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How can Wilson Audio speakers sound that good if they are using OEM drivers?

How can Wilson Speaker sound that good if they are using OEM drivers made of last century materials? B&W used Kevlar and now Continuum, after a lot of R&D. Magico uses Graphane which is the new Carbon Fiber. 
Would a Wilson Speaker sound better if somehow one could put a B&W midrange Continuum driver instead of the OEM paper driver they use?
gonzalo_oxenford

Showing 2 responses by erik_squires

erik_squires
16,592 posts
 
Aside from the obvious logical errors in this post I just want to explain something the OP fails to understand:

The worst Wilson sounds better than the best B&W

This is indisputable.
erik_squires
16,592 posts
 
Honestly, this is a really funny, but fascinating thread.

Not too long ago, a poster asked why do so many conversations devolve into technology, this post is all about technology, but only superficially. The OP assumes there are absolute improvements in driver performance given strictly by the materials.

So, the answer in my mind is in at least these dimensions:

  1. The goal of the designer of the speaker
  2. The complete performance envelope of a driver is far greater than merely it's material. There are good Be tweeters, and terrible Be tweeters.

So this puts me in an interesting position of answering the OP's question. I'm not a Wilson fan, and yet I am a fan of some of the components they use. The mid-woofer in general is often ScanSpeak, of which I own, and I rank them as superb components. Do I like how they go together in a Wilson? Meh. I think they are OK, but not worth the cost.

Do I think B&W (after Matrix) is all that? Not really.

So, Gonzalo, honestly, I think that you would be well served by making your own pair of speakers. Why don't you find a good kit from Meniscus or Parts Express or Madisound and build your own? I think you would learn a great deal more that way than via this forum alone.

This is actually good advice for all audiophiles: At least once in your life, build your own speakers.

Best,


E
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