WILSON AUDIO/ cost vs. value

I find it funny that so many of the Zu Cable speaker owners are criticizing the Wilson. Isn't it fun to be gunned for when you are at the top.

Most Wilson owners do compare speakers prior to purchase. They have also probably owned several high end speakers prior to owning a pair of Wilsons. Quite often they base their decisions on proferssioanl experience including studio experience or playing in an orchestar etc. I am sure this would suprise many of the bashers out there. So many fellow Wilson owners do in fact play instruments or are involved in the industry in either recording or manufacturing of equipment that it is impossible to ignore. Mind you any manufacture can get an accomodation from any speaker manufacturer so don't use that as an argument against this point.

Your local Wilson dealer you refer to does love the Wilson Maxx IIs. I know who you are talking about. He often does private demos for people & loves the Maxx IIs. The fact that he owns ATC's is indicative of his love for a 2nd type of sound at home. The ATC's are an active speaker & in that regard will sound incredible in ways the Wilson can not. I do love quite a few speakers but the ones for me that have the least amount of compromise and the best overall balance are Wilson Speakers. That is for my ears & my opinion. If Dave Wilson gets rich from this good for him. He has spent years in developement & is "there" so he can charge a premium. Won't you pay more to go to the best car mechanic if you own a Ferrari even though a lesser mechanic can do the same work most of the time? Just to be sure?

Boa2 & Tvad,

What equipment, source components & cabling did they use for the Demo. I am very curious.

Woodburger,

What are you using for your system cables?

I agree it is all system synergy & setup is critical. All I need to do is change one thing to make my system sound terrible. Every system is as strong as the room & the weekest link.

Gdoodle,

WP don't weigh 700 Lbs. Maybe shipping weight is that high but not the speakers.

Just to point out, the most important reason for the WP8 upgrade was that the EU's laws about lead meant the WP could no longer be sold starting next year since the speaker is damped w. lead. I would assume the lead helps w. magnetic shielding. My guess is new speakers are not shielded.

Also it appears that Wilson Upgrades their speakers more or less every 4 years. Correct me if I am wrong.

Undertow,

Tell me about your research. I just don't get what you are saying. I wonder what speaker VTL use to voice their products. You should give them a call. Maxx IIs. What cable manufacturer uses Wilson (probably one of many), Transparent. Has A Wilson / VTL demo won best sound at any show? Wilson sounds great with many different systems. Audio Research has a different house sound to VTL. Both are great products. Now people are using Lamm w. Wilsons including some Wilson employees. Wilson speakers show everything upstream and offer the user the ability to get different types of sound depending on the kind of equipment that is being used.

If we truly want to discuss his margins, we need to know what salary David Wilson is paying himself, his wife & what his employee payroll is. His advertising budget is enourmous as well. Also, he can do some innovative bookkeeping to keep the profit elsewhere. He could have 2 separate companies selling from 1 to the other and the profit is divided. All this is guessing but possible.

Now discussing his advertising. I bet there is a firm involved. If you see his advertising is thematic. Many different ads with different information concepts seeking to differentiate Wilson from other speakers. The advertising campaign might have a few poorly chosen examples, but this is all from the advertising firm.

On to Dave Wilson's salary. For a multi million $ company I am sure he is allowed to pay himself a huge salary & why not. I believe he pays his staff very well, but to be fair he should as he probably is sharing his growth.

I am also guessing that he manufacturers more of the product in house than many other speaker manufacturers. Other manufacturers probably farm out a lot of their production including cabinet work. Others manufacturers might not have a marketing department, customer service dept. or a quality control dept.