A New Wilson Video: Alexandria XLF at RMAF

[The Absolute Sound]

<p class="p1">
At this year’s Rocky*Mountain Audio Fest, Wilson Audio demonstrated the system that represents their*state-of-the-art:**Alexandria XLF*supported by two Thor’s Hammer Subwoofers.**With program material including DSD transfers of some of Dave Wilson’s*legendary recordings from the 1980s.**A*video*recap of the undertaking, from setup to the reactions of those who were*there.*</p>
<p class="p3">
<span class="s1">Watch the video here:*<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LohZKxklzIA"><span class="s2">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LohZKxklzIA</span></a></span></p>



[Source: http://www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/a-new-wilson-video-alexandria-xlf-at-rmaf/]

 

[LL21]

Thank you for posting. I have heard XLFs (no sub) in a room I know well and with different equipment all of which I know pretty well. I have also heard the Arrakis II and the Genesis 1.2. Has anyone who heard the RMAF '13 XLF presentation also heard Arrakis or Genesis 1.2? I am curious as to any comparisons between either of these 2 speakers and XLF + Thors. I have my own 'guess' based on my experience at home with X1s and Velodyne...but I would prefer to hear a bit as well from those who've heard the XLF with 2 Thors and also these other speakers. Thanks.

 

[babybear]

Thank you for posting. I have heard XLFs (no sub) in a room I know well and with different equipment all of which I know pretty well. I have also heard the Arrakis II and the Genesis 1.2. Has anyone who heard the RMAF '13 XLF presentation also heard Arrakis or Genesis 1.2? I am curious as to any comparisons between either of these 2 speakers and XLF + Thors. I have my own 'guess' based on my experience at home with X1s and Velodyne...but I would prefer to hear a bit as well from those who've heard the XLF with 2 Thors and also these other speakers. Thanks.

Hi Lloyd,

I was at RMAF this year and I did hear the Wilson XLF demonstration at the Hyatt Hotel that is described in the video. Wilson did a very professional job in putting the demo together. The room was very large - guessing 35 feet wide, perhaps 50 feet deep and 14 foot ceilings (maybe even taller). The speakers were spaced very far apart and the room was acoustically treated with a lot of GIK Acoustics panels. It was a half hour formal presentation and when I was there it was run by Peter McGrath who did a wonderful job describing the music that we would hear. They played 5 tracks - 3 of which were transcribed from analog tape to DSD, 1 redbook and 1 LP that was also transcribed to DSD. I was unfamiliar with all of the music except for the LP transcribed to DSD. It was from a direct to disc recording on the M&K label entitled Bill Berry - For Duke. They played - "Take the "A" Train" cut. I have that LP and it is one of the most well recorded pieces of music one can hear and I am very familiar with it. First, let me say that this was the best I have ever heard any Wilson speaker sound. I have heard the XLF's before at Innovative Audio in NYC and was underwhelmed by it. I hear the Wilson Alexandria X2 Series 2 on a regular basis as a local friend has those speakers. I am also very familiar with the VTL 7.5 Series 3 preamp and the VTL Siegfried Series 2 amps that they were using. But, when I listened to the Bill Berry track, I could easily hear the differences in refinement, resolution and naturalness between the XLF's and the Rockport Arrakis 2 (active version) that I have here at home.

 

[NorthStar]

The Rockport Arrakis 2s sound better (more refined, resolute, natural, and realistically powerful) to your ears Arnie?

 

[LL21]

The Rockport Arrakis 2s sound better (more refined, resolute, natural, and realistically powerful) to your ears Arnie?

Hey Northstar. I am going to weigh in here now based on my own experience in different rooms/systems listening to XLF (3 times) and Arrakis 2 (once). Given a choice, I would be all over Arrakis for my own system...I just would hesitate a bit with our current room. But its not an imminent decision anyway. The XLF is my favourite incarnation of the great X series, and the X Series ranks up near the pinnacle of audio speakers (for me). But where the XLF delivers detail, nuance, intimacy, clarity, scale, dynamics...and does so without effort...the Arrakis plops a series of instruments down in the room where (at least for me), my 'audio ear' did not click on first...my 'regular ear' did...the one that listens for cars before crossing the street, and which tries to listen for the waiter coming in a restaurant where there is a live piano/upright bass duo playing jazz. Its because the SCALE of the event (at least with Nirvana Unplugged) caught me offguard, and I just heard a human voice in the room on a mike, sitting on a stage...and speaking to an audience. And the scale is filled from top to bottom with sounds that don't just sound natural...they ARE natural. The strength of Kurt Cobain's voice was extraorindarily close to the Audio dealer's voice in the room when he was speaking to me. I've not experienced that quite this way before. I have not heard the Arrakis' equal in this regard from top to bottom. It truly is something special, and if I can make a 'rough comparison' between the 3 times I heard the XLF set up (by Wilson once and by their distributor twice) and the one time I've heard the Arrakis 2...the Arrakis 2 setup is to the XLF setup what the XLF setup would be to something in between a Sasha/Constellation and an Alexia/D'Agostino setup. The reason I wanted to ask someone who'd heard the XLF's with the 2 Thors is because while I suspected that the Thors would not be enough to catch the Arrakis, I thought since I'd not heard it before, I would check. Although I was pretty sure the bass would help give scale but not fill the mid/upper with the scale/life of the Arrakis, I wanted to check first. Arnie, please re-guide me if I have extrapolated incorrectly from your post. And thanks again for posting!!

