Wilson Audio Haters

I echo others' sentiments that if Wilson was not very successful, no one would hate them. Some people seem use Wilson as comparison to sound smarter as they "graduate" past the brand, which is social marketing issue not related to the product. The value of Wilson speakers is questionable as viewed as an opportunity cost and although there is a very distinct house sound, some models are better than others, imo. What I think the haters do not consider is that Wilson's competitors, i.e. other expensive box speakers, tend to fail in comparison in terms of dynamics and often scale and time alignment, especially Wilson's lack of dynamic compression for their sensitivity and form. 

Barfly & Ohlala, thanks for your input here. I suppose though, that my days of enjoying the 'envy of it all' in this hobby are likely behind me really, but I can certainly see your points. I was able to "graduate", if you prefer, past Wilson, et al, if, in my case, for no other reason than the fact that I was convinced that I'd never be able to afford them! And, while I did in fact end up finding my own "nirvana" (with a small "n") by learning to go a completely different sort of route, it only ended up taking me what, a few decades??...LOL! So if I were to begrudge any of it (which I don't), it would probly be that it just took me so darn long (ha,ha!), so I don't really mind other folks having more money to throw at it than me, that's just the way life is and I have certainly learned to take that sort of stuff in stride, I suppose...after all, what I've gotten from the experience in return, I have to say, has made me a happy man.

Cheers!
John

Audio is one of those hobbies where simply throwing money at the hobby will get you results, whereas with fly fishing, for example, if you cannot cast a fly with practice and effort, you get nowhere, despite any amount of money.  Money can get you any car, but not the experience and skill to drive them.  I think (and I freely admit this) that Wilson is one of the companies out there that targets the well-heeled directly.  The newest WAMM, for example, has 5 years of R+D....no new drivers, no new enclosure material, no new tweeter diaphragm material, no new crossover.....simply derivative not ground breaking.   At least Magico came out with aluminum cabinets, full CNC machined parts, Beryllium tweeter, Graphene woofer cones etc.....pushing the limit, at least showing some progress.  Wilson for the longest time used off the shelf Focal drivers...not original.   So I can see the "hate" thing, but it will be a while before I can actually afford any of the highest gear.

In fact, to me, in audio, finding the "diamonds in the rough" in terms of gear and speakers is the real thrill; the gear that is passed over or older etc that no one gives any time to or no longer has "relevance" that is superlative in sound quality and accessible, financially.  That takes talent and skill that no amount of money can buy.

Nice post, blackfly.

"In fact, to me, in audio, finding the "diamonds in the rough" in terms of gear and speakers is the real thrill; the gear that is passed over or older etc that no one gives any time to or no longer has "relevance" that is superlative in sound quality and accessible, financially.  That takes talent and skill that no amount of money can buy."

Perhaps the most enlightened audio-related statement of 2016. Only one day to go. Welcome aboard.

Happy New Year blackfly,
Dave

We don't have to "hate" a brand just because we don't like the sound of their products. I have heard B&Ws for decades and they have never warmed to me.  Likewise, I heard the Wilson Alexx recently and again, it just didn't do it for me.  No harm in that, and I don't hate either company.  My preference in a speaker's characteristics is my own personal choice, just as it is with all of us here.