New Speaker, Wilson MAXX 3, Alexandria series 1, Alexia series 1, YG sonja models
Deciding between these models for my next speaker. If anyone has owned multiple of these speakers, I'd really appreciate their insight. From my understanding,
MAXX 3 - Has newer mids (found in Alexandria series 2 and Alexia 1) and older focal tweeter. Ive read mixed reviews about some saying the focal tweeter is superior to the CST and that Wilson was forced to stop carrying it. Some say the complete opposite and praise the new technology.
Alexandria series 1 - Has older mids (look similar to grand slamm models) and older focal tweeter (oldest all around) but superior time alignment/crossover and best bass among Wilson options. Does the additional time alignment tech(and rear tweeter) really bring their mids/highs above the newer drivers in the MAXX 3 or even the alexia?
Alexia series 1 - new CST tweeter and new mids, worst bass among the Wilson options
YG sonja models (potentially 2.2 or 2.3) - wildcard speaker, newest of options. loved their sound at a show but question if they are a speaker that do some things incredible at the sacrifice of other things. I also fear how expensive the drivers might be if anything ever went wrong (input on this would also be nice) which makes me always hesitant to enjoy a speaker to its full extent. I know Wilson driver expense is manageable.
My room size is small currently (18x13) but this might be changing in the future. I've also had a lot of luck running Dirac live on just the woofer frequencies to help blend very large speakers into my small room. Amplification wise I have a handful of different amps I'd play around with. I typically listen at low-medium levels with occasional medium-high levels.
@deep_333 Would it mot be easier to just say your biased against Wilson Audio?Or a least come up with a rational reason. What drew me to Wilson Audio was hearing the MAX 3, a wonderful speaker. I owned the Alexia 1 for nine years. A truly extraordinary speaker with fabulous bass. |
Who cares if they make their own drivers if you prefer the overall sound of a speaker that uses top drivers from Seas, Scanspeak, etc. who already know how to make some pretty darn good drivers? That’s like saying to buy a DAC because they program their own chip rather than using AKM, Burr Brown, etc. There’s a helluva lot more to how a given speaker or DAC sounds than just the individual drivers or chip. Example — at a similar price point I’ve heard Focal, Dynaudio, B&W, and Joseph Audio speakers and I’d take JA any day over the others and not even a close call. Are there benefits to building your own drivers? Absolutely. Should that be a definitive buying decision? No way — too many other crucial variables involved. Always gotta use your ears as the final arbiter. |
@krammas As a matter of basic principle and at minimum, especially at this price bracket, you could buy speakers from manufacturers who actually have the core aptitude to build their own drivers from scratch, Borresen, TAD, Focal, etc.... Some apparent genius will buy all the drivers from someone else, stick it in his "box" and it became his speaker!! (wow!! 😁). You don't get that "disconnect" here (to put it nicely), especially when he's trying to charge you only a measly sum of a 100k? |
Have owned alexia 1, maxx3, and X2 Series 2. I still think the Maxx3 is the best looking speaker Wilson ever made, especially in silver. Maxx 3 is better than Alexia 1 and really not that much bigger of a footprint. X2 series 2 beats maxx 3 but much bigger. Pricing probably isn’t much different at this point. Loved maxx 3. |
