wilson grand slamm vs. maxx2

The Gram Slamms X-1 Genn III's have more and faster bass, taller soundstage, more forward top end whereas the maxx II's have a warmer top end. I was pretty amazed as I would be able to sell my Watch Dog II Sub since the bass is faster and has more volumn from the pair of X-1's.

I just listened to them last weekend at my dealer that has them posted for sale (Esoteric Audio)and I have compared them to my dealers Maxx II's. For Movies the Maxx II's need a sub where as the X-1's made the three neighboring business compain because of the impact!

Right now the X-1 Gen III are a bargain compared to the Maxx II's since all the owners are upgarding to X-2's.

Chris

Chris,
Glad to hear that. I am in the process of purchasing a pair of X-1 S3's. I got the advice from OB here on Audiogon, I was thinking of purchasing the S2 to save some money, but until I can afford the X-2 I think the S3 will make me very happy. Your opinion is great because I plan on using them for home theater as well as two channel.
Todd

IMO, Maxx2 is sonically better than X-1 and is very close to X-2 at 1/3 price. So my suggestion is to go with the Maxx2. Plus X-1's are not being produced anymore so it's not a wise move to invest in them.

Chris,

As you know I am getting the Maxx IIs shortly. I have been advised by a good friend to keep my Sub to go w. the Maxx II. I was hoping to sell it to help fund the Maxx II but have instead decided to keep it & test it. I tried my WP7s again with & without sub. I am spoiled but I can't live without the Sub. Whouldn't you say that the Maxx II is better integrated than the X-1 and is more musical??? I am partial to the added warmth of the Maxx II. The X-1 series 5 was interesting but not for the money.

The Watchdog sub has the same port arrangement as the X-2. The Maxx II does not.

I heard the Maxx IIs several times & the bass was incredible. It is difficult to imagine needing more, but my room is big enough so I will try it. With my sub in my room I can overload it. If I feel the sub isn't needed I will then sell it. I just might keep it for home theatre. On a final point, the X-2 sounded incredibly life like, more so than any speaker I have ever heard.

Hi Muratc,

From what I understand the Maxx2 uses nearly the same technology as the X-2's, so I would have to agree with you with a couple caveats. One it does not produce the degree of bass I would like with my home theater setup. Two, I am getting a really good deal on my X1 S3's, so the new Maxx2's would cost me more. Actually if I could afford Maxx2's new I would go ahead and just wait until I could scrape together the money for the X-2's. I think the X-2's replaced the X-1's and the Maxx2's are a less expensive alternative to get more people into Wilson's at a more affordable price. It's got to be a hard sell to get people to pay the cost of a high end luxury car for a pair of speakers, but now just about every non-economy car is 40g's to 50g's.

I prefer to by-pass the Maxx's and if and when I can ever afford the X-2 I will move my X-1's into the rear position. I think I will be very happy with my first set of Wilson speakers being the X-1 Series 3's and I'm really excited to receive them. Maybe someday if it looks really far out for the X-2's I'll get the Maxx2's for surround speakers.