JA actually thought the Alexx bass was too ripe, compared to Alexandria.
DAW bass isn’t boomy - even look at the measurements, completely different design than prior Wilsons. Tuned more for definition not output.
If the Alexx bass sounds like a sealed box speaker, not sure you’ve aced the setup yet. |
@whitecamaross
"The Alexia is a killer speaker but the Alexx is in a different league." True. But really, the Alexx is on another planet better - with supporting equipment though.
The Alexia's and DAWs are not boomy. Just less well articulated. Once you've heard them you'll know.
Glad to hear you will have Wilson help with setup. |
The "boomy" factor is discovered once I try the better wilson offerings.
How do you think most people know if what they have is really all that great? Only by comparing it directly to something else...for example, i know how good Alexx is right now but how do I identify what its weaknesses and strengths are? Simple, get another speaker in its price bracket here that I can compare against it. That is the only way I can really evaluate its pluses and minuses without forming a narrative.
The Alexia is a killer speaker but the Alexx is in a different league. |
Sciencecop and Viber , I agree 100%.
And, not the least, we all know the real reasons behind how long speakers stay in WC’s room is:
A) A buyer is contacting him to buy the pair asap.
B) Deal or trade opportunity that comes through and let him get the next wanted piece...
We know for sure Focal Stella and Scala Evos made it to interested buyers very quickly. The reason is Focal resells much better than Wilson. As I said, it’s in another whole other class.
And, we get to know the flaws of Alexias and DAWs , boomy less controlled bass, after it is gone. This I must ask WC, why did you never reveal this very important flaw before... Why must we always wait until a piece of gear is gone before we learn the cons of it ?... |
Right. Technical experts from a speaker company don't necessarily have better ears than you. You have all the info from the manual that you need. It is more important to take plenty of time to do this, than the mission to continue your journey. The smartest expert is not going to live with you for months, but you do need patience to be on your own. If you want help from us, post videos of the same music but with different resistor settings and different alignment positions for different distances you sit away. Of course, keep the microphones on a stand exactly at your ear positions.
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I plan to have someone come over next year. I want to experiment with them on my own and "dial them in" as best as I can so I can compare to what they can do. |
You should let someone representing Wilson help you out setting these speakers up Jay. There are so many parameters to adjust, and Wilson have a very specific way of going trough the steps, there is nothing wrong with a consultant getting some help to get it right. With the purchase of 100 K speakers they should be willing to work with you, even if you purchased at a reduced price, they should be interested in especially YOU hearing the best presentation. When i spent 100 K on my ML Statements they flew in a team from the store and Kansas to assemble them, and came back on 2 other occasions to adjust settings after break-in. |
@techno__dude
+1
The Wilson way. LOL
@ kren0006
The reason Wilson stays longer is the pursuit of the so called “promised” good sound if the setup is right. It takes some time to run through all options available and then realize, there is no such thing 😞
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"Good measurements will not promise anything when it comes to listening experiments, but bad measurements will always do so. I´ve never heard any speaker or other component perform well if the measurements were lousy.
And this set of measurements is way in the dessert"
Speaking of dessert, I had pumpkin and pecan pie after my Thanksgiving dinner.
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Great review of Fremer's Alexx. He implies that when the music ensemble size is small, the Alexx sounds appropriately small, and when the size is large, the Alexx is properly large. I also like how Fremer gives the measurements guy hell for not caring to listen. Notably, Fremer prefers it to the much more expensive Alexandria in his room for nearly all of the important musical criteria, although leave it to the basshead Atkinson to say he misses the Alexandria's looser low bass. In this case, more expensive = worse.
I don't know if the Stella has adjustable angles and forward/backward adjustments for time alignment the way the Alexx does. If not, this is a major advantage of the Alexx. The question is whether the possibly better driver characteristics of the Stella outweigh their lack of time alignment adjustability. Only listening will tell. |
I do not understand how Michael Fremer can provide a serious, honest and objective opinion of anything producing sound in that cluttered and disorganized mess of a room: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H07NpWk_Xf8I hope his homeowner's insurance covers the damage that might result from that hot water heater producing a leak. |
Don’t be sad that Focal and Magico could together only last 3 weeks and now the next rung up on the Wilson ladder is here for the comparatively long term.
It’s a good thing!! |
I wonder when somebody will say thew words that really should go with a speaker like this.
The time domain is really terrable, and the impedance is even worse.
How can this ever be called high end?
To me this looks like someone without any knowledge of speaker design ran into a huge stack of components, drivers, MDF and veneer, and had a lot of fun.
