Wilson Audio Specialties Chronosonic XVX loudspeaker!! only $300,000.oo

When I listened to the very nice Alexx V’s, I was quite aware that each speaker cost $65K. Looking at the speaker, and it is nice, there is simply no way that $65K each can be attributed to this product. When one looks at what $65K will buy you, nevermind the asking price of $130K, then one can see how truly absurd this pricing is, IMHO ( and we are not even talking the Chronosonic pricing here, which is even more out there). While the argument can be made that this is easily affordable for a lot of folks, who also apparently are audiophiles, I think that is somewhat irrelevant. More important is the fact that there is really no way to justify this number, at least in my realm of experience, to this product...kind of like asking $20K for the desk top computer I am typing this on...just doesn’t really compute, pun intended.!!

All New Ayon Audio Black Falcon speakers, why spend more ever again ?
 
 https://www.usatubeaudio.com/product/speakers/floor-standing-speakers/ayon-blackfalcon/

But a SOTA speaker would not have such a terrible impedance. Obviously the designer was married to a group of drivers and a crossover design which they put together and lived with the resultant impedance. Bad engineering! 

This speaker is the equivalent of a concept car where the auto manufacturer pulls out all stops and builds a cost-no-object SOTA vehicle. The ultimate goal is to showcase the technological/engineering prowess of the company, and not necessarily turn it into a viable product.

ozzy621,412 posts04-27-2021 5:12am@edgewound

Looks to me like you’re making a subjective interpretation.

Why don’t you quit trying to be so cryptic and say what you actually mean. Otherwise it’s ALL open to interpretation..........


Oz

I have no desire to own a Wilson Audio loudspeaker system. Never have, never will.

But...I do sense a bias on your part. I find a large amount of absurdity in the "audiophile" market. Much of it is a scam. I find the price tag of $300,000 for a loudspeaker system in the realm of absurdity. Call me a realist. Call me envious...I really don’t care. Some things just aren’t worth the price tag... this is one them.

So we now have a speaker requiring a certain amp based on this amps ability to drive difficult loads instead of sonics? If this isnt enough to get buyers to avoid Wilson I dont know what could. Certainly this model at the very least.

@edgewound

Looks to me like you're making a subjective interpretation.

Why don't  you quit trying to be so cryptic and say what you actually mean. Otherwise it's ALL open to interpretation..........


Oz

“A fool and his money are soon parted, lucky enough to have found each other in the first place”.

This "wife" thing which often show up in stereophile reviews seems to be  an editorial directive. It is a truly painful rethoric and it makes me doubt of all the rest. This things look like Terminator twins. I cannot imagine them sounding effortless. 

And yeah, typically envious commentary for sure...

Form follows function.

I can see why some may not like the look of them, but they are speakers. Speakers make sound...

And given the price of these, 99.999999% of amps are already ruled out. What are you wanting to do, drive them with a charming vintage set up? 

Doubt it. 
The impedance chart is a bit of a mute point when you are looking at comparable amps. D’Agostino Relentless etc. 

Dont know if I would buy these if I could. But, would sure love to be in a position where this level of gear could be considered. Then it’s all about what do you want your system to really sound like, without compromise. 

The wife comment was funny. Who needs to retire if one can buy 300k speakers instead. However Wilson would likely give him the VIP price as Fremer putting them in his basement is free advertisement worth thousands.

Yeah the impedance rules out 99.9999999 percent of all amplifiers on the planet what a joke.

This time I don’t believe Fremer. Nor do I believe what he said what his wife had said.
He recommends you not buy these speakers even if you can easily afford them. He thinks they sound excellent but are big time overpriced.

I believe a case can be made that a speaker with this sort of impedance is a poorly designed speaker! No amp exists that will sound best with this type of load. Sort of like asking an amplifier to fix problems that exist in a design due to bad engineering. Ridiculous in my book and a burden to its owner. 

@ghdprentice 

Looks to me like you're making a subjective interpretation.

@edgewound

So you are implying the Wilson speakers and the company is a fraud.

Some of those people end up dying in prison because they sold a very expensive lie.