 

[LL21]

Hi Lloyd,

I was at RMAF this year and I did hear the Wilson XLF demonstration at the Hyatt Hotel that is described in the video. Wilson did a very professional job in putting the demo together. The room was very large - guessing 35 feet wide, perhaps 50 feet deep and 14 foot ceilings (maybe even taller). The speakers were spaced very far apart and the room was acoustically treated with a lot of GIK Acoustics panels. It was a half hour formal presentation and when I was there it was run by Peter McGrath who did a wonderful job describing the music that we would hear. They played 5 tracks - 3 of which were transcribed from analog tape to DSD, 1 redbook and 1 LP that was also transcribed to DSD. I was unfamiliar with all of the music except for the LP transcribed to DSD. It was from a direct to disc recording on the M&K label entitled Bill Berry - For Duke. They played - "Take the "A" Train" cut. I have that LP and it is one of the most well recorded pieces of music one can hear and I am very familiar with it. First, let me say that this was the best I have ever heard any Wilson speaker sound. I have heard the XLF's before at Innovative Audio in NYC and was underwhelmed by it. I hear the Wilson Alexandria X2 Series 2 on a regular basis as a local friend has those speakers. I am also very familiar with the VTL 7.5 Series 3 preamp and the VTL Siegfried Series 2 amps that they were using. But, when I listened to the Bill Berry track, I could easily hear the differences in refinement, resolution and naturalness between the XLF's and the Rockport Arrakis 2 (active version) that I have here at home.

It is always great to listen to systems that people go gaga over...and come home to prefer your own without any qualifications. Congrats! I am fortunate to have that with only one exception...the Arrakis 2!!

 

[babybear]

The Rockport Arrakis 2s sound better (more refined, resolute, natural, and realistically powerful) to your ears Arnie?

Bob,

I didn't write "realistically powerful" - not sure where you got those words from.
As in all things written about audio of course its my opinion of what I hear. Thanks for bringing up the obvious.

 

[babybear]

Hey Northstar. I am going to weigh in here now based on my own experience in different rooms/systems listening to XLF (3 times) and Arrakis 2 (once). Given a choice, I would be all over Arrakis for my own system...I just would hesitate a bit with our current room. But its not an imminent decision anyway. The XLF is my favourite incarnation of the great X series, and the X Series ranks up near the pinnacle of audio speakers (for me). But where the XLF delivers detail, nuance, intimacy, clarity, scale, dynamics...and does so without effort...the Arrakis plops a series of instruments down in the room where (at least for me), my 'audio ear' did not click on first...my 'regular ear' did...the one that listens for cars before crossing the street, and which tries to listen for the waiter coming in a restaurant where there is a live piano/upright bass duo playing jazz. Its because the SCALE of the event (at least with Nirvana Unplugged) caught me offguard, and I just heard a human voice in the room on a mike, sitting on a stage...and speaking to an audience. And the scale is filled from top to bottom with sounds that don't just sound natural...they ARE natural. The strength of Kurt Cobain's voice was extraorindarily close to the Audio dealer's voice in the room when he was speaking to me. I've not experienced that quite this way before. I have not heard the Arrakis' equal in this regard from top to bottom. It truly is something special, and if I can make a 'rough comparison' between the 3 times I heard the XLF set up (by Wilson once and by their distributor twice) and the one time I've heard the Arrakis 2...the Arrakis 2 setup is to the XLF setup what the XLF setup would be to something in between a Sasha/Constellation and an Alexia/D'Agostino setup. The reason I wanted to ask someone who'd heard the XLF's with the 2 Thors is because while I suspected that the Thors would not be enough to catch the Arrakis, I thought since I'd not heard it before, I would check. Although I was pretty sure the bass would help give scale but not fill the mid/upper with the scale/life of the Arrakis, I wanted to check first. Arnie, please re-guide me if I have extrapolated incorrectly from your post. And thanks again for posting!!

