Wilson Alexia and D'Agostino demo at Fidelis AV on Sat June 22 for those interested...
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cmalak
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Well folks, I just got back from this demo and I can see what all the fuss is about. The caveats are that I was not sitting in the sweet spot and the room was a bit small for the Alexias (I believe) but the D'Agostino stereo amp and preamp with a Bricasti front end and Transparent cabling all terminating in the Alexias was quite a combo. There were 20 people or so smushed in a small room so that and not being in the sweet spot prevented me from being emotionally engaged with the music. Plus it was Peter McGrath of Wilson playing samples of his excellent recordings but pieces of music not familiar to me that also kept me from being really swept away. But here's what I heard and it was all very impressive:
1. Crystal clear/transparent midrange. Resolution on these babies was out of bounds
2. Pristine and extended highs (in contrast to earlier Wilsons which were a bit peaky for my taste, the soft dome tweeters on the Alexias were just right)
3. Bass was extended and punchy. I think there was a bit too much bass-room interaction because I think on bass heavy music, the bass was not as tight as I would have expected and maybe a tad blurring of resolution as a result
4. When you add all of the above, musical timbres were spot on (vocals, piano, horns, percussion, etc... all sounded natural and accurate)
5. These speakers are dynamic as hell. And I am sure the D'Ag stereo amp had a good hand in the delivery of macro dynamics as well
6. The speakers definitely presented images within the stage that were full bodied (3D in the sense of meat on the bones)
7. Overall staging I did not get to fully experience properly again because I was not sitting in the sweet spot
Overall very impressive combo. Fit and finish on both the Wilson and the D'Ag gear is right up there with the best.
For any Alexia owners on AS congrats. For all you D'Ag owners (Joe and Shane and others
), congrats as well.
Both Dan D'Agostino and Peter McGrath were super nice guys and they know their sh*te that's for sure
Hope this gives you a decent sense of what it was like being there. Here's a crappy iPhone pic of the set-up:
And finally, for anyone in the New England area who has not dealt with Fidelis, Walter Swanbon (founder/owner) is a very good guy and eventhough I have not had any dealings with them (yet), I would heartily recommend him and his team at Fidelis.
1. Crystal clear/transparent midrange. Resolution on these babies was out of bounds
2. Pristine and extended highs (in contrast to earlier Wilsons which were a bit peaky for my taste, the soft dome tweeters on the Alexias were just right)
3. Bass was extended and punchy. I think there was a bit too much bass-room interaction because I think on bass heavy music, the bass was not as tight as I would have expected and maybe a tad blurring of resolution as a result
4. When you add all of the above, musical timbres were spot on (vocals, piano, horns, percussion, etc... all sounded natural and accurate)
5. These speakers are dynamic as hell. And I am sure the D'Ag stereo amp had a good hand in the delivery of macro dynamics as well
6. The speakers definitely presented images within the stage that were full bodied (3D in the sense of meat on the bones)
7. Overall staging I did not get to fully experience properly again because I was not sitting in the sweet spot
Overall very impressive combo. Fit and finish on both the Wilson and the D'Ag gear is right up there with the best.
For any Alexia owners on AS congrats. For all you D'Ag owners (Joe and Shane and others
), congrats as well.Both Dan D'Agostino and Peter McGrath were super nice guys and they know their sh*te that's for sure
Hope this gives you a decent sense of what it was like being there. Here's a crappy iPhone pic of the set-up:
And finally, for anyone in the New England area who has not dealt with Fidelis, Walter Swanbon (founder/owner) is a very good guy and eventhough I have not had any dealings with them (yet
), I would heartily recommend him and his team at Fidelis.
cmalak
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John...I passed along your hellos. At first I said John Thomas and he looked perplexed and then he said well I know a John (so and so...I am assuming you would like to keep your last name anonymous
) and I said yes, you sold him a pair of Hansen Prince speakers and he came back with and now he has TADs . I said, yep that's him. In any case, he says hello.
