Comparison Raidho D3 vs Wilson Audio Alexia's
- Thread starter Big B
- Start date
For D3 money, don't forget Magico Q5s. I've heard them with the ARC 750s. And they were great.
I almost bought a pair of the S5s last December but went with the Raidho D1s instead.
I had listened to the C1.1 and C2.1s and decided to buy the C2.1s over the Magico but after talking to Lars at Raidho I went ahead and bought the D1s that weren't even announced yet. I'm sure glad I did.
Jock - I heard the Q5's with Vitus gear and was completely underwhelmed. Even the dealer said he sells the S5's 10 to 1 over the Q5 - once people hear them side by side. I completely agreed with him.
That being said - with tube gear like the ARC REF 750's and it might have been a whole new ball game!
Glad you picked the D1's over the S5's. That was my dilemma too and I went with the D1's. That tweeter! Sparkle and magic!
I've now officially heard all of these speakers - except the D3's. I heard the D2's yesterday (thank you John for your wonderful hospitality and a fun day!). I've heard the Alexia's and Magico's (yesterday again) both twice. I heard the Rockport Aviors yesterday as well.
I have ruled out the Rockports for me. They sound like a really good traditional box speaker, but they aren't SOTA IMO. They are good, don't get me wrong, they are very good, but the demo was so poor (long story) and the speakers just didn't do anything extraordinary like the Raidho's or Wilson's or Magico's for that matter.
The D2's are much more coherent and balanced than the D1's. Both offer an incredibly holographic sound and are the most easy to listen to from midrange up. The bass on the D2 is also really well defined and quite good. The tweeter on the Raidho is pure magic. Color me impressed!
I've now heard the Wilson Alexia's twice. In two separate states and with completely different rooms and gear. Yesterday we heard them with the D'Agostino amps and Boulder preamp. Traveling with two fellow audiophiles from the Suncoast Audiophile Society, the three of us were very impressed. When they switched to the Boulder amp, much less so. The D'Agostino/Alexia synergy was outstanding in our opinions.
Color me impressed with both the D2's and D'ag/Alexia's.....but color me confused!!
dlb2
New member
Sounds like a great day Mike. At least you were able to narrow speakers down a little more. It's looks like there's some Constellation gear on the rack. Were you able to listen to it?
Yes indeed! That is the Constellation stereo amp and preamp.
the professor
Well-known member
Did John give you any idea of how much better the D3's were over the D2's? I guess what I'm asking is: are the D2's closer to the D1s or D3s in Raidho's range?
Jock - what I can safely tell you is that the D2's are a big step up from the D1's. Bass is much more coherent and obviously it goes lower. Due to all the great gear and the layout of the room, John wasn't able to put the D2's where they really need to be IMO (a little closer to the side walls). None the less, I found it most interesting that of all the speakers we heard, the D2's were the ones everyone wants to listen to the most.
We discussed the D3 and John said that the extra woofer(s) and the specific midrange driver makes an even bigger difference.
Mike
AudioSalon
Member
Great having you guys over, was a fun day indeed.
Hello all,
I got to hear both the Wilson Alexia and the Raidho D2 at an audio show in Singapore 1 week back.
We all know that such shows are not the best venues to compare speakers - so please take the following comments with venue limitations in mind.
The Alexia system had a top of range EMM Labs source (transport + DAC) feeding Goldmund amplification. Room size was approx. 50 sqM
The Raidho D2 was driven by a modest Oppo 105 source and Devialet (dual mono) amplification. Room size was approx. 110 sqM
View attachment 2981
View attachment 2982
I came away with the following observations:
It would be difficult to find speakers more unalike. The strengths of the Alexia are its looks (personally loved them in burnt orange), itspalpable deep bass, bass that can really be felt in ones bones and helps convince us we are in the presence of real live musicians and finally its high peak loudness abilities.
The strength of the Raidho's are their bass definition (gives each bass note wonderful shape and super timing) and their resolution - which IMHO is class leading, second only to well engineered ESL speakers.
Thanks so much for your comments and pictures! Welcome to AS. Feel free to share more thoughts on these two speakers. I love them both and agree they are completely different.
