Or perhaps a Rockport which naturally mates to Gryphon. Will be interesting to see.
My Long List of Amplifiers and My Personal Review of Each!
So I have been in a long journey looking to find the best amplifiers for my martin logan montis. As you know, the match between an amplifier and speakers has to be a good "marriage" and needs to be blend exquisitely. Right now, I think I might have found the best sounding amplifier for martin logan. I have gone through approximately 34-36 amplifiers in the past 12 months. Some of these are:
Bryston ST, SST, SST2 series
NAD M25
PARASOUND HALO
PARASOUND CLASSIC
KRELL TAS
KRELL KAV 500
KRELL CHORUS
ROTEL RMB 1095
CLASSE CT 5300
CLASSE CA 2200
CLASSE CA 5200
MCINTOSH MC 205
CARY AUDIO CINEMA 7
OUTLAW AUDIO 755
LEXICON RX7
PASS LABS XA 30.8
BUTLER AUDIO 5150
ATI SIGNATURE SERIES 6005
With all that said, the amplifiers I mentioned above are the ones that in my opinion are worth mentioning. To make a long story short, there is NO 5 CHANNEL POWER AMP that sounds as good as a 3ch and 2ch amplifier combination. i have done both experiments and the truth is that YOU DO lose details and more channel separation,etc when you select a 5 channel power amplifier of any manufacturer.
My recollection of what each amp sounded like is as follows:
ATI SIGNATURE SERIES 6005 (great power and amazing soundstage. Very low noise floor, BUT this amplifiers NEEDS TO BE cranked up in order to fully enjoy it. If you like listening at low volume levels or somewhat moderate, you are wasting your time here. This amp won’t sound any different than many other brands out there at this volume. The bass is great, good highs although they are a bit bright for my taste)
NAD M25 (very smooth, powerful, but somewhat thin sounding as far as bass goes)
Bryston sst2(detailed, good soundstage, good power, but can be a little forward with certain speakers which could make them ear fatiguing at loud volumes)
Krell (fast sounding, nice bass attack, nice highs, but some detail does get lost with certain speakers)
rotel (good amp for the money, but too bright in my opinion)
cary audio (good sound overall, very musical, but it didn’t have enough oomph)
parasound halo (good detail, great bass, but it still holds back some background detail that i can hear in others)
lexicon (very laid back and smooth. huge power, but if you like more detail or crisper highs, this amp will disappoint you)
McIntosh mc205 (probably the worst multichannel amp given its price point. it was too thin sounding, had detail but lacked bass.
butler audio (good amplifier. very warm and smooth sweet sounding. i think for the money, this is a better amp than the parasound a51)
pass labs (very VERY musical with excellent bass control. You can listen to this for hours and hours without getting ear fatigue. however, it DOES NOT do well in home theater applications if all you have is a 2 channel set up for movies. The midrange gets somewhat "muddy" or very weak sounding that you find yourself trying to turn it up.
classe audio (best amplifier for multi channel applications. i simply COULDNT FIND a better multi channel amplifier PERIOD. IT has amazing smoothness, amazing power and good bass control although i would say krell has much better bass control)
Update: The reviews above were done in January 2015. Below is my newest update as of October 2016:
PS AUDIO BHK 300 MONOBLOCKS: Amazing amps. Tons of detail and really amazing midrange. the bass is amazing too, but the one thing i will say is that those of you with speakers efficiency of 87db and below you will not have all the "loudness" that you may want from time to time. These amps go into protection mode when using a speaker such as the Salon, but only at very loud levels. Maybe 97db and above. If you don’t listen to extreme crazy levels, these amps will please you in every way.
Plinius Odeon 7 channel amp: This is THE BEST multichannel amp i have ever owned. Far , but FAR SUPERIOR to any other multichannel amp i have owned. In my opinion it destroyed all of the multichannel amps i mentioned above and below. The Odeon is an amp that is in a different tier group and it is in a league of its own. Amazing bass, treble and it made my center channel sound more articulate than ever before. The voices where never scrambled with the action scenes. It just separated everything very nicely.
Theta Dreadnaught D: Good detailed amp. Looks very elegant, has a pleasant sound, but i found it a tad too bright for my taste. I thought it was also somewhat "thin" sounding lacking body to the music. could be that it is because it is class d?
Krell Duo 300: Good amp. Nice and detailed with enough power to handle most speakers out there. I found that it does have a very nice "3d" sound through my electrostatics. Nothing to fault here on this amp.