Well folks, I just got back from this demo and I can see what all the fuss is about. The caveats are that I was not sitting in the sweet spot and the room was a bit small for the Alexias (I believe) but the D'Agostino stereo amp and preamp with a Bricasti front end and Transparent cabling all terminating in the Alexias was quite a combo. There were 20 people or so smushed in a small room so that and not being in the sweet spot prevented me from being emotionally engaged with the music. Plus it was Peter McGrath of Wilson playing samples of his excellent recordings but pieces of music not familiar to me that also kept me from being really swept away. But here's what I heard and it was all very impressive:
1. Crystal clear/transparent midrange. Resolution on these babies was out of bounds
2. Pristine and extended highs (in contrast to earlier Wilsons which were a bit peaky for my taste, the soft dome tweeters on the Alexias were just right)
3. Bass was extended and punchy. I think there was a bit too much bass-room interaction because I think on bass heavy music, the bass was not as tight as I would have expected and maybe a tad blurring of resolution as a result
4. When you add all of the above, musical timbres were spot on (vocals, piano, horns, percussion, etc... all sounded natural and accurate)
5. These speakers are dynamic as hell. And I am sure the D'Ag stereo amp had a good hand in the delivery of macro dynamics as well
6. The speakers definitely presented images within the stage that were full bodied (3D in the sense of meat on the bones)
7. Overall staging I did not get to fully experience properly again because I was not sitting in the sweet spot
Overall very impressive combo. Fit and finish on both the Wilson and the D'Ag gear is right up there with the best.
For any Alexia owners on AS congrats. For all you D'Ag owners (Joe and Shane and others
Both Dan D'Agostino and Peter McGrath were super nice guys and they know their sh*te that's for sure
Hope this gives you a decent sense of what it was like being there. Here's a crappy iPhone pic of the set-up:
View attachment 2031
And finally, for anyone in the New England area who has not dealt with Fidelis, Walter Swanbon (founder/owner) is a very good guy and eventhough I have not had any dealings with them (yet
Great write up Cyril! Thanks!!
johnthomas
Member
John...I passed along your hellos. At first I said John Thomas and he looked perplexed and then he said well I know a John (so and so...I am assuming you would like to keep your last name anonymous
Cyril thanks man. It's amazing how many dealers I've dealt with know that I bought the TAD'S and I've never even told them that I did. A small audio world. Nice writeup on the speakers/amp. In the picture of the room it doesn't look that wide.
John
cmalak
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John...it certainly is a small world. On the room, yep they had the speakers set-up on the narrow wall to accomodate four rows of chairs for the customers to sit in. Had they set them up on the long wall, there would have been no way to have more than one row of chairs because the width of the room was probably 12-14 feet if I had to guess. I do think the room was a bit too small for the Alexias and as a result there were some room modes that were being excited in the low frequency range that overpowered the room a bit at times. This is despite Peter McGrath's meticulous set up. He did call out that it was tough getting them positioned in that room. An enjoyable audition although for a serious demo one would have to go back alone and bring along your own music to really be able to audition them properly.
radioactive
New member
Nice write-up Cyril. Peter puts on a good show doesn't he? Sometimes he gets a little hellbent on playing classical (opera too), but when he mixes it up, he has a helluva collection. One that caught me by surprise was a band/group called "Dubxanne" (it's a dub/reggae reinterpretation of the Police) song "Roxanne". Didn't expect Peter to play that one, but it sounded crazy good on the Alexia's and Dag pre/stereo amp. The dynamics were just something to make you wonder if it ever even sounded that good in the studio. Then again, it was played back on a full Vivaldi stack as the source.
