Wilson Alexandria X2s in small room


I'm thinking of getting a pair of Wilson Alexandria X-2s. I'm wondering how they will sound in my 13.5 x 22 x 7 foot listening room. I've talked with Wilson and they thought they'ed work. Some dealers I've talked with are not as positive, thinking they will overpower my room. My room has been acoustically treated with Auralex LNRD bass traps in all four corners. I also use diffusors and 6 Room Lens to tune my room which features a pair of Revel Salons and a pair of Revel Sub 30 subwoofers. I figure my current system has about the same radiating area as the Wilsons. A friend has Legacy Focus 20/20s which generate large amounts of bass also, and he's used them successfully in small rooms with tweeks. Will I need to use a unit like the Rives PARC to get the best from these speakers? Or will they fit in with the usual amount of setup care that my Salons took?
Any opinions or educated guesses?
Thanks,
Steve
128x128sgr
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.
"Everyone offered an opinion. What have you offered?"

I suppose it could be called experience. I own the speaker...you don't

I would also sincerely believe that Wilson Audio would not have made that recommendation if they felt that the speaker wouldn't work in that room

Finally and most importantly when that speaker was built it is front ported. The reason for this is very simple....when I toured the Wilson factory and heard the speaker in Dave Wilson's living room I was told that they are cognizant that a significant part of their market is Asia and Europe wher the rooms are much smaller than those here in America. Because of the front porting the speaker can literally be placed up against the front wall with no loss of soundstage.

So I will repeat my initial comment and that the speaker will work just fine in his room
Oneobgyn, despite the fact that your room is 3 times the volume of the room in question you are still 100% sure?

And I suppose what you have offered is not an opinion but a guarantee, based on your experience?

Also, front porting and soundstage have very little to do with one another. Front ported speakers CAN be placed closer to the wall behind them with less negative impact only to lower frequencies vs. the rear ported speakers, which may become boomy and disintegrated in the bass when placed closer to the front wall.
Soundstage depth with dynamic speakers, in my experience, have always increased when the speakers were placed further away from the wall.

But I guess if Wilson says that the X2s can work wonders under the 7' ceiling and can also be placed right up against the wall without any impact to soundstage height and depth, then I rest my case.
In any case, for my lack of desire to argue with you any further, you win! Congrats!