Wilson Alexandria X2s in small room


I'm thinking of getting a pair of Wilson Alexandria X-2s. I'm wondering how they will sound in my 13.5 x 22 x 7 foot listening room. I've talked with Wilson and they thought they'ed work. Some dealers I've talked with are not as positive, thinking they will overpower my room. My room has been acoustically treated with Auralex LNRD bass traps in all four corners. I also use diffusors and 6 Room Lens to tune my room which features a pair of Revel Salons and a pair of Revel Sub 30 subwoofers. I figure my current system has about the same radiating area as the Wilsons. A friend has Legacy Focus 20/20s which generate large amounts of bass also, and he's used them successfully in small rooms with tweeks. Will I need to use a unit like the Rives PARC to get the best from these speakers? Or will they fit in with the usual amount of setup care that my Salons took?
Any opinions or educated guesses?
Thanks,
Steve
sgr

Showing 1 response by tim916

I think that the biggest problem with your room may be the low ceiling. It looks like you have diffusion up there now, but you might find that absorbtion would be more effective. Also, the Auralex bass traps are woefully ineffective at frequencies <100hz where room modes and nulls will be strongest. I recommend that you look at RealTraps bass traps which can be effective down to 50hz.

http://www.realtraps.com/data.htm

As far as the X-2's go, bear in mind that many of them are sold in Asian markets where rooms are typically smaller than in the USA, and Wilson certainly takes this into account with the design (notice the venting for the bass is in the front rather than the rear of the cabinet, allowing for closer placement to the wall). However, given your low ceiling, perhaps a line-array type speaker such as the Dali egaline would work better in your room as these types of designs minimize floor and ceiling reflections.