Well folks, I just got back from this demo and I can see what all the fuss is about. The caveats are that I was not sitting in the sweet spot and the room was a bit small for the Alexias (I believe) but the D'Agostino stereo amp and preamp with a Bricasti front end and Transparent cabling all terminating in the Alexias was quite a combo. There were 20 people or so smushed in a small room so that and not being in the sweet spot prevented me from being emotionally engaged with the music. Plus it was Peter McGrath of Wilson playing samples of his excellent recordings but pieces of music not familiar to me that also kept me from being really swept away. But here's what I heard and it was all very impressive:
1. Crystal clear/transparent midrange. Resolution on these babies was out of bounds
2. Pristine and extended highs (in contrast to earlier Wilsons which were a bit peaky for my taste, the soft dome tweeters on the Alexias were just right)
3. Bass was extended and punchy. I think there was a bit too much bass-room interaction because I think on bass heavy music, the bass was not as tight as I would have expected and maybe a tad blurring of resolution as a result
4. When you add all of the above, musical timbres were spot on (vocals, piano, horns, percussion, etc... all sounded natural and accurate)
5. These speakers are dynamic as hell. And I am sure the D'Ag stereo amp had a good hand in the delivery of macro dynamics as well
6. The speakers definitely presented images within the stage that were full bodied (3D in the sense of meat on the bones)
7. Overall staging I did not get to fully experience properly again because I was not sitting in the sweet spot
Overall very impressive combo. Fit and finish on both the Wilson and the D'Ag gear is right up there with the best.
For any Alexia owners on AS congrats. For all you D'Ag owners (Joe and Shane and others
Both Dan D'Agostino and Peter McGrath were super nice guys and they know their sh*te that's for sure
Hope this gives you a decent sense of what it was like being there. Here's a crappy iPhone pic of the set-up:
View attachment 2031
And finally, for anyone in the New England area who has not dealt with Fidelis, Walter Swanbon (founder/owner) is a very good guy and eventhough I have not had any dealings with them (yet
This is my favorite 1-2 punch I've heard under $100,000+. Heard this combo a week ago with two other audiophiles and all of us were amazed. It was our "best of day"! 
The Dag amps on their own are good. The Alexia's on their own are good. Together? Incredible.
The Dag amps on their own are good. The Alexia's on their own are good. Together? Incredible.
I'm not sure if I should be honest or nice....
It wasn't my cup of tea (or any of the other guys). I'm sure the new Boulder gear will be really nice, but this was just not a good fit with the Alexia. It was warmed up too (4 hours).
I was impressed with this though....
I heard that with anat ref iis and ypsilon ref monos. Could not tell which component was doing what...but have heard stellar things about this piece.I was impressed with this though....
Honest but respectful. I respect that.I have heard the boulder 2060 but not the 1060 I think is between the d'agostinos on the photo? The 2060 was impressive. I prefer my gryphon, but the boulder surprised me.
I bet the Boulder would be great with certain speakers. Maybe Sonus Faber?? Not sure.
Just like the D'Agostino might not work with certain speakers. It's all about that "S" word.
VT Skier
New member
I can confirm that the Boulder 865 sounds terrific with the Amati Futura.
Cool! Thanks Jon.
socfan12
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I'm not sure if I should be honest or nice....
It wasn't my cup of tea (or any of the other guys). I'm sure the new Boulder gear will be really nice, but this was just not a good fit with the Alexia. It was warmed up too (4 hours).
I heard Boulder (2060) with the Max IIIs. Wasn't exactly my cup of tea either. Though it certainly did seem to control the drivers really well. Alexia's with Dag monos sounded really sweet, even though I was in a square room with boomy bass, it had potential.
radioactive
New member
I love my 1060/1010 with Sasha's. I've heard quite a few different amps with them; from the Dag monos to the ARC REF 250's, to Ayre. My preference is the Boulder 1060 for Sasha's. I have not heard it with the Alexia, but the Alexia sounds quite different than the Sasha's. One thing I can say is that the 1060 is very neutral. It can sound very different with different cables and sources (just like the Sasha's, both are very chameleon-like). My only wish is that it had just a touch more power. It also doesn't need long to sound it's best (in terms of warmup), whereas the 2060 is a complete Class-A design and needs an hour or two. Also, FYI, the 1060 is a newer design than the 2060.