Hi Lloyd,

I think you stated it extremely well. I do believe that high quality subwoofers, if done correctly, can improve the sound of many systems especially in larger rooms. Not so much to only augment the lowest bass response, but also the impact they have on the mids and highs as well as the width and depth of the soundstage. I do run dual subs with the Arrakis 2 and they do make an improvement that I enjoy hearing. My friend here also runs a sub with his Alexandria's Series 2 speakers.

 

[LL21]

Hi Lloyd,

I think you stated it extremely well. I do believe that high quality subwoofers, if done correctly, can improve the sound of many systems especially in larger rooms. Not so much to only augment the lowest bass response, but also the impact they have on the mids and highs as well as the width and depth of the soundstage. I do run dual subs with the Arrakis 2 and they do make an improvement that I enjoy hearing. My friend here also runs a sub with his Alexandria's Series 2 speakers.

Thanks, Arnie...very very helpful as always. Enjoy!!!

 

[NorthStar]

Hey Northstar. I am going to weigh in here now based on my own experience in different rooms/systems listening to XLF (3 times) and Arrakis 2 (once). Given a choice, I would be all over Arrakis for my own system...I just would hesitate a bit with our current room. But its not an imminent decision anyway. The XLF is my favourite incarnation of the great X series, and the X Series ranks up near the pinnacle of audio speakers (for me). But where the XLF delivers detail, nuance, intimacy, clarity, scale, dynamics...and does so without effort...the Arrakis plops a series of instruments down in the room where (at least for me), my 'audio ear' did not click on first...my 'regular ear' did...the one that listens for cars before crossing the street, and which tries to listen for the waiter coming in a restaurant where there is a live piano/upright bass duo playing jazz. Its because the SCALE of the event (at least with Nirvana Unplugged) caught me offguard, and I just heard a human voice in the room on a mike, sitting on a stage...and speaking to an audience. And the scale is filled from top to bottom with sounds that don't just sound natural...they ARE natural. The strength of Kurt Cobain's voice was extraorindarily close to the Audio dealer's voice in the room when he was speaking to me. I've not experienced that quite this way before. I have not heard the Arrakis' equal in this regard from top to bottom. It truly is something special, and if I can make a 'rough comparison' between the 3 times I heard the XLF set up (by Wilson once and by their distributor twice) and the one time I've heard the Arrakis 2...the Arrakis 2 setup is to the XLF setup what the XLF setup would be to something in between a Sasha/Constellation and an Alexia/D'Agostino setup. The reason I wanted to ask someone who'd heard the XLF's with the 2 Thors is because while I suspected that the Thors would not be enough to catch the Arrakis, I thought since I'd not heard it before, I would check. Although I was pretty sure the bass would help give scale but not fill the mid/upper with the scale/life of the Arrakis, I wanted to check first. Arnie, please re-guide me if I have extrapolated incorrectly from your post. And thanks again for posting!!

Lloyd, gread read! ...Ever thought of becoming a pro audio reviewer?

Bob,

I didn't write "realistically powerful" - not sure where you got those words from.
As in all things written about audio of course its my opinion of what I hear. Thanks for bringing up the obvious.

Arnie, yeah, I added 'realistically powerful' of my own enterprise, just for the heck of it.

 

[LL21]

Hi Lloyd,

I think you stated it extremely well. I do believe that high quality subwoofers, if done correctly, can improve the sound of many systems especially in larger rooms. Not so much to only augment the lowest bass response, but also the impact they have on the mids and highs as well as the width and depth of the soundstage. I do run dual subs with the Arrakis 2 and they do make an improvement that I enjoy hearing. My friend here also runs a sub with his Alexandria's Series 2 speakers.

Hi Arnie. Interesting...I re-read your post this morning. And it recalled something I said to the Arrakis dealer when I was listening to his speakers...''have you ever tried these with subs"? He looked at me like I was from Mars...but having heard a number of tracks at home (alongside 3-4 major distributors/dealers who have confirmed what I am hearing), I KNEW the Arrakis was giving me more of everything from 40-45hz or so upwards than I had ever heard before...but that sub40hz region needed more. In my own experience, it is seriously important when creating quite a lot of live-scale recordings to have that limitless power down there...either because deep house, soundtrack, orchestral recordings have information at that frequency range directly as notes...or because even smaller scale acoustic recordings have it for acoustical spaces cues, and the inevitable reverb off the mic setup. (As a layman's example, if people have ever tapped on live mic...I believe THAT is a good example of the fact that while the tap itself is clearly not a huge bass event in itself...the fact that you tap directly onto the mic IS...and when recording live, and musicians tap, stomp near a mic, all of this ends up feeding thru to the recording in even the most subtle of ways...and thus, by coming thru cleanly and nicely separated and controlled on the speaker side makes a big, big difference).

