TAS Alexia review (December 2013 issue)

[DaveyF]

Because a transparent system shows a products warts vs a system that compensates for colorations?

Except we are talking about cables here....So, IF Nordost is as alexandre states, then the upstream system cannot be as transparent as he thinks for Nordost to be "too much". OTOH, perhaps we should ask alexandre, what's his definition of "too much"??

 

[MylesBAstor]

Except we are talking about cables here....So, IF Nordost is as alexandre states, then the upstream system cannot be as transparent as he thinks for Nordost to be "too much". OTOH, perhaps we should ask alexandre, what's his definition of "too much"??

What does cables have to do with it? Every cable has a flavor.

 

[Bruce B]

So how did a TAS Alexia review evolve into a "transparent" cable discussion??

 

[asiufy]

Have you tried Odin ? It's not too much in my system. Best cable I have ever heard. One of the most balanced, neutral and resolving cable money can buy.

Only an IC (XLR). It was good, but my Kubala is just as good, and much cheaper.
I've tried all the others in the Valhalla line. I had all-Valhalla PCs at some point. My system never sounded to thin and annoying.
To be honest, I've learned, after I got rid of all my Nordost, that some of the cheaper lines are not as bad as the Valhalla, but now I feel no need to try them again, specially with the new (ridiculous) prices.



alexandre

 

[asiufy]

That makes little sense. How can a cable like Nordost be too much in a transparent system. Unless you are saying that Transparent cables aren't that transparent after all, LOL.

They might not be. As I wrote, they have a nice warm mid-bass sound, that I enjoy. Some of the earlier (MM1 and before) had a distinctive HF "noise" too, but from the MM2 on, it's much less prevalent.
I'm sorry it doesn't make sense to you, but it does to me. If you have a transparent system, and you add a cable that sucks the life out of it, and turns music into a thin, empty thing (that's Nordost), you tend to stay away from it. Of course, I loved my Nordost when I had McIntosh and tubes...

alexandre

 

[microstrip]

(...) If you have a transparent system, and you add a cable that sucks the life out of it, and turns music into a thin, empty thing (that's Nordost), you tend to stay away from it. Of course, I loved my Nordost when I had McIntosh and tubes...

alexandre

Alexandre,

Can I ask what is your current "transparent system"? It will help understanding your posts.

 

[asiufy]

Currently I have darTZeel on Magico, with dCS and now MSB digital.
But I've used the Nordost on a number of other gear that passed through here, and every single time, without fail, they had that particular signature, of thinning out the sound, in a very unpleasant way (to me). Few things I've used it with: MBL big monoblocks, Krell (ouch), Mark Levinson, Electrocompaniet...
As I said earlier, the Odin IC was the least offensive, and the Valhalla PC was the worst of the bunch.

Sorry to keep derailing the thread! Back to the Wilson lovefest

alexandre

 

[microstrip]

Currently I have darTZeel on Magico, with dCS and now MSB digital.
But I've used the Nordost on a number of other gear that passed through here, and every single time, without fail, they had that particular signature, of thinning out the sound, in a very unpleasant way (to me). Few things I've used it with: MBL big monoblocks, Krell (ouch), Mark Levinson, Electrocompaniet...
As I said earlier, the Odin IC was the least offensive, and the Valhalla PC was the worst of the bunch.

Sorry to keep derailing the thread! Back to the Wilson lovefest

alexandre

I have owned the Dartzeel system (still own the NH108) and although I like it a lot, I recognize that it has a very specific sound signature - IMHO I would say less transparent that the ARC REF 40 + 150 or the Devialet. As you, I also found that the Dart's did not match with Nordost cables, but the ARC's really loved the Odin. And the SoundLabs A2 sounded better with the Valhalla speaker cable than with any other I have tried with them. This to say that cable matching is not a question of "offensive" or "worst", but mainly of system synergy. Consequently, appreciations of the sound of cables carried in Magico systems will never get a general agreement in the Wilson lovefest!

 

[DaveyF]

They might not be. As I wrote, they have a nice warm mid-bass sound, that I enjoy. Some of the earlier (MM1 and before) had a distinctive HF "noise" too, but from the MM2 on, it's much less prevalent.
I'm sorry it doesn't make sense to you, but it does to me. If you have a transparent system, and you add a cable that sucks the life out of it, and turns music into a thin, empty thing (that's Nordost), you tend to stay away from it. Of course, I loved my Nordost when I had McIntosh and tubes...

