Wilson Alexandria X2s in small room

Audphile1 wrote:

Your room is 31x18x12

His room is 13.5x22x7

6696 cu.ft. vs. 2079 cu.ft. -- over 3 times the volume.

How can you possibly predict how these speakers will work in his room?

Agreed.

Thanks for the input Oneobgyn, Essentialaudio, Raquel, Audphile 1 and everyone else too! I really appreciate the continued interest and input. I've been in the hobby too long to know that there are simple answers. Your replies give me lots to think about. It's hard to say how things will turn out until and if the speakers make an appearance. Who knows maybe someone out there has heard them in a room similar to mine and would care make a comment?

Well, I have, in a slightly larger room + higher ceiling (~350, ceiling @~10') and it was difficult to get coherent low freq out of them. Also, reflected sound was a pain; you can ,maybe, couple midbass -- but at the expense of bass. If you go for bass, then you'll probably have a dip in mid-bass and prominent upper mids onward...

Dunno what'll happen with room treatment though...

If Dave Wilson thinks they can work, they will work. No one knows how Wilson speakers work better than he. I am sure X-2 purchases still include a setup by someone from Wilson, possibly even Dave himself. After visiting the factory/headquarters a few weeks ago, I have even more respect and admiration for Wilson and their products. :) Go for it!

I have a good bit of experience with X-2's, their height gives great expansion to the soundstage they create, if your ceiling height is only a few inches higher than the speaker, performance will be compromised. Despite what anyone says, that cannot be disputed. However, there isnt a perfect room, there will always be issues.

I have always enjoyed wilson speakers and i have supported them in my posts over the last few years, but after some of my recent experiences with several other speakers, throughout the price spectrum, i say why spend that much money?

Is the price of the speakers the determining factor? Do you feel that you need to spend that much money to qualify your audiophile credentials? I am in no way slamming you, but, it is a fair question. Speaker prices have gone through the roof and a great deal of the speakers dont warrant it. Manufactures seem to think they can build a speaker, name it a reference level speaker and then slap a reference level price tag on it. That is BS.

My suggestion is to consider other alternatives. A speaker that i have heard lately that is THE Best speaker i have heard up to this point is the Rockport Technologies Mira. For only 14k, "only", you can have a speaker that is as capable as any speaker made. It has an MDF cabinet that is engineered like no other MDF cabinet made. It has dampening factors that leave the box almost completely neutral.

While Wilson cabinets are exceptional, the build and finish quality of their boxes are no better. Rockport does build speakers that are much more expensive that are not MDF, their cabinets are truly the standard that all other reference speakers stand to be measured.

I am not here to bash Wilson. They are a GREAT company. They build great speakers that have a popular "house" sound. It is widely known that Wilson speakers do not measure particularly well. They have exceptional build quality, but not the best. My point is, there is no need to spend 135k on a pair of speakers that will be compromised by a less than par room. There are other options that can save you lots of money and perform much better in your room.