Wilson Alexandria X2s in small room

Considering the price of the Alexandria (well over 100 grand new) and the possible limitations of your existing listening room, have you given consideration to purchasing something like the Wilson Maxx 2 and taking the cost savings between the Alex and the Maxx at roughly $65,000 and BUILDING a new dedicated listening room to your house? Obviously I have no idea if this is possible in your situation but if so you could have a dedicated listening room built to Wilson's specifications for the Maxx 2. Might be worth asking Wilson if an acoustically designed listening room to the Maxx's specifications would outperform the Alexandria in your currently "compromised" space. Just a thought but when your talking about that kind of money, room construction can become a component as well.

I think that the biggest problem with your room may be the low ceiling. It looks like you have diffusion up there now, but you might find that absorbtion would be more effective. Also, the Auralex bass traps are woefully ineffective at frequencies <100hz where room modes and nulls will be strongest. I recommend that you look at RealTraps bass traps which can be effective down to 50hz.

http://www.realtraps.com/data.htm

As far as the X-2's go, bear in mind that many of them are sold in Asian markets where rooms are typically smaller than in the USA, and Wilson certainly takes this into account with the design (notice the venting for the bass is in the front rather than the rear of the cabinet, allowing for closer placement to the wall). However, given your low ceiling, perhaps a line-array type speaker such as the Dali egaline would work better in your room as these types of designs minimize floor and ceiling reflections.

Thanks for the info on the Auralex bass traps. I'll look into the realtraps. I know my ceilings are low, thus the diffusion. The room was contructed using the principles outlined in ASC IsoWalls with two layers of drywall and the room is acoustically sealed. I also believe that the amount of air moved by the Salons (6 8 inch woofers plus the Sub 30s (two 15 inch woofer plus downward firing passive radiators)is close to the same surface areas of the X-2s. With this setup the room sounds very good, but of course I would prefer it to be wider and taller. Now for a different twist. What if the X-2s would be given to you? On one hand, I'd hate to mess up my current setup, but on the other hand I guess I'd like to try. Unfortunately I've never heard the Wilsons and there are no dealers in my area.

I find it interesting that people who have not heard the speakers give advice on what they sound like. I have set up X-2s in a comparably sized room with Maxx 2's for the rears. Couple of Wilson subs because the owner wanted them. Wilson surrounds on the walls for optional surround use. Place looks like a Wilson showroom. Wilson knows their products better than any dealer, period. They were extremely helpful in set up issuses. The x-2's have more set up options than most any other speaker I know of. How does it sound? Best I have ever heard. Could it over power your room. It is capable of overpowering a good size auditorium. Depends on how loud you turn it up. You can also sit in amazement at a solo violin. The Parc you mention (owner has one) helps with recordings that are recorded with lousy bass. This speaker gives you what you put into it. Nothing more, nothing less. I don't work for Wilson but I sure do respect their commitment to customer satisfaction. If you want, e-mail me and I will send you my phone number so you can ask any questions you like. The Maxx 2's are a world class speaker, think of the audio experts for the mags who own them. The X-2's are just that much better in most every catagory. In audio, they are about as much fun as you can have with your clothes on...
Denny

If you got the X2 free, you could sell it if you found it was incompatible with your room. I would if I were you.