A brutal review of the Wilson Maxx

...not only speakers are all colored but our ears too.
Our ears are so complicated that none realy ever figured its curve of a freequency reception. So I agree with Mr Fremer on that part.

I can also assume that Maxx speakers can sound great(never heard them.

On the value part, they use ScanSpeak drivers that cost arround $35+- depending on freequency range. The building materials are also not the best that could be used. The freequency curve and limits measured also not in the best range...

If someone wants to bash Wilson than go ahead do so but explain it objectively.

However, if someone claims to be objective but throws in cheap shots directed at other peoples's integrity, it hardly makes that person objective.

If you really believe that any advertising makes someone corrupt than that is your right but its an extreme position. All people have an agenda whether its for advertising dollars or for other things. If you think Mr. Hardesty or anyone else is completely bias free than you are the biggest sucker. We are human and are built with conscious and unconscious bias.

I might like Wilson or I might like Porsche or I might like a fancy restaurant in NYC like "Per Se". This does not mean that I am right or wrong. Sure, I can buy all the ingredients that are in a fancy meal or all the pieces of a fancy car but that does not mean that I could put it together as well.

There are some people who just feel that the sum of the individual parts of any given thing should cost no more than those individual parts. Sorry assembly matters to some people. Sure build your own ipod from scratch and it will be cheaper but it most of us would rather have someone else build it for us. Same goes for my car and same goes for my steak dinner.

By the way there is a lot of talk about what things cost and what they are worth. Let's be honest, almost all audiophile equipment costs too much. Part of the reason is that its not mass produced so its more expensive to make. The other reason is that they have to charge more because they sell fewer of them and want to make a profit. If we lived in a better world than we could for instance produce a million high end speakers for a lot cheaper than the cost of only making 5,000 of them. If you want a good price than buy a mass produced product, if you love music which I reckon is what brings you to audiophile equipement and this website than you are overpaying for that love. Most of my friends would think a speaker is overprices for $2,500 let alone $10,000. So those that say the wilson speaker is crazy expensive for $40,000 don't consider that most people think their $2,500 speakers are almost as crazy expensive. If you got the money and a passion for something, you tend to spend your money on it. People spend millions on a painting that cost probably a dollar to make hundreds of years ago and would cost a couple hundred dollars to make nowaways.

Its fun to talk about what we like and what we don't like. Its not cool however when we attack the people we disagree with especially to impugn their integrity.

Let the love and criticism of the products fly with your reasons why but not because you think there is a cabal out there to swindle us or that 99% of us are dumb to buy a given product. I say that even though ashlee simpson new album is the #1 selling album in the country.

Michael

More of Fremer's insults and lies. Everything he wrote has either no basis in fact, or is another pathetic personal attack. The details:

Fremer- "Arthur Salvatore, who is a bitter little man."

Salvatore- Fremer, who has never met me, feels compelled to make another personal insult, thus his use of the expression "bitter little man".

Fremer-"...I happened upon his indictment of the entire audio reviewing community"

Salvatore- That claim is a lie. "Entire"? I have recommended several magazines and websites for years now, including, ironically, Richard Hardesty's webzine! (See my Links File for other examples.)

Fremer-"I shot him a a rather pissed off email, which he chose to make public when it was not so intended."

Salvatore- That is another lie. A BIG LIE actually. The Truth- Fremer, himself, sent the exact same e-mail to Phonogram less than 6 minutes after he sent it to me. (Just check the Phonogram archives-October 29, 2000- for confirmation.)

In fact, I originally heard about Fremer's letter from a number of my (then) customers, who were also members of Phonogram. They had read it before I read it myself.

So, Fremer sends out his letter to hundreds, if not thousands of people, then accuses ME of making that same letter "public". (When I posted it almost two days later.) That blatantly false charge takes more than "nerve" folks.

Fremer- "if you choose to read and believe Mr. Salvatore's paranoid delusions, you risk ending up like him."

Salvatore- Wow? Now I'm "paranoid" because I pointed out that Stereophile's "reviews" are hardly critical.

First of many examples- They published 60+ CONSECUTIVE
"rave reviews" (2001-2), in which each and every component was "Recommended". So, if you feel those numbers are more than just a pure and astronomical coincidence, you "risk ending up like him" (that's me!).

