Wilson Alexandria X2s in small room

I listened to a pair of these in a dealer's room last week -- the room was probably a little wider than yours and certainly the ceilings were higher (probably 10ft) but it was not a longer room -- I thought the X-2 looked so imposing in that space that they could not really work but they did, and the dealer told me he has sold them to others who have similarly sized rooms. I did not hear overwhelming sound at any level and they focused really well at the listening seat on most recordings. Closing my eyes I would say this is probably best sound I had ever heard, a truly holographic central image on a solo voice/guitar record. The adjustment possibilities on these speakers mean that working with a trained dealer is a must to get them set up optimally for your space but for the price, you have every right to expect these being tweaked to your total satisfaction anyway. I cannot get over the look, which I find so ugly, you really have to close your eyes but the sound is wonderful. Worth the price? That's a personal decision, but for me, at $100k more than many other great speakers, they are a hard sell.

You`re the biggest whiner in here Audiofeil. I`ve read MUCH in here, but haven`t written much because of bickering and generally grown ups whining and talking trash. They say "Silence is golden"....... Have you ever thought of thinking before posting all over Audiogon? Europeans laugh at grown men whining and complaining like this..................

Audiofeil,

Dont you know who Albert Porter is? If you did, prior to Audiooracle mentioning his name, then dont you think that he's famous? Isn't he known and discussed?

Well then... your subjective opinion of him is irrelevant. To you, audiooracle, those who know him on this board, and I... AP's pretty "famous".

You're famous too... for all your whining.

Sgr, I have heard the X2s at Innovative Audio in NYC and they are set up there in a room that is larger than your and taller. The room is treated all around. The speakers sounded amazing with all Levinson gear(33H monoblock amps).

By looking at the pictures of your room, I doubt they will work as they should.

The great thing about the X2s is that the soundstage is so wide deep and tall producing an amazing level of realism.
In your room, I think, you may get most of the depth but the height and width will be limited by the size of the room.
In other words, I don't think you'll be getting the performance that would be worth the money.

If you want, give Innovative Audio a call and ask them what they think. They are a long time Wilson dealer.

I, too, have heard the X-2's at Innovative. They were powered by Levinson 33's and the then-new (Summer 2005) Spectral single-box CD player, of course with MIT cabling. The room is a large, purpose built room, probably 35' x 25' x 9'.

The sound to my ears was quite disappointing and I thought the WattPuppy 7's in the other room sounded much better. The X-2's were not dialed in properly and the speakers could be identified as the source of sound. Given that the midrange and tweeter drivers are mounted quite high in the air, the sound was shooting down at me and the presentation totally unnatural. Eliott and his staff are professional, try hard and are super-nice by NYC standards, but I respectfully differ from the above poster about the X-2 set-up at Innovative and would not judge X-2's on that set-up.

Taking the liberty of offering my honest opinion, I have never cared for Levinson amplifiers and do not believe they are appropriate for a speaker of the level of X-2's. As for solid-state, the darTZeel, Tenor or Lamm amps (or vintage Rowland if we're pinching pennies -- Models 2/6/8ti/9ti) are the only solid-state amps I am aware of that can layer space like a great tube amp and that do not denature timbre. That would be my first choice, and second choice would be Spectral or Audio Research, which Wilsons are primarily voiced with. A pair of speakers like X-2's, the top Kharmas, the big Magicos or just released Evolution Acoustics merit the CAT monoblocks or darTZeel (the synergy between Wilsons and CAT's amps are outstanding, by the way). I respect Levinson's 32 preamp and owned a 360S DAC and 37 transport for a couple of years (the latter I bought at Innovative, by the way), but their amps, while being very good solid-state, are not, I believe, in the same league as X-2's. My sincere apologies if any of this is offensive to the person who began this thread or anyone else (that is absolutely not my intention), but the X-2's are both very special and very expensive -- my conscience is now clean.