Wilson's Chronosonic XVX loudspeaker over 3/4 of a million US dollars

03-03-2020 5:27pm

in my experience the more that you spend on uber high end gear the more likely that you’ll be disappointed. 

it's not how much you spend, it's the things you learn and and the effort you put in.

i built a perfect room in 2004 and had lots of pretty gear in that room for 10 years. but until i learned and got my nose bloodied i was not able to figure out the room and my own reference. then it took another 2 years to get the room right.

all 'uber' gear gets you is higher potential, and all a nice large room get's you is more things to figure out. but if you can put it all together....musical magic can happen.

Great point Mike.  I did a complete Rives Audio build out 9 years ago and it has indeed been the best investment in my hobby by far.  But like you, it took a couple of years to figure it out.   

One thing that does strike me as a little strange when it comes to Wilsons...is why it took so very long for Dave W to hear how bad the long utilized Focal Titanium dome was in all of his older designs.

I'm going to say something that's going to drive the Wilson fanboys absolutely nuts, but I don't mean to.

Wilson has gone from having a signature sound to true neutral over time.

And I can go over some of the changes I've noted, but Wilson fans out there will think I'm just being mean and sour grapes, and what have you, but I'm not.

The truth is the Wilson sound has shifted, for the better, to a true neutral speaker.

It's not the same sound.

Best,

E

@erik_squires   +1

My question was meant to be aimed at why it took so very long for Dave W to come to the realization that the old tweeter was such a weak part of his design. IOW, what precipitated the change ( for the better) after all those years?

why it took so very long for Dave W to come to the realization that the old tweeter was such a weak part of his design.

LOL, the "realization" came when Focal stop selling OEM drivers to competitors. Many of the older Wilson drivers were made by Focal and were/are superior to the stuff he is using today. The "new" sound may be less offensive. Some may call it "neutral," but it basically just lacking resolution due to the excessive use of paper cones (and a silk dome tweeter). Proac already mastered that particular sound in the late ’80s.
Wilson fans will continue to like them regardless of how they sound.  

My question was meant to be aimed at why it took so very long for Dave W to come to the realization that the old tweeter was such a weak part of his design. IOW, what precipitated the change ( for the better) after all those years?

Well,l I can't speak for any successful speaker maker, at all, but my guess is that his personal tastes changed, much like mine have.

Wilson Sr. always chose tweeters based on sound alone.  He liked bass, he liked extreme imaging. He liked the color in the Focal metal domes.

It is hard to sell a high end speaker that sounds like every other. That means, truly neutral speakers are a hard sell. Perhaps the Wilson brand feels it's so powerful that it is OK to be a neutral speaker?

Best,

E

As for the Focal tweeter, I've experimented with it a little.  Not Wilsons, but in Focals.

I think Wilson did two things which worked really well.  Surrounded it by felt, and put a custom rear chamber on it, which I believe extended the low end down, making it play a larger part in the speaker response.

Best,

E

The early Wilson Focal inverted dome Tweeter
was shot loaded and Tube trapped
--this helped I gather to smooth it out. I sorta like the attack and "snap"
of it in my Watt 3’s at the time.

Best,

D