it did. Extremely good in fact! It was in the top three rooms that I enjoyed the most, I went back twice. My complements to the synergy of these components and a great selection of music (analog)!

 

[hogen]

I very much agree. This was one of my top three rooms in München the last three years.

What an excellent review!

I had the pleasure of hearing these speakers at the Munich High End Show paired with Air Tight electronics and Primary Control turntable/tonearm setup. Looking at the room you would never of thought it could sound good but it did. Extremely good in fact! It was in the top three rooms that I enjoyed the most, I went back twice. My complements to the synergy of these components and a great selection of music (analog)!

View attachment 105654

 

[gleeds]

Colin King of Gestalt Audio has the WVL Sons at this year's Capital Audio Festival with vinyl and some wonderful SE amplifiers. A top reviewer from TAS and I sat in the room dumbstruck at what we were hearing. Musicality and emotional engagement that bested all of the big-boy-toy systems at the show. I have years of experience with Mundorf AMT mid/tweeter and the integration with the FC woofer was absolutely spot on. Probably not a rock and roll speaker but for everything else ...........

 

[gleeds]

Update:
Colin of Gestalt Audio showed up with the WVL Sons at our local audio show in Southern California this past June. Colin used New Audio Frontier 845 amplifiers to power them. Once again I was smitten so I purchased the Sons on the spot. To power the Sons I am using Trafomatic's parallel single-ended 300B integrated amplifier, aka the "Rhapsody" (20 watts/channel) alongside our Lampizator Baltic 4 DAC and Ars Machinae M1 turntable.

In full disclosure as of July, 1 Hear This is the exclusive retail partner for Wolf Von Langa in California and also the new US importer for Trafomatic.

 

[gestalt]

Update:
Colin of Gestalt Audio showed up with the WVL Sons at our local audio show in Southern California this past June. Colin used New Audio Frontier 845 amplifiers to power them. Once again I was smitten so I purchased the Sons on the spot. To power the Sons I am using Trafomatic's parallel single-ended 300B integrated amplifier, aka the "Rhapsody" (20 watts/channel) alongside our Lampizator Baltic 4 DAC and Ars Machinae M1 turntable.

In full disclosure, as of July 1 Hear This is the exclusive retail partner for Wolf Von Langa in California and also the new US importer for Trafomatic.

View attachment 114322

Killer system.

 

[djsina2]

These are great speakers and should be getting more attention than they do here in the USA. Think of these as a competitor to the popular O96's. My friend demo'd both and preferred the WVL by a large margin (and bought the SON).

 

[davidavdavid]

A picture's worth a thousand ...
When I saw Gary's photo, I had no idea the speakers were/available in a black finish.
Who makes black speakers anymore? <GRIN>

The Ebony & White below (don't ask me how WVL happened upon those descriptives) turn out be the HiFi world's answer to a Rorschach test. Having shared this phtograph with numerours audiophiles, each and everyone has seen some unique "hidden" image in the finish. I won't divulge who saw what, but sweet Jesus, some audiophiles should not be let out of their respective listening rooms without some form of superivison. <GRIN>

 

[gleeds]

A picture's worth a thousand ...
When I saw Gary's photo, I had no idea the speakers were/available in a black finish.
Who makes black speakers anymore? <GRIN>

The Ebony & White below (don't ask me how WVL happened upon those descriptives) turn out be the HiFi world's answer to a Rorschach test. Having shared this phtograph with numerours audiophiles, each and everyone has seen some unique "hidden" image in the finish. I won't divulge who saw what, but sweet Jesus, some audiophiles should not be let out of their respective listening rooms without some form of superivison. <GRIN>

View attachment 114405

Damn David those are stunning, yet not for the faint of heart

 

[Argonaut]

 

[Audio Addict]

A picture's worth a thousand ...
When I saw Gary's photo, I had no idea the speakers were/available in a black finish.
Who makes black speakers anymore? <GRIN>

The Ebony & White below (don't ask me how WVL happened upon those descriptives) turn out be the HiFi world's answer to a Rorschach test. Having shared this phtograph with numerours audiophiles, each and everyone has seen some unique "hidden" image in the finish. I won't divulge who saw what, but sweet Jesus, some audiophiles should not be let out of their respective listening rooms without some form of superivison. <GRIN>

View attachment 114405

I am going down in early September to visit Colin at Gestalt Audio to audition these.

 

[Sampajanna]

Excellent review and very interesting speakers

 

[GeauxAudio]

Sharing my comments from another thread on WVL and Gestalt (Colin).

Post in thread 'Wolf von Langa (WVL) Chicago Speakers - Dream Speakers' https://www.whatsbestforum.com/thre...ago-speakers-dream-speakers.37262/post-902384

 

[Joe Cohen]

 

[Joe Cohen]

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Images from our show at the CA Audio Show

Wolf Avon Langa London Loudspeakers, SW1X Electronics and PranaWire Cables and Conditioning - a match made in heaven!

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Sunday is the last day. You do not want to miss this. Room 1211

 

[ThatStereoSound]

I will chime in as a fellow WVL son owner. I purchased these in January of this year, coming from Harbeth 40.2 Anniversary speakers previously which should give you an idea of my sound preferences. In my experience, the WVL speakers are much easier to live with and check a lot of boxes. They are sensitive, easy to position, and have meaningful bass while still being neutral. They have extremely high WAF, which I attribute to the low profile, and the mounting of the tweeter inside of the clear panel. To me, this is a design feature, since the tweeter functions as a dipole which gives the speaker a very open sounding presentation, not to mention the looks. The integration between the tweeter and the field coil woofer is seamless. For my tastes, the son pairs well with tubes, and in my system, the sound is organic and very emotionally engaging.

I sit in the Nearfield, which works well, but the speakers also do an excellent job of filling the entire room with sound, when used for the purposes of background music. There is no beaming, and as such the sweet spot is not overly narrow. The two trade-offs with the speaker for me are a soundstage that in my system does not extend far past the width of the speakers, and a smaller sense of scale due to its compact stature. I imagine that the latter is addressed by going up the line to the frame series speakers with multiple woofers none of which I have heard in person.

All in all, these are highly recommended, and I am happy to answer any questions for anyone considering them in their system.

 

[gleeds]

Wonderful report on the Sons. Today, Colin and another colleague of mine are experimenting with raising the Sons height by a few inches to see what the effects are, especially for taller users where their lower height may affect image height and scale. I notice your terraza style floors but presume you have a rug between you and the speakers. For me, once hearing the Sons going back to box speakers (even ones like Harbeth) is hard to do.

Enjoy!

 

[Joe Cohen]

If my experience with the London is anything to go by then finding the exact right positioning should make the speakers disappear entirely. I have only heard good things about the Son.