If I did this speakers measured performance, I would start all over again. The sure to come comment asking "Did you listen to it?" will be answered no, I did not, and I do not see any reason for it.
Good measurements will not promise anything when it comes to listening experiments, but bad measurements will always do so. I´ve never heard any speaker or other component perform well if the measurements were lousy.
And this set of measurements is way in the dessert |
Michael Fremer said the following to the critics of the ALEXX:
"judging how a speaker sounds at a hi-fi show hotel room is a fool’s errand. It’s funny how people who like a certain brand will say "oh it didn’t sound good, but it’s a hotel room". And for brands they don’t like, they leave out the "but"....and just say what you said"
"The comments here from people who have never heard these speakers and from one who heard them in a hotel room at a hi-fi show. I have never met any of these people but they are all really butt ugly"
"Do not listen. You are too foolish a person to let your ears tell you anything"
"There's no wood involved. Please never listen to these speakers. Look at the measurements and decide. That's your best bet here"
The man WENT OFF on critics!!
LMAO! |
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Always said the Alexia had boomy bass. It was always denied. Now the truth comes out again... Someone has to blow 100k with Wilson to get controlled bass ( what a shame), this is why Focal and Magico are in a whole other class. |
@viber:
Each module is adjustable.
@kren:
You don’t need to seal both ports. This speaker doesn’t overload the room with bass. It’s not the same "boom boom" bass of the Alexia or DAW. This is s complete departure of the wilson bass you get for under 100k msrp. This sounds like a sealed cabinet. |
And let us know if the Alexx is beating the $30k+ more expensive Focal Stella (ie, you could get Alexx AND Yvette or SabrinaX for less than Stella) even before you spike the Alexx, and in what ways it is doing so (assuming it is).
Question: Is it possible or ever contemplated to make it a sealed cabinet speaker by using the blocking panels on both front and back? I guess it is certainly possible since the same panel fits both front and back, but assuming that they don’t include four panels, only two, so you’d have to somehow get two more if that was something you’d want to try |
Jay,
I hope you include some of the old favorite musical selections on the 1st video, so we can compare with the Stella. Also, say what resistor settings you decide to use for the 3 freq ranges. This is one method of EQ, and it will be interesting to see how the sound varies with different resistor settings--many combinations! Are the small enclosures for the 3 upper drivers adjustable? If not, then true time alignment is set for a particular distance from your ears, and that distance will exhibit the best sound. |
Time to hit the sack. I spent hours and hours setting up the ALEXX. it is 2:13AM. Things are looking good and our first video with the Alexx should be a spectacle.
I hated this speaker at axpona 2019 and at a dealer showroom earlier this year. Well, I've turned this THE HELL AROUND. |
Sometimes it takes someone familiar with the reasons behind a design to understand its beauty. Not all of us may be gifted with that ability. |
Looks are all subjective. I'm focused on the sonic attritubes right now. As far as looks, would you believe if i told you that the 3 people who have seen it in person in my room said the speaker fits perfect in my room and they liked the color? The color wasnt what i wanted but now that I have lived with it for two days, it grew on me. It doesn't get dirty, it's not a loud color and it looks better in person than on pics. |
Alexx is a beautiful speaker in person. Especially the carpet ; )
(psst: it’s called felt, NOT CARPET, lol)) |
Well, the Alexx are the worst looking pair of speakers to have entered WC ´s room.
The 5 inch upper midrange is the same driver as in the Sabrina... ( made by Scanspeak). You would never see something like this with Focal. |
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Congratulations Jay on moving to a perfectly logical jump up the Wilson ladder, when I've heard the Alexx at shows they have been involving and very impressive, great choice! I wonder if they can be bettered, or more likely another speaker will have some different strengths and weaknesses and you alone get to pick the "flavors" that most appeal to your musical tastes? Keep us guessing and bring on the competition. |
My personal opinion on this speaker is that it is on a different planet from the Alexxia 2. I prefer the Alexx's sound signature much more and not just the bass, but its overall sound to me is much more natural. Jay, congrats. If one can make the 2X jump to the Alexx, they will be very rewarded. |
Thank you Kren and Ron. This took an inhuman effort to make it possible. All i can say is that from the first 5 seconds of playing music, i was blown away in many ways.
It certainly sounds SO DIFFERENT than my previous Wilson speakers. I will expand on this later in a future video. |
Ha, I wish I was as good at picking investments as I am at predicting WC’s next move.