Mark Levinson 532H: Great 2 channel amp. Lots of detail, amazing midrange which is what Mark Levinson is known for. It sounds very holographic and will please those of you looking for more detail and a better midrange. As far as bass, it is there, but it is not going to give you the slam of a pass labs 350.5 or JC1s for example. It is great for those that appreciate classical music, instrumental, etc, but not those of you who love tons of deep bass.
It is articulate sounding too
Krell 7200: Plenty of detail and enough power for most people. i found that my rear speakers contained more information after installed this amp. One thing that i hated is that you must use xlr cables with this amp or else you lose most of its sound performance when using RCA’s.
Krell 402e: Great amp. Very powerful and will handle any speaker you wish. Power is incredible and with great detail. That said, i didn’t get all the bass that most reviewers mentioned. I thought it was "ok" in regards to bass. It was there, but it didn’t slam me to my listening chair.
Bryston 4B3: Good amp with a complete sound. I think this amp is more laid back than the SST2 version. I think those of you who found the SST2 version of this amp a little too forward with your speakers will definitely benefit from this amp’s warmth. Bryston has gone towards the "warm" side in my opinion with their new SST3 series. As always, they are built like tanks. I wouldn’t call this amp tube-like, but rather closer to what the classe audio delta 2 series sound like which is on the warm side of things.
Parasound JC1s: Good powerful amps. Amazing low end punch (far superior bass than the 402e). This amp is the amp that i consider complete from top to bottom in regards to sound. Nothing is lacking other than perhaps a nicer chassis. Parasound needs to rework their external appearance when they introduce new amps. This amp would sell much more if it had a revised external appearance because the sound is a great bang for the money. It made my 800 Nautilus scream and slam. Again, amazing low end punch.
Simaudio W7: Good detailed amp. This amp reminds me a lot of the Mark Levinson 532h. Great detail and very articulate. I think this amp will go well with bookshelves that are ported in order to compensate for what it lacks when it comes to the bass. That doesn’t mean it has no bass, but when it is no Parasound JC1 either.
Pass labs 350.5: Wow, where do i begin? maybe my first time around with the xa30.8 wasn’t as special as it was with this monster 350.5. It is just SPECTACULAR sounding with my electrostatics. The bass was THE BEST BASS i have ever heard from ANY amp period. The only amp that comes close would be the jC1s. It made me check my settings to make sure the bass was not boosted and kept making my jaw drop each time i heard it. It totally destroyed the krell 402e in every regard. The krell sounded too "flat" when compared to this amp. This amp had amazing mirange with great detail up top. In my opinion, this amp is the best bang for the money. i loved this amp so much that i ended up buying the amp that follows below.
Pass labs 250.8: What can i say here. This is THE BEST STEREO AMP i have ever heard. This amp destroys all the amps i have listed above today to include the pass labs 350.5. It is a refined 350.5 amp. It has more 3d sound which is something the 350.5 lacked. It has a level of detail that i really have never experienced before and the bass was amazing as well. I really thought it was the most complete power amplifier i have ever heard HANDS DOWN. To me, this is a benchmark of an amplifier. This is the amp that others should be judged by. NOTHING is lacking and right now it is the #1 amplifier that i have ever owned.
My current amps are Mcintosh MC601s: i decided to give these 601s a try and they don’t disappoint. They have great detail, HUGE soundstage, MASSIVE power and great midrange/highs. The bass is great, but it is no pass labs 250.8 or 350.5. As far as looks, these are the best looking amps i have ever owned. No contest there. i gotta be honest with you all, i never bought mcintosh monos before because i wasn’t really "wowed" by the mc452, but it could have been also because at that time i was using a processor as a preamp which i no longer do. Today, i own the Mcintosh C1100 2 chassis tube preamp which sounds unbelievable. All the amps i just described above have been amps that i auditioned with the C1100 as a preamp. The MC601s sound great without a doubt, but i will say that if you are looking for THE BEST sound for the money, these would not be it. However, Mcintosh remains UNMATCHED when it comes to looks and also resale value. Every other amp above depreciates much faster than Mcintosh.
That said, my future purchase (when i can find a steal of a deal) will be the Pass labs 350.8. I am tempted to make a preliminary statement which is that i feel this amp could be THE BEST stereo amp under 30k dollars. Again, i will be able to say more and confirm once i own it. I hope this update can help you all in your buying decisions!
