Chronosonic XVX.

[Steve Williams]

Well Steve, maybe when I hear less than pristine recordings played at the Wilson and Magico rooms I've been to, then I can answer your Q.

as the saying goes, you can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear.

 

[microstrip]

(...) I think Caesar's argument on pristine recordings versus the rest is hugely relevant. Just what are figurehead spkrs like the XVX and Magico M9 meant to do w recordings not in the stellar category?

Nice. Give us a decent size list of music of different types sounding great in Zu's and poor in Wilson's. Then this thread can become interesting, as we can try to identify how the characteristics of the recording and the speaker match.

 

[spiritofmusic]

Hey, it wasn't my idea to get Zu to mix it w the XVX. I may be stupid, but I'm not dumb. All I can tell you is that I've never yet been in a Wilson or Magico demo where any and all music is played. Contrast that to multiple rooms at Munich where a whole range of average to stellar lps and cds were up for being played. But as I say, I wouldn't have brought Zu to this comparison.

 

[caesar]

I don't know, but aren't speakers supposed to convey what's on the recording, and not embellish it? Isn't that why folks seek the high-end, as opposed to more mundane stuff?
I don't think he mentioned specifically WHICH bad recording he was referring to, on purpose.

...,.

1. for some people that’s a goal. A stupid one but a goal, as no one really knows was what’s on the recording, but a goal. Those guys have bought Magicos already . But for others it’s to enjoy their favorite music. And that‘a likely through streaming, where bad recordings abound and this speaker is likely to ruin the experience
2. For those that want “high fidelity”’ , there is a measurement science forum. I think Amir runs it. Those guys would laugh the Wilson fans here out of the forum. The Wilson car paint , and the labor To put it on, costs more than the midfi gear those consider High fidelity.

 

[caesar]

i know everyone is biased toward Wilson here. Hahaha!

but stop interpreting the reviewer’s words in the way you want things to be. he said bad recordings sound bad! i know truth hurts, but if you can’t accept reality, you will never grow and improve.

 

[caesar]

to me this is a speaker that is colored and doesn’t sound natural. Not anything I would ever buy

Hi Steve, high end audio is a subjective hobby. Take any crappy blues, soul, or rock recording. Play it on Zu with A SET amp like Audion, and it will sound much more natural than any Wilson.

Examples: Albert king live - blues power, no way Wilson is going to match the electric guitar tone of Albert. And Aretha Franklin with King Curtis On sax- forget it! Wilson will butcher it!

but like I said, this is a subjective hobby

 

[Al M.]

1. for some people that’s a goal. A stupid one but a goal, as no one really knows was what’s on the recording, but a goal. Those guys have bought Magicos already .

In the sense of wanting to know what the recording engineer intended, and "what it should sound like" (as recording, not as music), yes that's a nonsense goal for several reasons which were discussed on this forum before.

In the sense of wanting to extract all the musical content, all the musical information, in order to draw you deeper into the music and its sound, I think it's a worthy goal to pursue. I do so as well, and I don't have Magico speakers .

But for others it’s to enjoy their favorite music.

See above. The more musical content and information I can extract from a recording, the more I can engage with the music and enjoy it.

 

[caesar]

Sorry Wilson fans! Wilson may sell 200 or so of these. Most of them will go to Wilson fans.

Not trying to ruin your weekend, But there may be 5-10 guys out there , who may have worked their whole life, who are not familiar with this hobby, and buy something that’s not right for them.

lets have some empathy for them!

 

[Steve Williams]

Hi Steve, high end audio is a subjective hobby. Take any crappy blues, soul, or rock recording. Play it on Zu with A SET amp like Audion, and it will sound much more natural than any Wilson.

Examples: Albert king live - blues power, no way Wilson is going to match the electric guitar tone of Albert. And Aretha Franklin with King Curtis On sax- forget it! Wilson will butcher it!

but like I said, this is a subjective hobby

It is indeed. What you fail to see and understand is how you took a quote from a review, out of context and flip a positive review to one where you pound your hatred of Wilson, Magico and Other manufacturers. That to me is a malicious trait that you state is now due to subjectivity in the hobby..

To me you’re as subtle as a elephants fart

 

[caesar]

In the sense of wanting to know what the recording engineer intended, and "what it should sound like" (as recording, not as music), yes that's a nonsense goal for several reasons which were discussed on this forum before.

In the sense of wanting to extract all the musical content, all the musical information, in order to draw you deeper into the music and its sound, I think it's a worthy goal to pursue. I do so as well, and I don't have Magico speakers .



See above. The more musical content and information I can extract from a recording, the more I can engage with the music and enjoy it.

Sorry Al, I’m in a luxury hobbY to enjoy great music. Not to pay $330k where most steamEd music sounds like crap . there’s plenty of gear that does that better than Wilson . For a lot less money

 

[caesar]

In the sense of wanting to know what the recording engineer intended, and "what it should sound like" (as recording, not as music), yes that's a nonsense goal for several reasons which were discussed on this forum before.

