A brutal review of the Wilson Maxx

Hey Karmapolice,
Yes everyone is entitled to enjoy music as they see fit and yes Wilsons are used in lots of setups. My only point is that they have attained status because of their price and because of their particular controversial colorations. A budy who is a highend retailer(> 30yrs) has a sideline of cloning speakers. After pulling apart Wilson WP's I can tell you that they are kit speakers being sold at a very high markup.( yes I know they aren't max2's but Wilson continues to use kits) So,does this matter ? I think it does. Consider almost any other purchase of yours. Would you be comfortable paying $700,000 for a $200,000 house ? How about $1800 for a suit that is not made as well as a $800 suit ? Most people shop with an idea of fair value. In the case of audio equipment this means a retail to cost ratio of about 5/1. Where luxury items (cost no object)vary from this is that there is an assumption that the most expensive is the best and people are willing to pay for this luxury. Unfortunately this is not always the case. Certain "manufacturers" take advantage of this fact and price accordingly.If you like the sound,fine. Who could argue with that ? I think its "dumb" to pay these manufacturers anything when they are clearly taking advantage of your need to own "the best" by selling at multiples of 5/1.

I am a big fan of Thiel and Meadowlark, owning a pair of CS6s and Kestrel 2s, and though I believe I hear and enjoy the benefits of time and phase coherent speakers I ave to tell you folks about an experience that still qualifies as the best I've yet heard in playback.

It was at the 1998 Son et Image show in Montreal, Quebec and the equipment was Watt/Puppy 5 (?) powered by Classe Omega monoblocks and a Levinson preamp and CDP. It was a big band CD and when my girlfriend and I sat on the floor to listen (because the room was packed) we both swore that it was a live band in the room. That is the only time I have ever had that experience save for the real thing.

So, hey Dave Wilson at least got it right that time in that room in that configuration. Can I get it with my system? Perhaps if I spent more time with it.

I am not a fan of Wilson's speakers, but hey guys and gals, let's not throw the baby out with the bathwater.

Stevecham, we don't want to throw the baby out with the bathwater, we just want to give the baby a bath!

A lot of people ask why there's not more women or more of their friends involved in this hobby. Reading through this thread, I see why. I think that at it's price point, it would be pretty obvious that the Wilson Maxx simply doesn't suck. While it may be one person's cup of tea, I can see that it might not be another persons. Everyone will have their different opinions about it and that's fine, but I think that it's the way these viewpoints are expressed that keeps non-audiophiles away. For example, there is way too much chest-pounding and drum beating from the opposing camps of this argument. On the one hand there's the conspiracy advocates who think that any reviewer must be on the take if they happen to like the product under review and god forbid if they buy it, it is only further proof of the ties that bind. On the other hand, there is the reviewer who is supposedly so adept at the english language, but is so high on his audiophile horse that he is only able to hurtle insults at those who disagree with his gospel words. Any constructive discussion of the speakers merits is lost in the arguments. I truly believe that when non-audiophiles see what this "hobby" is becoming and how people act towards each other, they will be turned off further. (Okay, back to Oprah now).

Mike.

everybodies rippin on wilson for supposedly taking advantage of people by using kit drivers & over charging customers but the plain truth is if these speakers didnt sound good to buyers then they would not buy them.

im sure there are some buyers who buy them for status symbols but there are also alot of other guys who have pinched pennies (like me) & saved their asses off to be able to afford them & these types of buyers dont buy for status they buy what they liked the sound of & what they think will sound best in their rigs.

hell 100% of the gear i run has been completely dismissed by the elite audophile population as being unresolving & over priced but i surely didnt spend that kinda cash to impress anybody, i bought what i liked the sound from & im sure there are plenty of wilson owners who did the same.

people who listen to ANY reviewer without ever hearing the gear in question in their own home & start making decisions as to what sounds bad or is priced to high is a fool,the same can be said for people who say all kinds of things (good & bad) based on what they have heard at dealers,if you have not heard these things in your own home then you are not qualified to give them a review!

whenever i see people rippin apart uber $$$ high end gear i always get the same mental pic in my head of a guy sitting in front of a chineese made $400 intergrated tube amp from ebay hooked up to altec 14's thinking he has found all the answers.

has anybody else ever noticed that most of the gear bashers never post a pic of anything they own or listen to?

mike .