Bryston ST, SST, SST2 series
NAD M25
PARASOUND HALO
PARASOUND CLASSIC
KRELL TAS
KRELL KAV 500
KRELL CHORUS
ROTEL RMB 1095
CLASSE CT 5300
CLASSE CA 2200
CLASSE CA 5200
MCINTOSH MC 205
CARY AUDIO CINEMA 7
OUTLAW AUDIO 755
LEXICON RX7
PASS LABS XA 30.8
BUTLER AUDIO 5150
ATI SIGNATURE SERIES 6005
With all that said, the amplifiers I mentioned above are the ones that in my opinion are worth mentioning. To make a long story short, there is NO 5 CHANNEL POWER AMP that sounds as good as a 3ch and 2ch amplifier combination. i have done both experiments and the truth is that YOU DO lose details and more channel separation,etc when you select a 5 channel power amplifier of any manufacturer.
My recollection of what each amp sounded like is as follows:
ATI SIGNATURE SERIES 6005 (great power and amazing soundstage. Very low noise floor, BUT this amplifiers NEEDS TO BE cranked up in order to fully enjoy it. If you like listening at low volume levels or somewhat moderate, you are wasting your time here. This amp won’t sound any different than many other brands out there at this volume. The bass is great, good highs although they are a bit bright for my taste)
NAD M25 (very smooth, powerful, but somewhat thin sounding as far as bass goes)
Bryston sst2(detailed, good soundstage, good power, but can be a little forward with certain speakers which could make them ear fatiguing at loud volumes)
Krell (fast sounding, nice bass attack, nice highs, but some detail does get lost with certain speakers)
rotel (good amp for the money, but too bright in my opinion)
cary audio (good sound overall, very musical, but it didn’t have enough oomph)
parasound halo (good detail, great bass, but it still holds back some background detail that i can hear in others)
lexicon (very laid back and smooth. huge power, but if you like more detail or crisper highs, this amp will disappoint you)
McIntosh mc205 (probably the worst multichannel amp given its price point. it was too thin sounding, had detail but lacked bass.
butler audio (good amplifier. very warm and smooth sweet sounding. i think for the money, this is a better amp than the parasound a51)
pass labs (very VERY musical with excellent bass control. You can listen to this for hours and hours without getting ear fatigue. however, it DOES NOT do well in home theater applications if all you have is a 2 channel set up for movies. The midrange gets somewhat "muddy" or very weak sounding that you find yourself trying to turn it up.
classe audio (best amplifier for multi channel applications. i simply COULDNT FIND a better multi channel amplifier PERIOD. IT has amazing smoothness, amazing power and good bass control although i would say krell has much better bass control)
Update: The reviews above were done in January 2015. Below is my newest update as of October 2016:
PS AUDIO BHK 300 MONOBLOCKS: Amazing amps. Tons of detail and really amazing midrange. the bass is amazing too, but the one thing i will say is that those of you with speakers efficiency of 87db and below you will not have all the "loudness" that you may want from time to time. These amps go into protection mode when using a speaker such as the Salon, but only at very loud levels. Maybe 97db and above. If you don’t listen to extreme crazy levels, these amps will please you in every way.
Plinius Odeon 7 channel amp: This is THE BEST multichannel amp i have ever owned. Far , but FAR SUPERIOR to any other multichannel amp i have owned. In my opinion it destroyed all of the multichannel amps i mentioned above and below. The Odeon is an amp that is in a different tier group and it is in a league of its own. Amazing bass, treble and it made my center channel sound more articulate than ever before. The voices where never scrambled with the action scenes. It just separated everything very nicely.
Theta Dreadnaught D: Good detailed amp. Looks very elegant, has a pleasant sound, but i found it a tad too bright for my taste. I thought it was also somewhat "thin" sounding lacking body to the music. could be that it is because it is class d?
Krell Duo 300: Good amp. Nice and detailed with enough power to handle most speakers out there. I found that it does have a very nice "3d" sound through my electrostatics. Nothing to fault here on this amp.
Mark Levinson 532H: Great 2 channel amp. Lots of detail, amazing midrange which is what Mark Levinson is known for. It sounds very holographic and will please those of you looking for more detail and a better midrange. As far as bass, it is there, but it is not going to give you the slam of a pass labs 350.5 or JC1s for example. It is great for those that appreciate classical music, instrumental, etc, but not those of you who love tons of deep bass.