WC, congrats. Those are special speakers. The level that the room is at right now is unbelievable |
Absolutely beautiful Jay...can't wait to hear them and get more of your impressions on them.
kren, I need to talk to you about my investments.
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Yep, like I said, by Thanksgiving ..... : )
Not only accurately called the next component (wasn't even told to us it was a speaker) but also the date, oh my. |
Well, I’ve said it before, Gryphon continues to be king in my stable of current and former Amplifiers. The gryphon essence mono has been reviewed by stereophile and here is the recently reviewed gryphon essence! You all considering amps should take a hard look at gryphon. https://www.stereophile.com/content/gryphon-essence-mono-power-amplifier"How does one ... ... put into words that which is beyond words? For this, we have poetry, music, and, if I may be so bold, electronics on the refined level of Gryphon Essence Mono power amplifiers. Although fully capable of conveying the entire frequency range, even through speakers that bring some modestly powered amplifiers to their knees, they cannot convey the huge dynamic swings and minute details that some more powerful beasts command. But on music that touches the heart, they can transport to a realm where few components know to go. Magic awaits those with the means to audition them at home, especially with their modest BlackSpike upgrade. "Highly recommended" is an understatement." Stop looking at other amps.... :-) |
12pm eastern time - my next component will be introduced. Hope you all enjoy |
A Safe, Healthy and Happy Thanksgiving to all.
George Washington initiated this holiday - to give thanks to God for all our blessings - but it officially became a holiday when Abe Lincoln made it so. Ironically, when President Lincoln made T-day official - it was in a period of the civil war which was a very bleak time in our country's history. |
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Happy Thanksgiving to you, Jay, and to everyone. We all have a lot to be grateful for, much of which is taken for granted. |
If i do that then it will give it away.
Happy Thanksgiving to all of you! |
We need an “unboxing” video! You’ve never done one of those |
Or perhaps a Rockport which naturally mates to Gryphon. Will be interesting to see. |
Was hoping MBL was up next, but sounds like Wilson Alexx. |
Well...12 hour day and i am exhausted. I sure hope this move was worth it. 1,400 lbs total weight and my back is done for today. Will it disappoint? We shall see... |
You excite the breakup regardless of SPL, it is part of the driver ’sound’ (Sure, graininess will be louder just like the rest of the sound as you pump the volume up).
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Right, speedbump6. Rosin is used on violin bow hair to increase the stickiness and grip, which increases HF output. Nowadays I let the rosin get used up so the sound is less harsh. I can protect my ears better. When the bow is rehaired, there is no rosin--no sound! We have to apply just enough rosin to make some sound, but not too much. If I practice for long periods, I use a mute on the bridge of the violin. I have mutes of different materials, which exhibit different tone colors.
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Agreed viber. If anyone is experiencing breakup on the speakers mentioned, then the spls they must be playing at will soon induce enough hearing loss that they won’t be able to hear the breakup soon enough anyways, lol |
sciencecop,
I follow your reasoning about breakup of tweeters at very HF causing total loss of control down into the very audible range, but it is a matter of degree. On recordings, there is very little amplitude of 25 kHz information. Played at sensible SPL, there is very little 25 kHz info in most music. Maybe the tweeter could handle low amounts of 25 kHz energy, but would breakup with large amounts of input energy. In the case of those gentle recordings of "Man in the Moon" and others, there is negligible content and amplitude of 25 kHz, so this factor is not applicable. Most likely, a certain listener just may not like brilliant, crisp sound in the upper midrange and lower HF at even modest volumes.
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Using analogies to convey opinions on complex, emotionally charged subjects is akin to bear hunting with a bow on a mountain.
Virtually zero chance it hits mark with desired effect, and high likelihood of situation going downhill fast. |
i couldn’t have done the analogies you did, but I challenge you to doing car analogies next time you give your opinion on more of my future components? :)
Speaking of future components... aghhhhh i want to open my mouth and tell you all, but for now you all should EXPECT 2 surprises that will be COMPLETE opposites.... It is 7:12AM ET right now, i am getting ready to leave my house to get my hands on my next component.
For now, i will leave you all with a video (it will release today at noon E.T.) where i will be calling out Magico and Wilson on my issues with them. You don’t wanna miss it. It is a 38-minute-long video where i go over the Magnepan 20.7, Wilson Alexia 2, Magico M3 and Focal Stella EVO.
While you all watch that video, i will be working on the next great thing!
Talk to you all soon! |
hehe, thanks tjassoc! I got some encouragement to return to the thread by a member who’d never previously reached out to me, so out of appreciation for that kind gesture I tried to bring it one time with a little bit extra.... |
