Wilson Maxx 1 compared to Puppy 6


To all,

I realy like the Krell / Wilson aound and I am very happy with the Puppy 6. However I listened to the Maxx once in a good setup and the dynamics of the Maxx are unbelievable. Also it is very fast and musical.

So now I have a change to upgrade to Maxx 1 for a relative cheap price. How will it fit in my room. The listening corner of my room is 4x5.5m (13x18 foot). Then my room has an L shape wich is 9.3m x 3m (30x10 foot).

How will the Maxx fit in. Will I have bass problems. Some people told me that because of the lower port frequency of the Maxx the bass problems would be less. I had bass problems with the Puppy 5.1 in my previous house but with the Puppy 6 it was gone. The bass sounded more musical.

How does the Maxx compare to the Puppy 7. Will the mids of the Puppy be equal to the Maxx. Here in Europe a second hand Maxx costs less than a second hand Puppy 7.

Peter
sprbggr
Hi Peter

As I told you by e-mail, my advice if you are going to upgrade is to go with the WP7 and not a Maxx l (unless you commit to doing a series ll upgrade. The WP7 bests a Maxx l but the Maxx ll is a superb speaker with much of the X-2 technology. It is because of this that Wilson Audio discontinued production of the X-1 as the Maxx ll at half the price is just a better speaker.
I agree with Oneobgyn regarding my preference for the WP7 over the MAXX1, which isn't to say that you must agree. It depends completely on your preferences. The WP7 will never move as much air as a MAXX1, regardless of how hard you push it. If the huge pressure wave that the MAXX is capable of generating is most important to you, then it may well be your preferred speaker. A famous record producer once said that he felt that WPs (of any vintage) were small speakers masquerading as large speakers and not quite pulling it off. Given the type of music that he works with and the bigger than life bass impact that he tries to obtain I can not disagree with him. My preferences lie elsewhere, however, so the WP7s are my speaker of choice. Alas, there is no substitute for listening for yourself.
I agree with Oneobgyn regarding my preference for the WP7 over the MAXX1, which isn't to say that you must agree. It depends completely on your preferences. The WP7 will never move as much air as a MAXX1, regardless of how hard you push it. If the huge pressure wave that the MAXX is capable of generating is most important to you, then it may well be your preferred speaker. A famous record producer once said that he felt that WPs (of any vintage) were small speakers masquerading as large speakers and not quite pulling it off. Given the type of music that he works with and the bigger than life bass impact that he tries to obtain I can not disagree with him. My preferences lie elsewhere, however, so the WP7s are my speaker of choice. Alas, there is no substitute for listening for yourself.
Well I listened to the Maxx and the Puppy 7 again and to my opinion they are not even close. True the WP7 may be as good or better in the voice but the total image of the Maxx is very different from the WP7. The Maxx plays so easy all types of music. A contrabass is simply not good from a WP7 compared to the Maxx. Also the Maxx is very dynamic and has plays more easy all types of music. It is like driving 120 km/hour on the highway in a car with a 2 litre engine or with a 5 litre V8. Both of them can drive well but you will notice the comfort of driving the V8.

This is how I experienced the Maxx. Besides sometimes I like to play loud and the Maxx then blows away the Puppy.

But I decided to go for Maxx2 since then also the mids are better. No doubt that a Maxx2 will be better than Puppy7 in all aspects.

sprbggr
Find out(price-wise), how the MAXX+upgrade compares to the WP7 and go from there.
Sprbggr - I'm on the same page with you. I like the MAXX 1 much better than the WP7. The reasons why I prefer the MAXX are:
* Effortless Dynamics
* HUGE soundstage
* Ability to play ANY kind of music with authority

Certainly, as Oneobgyn and Siliab have good points as well, which just further illustrates the essential point that there is no "absolute" that appeals equally to everyone, we all have different perspectives and priorities.

Enjoy the MAXX! I hope it works with your room.