It is articulate sounding too
Krell 7200: Plenty of detail and enough power for most people. i found that my rear speakers contained more information after installed this amp. One thing that i hated is that you must use xlr cables with this amp or else you lose most of its sound performance when using RCA’s.
Krell 402e: Great amp. Very powerful and will handle any speaker you wish. Power is incredible and with great detail. That said, i didn’t get all the bass that most reviewers mentioned. I thought it was "ok" in regards to bass. It was there, but it didn’t slam me to my listening chair.
Bryston 4B3: Good amp with a complete sound. I think this amp is more laid back than the SST2 version. I think those of you who found the SST2 version of this amp a little too forward with your speakers will definitely benefit from this amp’s warmth. Bryston has gone towards the "warm" side in my opinion with their new SST3 series. As always, they are built like tanks. I wouldn’t call this amp tube-like, but rather closer to what the classe audio delta 2 series sound like which is on the warm side of things.
Parasound JC1s: Good powerful amps. Amazing low end punch (far superior bass than the 402e). This amp is the amp that i consider complete from top to bottom in regards to sound. Nothing is lacking other than perhaps a nicer chassis. Parasound needs to rework their external appearance when they introduce new amps. This amp would sell much more if it had a revised external appearance because the sound is a great bang for the money. It made my 800 Nautilus scream and slam. Again, amazing low end punch.
Simaudio W7: Good detailed amp. This amp reminds me a lot of the Mark Levinson 532h. Great detail and very articulate. I think this amp will go well with bookshelves that are ported in order to compensate for what it lacks when it comes to the bass. That doesn’t mean it has no bass, but when it is no Parasound JC1 either.
Pass labs 350.5: Wow, where do i begin? maybe my first time around with the xa30.8 wasn’t as special as it was with this monster 350.5. It is just SPECTACULAR sounding with my electrostatics. The bass was THE BEST BASS i have ever heard from ANY amp period. The only amp that comes close would be the jC1s. It made me check my settings to make sure the bass was not boosted and kept making my jaw drop each time i heard it. It totally destroyed the krell 402e in every regard. The krell sounded too "flat" when compared to this amp. This amp had amazing mirange with great detail up top. In my opinion, this amp is the best bang for the money. i loved this amp so much that i ended up buying the amp that follows below.
Pass labs 250.8: What can i say here. This is THE BEST STEREO AMP i have ever heard. This amp destroys all the amps i have listed above today to include the pass labs 350.5. It is a refined 350.5 amp. It has more 3d sound which is something the 350.5 lacked. It has a level of detail that i really have never experienced before and the bass was amazing as well. I really thought it was the most complete power amplifier i have ever heard HANDS DOWN. To me, this is a benchmark of an amplifier. This is the amp that others should be judged by. NOTHING is lacking and right now it is the #1 amplifier that i have ever owned.
My current amps are Mcintosh MC601s: i decided to give these 601s a try and they don’t disappoint. They have great detail, HUGE soundstage, MASSIVE power and great midrange/highs. The bass is great, but it is no pass labs 250.8 or 350.5. As far as looks, these are the best looking amps i have ever owned. No contest there. i gotta be honest with you all, i never bought mcintosh monos before because i wasn’t really "wowed" by the mc452, but it could have been also because at that time i was using a processor as a preamp which i no longer do. Today, i own the Mcintosh C1100 2 chassis tube preamp which sounds unbelievable. All the amps i just described above have been amps that i auditioned with the C1100 as a preamp. The MC601s sound great without a doubt, but i will say that if you are looking for THE BEST sound for the money, these would not be it. However, Mcintosh remains UNMATCHED when it comes to looks and also resale value. Every other amp above depreciates much faster than Mcintosh.
That said, my future purchase (when i can find a steal of a deal) will be the Pass labs 350.8. I am tempted to make a preliminary statement which is that i feel this amp could be THE BEST stereo amp under 30k dollars. Again, i will be able to say more and confirm once i own it. I hope this update can help you all in your buying decisions!
