Wilson New Speaker Master Chronosonic

You're right Al, the interview was of interest. I underestimated the woman! That pic of Dave and she in between the pair of WAMM's was taken at my dealer in San Jose, John Garland Audio, one of the few dealers with a pair of WAMM's available to audition. Only about 80 grand in the late 80's, iirc. Sounds reasonable now, didn't then! Brooks Berdan took in a pair on trade shortly before he got sick. His wife Sheila sold them after he died, so they're in a living room somewhere in SoCal. I'll have to ask her what they went for next time I see her.

E you can't  get those speakers if you notice the pic there is a space in between for a coffin, they will play the favorite music of the audiophile, the curtain is perfect just add standing lights.,and a bit flowers...

Saw many of the same comments regarding the drapes and the horrid looking speakers across the various audio sites.   I heard all 70 are going to Russian kelpto-billionaires.  I think the drapes are included.

I don’t wish to argue the WMC are beautiful or worth the money, nor can I attest to their sound qualities. In the past I have found Wilson’s juiced and not completely natural but I have to agree with this statement from Dave Wilson in principle, even if I don’t think Wilson is always following it:

We see the trends, for example, a beryllium tweeter coated with diamond dust to add rigidity. But the question we ask is, what sounds more real? Does it have the ability to mimic the experiences we’ve had in the Musikverein, Staatsoper, and Concerthaus? Does it fool your mind when you close your eyes, and make you feel as though you’re in that hall? Those are the questions we ask.

This is a really big deal as a lot of speakers drivers and crossover components don’t sound "real" to me. They sound fun, or like I can now hear things about an instrument I could not before, but step up to a bare saxophone or violin or piano and the difference is clear. Listen to these speakers too long and you may not be able to appreciate bare instruments anymore. :)

It’s also really important for listeners to get off their ego trip about having the most realistic system, and decide if that’s what they like. If you like a colorful flea-powered tube amp with 1960’s sounding high efficiency speakers, that’s what you like.

In other words, I think the holy-grail of realism may be over blown. BUY WHAT YOU LIKE TO LISTEN TO and don’t try to claim moral superiority about realism.

We also have to come to grips with hearing loss. Most of us are not born into having great music tastes and limitless budgets. By the time we care enough, and can afford good gear our hearing is just not what it used to be. Some speakers may make us feel like we have younger ears, thanks to their tonal balance. When we buy speakers the "system matching" must include our own ears. If we've lost a few dB in the top 2 octaves, adding it in the speakers is perfectly reasonable way of restoring our pleasure, much like having glasses restores our enjoyment of nature.  Putting glasses on in no way diminishes the duck, goose, or bear we are experiencing. :)

Best,

E