Bernie Madoff is an example of one that got caught...after admitting it was all a scam.

can buy a complete system with TOTL amps, source, preamp, plus several brand of CDs and LPs, plus a 1977 trans am, and a new corvette, and still have money left over for booze and a bunch of groceries, and pay property taxes for a couple years.

Good point, but ...

If someone can afford a $300k speaker, something tells me that they can buy a complete TOTL system, bunch of CDs and LPs, buy great vintage wine; pay property taxes on their primary residence, summer home, winter home, and beach house ... and still have money leftover for investments. They probably throw lavish parties by the poolside featuring famous singers instead of going to their concerts.

I'm not one of those people, but I can definitely comment on how ugly the Wilsons look, while nibbling on some sour grapes.

I'm not envious of speakers that are picky as to what kind of music they're best at.

The best speakers take what you throw at them, and don't complain. That's the TAD Reference One. Classical, Acoustic, Electrified music...doesn't matter.

I asked for demos of electric jazz/rock with many high end speakers. I was refused. "They only like Classical". Whatever.

Have you Wilson baggers ever listened to a pair of Magnepan Tympani, Acoustat 6 or 8’s, Kef Blades, IRS Infinity’s, ML Monoliths or ML Neolith’s, Double Stacked Quads, SF  Stradivari Homage etc etc, they all have the same walk into massive image as all big Wilsons have. Your all just envious of them and of those who can buy them.

Cheers George

That was Diana Krull.

of course Diana Krall is ten feet tall.....

but value is always in the eye of the purchaser

+2 Prof. The ones bagging them, wouldn’t say no to them if they had a slimmest chance of owning them.
Seems just like tall poppy envy syndrome to me, they can’t afford them, but many can, so they bag them.

Cheers George

+1 Prof

The pinnacle of cost no object speakers to me is the TAD Reference One.

Visually stunning, Technically superior, built to last decades, everything made in-house. Fraction of the price.

To each their own.

With the exception of the symphony, which I hold season tickets, in general, I don’t like live music (ok, small venue acoustic jazz is good). I don’t like the horrible amplification systems, sound engineers that think louder is better, the crowds, the noice. I have been to many, liked it when I was a teen and in my twenties and it has been less and less interest. I love listening to music. Allowing it to gently liberate my consciousness and relax me, allow me to get lost in it. This doesn’t happen at concerts unless large quantity of drugs are involved. Not my thing.
.
So the better the system the more it can do that for me. .

Judging by the performance level of the Wilson, I have to say, yes they are worth it. For someone like me who has worked 75+ hours a week under high stress for over 40 years to make a good living, my time is valuable, what I do in my free time is for me to value. I really enjoy excellence (I have 4 custom made bicycles all with over 15,000 miles on them). If I really wanted those speakers I would own a pair. It is a personal choice as to how much money you make and what use you put it to. .


If Wilson sold none, then they would probably not be worth it. They do sell them. Also, they serve to show what is possible. They do things that others cannot. Then there is trickle down to their main stream speakers, where they sell a lot.

.
I doubt anyone would consider them beautiful, but if you wanted beautiful speaker you would probably be looking at top of the line Sonus Faber.

Thats cheap jump on a pair ASAP!!

$300,000 buys a lot of concerts....you know...live music? Reality? For years....Probably decades...

That's a fairly common refrain when high priced speakers come up.But I believe it misses the point.  



Yes you could go to lots of live music.   But could you see many of the previous great symphonies and conductors live in their prime?  Or Led Zeppelin, or Rush, or Genesis, or Miles Davis, or Dave Brubeck, or Joni Mitchell, or..countless great artists on record?


The point most (who can afford it) have in buying great speakers, including cutting edge, is to "bring alive" to the extent possible WHATEVER recording they play, including the huge number of great artists and performances in recorded music that they could never see in live.   To that person a recording of a great Herbert von Karajan performance, produced in thrilling sound in their own home, may be more desirable than seeing a live current performance of an orchestra or conductor who (they believe) can't hold a candle to the great performance.