20,890 responses
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. |
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.... :-) |
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. |
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. |
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. |
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 |
The comments following the Stereophile measurements section are interesting and enlightening: https://www.stereophile.com/content/wilson-audio-specialties-alexx-loudspeaker-measurements As an aside, Michael Fremer does not take criticism well! |
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! |
I wonder when somebody will say thew words that really should go with a speaker like this. 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. |
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_Xf8 I hope his homeowner's insurance covers the damage that might result from that hot water heater producing a leak. |
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. |
"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. |
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. |
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. |
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 ?... |
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. |
@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 Alexx IS NOT going to have the same bass signature as alexia or even daw. I threw them exactly in the same position where I had my Alexia and also the daw and the bass is less. Think about it, WHY would the bass be less if the woofers are bigger ? That’s like you replacing your 10 inch home theater subwoofers with 15 inch subwoofers and keeping everything identical. It’s a bigger subwoofer with a bigger enclosures. The ALEXX does not respond the same and this could be due to the rear port being located on the lower portion of the speaker as opposed to the middle of the cabinet as seen on the Alexia and daw. When I replaced the daw with the Alexia, i got far more bottom end without doing anything else. Same spot, same electronics. I’ve been working on the positioning for the last 2 days and have marked 4 different positions on the floor so I can move them from one position to another relatively quick. However, relatively quick here doesn’t exist because the time alignment needs to be done each time you move the speaker farther or closer to you and that time alignment takes a good 20 min to do. It’s a ton of fun though and no I’m not complaining 😅 I welcome the challenge to dial these suckers in. Some of you mentioned that I should use the REW software to see how they measure and use that to dial them in. Here’s my issue: I DO NOT like to use software to dial in speakers unless it’s home theater. For 2 channel, i like using my ear, blue tape, laser tape measurer and my back to move these monsters. I feel like using a software to set up 2 channels doesn’t really mean I will like the results. If this were the case then wilson would be using this software to dial in their speakers. Lastly, I'm getting excellent sound here so don't think that I am not. I'm just playing with them to see how they interact with the room. I have also learned that LOVE to be no more than 10ft away from each speaker I've owned. Once I place them too far, i lose the wow and submersive feeling. Speakers lose their magic. This applies to ALL speakers I've owned - not just Alexx. |
Several of the Alexx reviews I read don't say what resistor settings are used for the 3 upper drivers. This is a big reason why the reviews are different and should not be taken literally. This is basically EQ of the drivers, so the sound will be very different depending on the settings. I know this because of my experience with the Rane EQ with different speakers. I can make the bass of a speaker sound boomy and full, or tight and lean, with different EQ settings. Same for midrange and HF. Different rooms and recordings will benefit from different settings. Do your own settings by ear instead of being a blind (or deaf) slave to measurements. This ability to tailor the sound is a very intelligent design of the Alexx. |
Sasha and models above it have resistors which can be adjusted. Wilson does not recommend adjustment of resistors unless there are serious room flaws. They said to first explore with positioning and time alignment before touching resistors. Stella evo has more adjustments than Alexx. (bass adjustments via jumpers as well as the electromagnetic Power supply adjustments). An interesting find from yesterday: i was blasting some reggae yesterday and i decided to remove the woofer grilles. I noticed that the woofers were BARELY moving. With the sasha and alexia i had the woofers mangled and totally flexing in and out (full excursion) but not with Alexx. Will 1,000 watts class a fix that ? We shall find out soon ... |
With all that speaker experience, having owned Focal, Magico, Dynaudio , Vivid....WC wants us to believe he couldn’t recognize less controlled « boomy »bass from the Wilson Daw and Alexia 2.... before getting the Alexx. Wow. And we are supposed to believe that. Sorry, but it is obvious you never mentioned this important information purposely. Even an objective begining reviewer would have not omitted this kind of speaker major caractéristic. WC, you are not different from all those magasine reviews in not telling the flaws of the gear you try and eventually resell or trade. It is pure disappointment we have to wait until the gear is gone to learn the whole thing about a product. Especially when the reviewer is experienced, this has no rational explaination. |
Actually I am different....i don't get paid ..this is FREE information...i don't get price accomodations just like stereophile reviewers do on any gear they want...i don't get a check each time I write a review...i don't get a damn thing... HUUUUUGE difference...that RIGHT THERE, .makes it totally different... Don't worry, i don't expect you to understand this... |
Tecno, how can we take anything you’ve listed seriously. Wilson Alex is Meg and veneer? It would help if you knew much about the speakers to begin with. The Alex has no Mdf and certainly there is no veneer since they are painted. Why do you feel the need to retell jays opinions. When it’s focal, you agree with him, when it’s Wilson you seem to feel he’s being dishonest with us? If you want a fanboy thread for focals, start one. Jay just gives you the hard brutal and honest truth. |