In the sense of wanting to extract all the musical content, all the musical information, in order to draw you deeper into the music and its sound, I think it's a worthy goal to pursue. I do so as well, and I don't have Magico speakers .



See above. The more musical content and information I can extract from a recording, the more I can engage with the music and enjoy it.

Sorry Al, I’m in a luxury hobbY to enjoy great music. Not to pay $330k where most steamEd music sounds like crap . there’s plenty of gear that does that better than Wilson . For a lot less money

 

[caesar]

It is indeed. What you fail to see and understand is how you took a quote from a review, out of context and flip a positive review to one where you pound your hatred of Wilson, Magico and Other manufacturers. That to me is a malicious trait that you state is now due to subjectivity in the hobby..

To me you’re as subtle as a elephants fart

if it makes you feel better to say that Steve, I’m not taking this personally

 

[the sound of Tao]

Hate to say it Ceasar but seems a bit of a...

 

[Bobvin]

Ceasar, how do you know the fellow buying the XVX is going to be playing streamed music full of crappy recordings? You are making assumptions out of thin air. For all you know the XVX owner is extremely fond of his collection of stellar recordings and invested greatly to find the very best recordings of the music HE (not you) loves. Maybe there's only ten of them, his ten 'desert island discs" and he plays them again and again because they bring him joy and happiness. Lets say he LOVES the sound of his Wilsons. Are you gonna be the guy who tells him, "yeah man, but have you heard Johnny Rotten at the Underground Club, thats a shit recording I bet your Wilson really make it sound like shit. That album rocks on my Zus."

At which point he may be tempted to punch you in the nose!

Bad recordings sound good in my car, sometimes. That doesn't make my car stereo better than my home rig which, yes, includes Wilson Alexia currently. I've grown to know the limitations of my Wilson box speakers, and when I can I'll buy something different. That doesn't mean I am unable to enjoy music on my Alexias now. Zus can be fun in a party with lots of noisy people listening to crap recordings. So what?

 

[ALF]

...there is a simple fix in the USA for this new Wilson speaker when you want to be streaming...

...just call Bob at Rhapsody and place an order for Emile’s exciting Extreme...done !!

vbw,
-a

 

[Steve Williams]

if it makes you feel better to say that Steve, I’m not taking this personally

Caesar

again what you fail to understand is that you have taken a few words out of a very positive review and flipped them to a meaning contrary to that of the reviewer so that you can spin your web for whatever speaker floats your boat. You continue to batter any and all manufacturers that don’t foster your sense of what sounds right (which BTW I feel you have a right to do). Rather it’s how you do it. It’s posts such as yours that drive manufacturers away from places such as our little neck of the internet. There are ways to make a point but to blatantly take something out of context to serve your means is just something that bothers the hell out of me

 

[Al M.]

Caesar

again what you fail to understand is that you have taken a few words out of a very positive review and flipped them to a meaning contrary to that of the reviewer so that you can spin your web for whatever speaker floats your boat. You continue to batter any and all manufacturers that don’t foster your sense of what sounds right (which BTW I feel you have a right to do). Rather it’s how you do it. It’s posts such as yours that drive manufacturers away from places such as our little neck of the internet. There are ways to make a point but to blatantly take something out of context to serve your means is just something that bothers the hell out of me

Totally agreed. Caesar makes no sense on this, whatsoever.

Sorry, Caesar, that's the hard truth. Hope you can take it, if not, that's entirely your problem. As I said, otherwise I often like your posts.

 

[Ron Resnick]

I literally don't know a single person (oh, well, maybe, Kedar), and I don't know of a single person (although he may declare himself in response to this post) who was not impressed by the XVX.

I, personally, am not a huge Wilson fan historically, and I was completely blown away (twice) by the Master Chronosonic + Master Subsonic.

A well-known reviewer friend of Steve and mine who attended the Master Chronosonic demo was actually more impressed by the XVX (in the same room and I think with the same system) than by the Master Chronosonic. (I found this a little bit puzzling, but this was our friend's thoughtful and considered opinion on the basis of the brief demos.)

 

[Ron Resnick]

There's a report on this speaker on the TAS site. It is a surprisingly honest report: This is a very, very detailed speaker. "Bad recordings sounded bad". (Emphasis is from the author, Matthew Clott.)

. . . .

Just for you I re-read the Matthew Clott impressions of the XVX.

Your excerpted quote is accurate, but your suggestion of a negative review is grossly misleading.

It takes a special kind of studied duplicity to report a characterization which is the mathematical opposite of the rave report Matthew actually conveyed. Even Matthew's observation about resolution and detail was intended by him as a compliment.

 

[Tango]

Can anyone describe how the sound of top Wilson, Magico and YG differ? What are different characteristic, sound preferences of Magico buyers vs Wilson vs YG? I am very curious how one choose Magico over Wilson or vice versa YG too, given same price level.