A brutal review of the Wilson Maxx

Interesting thread

I for one own Wilson speakers and have moved up the chain having owned WP 5.1's, WP 6's, Maxx l's, X-1 Series lll and now X-2's (along with an XS and complete WATCH system)

I feel therefore I can speak with some degree of authority. There is simply no question that people love them or hate them but to bash Dave Wilson makes me feel that you guys are merely trying to say that your doniker is bigger than the that of the person who owns Wilson speakers.

I can tell you that with tube amps and/or proper solid state amps, Wilson speakers will sound and image better than anything on the market. Previously I was running Audio Research Ref 600 Mk lll's at 600 wpc and now I am running Lamm ML 2.1's at 18 wpc. Show me how many speakers are able to perform as well with such different amplification.

I agree totally with Michael Fremer. In the end everyone's question to themself boils down to what your ears hear when your ass is in the sweet spot in your room with your components as well as what your pocket book can afford...nothing more and nothing less. For some of you to accuse reviewers of being bought off or churning equipment on Audiogon are just as Michael Fremer says...you are idiots.

As for the esthetics of the speakers....beauty is in the eyes of the beholder but when the lights are off and it is my ass sitting in my room listening to Dave's speakers, I can tell all of you that I have reached audio nirvana. One man's passion is another man's poison. The fact that Dave Wilson is so successful and drives a Ferarri is OK by me because he has enriched my life with the love of music. He has brought reality of the soundstage to my listening room.

I credit Michael Fremer for having the brass cajones to say it as it really is here. He is an honest reviewer. For all of the others here who rant about Hardesty's "review" I would suggest you all do some critical listening. My door is always open to any interested audiophiles in the Bay Area who want to come for a listen.

Finally to the individual who suggested that Dave Wilson's test at CES 2 years ago (when he used an iPod and fooled us all)that the listeners were easily fooled and we didn't know much about critical listening, I can say that I was at that demo and I also feel I am a very critical listener..to that extent the iPod played through the Sophia system clearly bettered the B&W system.

I agree also with the comments of Skull posted above

dave wilson has always been fodder for audio critics. he made his reputation off the wilson wamm a product that is virtually non-existent. he charges outrageous prices for off the shelf drivers. those in the know see nothing expensive about the parts or construcution process. those in the know conitnue to rave on the wilson products from top to bottom of the line.

Wilson maxx graced the cover of both the absolute sound and sterophile recently. after all these years what did dave discover? a new supplier of drivers?

Is it a bit inconsistent? he can make it sound good with an ipod-but I have heard it with the best of krell,cj,arc. quite frankly I prefer a table radio.

The fact of the matter is dave is feeling the bite of the economy. he is not the first peddler of an expenswive audio product to suggest that all the money should be spent on his product. I remeber daves comment "I am not so much interested in the the audiophile but the person who can spend $10K for my speaker".

Reviewers whose ears I trust continue to rave over wilson speakers. I don't think they are bribed. There are makers of excellent products who can't get a review. It would be much easier to take a bribe for a good product.

The good thing is we can vote with our ears and our pocketbooks. If you buy a product based on reviews and exclusivty, eventually you'll stop listening and your friends will not come over anymore. that is the true test of a product. A test that the wilson products have failed miserably in my opinion. If they made your honor roll,congratulations!

Arthur - interesting site that I was unaware of. I'm hesitant to take sides in this dispute, however I can certainly concede that the language used in Mr. Fremer's correspondence (if accurate) is very unprofessional. While he's not a professional athelete, I'm sure some folks, young or old look up to him in his position and I would expect better.

High end audio is a business. My guess is that it's neither as pure as MF suggests or as corrupt as you do. Thank goodness we all have the opportunity to listen/audition equipment ourselves.

This makes interesting reading, but please, except for Fremer, for whom this IS his life, everybody needs to get one. Sit, back enjoy your equipment, and stop looking for external validation for how you spend your hard-earned dolars. All we nned to round out this thread is Romy the Cat.

David Shapiro

Grooves - Questions Stereophile never answers. Could you be so kind as to let me know?
RE: coloration in speakers. In the interest of defining "coloration":
1) Why can't Stereophile measure / publish speaker distortion? The on-line mag SoundStage does.
2) Why can't Stereophile measure / publish right & left speaker matching in dB output?

RE: Ethics:
Even this month, JA says Stereophile has a "5 dealer rule" yet turns around and does a review of UpScale Audio's Prima-Luna amp. Stated number of dealers: 1.
Same thing when M-F gear was an Audio Advisor exclusive. What's up with that?

BTW:
My $17 Tang-Band W3-871s drivers (ELF 1.0 speakers / Denon UD-M31 mini system /Marantz CD-500) are so uncolored when a fire siren came on during a song my girlfriend came out of the bathroom - door was open - and asked where the firetrucks were going. This has happened to me numerous times with telephone ringing and a noise sounding like my kitchen timer. Even when I KNEW it was coming up on the CD, still got tricked.

So every speaker is colored. And every step I take causes the earth to changes its direction of rotation too.

I understand your point, just expect a lot more from a $20,000 speaker than a $200 speaker.