Another side of the "high end" from Wilson Audio


There has been some recent buzz about the new Magico as G_d's gift to audio. Maybe the best ever. One post talked about David Wilson's possible reaction. As pointed out by many before, there are many Holy Grails, all claiming some extrodinary advances in the state of the art. Neat. And wonderful for the hobby.

In mho, reviewing is about the "magic of the moment in the particular space being used." This is not to say that reviews are right or wrong but rather have many more factors than even the best reviewers can accuratly describe. Of my "memorable moments" in the audio world, many are from systems that had limited pretention to the high end. So...

This is a long overdue thank you to Wilson Audio and an effort to add an objective element to the gestalt of "high end audio." Years ago I had need to talk to Jerron at Wilson who was their point person for service issues. I had taken some time off to do a high end A/V dedicated room for a friend. Electronics were mostly ML's best and speakers were Wilson. By Wilson I mean Alexandria's in front, Maxx's for rears, Wilson center, two Wilson subs and some Wilsons on the walls for extra channels. Now that is a lot of Wilson. There were multiple issues, only one of which was Wilson was directly responsible. Not to mention that ny friend is OCD (obsessive complusive disorder) about his system. As an installer, I was paid well. Not so much as his therapist. Jerron and Wilson went well beyond reasonable to accomdate my friend and were heroic to make sure he was satisfied. With my own Wilson's, Jerror recently came through with more that he would have been required to do. I have seldom received this level of service in any situation. This company is commited to customer service. I am currently 8 months into trying to get an older ML pre amp fixed with no light at the end of the tunnel.

Can't tell you about Magico service, they're probably excellent. My point is that everything eventually has some problem and getting anything fixed in a throw away culture is mostly a major pain. Chris at Parts ConnXection is another great help and stands behind is product. I am sure therre are many more. It seems to me that service is an issue that needs to be considered in any high end purchase.

Again, thank you Jerron. You have been most helpful, knowlegable, and truly supportive.

Denny Daniels
kkurtis
In mho, reviewing is about the "magic of the moment in the particular space being used." This is not to say that reviews are right or wrong but rather have many more factors than even the best reviewers can accuratly describe.


Excellent point; a speaker may be perfect in an anechoic chamber, but how does it sound in YOUR listening room? That is one reason why "the best" is relative - you really need to try the speaker system in your own space to see what is right for you.

Another point. Wilson is a very established company that has been around since at least the seventies and likely to be around for a long time. This is important to me - I am done with here today; gone tomorrow companies.
I have never had the priviledge of owning a wilson product, but if i did i would certainly feel really good about having arguably "the best of the best" systems that is attainable by reasonable means. that is to say you can go hear their products somewhere not THAT far away from where you live. you might even get a home audition before you buy. then there is the set-up after you buy, all included (at least once).
the issue that comes up (besides price of course) is if you had bought Alexandrias, they are not upgradable to XLF's, so you are eventually going to have to sell your outdated "reference" for not a lot of money if you want the newest and bestest reference. If the XLF's are eventually replaced the process begins yet again. Finances are not the issue for a hedge-fund manager perhaps, but every 2-3 years the cycle must repeat itself yet again, and the age old challenge of making the older speaker sound "broken" compared to the new...
Now anyone with a brain would revolt and buy concert tickets instead- and perhaps eventually sell off their audio system.
Personally i have to find a balance between what i might want and what i really want, and as much as i love audio gear and listening to music, i have other hobbies and interests in life also. at some point i can truly say i don't care if i improve my system anymore. i can get just as much satisfaction from new underware as i do from a new cartridge...
P.S.- Magico dealers need to really be helpful towards their customers.
Competition is the cornerstone of the free market economy. As a Wilson owner, I am looking forward to their "response" I've heard other speakers...like the Rockport's and can honestly say...I was buying today, I'd buy Rockport's....will be interesting how Wilson responds.

It's no different than Ford & GM vs Porsche and BMW
Jfrech,

Have you compared Rockport and/or Wilson to Magico? If so, what are your thoughts?