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Last week (2/19) I attended an audio event at Audio Concepts in Dallas. The key components to be showcased were the Wilson XLFs and Audio Research Ref 9, Ref 10 and GS150. Cabling was all Shunyata.
Wilson had Peter McGrath and John Giolas at the event. Dave Gordon was there representing ARC - of course.
The event was well attended. Lots of good camaraderie, food and vino and, of course, lots of great music.
After intro comments from both Dave Gordon and Peter McGrath, Peter played a variety of music ranging from classical, jazz, folk, "electronica" and rock. Some of the recordings he had personally engineered.
So, how did the system sound? One word, impressive. Let me start with the speakers. The XLFs are impressive. They can play big and they can also play delicate pieces very well (given their size). Someone commented that the bottom end sounded somewhat loose but that was not my experience. Their efficiency (97 db) is a strength as they can be driven very well with amps like the ARC GS150 which is an impressive amp. The GS series has been somewhat controversial by many given the confusion and the lousy job done by ARC to position this product within their line offerings. Well, I can tell you that the amp looks terrific in real life (the 8 KT150s look very cool) and, more importantly, it sounds fantastic! Dave Gordon described the GS as the best sounding amp ever made by ARC.
Since I spent the weekend in Dallas, I went back to the store on Saturday. John Warwick had set up the XLFs with the ARC Ref5SE and the D'Agostino stereo amp (my components
). While I had a short listen, boy the sound was heavenly. The DAG drove the speakers with ease - plenty of punch, excellent detail with a very wide stage and fantastic focus. Very difficult to make a comparison to what I heard two days prior. The music selection played that evening was all Peter's and not available.
Needless to say, the XLFs are fantastic speakers. And, now, they can be heard locally in Dallas. Mark and his team at AC are terrific.
Wilson had Peter McGrath and John Giolas at the event. Dave Gordon was there representing ARC - of course.
The event was well attended. Lots of good camaraderie, food and vino and, of course, lots of great music.
After intro comments from both Dave Gordon and Peter McGrath, Peter played a variety of music ranging from classical, jazz, folk, "electronica" and rock. Some of the recordings he had personally engineered.
So, how did the system sound? One word, impressive. Let me start with the speakers. The XLFs are impressive. They can play big and they can also play delicate pieces very well (given their size). Someone commented that the bottom end sounded somewhat loose but that was not my experience. Their efficiency (97 db) is a strength as they can be driven very well with amps like the ARC GS150 which is an impressive amp. The GS series has been somewhat controversial by many given the confusion and the lousy job done by ARC to position this product within their line offerings. Well, I can tell you that the amp looks terrific in real life (the 8 KT150s look very cool) and, more importantly, it sounds fantastic! Dave Gordon described the GS as the best sounding amp ever made by ARC.
Since I spent the weekend in Dallas, I went back to the store on Saturday. John Warwick had set up the XLFs with the ARC Ref5SE and the D'Agostino stereo amp (my components
). While I had a short listen, boy the sound was heavenly. The DAG drove the speakers with ease - plenty of punch, excellent detail with a very wide stage and fantastic focus. Very difficult to make a comparison to what I heard two days prior. The music selection played that evening was all Peter's and not available. Needless to say, the XLFs are fantastic speakers. And, now, they can be heard locally in Dallas. Mark and his team at AC are terrific.
