Wilson Audio Unveils Stunning New Flagship Speaker

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MontanaJoe

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As some of you know, I’m not a fan of “hyperbole” when it pertains to audio.

I’m no fan of blows the doors off, blows it away, by far the best, I had 10 audiophiles and they unanimously agreed, not even close, etc etc

The reality of high end audio these days, is most equipment is so good, that you could enjoy just about any thing.

The headline of my post comes from an email I got from The Absolute Sound. The article reads like a sycophantic overzealous advertisement, that would be over the top if Wilson released it but it’s from Harley, who will tell you he has no bias, no financial interest and uses his editorial soapbox of his magazine to claim as much DESPITE the obvious.

Look, Wilson is a great product, I’ve owned their products in the past, really enjoyed them but, “Stunning”, breaking new ground, etc etc when he hasn’t spent any legitimate time with it BUT has no qualms about singing all their praise hardly supports his inane and unsubstantiated perspective of no bias.

Back to the “stunning”. I understand beauty is in the eye of the beholder and many would probably think my system, speakers, choice of rug, chair etc aren’t “Stunning” and I get it, and why I would never be so dense to use the term in describing what I own, BUT,
ANYONE who has seen this new Wilson in pictures, almost unanimously would never describe it as “Stunning”. More like The Alien, popping out of Harley’s belly would be more appropriate.
 
I'm not a good judge on looks, on paper it looks like it could be stunning. Wilson typically is not to my taste. I've heard it sound good with Doshi, whichusually sounds good anyway, I also heard them with Audio Research that was good.

I get what you are saying though.
 
I saw some pictures over on audiophile style. It does look scary. Huge, and curving forward as it gets tall. I’m sure it will sound stunning in the right room, with the right amplification, and tuned appropriately. Lots of adjustments.

I’m definitely a “meh” on the looks, but it is striking, and definitely a Wilson.
 
I’ve owned Wilson speakers before. When properly setup and with a good set of components can be very enjoyable.

This new flagship appears to have quite a few levels of innovation and development. The ability to adjust drivers to maximize timing synchronization beyond prior Wilson’s is a big plus. Also, it appears more attention to driver development including a new structure for the tweeter could also be big pluses. But, we’ll have to wait to hear it.

As for the looks, not my cup of tea. Looks a bit raw and not quite finished.
 
Ritmo said:
I’ve owned Wilson speakers before. When properly setup and with a good set of components can be very enjoyable.

This new flagship appears to have quite a few levels of innovation and development. The ability to adjust drivers to maximize timing synchronization beyond prior Wilson’s is a big plus. Also, it appears more attention to driver development including a new structure for the tweeter could also be big pluses. But, we’ll have to wait to hear it.

As for the looks, not my cup of tea. Looks a bit raw and not quite finished.
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I am not debating their ability. I too had Wilson in the past, including the then wonderful WATT/PUPPY/WAMM system and replaced by the then top of the line X1; I learned a great lesson with that upgrade. The X1 overpowered my room and was a big downgrade, at least for my room capability.

The main point of my OP was the over the top hyperbole by Harley, just couple of weeks after he basically used the exact same hyperbole and “best” for the AlsyVox; for a speaker that he barely spent any time with, yet claims no bias or manufacturer inducement. Color me skeptical.
 
brodricj said:
Not mine either. Dog ugly comes to mind, but I'm sure it sounds great.
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Sounds great? I am sure, under the right circumstances, just like any other speaker. However, one thing about these huge speakers (and others like it), despite the knee jerk response to sing their praises, they are probably the hardest to get what they are capable of doing.

As I said elsewhere, I once "upgraded" from a Wilson WATT/PUPPY/WAMM to the then very expensive X1. The former were amazing; the latter didn't sound "great" in my environment. Unfortunately, too many make the mistake that "bigger, more tech, more $" leads to the knee jerk response of "great".

More than any other variable in an end-user's system, size of the room and proper set up will determine if that OR any other large speaker with multip9le drivers will sound great.

But yes, properly setup, in the right size room to handle them, like just about any other marquis product of Wilson, Magico, Clarisys, MBL, AlsyVox, Gobel, etc. etc. they better sound great at those $$.

The real point of my post, was the absurd claims being made by Harley who claims to have no economic bias.
 
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I think the look is very modern. Depending on colour choices it can be very edgy or quite conservative in one colour only.I have to give them A for effort. I like the look. To each to their own. I strongly believe in the functionality.
 
I thought liked the orange, until I saw that beautiful red in today's ptA article. Very attractive. The adjustability of the driver positioning sets it apart from any other speaker that I am aware of.
 
BendingWave said:
THe overflowing river of hype and hyperbole just doesn't stop.
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Look, I get it coming from Wilson OR their dealers. You, Mike of Suncoast, etc. I expect you guys to support and believe in the products you have chosen to represent and sell. If you didn't, it would be absurd.

HOWEVER, when a reviewer, who claims to be unbiased, beyond the $ influence, etc. makes the kinds of claims that Harley did in the unveiling of the Wilson Autobiography, it is over the top, especially at an unveiling with all the limitations of a venue of that type. When I read that stuff, as should others, no matter the product, I think it is healthy to question.

And "stunning" well, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Frank Langella in his tryst with Whoopie proved that.
 
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There is always hype for any brand speaker above a quarter million let alone ~$800,000. I don't care how much hype there is is not one of them is worth the price of a nice home, or a couple of Ferrari's , or. ............... fill in the blank.

Debating whether Brand A's speaker is better than Brand B or C's at these price points is absurd.
 
I always predict once Magico set the absurd price on M9 which other speaker manufacturers will catch up. Indeed, all other speaker manufacturers now have their new flagship speakers above $500k. I heard MBL are going to significantly increase the prices on their speakers lineup after 1 May. Their flagship 101X is too cheap by comparison. They need to raise their prices to match the other speaker manufacturers top offering in order not to look too cheap. I predict Magico will have a new flagship with a price tag of 1 million next year.
 
Adyc said:
I always predict once Magico set the absurd price on M9 which other speaker manufacturers will catch up. Indeed, all other speaker manufacturers now have their new flagship speakers above $500k. I heard MBL are going to significantly increase the prices on their speakers lineup after 1 May. Their flagship 101X is too cheap by comparison. They need to raise their prices to match the other speaker manufacturers top offering in order not to look too cheap. I predict Magico will have a new flagship with a price tag of 1 million next year.
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I think this is wrong on so many levels. Magico did not set the price benchmark. Others did. Prices for MBL are NOT going up a lot. Literally unchanged. I have the price sheet. MBL’s new team is top top top notch! Real professionals. Really dedicated to success and continuing to build a great brand. My team and I met with the new MBL Management team at axpona for over an hour. We were all super impressed. Dedicated, committed, supportive professionals is how I would describe the new team. Our interactions so far on several sales has been excellent.
 
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