Fremer- "My favorite part of his rant is where someone who I don't know wrote to defend me, and Salvatore makes it seem as if I had written that, using a psuedonym."

Salvatore- Please read the letters yourself (from "Jason Bergmann") and come to you own conclusion. (See the Links below.)

(Personally, I've never known a situation where "someone who I don't know" has made such an emotional commitment to an audio reviewer. Further, and this is priceless, this same passionate "defender" misspells Fremer's name (Fermer!?) something like 10 times in these same letters!)

Fremer- "If that alone doesn't convince of of how twisted, paranoid and narcissistic Salvatore is, then nothing will."

Salvatore- I get the sense here of someone who is so insecure, they feel that any type of lie and vicious personal attack is justified. ("twisted, paranoid and narcissistic")

Please go to the links below to get an uncensored picture of Michael Fremer, in his own words, and, as a bonus, an excellent example of what psychologists' term "projection".

http://www.high-endaudio.com/RR-FREMER.html

http://www.high-endaudio.com/RR-FREMER-A.html

My deep regret that this had to be my first e-mail to this website.

Best Regards, Arthur Salvatore

Interesting thread

I for one own Wilson speakers and have moved up the chain having owned WP 5.1's, WP 6's, Maxx l's, X-1 Series lll and now X-2's (along with an XS and complete WATCH system)

I feel therefore I can speak with some degree of authority. There is simply no question that people love them or hate them but to bash Dave Wilson makes me feel that you guys are merely trying to say that your doniker is bigger than the that of the person who owns Wilson speakers.

I can tell you that with tube amps and/or proper solid state amps, Wilson speakers will sound and image better than anything on the market. Previously I was running Audio Research Ref 600 Mk lll's at 600 wpc and now I am running Lamm ML 2.1's at 18 wpc. Show me how many speakers are able to perform as well with such different amplification.

I agree totally with Michael Fremer. In the end everyone's question to themself boils down to what your ears hear when your ass is in the sweet spot in your room with your components as well as what your pocket book can afford...nothing more and nothing less. For some of you to accuse reviewers of being bought off or churning equipment on Audiogon are just as Michael Fremer says...you are idiots.

As for the esthetics of the speakers....beauty is in the eyes of the beholder but when the lights are off and it is my ass sitting in my room listening to Dave's speakers, I can tell all of you that I have reached audio nirvana. One man's passion is another man's poison. The fact that Dave Wilson is so successful and drives a Ferarri is OK by me because he has enriched my life with the love of music. He has brought reality of the soundstage to my listening room.

I credit Michael Fremer for having the brass cajones to say it as it really is here. He is an honest reviewer. For all of the others here who rant about Hardesty's "review" I would suggest you all do some critical listening. My door is always open to any interested audiophiles in the Bay Area who want to come for a listen.

Finally to the individual who suggested that Dave Wilson's test at CES 2 years ago (when he used an iPod and fooled us all)that the listeners were easily fooled and we didn't know much about critical listening, I can say that I was at that demo and I also feel I am a very critical listener..to that extent the iPod played through the Sophia system clearly bettered the B&W system.

I agree also with the comments of Skull posted above

dave wilson has always been fodder for audio critics. he made his reputation off the wilson wamm a product that is virtually non-existent. he charges outrageous prices for off the shelf drivers. those in the know see nothing expensive about the parts or construcution process. those in the know conitnue to rave on the wilson products from top to bottom of the line.

Wilson maxx graced the cover of both the absolute sound and sterophile recently. after all these years what did dave discover? a new supplier of drivers?

Is it a bit inconsistent? he can make it sound good with an ipod-but I have heard it with the best of krell,cj,arc. quite frankly I prefer a table radio.

The fact of the matter is dave is feeling the bite of the economy. he is not the first peddler of an expenswive audio product to suggest that all the money should be spent on his product. I remeber daves comment "I am not so much interested in the the audiophile but the person who can spend $10K for my speaker".

Reviewers whose ears I trust continue to rave over wilson speakers. I don't think they are bribed. There are makers of excellent products who can't get a review. It would be much easier to take a bribe for a good product.

The good thing is we can vote with our ears and our pocketbooks. If you buy a product based on reviews and exclusivty, eventually you'll stop listening and your friends will not come over anymore. that is the true test of a product. A test that the wilson products have failed miserably in my opinion. If they made your honor roll,congratulations!