Wilson Audio Specialties Chronosonic XVX loudspeaker!! only $300,000.oo

@edgewound They are not over priced so long as there is a market for them at that price, which apparently Wilson believes there is! The value proposition is another matter entirely....I think most folks these days would look at numerous products in the high end audio arena and conclude that the high price asked, in no way equates to the product offered. This doesn’t seem to have put a damper on the ever growing upwards pricing spiral. Certainly tells me something about the consumer to whom these products are aimed at though!

$300,000 buys a lot of concerts....you know...live music? Reality? For years....Probably decades...

That's a fairly common refrain when high priced speakers come up.But I believe it misses the point.  



Yes you could go to lots of live music.   But could you see many of the previous great symphonies and conductors live in their prime?  Or Led Zeppelin, or Rush, or Genesis, or Miles Davis, or Dave Brubeck, or Joni Mitchell, or..countless great artists on record?


The point most (who can afford it) have in buying great speakers, including cutting edge, is to "bring alive" to the extent possible WHATEVER recording they play, including the huge number of great artists and performances in recorded music that they could never see in live.   To that person a recording of a great Herbert von Karajan performance, produced in thrilling sound in their own home, may be more desirable than seeing a live current performance of an orchestra or conductor who (they believe) can't hold a candle to the great performance.


So the worth of such a speaker shouldn't be compared to "whatever live music is available to go see today" but rather to the enhanced experience it gives to the catalogue of recorded (and contemporary) music...which likely comprises much more of the audiophile's listening time than live performance even could.


Plenty of us here have spent quite a lot on our sound system that we could have otherwise devoted to seeing live music.  But there's a perfectly good reason we spent it on our audio system (even if we like live music too).



(And that's coming from someone who loves live music!)


(Also, I'm not commenting on the worth of the specific Wilson design, but on the general objection often suggested that spending money on live music makes more sense than on an expensive speaker).

Thats cheap jump on a pair ASAP!!

With the exception of the symphony, which I hold season tickets, in general, I don’t like live music (ok, small venue acoustic jazz is good). I don’t like the horrible amplification systems, sound engineers that think louder is better, the crowds, the noice. I have been to many, liked it when I was a teen and in my twenties and it has been less and less interest. I love listening to music. Allowing it to gently liberate my consciousness and relax me, allow me to get lost in it. This doesn’t happen at concerts unless large quantity of drugs are involved. Not my thing.
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So the better the system the more it can do that for me. .

Judging by the performance level of the Wilson, I have to say, yes they are worth it. For someone like me who has worked 75+ hours a week under high stress for over 40 years to make a good living, my time is valuable, what I do in my free time is for me to value. I really enjoy excellence (I have 4 custom made bicycles all with over 15,000 miles on them). If I really wanted those speakers I would own a pair. It is a personal choice as to how much money you make and what use you put it to. .


If Wilson sold none, then they would probably not be worth it. They do sell them. Also, they serve to show what is possible. They do things that others cannot. Then there is trickle down to their main stream speakers, where they sell a lot.

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I doubt anyone would consider them beautiful, but if you wanted beautiful speaker you would probably be looking at top of the line Sonus Faber.

The pinnacle of cost no object speakers to me is the TAD Reference One.

Visually stunning, Technically superior, built to last decades, everything made in-house. Fraction of the price.

To each their own.