Mike for $50K wouldnt the field be wide open for stuff like the Franco Serblin Ktemas, Evolution Acoustics MM2/3, Tidal Piano Diacera or plain Contrivas, Lumen White Artisan/Silver Flame, Foersters FAL 5.3: , VA Klimt, Vivid G1, Brodmanns, etc...?
Never heard Raidhos, but the interview with the owner sounded compelling.
I have heard the Franco Serbins and they were divine. The EA MM3 sounding like I was at a live concert when driven with those exotic monoblocs. The Lumens were great with TT source and Ayon Tube Power.
The rest people only told me about, no direct experiencet. Lansches were great too (ion or plasma tweeter, cant recall).
I have heard the Franco Serbins and they were divine. The EA MM3 sounding like I was at a live concert when driven with those exotic monoblocs. The Lumens were great with TT source and Ayon Tube Power.
The rest people only told me about, no direct experiencet. Lansches were great too (ion or plasma tweeter, cant recall).
Big B
Member
- Thread Author
- #34
Thanks Mike for taking the time and the input.
I've now officially heard all of these speakers - except the D3's. I heard the D2's yesterday (thank you John for your wonderful hospitality and a fun day!). I've heard the Alexia's and Magico's (yesterday again) both twice. I heard the Rockport Aviors yesterday as well.
I have ruled out the Rockports for me. They sound like a really good traditional box speaker, but they aren't SOTA IMO. They are good, don't get me wrong, they are very good, but the demo was so poor (long story) and the speakers just didn't do anything extraordinary like the Raidho's or Wilson's or Magico's for that matter.
The D2's are much more coherent and balanced than the D1's. Both offer an incredibly holographic sound and are the most easy to listen to from midrange up. The bass on the D2 is also really well defined and quite good. The tweeter on the Raidho is pure magic. Color me impressed!
I've now heard the Wilson Alexia's twice. In two separate states and with completely different rooms and gear. Yesterday we heard them with the D'Agostino amps and Boulder preamp. Traveling with two fellow audiophiles from the Suncoast Audiophile Society, the three of us were very impressed. When they switched to the Boulder amp, much less so. The D'Agostino/Alexia synergy was outstanding in our opinions.
Color me impressed with both the D2's and D'ag/Alexia's.....but color me confused!!
No problem! I think the Alexia's with a full sounding meaty amp (D'Agostino or Mcintosh) are just sublime. I heard them with D'Agostino, Mcintosh, ARC, Boulder. The only criticism I have (I've heard the Alexia's twice) is that the depth of soundstage was good, but not in the league of the Raidho. The Raidho soundstage is second only to the big MBL's IMO. With the Raidho's, you will find yourself wanting to get up from you chair and walk onto the stage to shake the musicians hands. My friend said, "they create a soundstage that makes you want to walk right into it."
Both have excellent tweeters, the Alexia maybe a little more rolled off. The Raidho tweeter is in another league from anything I've heard. Michael (from Raidho) explained to me that it is the only tweeter that stores zero energy.
It seems to be an excellent tweeter!
I would LOVE to compare it the Heil AMT whose pleated diaphragm material is a guarded secret (I know the manufacturer well and he wont tell me and I dont push). I just know its not Mylar or Kapton. It weighs more than the Raidho at about 1 gram, though the resonant freq of the material is outside its musical range. Unfolded, the smaller Heil diaphragm is about 7sq inches.
The other tweeter I am yet to listen to, but which has great feedback from my dealer friend is the ROWEN Linear Motion tech (5 octave) tweeter. Info at rowen dot ch and click on Technology.
I would LOVE to compare it the Heil AMT whose pleated diaphragm material is a guarded secret (I know the manufacturer well and he wont tell me and I dont push). I just know its not Mylar or Kapton. It weighs more than the Raidho at about 1 gram, though the resonant freq of the material is outside its musical range. Unfolded, the smaller Heil diaphragm is about 7sq inches.
The other tweeter I am yet to listen to, but which has great feedback from my dealer friend is the ROWEN Linear Motion tech (5 octave) tweeter. Info at rowen dot ch and click on Technology.
:woot:Yeah!
Mark - now that you've heard both...I would like your comments on these two speakers.