2. speakers
  3. 1130340790

Wilson Audio or JM Lab

To All,

I currently own the Wilson Puppy 6 and am very happy with the speaker. But I still miss ultimate dynamics and power in the bass. So I was planning to upgrade to either the Wilson Maxx or JM Lab Utopia.

Does anybody know these speakers well. I listened to the Maxx one time and it was the best I ever heard. I also heard the JM Lab Utopia side by side to a WP7 and although the JM lab had much more bass the WP7 was much faster and involving. But the JM lab speakers had more body. I heard them two times in the shop, the first time I prefered the JM labs and later the WP7. Since they are in the same price range it is a fair comparison to compare the JM lab Utopia BE to the WP7. The JM lab is however at least twice as big as the WP7 so it should have a good bass with a cabinet this size. The mids on the WP7 were more clear.

Now the Maxx, I have no doubt that the Maxx will be better than the Utopia but will it fit in a 40 sqm room (400sq foot).

Kiking
parojinog20020b47
parojinog20020b47 OP
2 posts
 
Hi Velo62,

I am from Europe and there the WP7 is actually more expensive than the JM lab Utopia BE. The Utopia BE as a list price of 30.000 euro but is sold around 22000 euro. The WP7 has the same list price and is sold around 24000 euro.

The second hand price of the Utopia is probably correct. The comparison I did was the Utopia BE and the WP7. The dealer, my friend and I preferred the WP7 for some music and the Utopia for other music.

The Maxx is in Europe second hand around 15000 euro, the Utopia around 12000, so the difference is not that big.

The shop that played the WP7 and the Utopia had tube amps and it might be that the Utopia plays better with a good solid state amp like Krell 700CX.

Kiking
arnold_h
99 posts
 
I am quite familiar with the sound of both Wilson and JM Lab Utopias. I currently own a pair of 946 Electras but regularly hear both products at local dealers. IMO the Wilson speakers I have heard, WP 5, WP 7 and X1 Grand Slam are more Hi Fi like, leaner sounding with a slightly more forward sound while the JM Lab Utopias and Electras are fuller sounding with more weight in the bass and IMO are slightly more musical. The Be models are better yet but the Be tweeter needs many hours of breakin to smooth out. Also I find the Wilson products more revealing and less tolerant of poorer quality recordings and components while the Utopias are slightly more tolerant in this regard. Both speakers are GREAT products and I would not say one is better than the other, just a little different. Personaly I prefer the slightly warmer musical traits of the JM Lab products. If ultimate accuracy is desired over warmth and musicality then I would have to say overall that the Wilsons have the edge here. I have not had the chance to hear the Maxx yet but from my experience with some of the other Wilson products and the rave reviews the Maxx has gotten I imagine they would be truly superb.
eralff
28 posts
 
possibly your phono section is not giving as much as you want, I enjoy my wilson 6's with van den hul colibri cartridge on my walker tt. I recently got 8 vintage tubes for my phono section and the bass is more than enough any more would be too much. My room is 15 X 30. I was thinking prior to the new rca tubes that my phono was getting rather close to the sound of my electrocompaniet cd player, after the new tubes I have not played a cd in 3 months. I really have heard the jm lab speakers with krell amps and it was not for me. I can tell you wilson speakers are very revealing and a warm front end is a must but the final reward is great with bass that is tight with impact. Have fun and enjoy your audio remember at some point new expensive componets are not always better just a different sound, and you may have to mess with the rest of your system to compensate.
More to discover