So the worth of such a speaker shouldn't be compared to "whatever live music is available to go see today" but rather to the enhanced experience it gives to the catalogue of recorded (and contemporary) music...which likely comprises much more of the audiophile's listening time than live performance even could.


Plenty of us here have spent quite a lot on our sound system that we could have otherwise devoted to seeing live music.  But there's a perfectly good reason we spent it on our audio system (even if we like live music too).



(And that's coming from someone who loves live music!)


(Also, I'm not commenting on the worth of the specific Wilson design, but on the general objection often suggested that spending money on live music makes more sense than on an expensive speaker).

@edgewound They are not over priced so long as there is a market for them at that price, which apparently Wilson believes there is! The value proposition is another matter entirely....I think most folks these days would look at numerous products in the high end audio arena and conclude that the high price asked, in no way equates to the product offered. This doesn’t seem to have put a damper on the ever growing upwards pricing spiral. Certainly tells me something about the consumer to whom these products are aimed at though!

Think your forgetting the drool value of them. And the brownie points you get here if you own a pair, speakers that is.

Cheers George

I find them to be extremely unattractive...and extremely overpriced. Those two features make them nothing to drool over for me. I'd rather earmark that kind of money for live music...or a house in Montana.

I read the review by MF of these in the current Stereophile mag. His comment about a few images appearing too tall is interesting. This problem is common in a number of larger/taller speakers that are on the market, along with their propensity to make instruments seem way too big overall. I wonder how many folk who buy these large speaker systems are concerned about these problems??

Besides the impedance, the other thing we learn is that Michael Fremer's room sucks.  Oh, wait, we should know this already. :D

They may sound good, but looks like awful 80's aesthetic to me.

That kind of dough should get you something beautiful to look at too.
Fail.

This is where we go paying to ignore room acoustic controls...

I dont doubt they are good speakers at all, who knows, the best in the world maybe.......

At this price takes a 10,000 bucks speakers well designed and put them in a well acoustically controlled room...

After that take this 300,000 dollars speakers put them in an another vast uncontrolled empty room...

Compare the 2....

Previsible conclusion: the best will be those in a controlled room...
Then dont pay too much...Pay attention to physical basic acoustic but more importantly also to pychoacoustic.... And enjoy the true audiophile experience at low cost....






Now i can say to you that i succeed in controlling my own room at no cost....

Basic psychoacoustic is the golden key....

my well chosen speakers value are peanuts and i dont need anything else thanks to basic acoustic and psychoacoustic...


My post is here to only give hope to all those who cannot afford this costly piece of engineering.... Trust you ears and read about acoustic and psychoacoustic....

For over $300K, do they require directional cables? ;-)

$300,000 buys a lot of concerts....you know...live music? Reality? For years....Probably decades...

Think your forgetting the drool value of them. And the brownie points you get here if you own a pair, speakers that is.

Cheers George

Another speaker to have its butt kicked by the Sanders Magtech monoblocs,


 300K....hahahahahha

  can buy a complete system with TOTL amps, source, preamp, plus several brand of CDs and LPs, plus a 1977 trans am, and a new corvette, and still have money left over for booze and a bunch of groceries, and pay property taxes for a couple years. 

  300K, that’s nuts, what’s more nite, is amps, speakers cost way more t Han these.!

  If I had 300K, it would be spent wisely, not on a pair of overpriced speakers, paying for the name.

   Hahahahaha
have heard the brand, while nice, not worth 300,000 $.

  That’s for the top %1 who don’t know better and have money to waste

$300,000 buys a lot of concerts....you know...live music? Reality? For years....Probably decades...

I have heard an earlier version of these and what they can do to sound is simply incredible. Mesmerizing... holographic. But as amazing as they are, not the kind of sound / experience I was going for. I cherish the memory, everyone should experience this if they are suspicious of speakers of this cost. If you have the means and like the experience I am pretty sure there is no other speaker capable of what it can do.

All I learned from these measurements is that the room matters more than the speakers and MF room sucks. He would get better sound with subs and smaller speakers to fix that crazy bass null. 
If you can afford the speakers you can afford the amps. 

I will wait for the Mk II version.