A brutal review of the Wilson Maxx

I you can afford the Wilson Maxx then you have a pretty good life, I dont know if they are good or bad I am sure they are really impressive, some may knock them out of jealousy, others may just think it doesnt take that much money to make a speaker that works well.
At any rate even if they do suck the folks who buy them dont think so, and if they have that much money....who cares or feels sorry for them if they didnt make the right choice?...after all who really knows what the right choice is anyway??
I really cant see why people take time to hate these speakers, they are so expensive that it is not practical for most to even think about them, let alone knock those who have them, life is too short.

although i'm not a Wilson zealot; i think Mr. Giolas has it about right. Mr. Hardesty's writing says more about Mr. Hardesty than about the products he describes.....and thanks to Mr. Hardesty for showing us Mr. Giolas's letter.

If Mr. Hardesty truely is after truth......and not just attention....he should accept Mr. Giolas's offer; visit Wilson; do the damn work......and write about what he sees and hears.....what a novel approach that would be for Mr. Hardesty.

If Hardesty really wants to leave his imprint on the audiophile world he should take his considerable knowledge and opinions and manufacture a speaker based thereupon. It's really easy to criticize the work of others, but it's a lot harder to actually step off you platform and get down and dirty in the marketplace. Dave Wilson took the leap and even if I don't love his products I deeply respect Wilson for his work. It says something about Wilson that he had the courage and confidence to start his business and the acumen to make it successful. Hardesty obviously relishes his role as the critics' critic, but where does it stop? Maybe I should start a webzine dedicated to criticizing the critics who criticize other critics, but what would that say about me?

I really don't think the point was to discredit directly anything accept, that are you being sold 45,000 worth of speaker? Unfortunately, I have learned as many people have that to get attention to any certain subject you may have to show pretty negative forwardness to make a point, crack a couple Eggs if you will... Its a Warning to one that may believe they are really getting a speaker or any equipment near the cost of 50% down payment on an exotic car basically. I totally agree any one is free to spend as much as possible to find the truth and happiness in the audio world no doubt, But I think this article was Harsh but made that way to show some truth about Snake oil being sold, that's it, And I think the point was made, however the attacks on certain individuals are another story, but the fact is do I really care what any reviewer says, they all may have certain motives beyond the music, who is to judge, that point is dead. Believe in a product, but break it down into the real world cost is the whole Real point of that article, even if they sound fabulous. To some extent we are all being sold "Status" do you need a Mercedes equal to a honda accord to get to work?

Richard, I am good friends with Luke Manley from VTL as well as Dave and Terry from ARC, just as you say you are.

I think it relevant to note that both Audio Research and VTL _own_ the Wilson MAXX2's and consider them ABSOLUTE references for listening to their own products--which also explains why they chose to SHOW with them at CES. And Brooks? He carries the Wilson line because he BELIEVES in them. So it would seem, that even within your self appointed circle of friends, you are way out on a limb. But that's the point isn't it? You know better 'cause you're so 'derned smart.... :)

I don't think anything John wrote was out of line, and it seemed appropriate to the circumstance. He's even invited you to visit! Don't drink the kool-aid, though, eh? I think posting John's comments and invitation made your ranting look all the more baseless.

IMO, it's rather classless to POST e-mail correspondence, but in this case I'm glad you did.

No one's defending the Wilson speakers as "the greatest", nor arguing with your absolute right to be a dissenting voice and write your contrary opinions. It's just that you offered no qualification for your opinion other than breaking down measurements _someone else_ conducted, and correlating it (rather humorously) to your admittedly casual listening experiences. If you want to tear something down so completely, there should be a higher standard of shared context and personal effort involved, at least from my perspective.

I suggest you take up John's offer. Not that ANYTHING will ever change your mind, but at least you'll do yourself a favor and come across more credibly. And that appears to me, to be what you crave the most.