My wife and I also auditioned speakers at the OP dealer's showroom at the Biltmore earlier this year. My wife is an experienced classical musician -- a soloist who has performed with some of the world's greatest orchestras, has made numerous recordings, and is intimately familiar with the acoustics of live music, and with recording studios.
We heard Sonus fabers, Focals, and Wilsons, all with quality sources (DCS) preamp, and amps.
My wife hated the Wilsons, finding them utterly artificial. We wound up purchasing Sonus fabers, though from a different dealer.
I have to wonder whether audiophiles who prefer the Wilson sound are actually deeply familiar with the sound of live, unamplified classical or jazz music. When you spend years performing and/or listening to live, unamplified music of some complexity and richness, speakers like the Wilsons we heard don't make a good impression. They don't sound natural, organic, or musical -- they sound "hi-fi."
I realize there are many passionate adherents of Wilson speakers, and I'm not attempting to offend. I love rock as well as classical, and I can understand how Wilsons, and perhaps similar speakers, can do a good job with music that is amplified and was not created primarily for live performance.
I've run into a similar phenomenon in shopping for a new car recently -- many of the optional audio systems seem designed or optimized for rock or rap music, and perform poorly with classical music, particularly orchestral and operatic.
We heard Sonus fabers, Focals, and Wilsons, all with quality sources (DCS) preamp, and amps.
My wife hated the Wilsons, finding them utterly artificial. We wound up purchasing Sonus fabers, though from a different dealer.
I have to wonder whether audiophiles who prefer the Wilson sound are actually deeply familiar with the sound of live, unamplified classical or jazz music. When you spend years performing and/or listening to live, unamplified music of some complexity and richness, speakers like the Wilsons we heard don't make a good impression. They don't sound natural, organic, or musical -- they sound "hi-fi."
I realize there are many passionate adherents of Wilson speakers, and I'm not attempting to offend. I love rock as well as classical, and I can understand how Wilsons, and perhaps similar speakers, can do a good job with music that is amplified and was not created primarily for live performance.
I've run into a similar phenomenon in shopping for a new car recently -- many of the optional audio systems seem designed or optimized for rock or rap music, and perform poorly with classical music, particularly orchestral and operatic.