Wilson Alexia

radioactive said:
Thanks for sharing Mike. I'm curious how the tweeter compares between the two. I've heard a lot of Wilson's, but found the tweeter in the Alexia the most impressive. Just very clean and accurate. Too bad the Sasha's don't have it (hint hint).

That's from my dealer's during a Wilson/DCS event. I've stopped in a few times since and listened and every time I have something new to learn.

The ARC's were very clean, very tube-like. Those who don't know what I'm talking about, think of a rich sound, not without treble, but warm on the midrange. Not overly warm, just so that you get the impression that there is an artist on the other end of the cable with a microphone. The 250's were awesome when we listened to Tori Amo's track "Sweet Sangria". Her voice was just so chilling it gave goose bumps -- something the 'Dag's just couldn't do. Which is what they appear made to do...play back vocals with eerie realism. I was blown away at the realism they present with vocals but unfortunately they weren't my cup of tea. I can certainly understand why people like tubes and the ARC's are probably one of the best I've heard. They have a bit more dynamics that what I've typically accustomed to tubes and also throw a very good (but defined) soundstage. As you can see the 'Dag's in the picture were the reference here and you certainly can hear the difference. You quickly recognize with the 'Dag's that there's more to just vocals. My preference was for the Momentum stereo over the 250's. I found it had better imaging and better dynamics. For the price, the pair of 250's are about the same as the stereo Momentum and for just convenience I'd take the Momentum's. The 250's had to be warmed up and had an odd behavior when I turned them off -- they actually tripped the power line. It was very odd.

I've argued that the Alexia's are better than the Maxx3's but my dealer thinks I'm nuts and keeps playing the Maxx's when I go into his shop LOL. Different strokes, but the tweeter in the Maxx's is letting them down; albeit this is only noticeable when you go immediately from one to the other. The sound is much larger, which is probably also true of your Aida's but I'd argue again that size of the sound is significantly different than accuracy and clarity.
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Thanks for your post. I would love to try the Dag amps on my Aida's. I've heard so many great things about them. But I'm completely happy with the REF250's. I've had no odd shut down issues as each amp gets its own dedicated 20amp circuit. They do get better and better as they warm up though, as most, if not all, tube amps do.

As for the tweeter, it blends seamlessly with the midrange and don't forget, the dials on the back of the Aida's mean you can dial the tweeter in perfectly for the room. You can also dial in the intra woofer (bass) and rear firing woofer and tweeter. Really allowing you to dial in everything perfect for your room.

I agree with you that the Alexia tweeter is excellent - so much so that I kept going back to the Alexia during my audition orgy in Phoenix. I would hear the XLF's, then go back to the Alexia, hear the MBL, then back to the Alexia, hear the....you get the picture. I found the Futuras to be a little more particular with amps. They sounded great with certain amps/brands and not as great with others. The Amati Futuras sound absolutely incredible with the Soulution 710 stereo amp and EAR preamp (or Accuphase preamp). The 710 took them to a whole new level IMO.

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The Alexia's to me, just sounded great with whatever we put on them. We had Mc, ARC, Burmeister, etc. at our disposal to switch around.

Like I said earlier, I just didn't find the bass on the Alexia's as well defined as even the Futura's - but certainly no less pleasurable. Between the two - it would all come down to room size, music type and amplification preference.

Versus the XLF, if I had a room the size of a small hockey rink and the XLF's cost $80,000 - then I would be torn. But given the fact that the Alexia's sound so good and cost 1/4 as much, the Alexia's are a no brainer IMO.
 
Mike said:
Thanks for your post. I would love to try the Dag amps on my Aida's. I've heard so many great things about them. But I'm completely happy with the REF250's. I've had no odd shut down issues as each amp gets its own dedicated 20amp circuit. They do get better and better as they warm up though, as most, if not all, tube amps do.

As for the tweeter, it blends seamlessly with the midrange and don't forget, the dials on the back of the Aida's mean you can dial the tweeter in perfectly for the room. You can also dial in the intra woofer (bass) and rear firing woofer and tweeter. Really allowing you to dial in everything perfect for your room.



I agree with you that the Alexia tweeter is excellent - so much so that I kept going back to the Alexia during my audition orgy in Phoenix. I would hear the XLF's, then go back to the Alexia, hear the MBL, then back to the Alexia, hear the....you get the picture. I found the Futuras to be a little more particular with amps. They sounded great with certain amps/brands and not as great with others. The Amati Futuras sound absolutely incredible with the Soulution 710 stereo amp and EAR preamp (or Accuphase preamp). The 710 took them to a whole new level IMO.

ajy3y7un.jpg


The Alexia's to me, just sounded great with whatever we put on them. We had Mc, ARC, Burmeister, etc. at our disposal to switch around.

Like I said earlier, I just didn't find the bass on the Alexia's as well defined as even the Futura's - but certainly no less pleasurable. Between the two - it would all come down to room size, music type and amplification preference.

Versus the XLF, if I had a room the size of a small hockey rink and the XLF's cost $80,000 - then I would be torn. But given the fact that the Alexia's sound so good and cost 1/4 as much, the Alexia's are a no brainer IMO.
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Ummm...the XLF's are more like $200,000 plus, not $80,000.