 

[babybear]

Hi Arnie. Interesting...I re-read your post this morning. And it recalled something I said to the Arrakis dealer when I was listening to his speakers...''have you ever tried these with subs"? He looked at me like I was from Mars...but having heard a number of tracks at home (alongside 3-4 major distributors/dealers who have confirmed what I am hearing), I KNEW the Arrakis was giving me more of everything from 40-45hz or so upwards than I had ever heard before...but that sub40hz region needed more. In my own experience, it is seriously important when creating quite a lot of live-scale recordings to have that limitless power down there...either because deep house, soundtrack, orchestral recordings have information at that frequency range directly as notes...or because even smaller scale acoustic recordings have it for acoustical spaces cues, and the inevitable reverb off the mic setup. (As a layman's example, if people have ever tapped on live mic...I believe THAT is a good example of the fact that while the tap itself is clearly not a huge bass event in itself...the fact that you tap directly onto the mic IS...and when recording live, and musicians tap, stomp near a mic, all of this ends up feeding thru to the recording in even the most subtle of ways...and thus, by coming thru cleanly and nicely separated and controlled on the speaker side makes a big, big difference).

Hi Lloyd,

Yes, exactly. It is those subtle acoustical space cues that a good sub improves your ability to hear and at least to me, enhances the listening experience of recorded music. You aren't listening for those sounds - they are just there and makes what you hear more real and enjoyable.

 

[LL21]

Hi Lloyd,

Yes, exactly. It is those subtle acoustical space cues that a good sub improves your ability to hear and at least to me, enhances the listening experience of recorded music. You aren't listening for those sounds - they are just there and makes what you hear more real and enjoyable.

Could not agree more!!! I have not found the level of scale or purity of tone that we enjoy at home in any demos/showrooms...ever...where in NYC, Boston, Istanbul, Hong Kong, London, Madrid...and I suspect it is because none of them did what you are doing and what you suggest above. Of course, on my end, it has not been without a LOT of help from the Manufacturers/Distributors of Wilson, Zanden, Gryphon, HRS and Stillpoints, Tripoint...and of course Velodyne...that this has come to be for us at home. Very grateful for their guidance and help all the way through...what a pleasure every day!

 

[socfan12]

Lloyd, Arnie, agree with you both about the addition of subs even to 'full-range' speakers. But I worry about finding the right crossover that doesn't affect SQ. Which ones are you using?

Arnie, I believe you are using Rockport's own external crossover for the Arrakis? What subs are you using?

Lloyd, what crossover are you using? I see you are using Velodyne subs...



thx

 

[babybear]

Lloyd, Arnie, agree with you both about the addition of subs even to 'full-range' speakers. But I worry about finding the right crossover that doesn't affect SQ. Which ones are you using?

Arnie, I believe you are using Rockport's own external crossover for the Arrakis? What subs are you using?

Lloyd, what crossover are you using? I see you are using Velodyne subs...



thx

Hi Allen,

I use 2 Rel Studio III subs. The Rockport external crossover is not involved with the subs at all. The Rel Studio III subs connect to your amplifier so that they get the same signal from your amps as your main speakers get (although the REL's are powered subs). In my case, the REL's are connected to my amps that power the bass drivers of the Arrakis. The REL's have their own set of adjustments to allow you to set the gain of the sub, rolloff points etc. The Studio III subs start playing at 9Hz and in my room and with my speakers I have them set to start rolling off at 21hz.

 

[NorthStar]

Just thought of posting this link: Wilson Audio: YouTube Videos

 

[LL21]

Lloyd, Arnie, agree with you both about the addition of subs even to 'full-range' speakers. But I worry about finding the right crossover that doesn't affect SQ. Which ones are you using?

Arnie, I believe you are using Rockport's own external crossover for the Arrakis? What subs are you using?

Lloyd, what crossover are you using? I see you are using Velodyne subs...



thx

I run the Velodyne in parallel (ie, the Wilsons run full-range), and then the Velodyne operates from 40hz down only (using a 48db rolloff to cut off anything above this level)...all using Velodyne's own internal electronics which are extensive. I cannot speak to the quality of the crossover not being a techie. I can simply say it works well, particularly when operating the sub in this manner. Hope that helps.