WILSON AUDIO/ cost vs. value

I am looking forward to hearing the new WP8 in LA this weekend.

With their current ad campaign, I think Wilson is trying to build a brand with similar attributes as those enjoyed by McIntosh in its heyday: quality, engineering excellence, overall excellence, the brand to own. Think of it as the Lexus or MBZ of loudspeakers. It's a good strategy for them, I think. They are trying to build a sustainable, long-term business, as they should. At this stage, they are less interested in the tweaky dickheads that hang out on Audiogon, and with good reason.

As to the profit margin statement, they probably do have a pretty good feel for what their competitors' margins are: they know component costs, they have intel about dealer margins, they know. Whether or not their margins are lower is hard to say, but perhaps they truly are.

Sure ol Wilson could care less about the few members here at Audiogon, what we say here will not affect their sales even at 1%. but its our OPEN freespeech forum and we can express our opinions in a friendly manner. And offer advice to others here. I can assure you I'm not at all interested in how much money Wilson makes. Good for him, sad for those who buy. As long as he does not get any of mine.
Nice Day
Paul

I purchased the MAXX2's after carefully considering and auditioning a great many competitive products. I auditioned or owned a great many other top o' the line speakers from Aerial, Audio Physic, Kharma, Talon, ProAc etc. There is no pride of ownership value for me as my room is dedicated (Rives) and I rarely entertain strangers. When I do, I don't show the room lest they think me daft.

Every speaker has their strengths, weaknesses and signature traits, as do Wilson speakers.

Unquestionably, from my _experience_ the Wilson speakers rank at or near the top in terms of the apparent care and attention that has gone into their design, fit, finish, packaging and user adjustable performance. The support from the staff has also been impeccable.

Most importantly however, they perform as well or better than my expectations would allow.

Too many people in these forums state negative impressions and opinion as if they have first hand, direct-in home experience, when the truth is they merely heard something at a show or dealer showroom. I've heard countless speakers and systems that sound like crap at shows, but performed extremely well in my home. Wilson speakers are precise, calibrated instruments, and their set up has to be just right, just like any other top performing speaker of their size (speaking of the MAXX2's/X2's).

Expounding negative opinion on performance should at least be qualified by context, as should opinions regarding value-- which often times is literally impossible to judge accurately without visiting the factory, talking to the staff and going over materials, parts lists.

Opinions are great, and the internet provides terrific forums for all to share theirs. I just wish opinions that get tossed around like rotten tomatoes, casting snide remarks and aspersions were accompanied by, oh, just a little persoanl context and responsibility to facts rather than conjecture.

I don't understand, yet, what all the hoopla is about regarding profit margin, R&D, advertising, outrageous prices, and outrageous justifications. Wilson, JMlabs, Zuaudio, Kharma, whoever: they can charge whatever they want. I don't believe, in a free market,- in calling prices unfair, unjustified, etc. Are the new Wilson 8 Watt Puppys worth, what?--$28k. If they sell them and audiophools are happy? Yes indeed. Anything is worth what someone is willing to pay for it. Manufacturers don't have to make their products accessible to everyone. Don't like it? Too costly? Too much bad PR? Don't buy it. I think we've heard that on this thread before. It's more fun to find the $5k speaker with the $15k sound. That is until we find out that the $5k speaker costs $250 to produce..

The greatest arbtiter of "value", both intrinsic and percieved, is the resale value of used products being sold on e-bay and AudioGon.

Based on the numbers I see, Wilson is without peer in terms of resale value. Smoke and mirrors? Crunch the numbers.

The selection of any speaker is an intentionally personal pursuit. Internet opinion that seeks to attack a company or anyones _choice_ of a loudspeaker system, better be willing to state specifics, context and comparison instead of short-hand conjecture and second or third hand opinion.

JMHO