I unfortunately don't have the time to let my amps warm up for hours before I listen. In fact, I listen for a couple of hours every day in the evening.

I take it you don't listen to your Aida's very loud? That's the other weakness I found with the 250's -- they ran out of steam very quickly. They're on par with the Dag stereo, but when driven hard they cry like babies. Now the Boulder 2060 is a beast that can just be pushed like crazy and it doesn't even break composure. Very neutral, very accurate. The only problem is the size of the beast is unwieldy. If I had to choose, it would be the Dag monoblocks just because of their performance and size (however they require significant space to cool).

Please don't misunderstand, I'm not bashing anything here; just trying to voice my opinion. All of these observations are based on the music you prefer. Me, I don't listen to classical but once or twice every 6 months. Pop, Electronic, Jazz, Rock (in that order) are my preferences. If you're big into Classical and Jazz I totally agree with you Mike and would only add that it appears that the SF brand (at least from the Amati upward to the Aida) is purpose built for those who prefer Classical and Jazz.

Case in point, we listened to Deadmau5's Raise Your Weapons over them with a SME vinyl rig and Greta Svabo Bech's voice was just super cool to hear, but when the song got into full bore half way through, you quickly felt the weight of Vinly and Tube gear weighing down the dynamics of the electronic music's sound and impact. Doesn't mean it doesn't sound incredible when playing back Verdi's La traviata (Drinking Song). But that's got to be your thing really. And by the by, that Vivaldi stack is insane good (drool).
 
The REF250's never run out of steam on the Aida's my man. I can get 106db with under 25 watts. I've even posted videos on YouTube of me running my other speakers - tough to drive - Revels with the 250's at ear bleeding levels.
 
Mike said:
The REF250's never run out of steam on the Aida's my man. I can get 106db with under 25 watts. I've even posted videos on YouTube of me running my other speakers - tough to drive - Revels with the 250's at ear bleeding levels.
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There's more to just SPL. How far away, how big is the room, and more importantly, how compressed did the sound get? But really, at that level if you're listening for too long you'll damage your hearing. Not arguing that they can't play loud, but what I heard was compression when driven hard. I suppose it could be various other issues at hand and I didn't listen that long. I certainly didn't have a meter with me.

It sounds like the Aida's are quite efficient and easy to drive.
 
It's all about synergy. Sounds like you've found it. You've been into tubes for a while though right? I recall you selling your 2301's a while back. Harry Pearson thinks highly of them, but doent have as much nice to say about Mc solid state. I've never heard them, but how would you say they compare to the ref 250's? Same price range right? Sorry if Im getting off topic, just curious.
 
The Ref 250s are very stout amps. Don't don't give up easily. I have no experience with the Aida other than at shows and they were being driven exactly like Mike is driving his. 250s on the top and 450s on the bottom using a Ref 10 pre. And they truly did not give up.

They are not boulder 2060s, I agree

I have listened a bunch to the 250s with Sasha's along with the boulder 1060. And in that room they both did an equal job, just different styles.
 
radioactive said:
It's all about synergy. Sounds like you've found it. You've been into tubes for a while though right? I recall you selling your 2301's a while back. Harry Pearson thinks highly of them, but doesn't have as much nice to say about Mc solid state. I've never heard them, but how would you say they compare to the ref 250's? Same price range right? Sorry if I'm getting off topic, just curious.
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It's like someone injected the power of solid state into the 250's
 
radioactive said:
It's all about synergy. Sounds like you've found it. You've been into tubes for a while though right? I recall you selling your 2301's a while back. Harry Pearson thinks highly of them, but doent have as much nice to say about Mc solid state. I've never heard them, but how would you say they compare to the ref 250's? Same price range right? Sorry if Im getting off topic, just curious.
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The REF 250's are more dynamic (like SS), with just the right amount of midrange bloom, and much better bass control.
 
the professor said:
The Ref 250s are very stout amps. Don't don't give up easily. I have no experience with the Aida other than at shows and they were being driven exactly like Mike is driving his. 250s on the top and 450s on the bottom using a Ref 10 pre. And they truly did not give up.

They are not boulder 2060s, I agree

I have listened a bunch to the 250s with Sasha's along with the boulder 1060. And in that room they both did an equal job, just different styles.
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Aaahh. So Mike's not using just the Ref 250's to drive his Aida's? He's using a Ref 250 AND 450 on each channel? That would explain a lot. I can certainly understand getting those SPL's with that setup. Hell, the 450's alone would do that -- they'll put out 1800 Watts peak over 4 ohms. I still am a bit curious about just the Ref250's alone.
 
bzr said:
It's like someone injected the power of solid state into the 250's
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If that's the case, I'm glad I never head the 2301's. I found the 250's still having the typical characteristics of tube amps, albeit they were very good -- but they're not solid state. Before you start a flame, I'm not bashing tubes. I love the way they sound. And if had to share walls with my neighbors, I'd probably have more tubes than SS.
 
No need to bash, the waters warm. I fell for the hype of Strads & 2301's, I'm over it.
 
Kevin is right. We all need to listen for ourselves and decide. The good smart folks here can certainly give you some good direction and ideas, but the ultimate decision is with the guy (or gal) writing the check.
 
Hey Mike,

Have you posted an photos of your setup? I'm interested to see how you laid it out.

Bryan
 
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