To Wilson Maxx I, I or IIII owners, or any Wilson speaker owners


I have heard that speakers will disappear, when they're set up correctly.  The only time I've experienced this, is when I had a pair of Martin Logan Monoliths.  It took me literally years, to figure out the panels I placed on both sides of them etc. Completely different sound, just sayin.  My present placement is 54" from the side walls and 42" from the back walls-slightly towed in.  I have tried every which way but loose, as far as the distance from each wall and the toe-in angle.  Really wide and more towed in.  Let me be clear-I have a VERY good sound stage and image, vocals are coming from right in front of me, but when I look at them (this may sound weird) I can hear the speaker.  I basically have an equilateral triangle , as far as my listening position goes.  Does anyone out there have the Wilsons and are not experiencing this?  Don't get me wrong-they sound absolutely fantastic, but as far as "disappearing"-not so much.  I did achieve this when listening to the "White Album", but it was mixed differently.  Thought I had it solved, till I played a more modern LP..  FYI-I have mucho sound absorption- up, down, rear and first reflection points.  I'm in the process of building QRD diffusers, but it will be a few more months till I get them completed.(a QRD-23 in the front and a couple of QRD-11's in the back).  I loved the sound of the Martin Logans, but like the sound of full frontal, in your face, better.  Maybe I'm expecting too much?  FYI have Krell FPB-600 monoblocks pushing the Wilson's.
handymann
Hi Handymann,

I don’t have Wilsons but I have always admired them since the Watt Puppy.

Please try some thin 2 or 3 mm foam or felt around the tweeter and on the baffle edges around the tweeter and mid range driver.

When the sound collapses to the speaker it usually suggests baffle edge diffraction. (The sound from mid range and tweeter is bouncing off the sharper edges of the speaker and this creates additional sounds that your hearing will pick up and allow you to pinpoint the speaker as the source of the sound)

The upper mid range driver sits proud of the tweeter by 2 inch on the Maxx 2 and this could be a big problem - protruding edges are far more severe in their diffraction effect. Same issue for the lower mid range as it sits back from the sharo edge of the lower cabinet. Think of it like a wave hitting a pier as it comes ashore - the pier severely disrupts the clean uniform wave and creates new secondary waves.

Our ears use these early diffracted arrrivals to pinpoint the source of the sound and it sounds like things are collapsing to the speaker more than you experienced with the ML.

With the Sashas and and some other Wilson speakers I've owned in the past, Wilson had  recommended that, ideally, you sit a distance of 1.1 to 1.3 times the distance between the tweeters. Wilson did not recommend an equilateral triangle.
Also, regarding toe in, you should barely see the inside panel of each speaker enclosure from your seating position. This is much more toe in than you have. Make these two adjustments and your speakers should disappear from your seating position and elsewhere.
Shadorne:
Thanks for your response.  I'm not exactly clear where you're suggesting I put up an edge.  Please try to describe in detail exactly what you're referring to.

Here is a photo example using felt

http://tripp.com.au/gif/spk02.jpg

If you put the grills on over top of the felt you won’t even see the felt

Dunlavvy speakers had similar issues on the baffles and he used felt. It works great.
Shadorne
It appears you have adhered small triangle shaped pieces of felt, to the speaker body around the tweeter and midrange section, that has raised the shoulder of said speakers ever so slightly.  Is this what I'm seeing?
Handymann