alexandre

Alexandre, IF you are enjoying the fact that the TR's have a "nice warm mid-bass sound" that's all well and good. BUT, IMO, that by definition is a coloration. A coloration that you are enjoying and one that may well be necessary to the reproduction of good sound in your room, BUT a coloration nonetheless.
OTOH, IF Nordost is actually accurately portraying what is upline, in this instance a thin and empty sound, even though you may NOT like that ( and neither would I) that doesn't make the cable faulty, simply more transparent and accurate. I do think that with Nordost...and particularly the lower level lines, one has to be VERY careful as to the match-up....I think all their cables are very revealing and fast, so much so that any fault up the line is highlighted. Since the lower end stuff is likely to be used with lower end gear, the result can be very unpleasant. As they say, sometimes seeing the dear lady in the light with all of her warts isn't the most romantic thing

 

[KeithR]

Alexandre, IF you are enjoying the fact that the TR's have a "nice warm mid-bass sound" that's all well and good. BUT, IMO, that by definition is a coloration. A coloration that you are enjoying and one that may well be necessary to the reproduction of good sound in your room, BUT a coloration nonetheless.
OTOH, IF Nordost is actually accurately portraying what is upline, in this instance a thin and empty sound, even though you may NOT like that ( and neither would I) that doesn't make the cable faulty, simply more transparent and accurate. I do think that with Nordost...and particularly the lower level lines, one has to be VERY careful as to the match-up....I think all their cables are very revealing and fast, so much so that any fault up the line is highlighted. Since the lower end stuff is likely to be used with lower end gear, the result can be very unpleasant. As they say, sometimes seeing the dear lady in the light with all of her warts isn't the most romantic thing

Thin and empty isnt "transparent"- in fact its coloration.

TA was historically used with Wilson because the speakers were to be frank, bright, and the networks tamed the top end and gave more punch down low. Nordost prob works better with your SFs due to their warm nature.

 

[DaveyF]

Thin and empty isnt "transparent"- in fact its coloration.
.

IMO,the ability for the cable to show that the rest of the system was thin and empty could indeed be considered as transparent IF that's what the rest of the system sounds like.

 

[mbovaird]

....back to the Review.....it was a good read. Does anyone have the Stereophile review yet? That one I am VERY anxious to read.

 

[DaveyF]

It is a good read. I thought particularly apropos when AHC talks about "the Alexia's new tweeter has probably corrected my one concern about the timbre and dynamics of Wilson speakers-a slight hardening in the upper midrange and treble".

Couldn't agree with him more!

 

[still-one]

....back to the Review.....it was a good read. Does anyone have the Stereophile review yet? That one I am VERY anxious to read.

Yes, I have the new issue of Stereophile with JA's review of the Alexia. Bottom line, he likes them quite a bit. He noted that if were to retire tomorrow the Alexia would be the speaker he would choose for musical accompaniment to that retirement.

 

[Bruce B]

Bottom line, he likes them quite a bit. He noted that if were to retire tomorrow the Alexia would be the speaker he would choose for musical accompaniment to that retirement.

E'nuf said....

 

[microstrip]

E'nuf said....

Bruce,
It's never e'nuf ...

 

[Bruce B]

Bruce,
It's never e'nuf ...

Not according to some people!

 

[PeterA]

I just finished reading the TAS review. I was a bit disappointed. I've heard these in my good buddies' home twice with the Doshi monos and DAgostino amp and twice in public settings as set up by Peter McGrath. They have sounded very different in each setting. I really like the detail, coherence and articulation of the bass/lower frequencies compared to other smaller Wilson speakers I've heard. If the Cordesman decides to keep them as a reviewer's tool, then it would have been very interesting for him to demonstrate his point about how transparent they are by describing how different his various amps or sources sound now that he has the proper tool for that kind of evaluation. If they don't have the bass energy or extension of his other reference, it would have been interesting to read about the effect of adding subwoofers.

I have heard Peter McGrath do that demo of moving the tweeter module up or back by one step and heard how it changes the time alignment and resulting focus and tone of the sound. It is a most convincing demo. The review did a good job of describing this aspect of the design, though I'm confused about the mention of the modules being rotated around the "polar axis". Does this mean that each module can rotate left or right relative to the woofer section or just tilt up and down and slide front and back? I take "polar axis" to mean the axis going vertically through the speaker from the floor straight up to the ceiling, like the axis of the earth through the poles. Perhaps this is mistaken.

I also noticed that in the next TAS issue there will be a review of the DAgostino amps. These seem to be paired often with the Alexias. It would be a good opportunity for Cordesman to compare the DAgostinos to his Pass amps with his new Alexia as his new reviewing tool.

It will be fun to compare this review to the one coming out in Stereophile with the measurements. Very timely given the season.

I did find the explanation about the Transparent cable networks quite interesting and really enjoyed that sidebar.

 

[rockitman]

Just got Stereophile in the mail today. JA basically sums it up this way...if he were to retire tomorrow, Alexia would be the speaker he would buy.

 

[edorr]

Just got Stereophile in the mail today. JA basically sums it up this way...if he were to retire tomorrow, Alexia would be the speaker he would buy.

Read it as well. These reviewer guys will have a basement full of favorite kit to enjoy during retirement.