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I just heard the Wilson Alexandria XLF's Wednesday

My local high end audio shop hosted its annual "Music Matters" open house where reps from their prime product lines demonstrate their latest wares. In the past I've been introduced to many products that were either just reaching the market or still in prototype stage (e.g., the Magnepan Mini's).

In one room we had Peter McGrath of Wilson, Dan D'Agostino with his new $50K/pair monoblock amps, a Meridian rep with a Sooloos front end, and John Atkinson of Stereophile, who had some great 24/96 music files he'd recorded himself.

Two demos were of music Atkinson had recorded with minimal miking--a small orchestra and pianist playing Rhapsody in Blue and a 9-person vocal group with organ accompaniment.

This setup produced the most realistic reproduction of music I've personally heard. I am a subscriber to the Seattle Symphony and attend live concerts there monthly. It's obvious to me that these live performances have--in addition to the music--a sense of room energy that's consistently lacking in audio reproduction. NOT THIS TIME! The Meridian/D'Agostino/Transparent (Opus)/Wilson signal chain produced a completely fleshed-out, live-feeling presentation. A sonic hologram if you will. The presentation was transparent and resonance-free, linear, extended, but most of all, live-sounding.

In fact, the very next demo I went to was of Audio Research pushing the new Wisdom Audio $95K flagship panels+sub system, and it sounded artificial by comparison. On its own I'm sure the Wisdom is an excellent speaker, but following the twice-as-expensive Alexandria XLF it was a complete letdown.

Anyone who has an opportunity to hear the Alexandria XLFs should give them a listen just to see what can be done. For me it completely re-defined what can be done with musical reproduction and makes me regret not setting out to become a millionaire when I was young so I could afford a pair (plus the D'Agostino amps) today.

BTW, in all previous Wilson demo's I've heard (Sophia 2 & 3, Maxx 2 & 3, Alexandria X-2, Watt/Puppy 7, Sasha W/P 8), they always sounded decidedly better--more musical, liquid, resolving, real-sounding--with tube electronics. Not so this time. The D'Agostinos are so neutral and so good at driving the speakers that all you think about is the music and the holographic presentation.
johnnyb53
french_fries
815 posts
 
WELL NOW WE HAVE SEEN THE FUTURE...again.
or at least the Absolute Sound has practically become a Wilson Audio Brochure regarding these latest renditions of "as good as we know how to make" XLF speakers.
i don't recall having ever seen such a lengthy discussion of a product before.
when i heard the the Alexandria-1's i was extremely impressed by what was obviously a very very good loudspeaker, if slightly forward sounding (the resolution was so sharp and in focus that it was really hard to judge this as a fault). plus looking at them straight-on they looked fairly slim and had nice simple lines. needless to say that now Wilson is not going to rest until their reference product has met every challenge (and every challenger). i even saw a mention in the article of re-producing the WAMM system at some time in the future-
something i have thought about again and again after hearing an early edition of the WAMM's and walking out of the store in a daze. was it "live or memorex"
was no longer a dumb slogan about cassette tape but a through-the-looking-glass experience that made me a little crazy when i considered what it would cost to own a system like that. i can only imagine what the last iteration of the WAMM's might have sounded like in the right environment with a killer turntable and cdp (and a nice Studer Reel to Reel). what on earth kind of drivers would Wilson consider now for a WAMM tower? certainly quite a bit better than the ones in the merely-good XLF speaker....! for sure, right?
nothing like a healthy new shot of audiophile-adrenaline to keep the dream alive.
johnnyb53 OP
3,510 posts
 
TAS XLF review articulates what I sensed when I heard them; I was listening to greatness. I'm sure the $200K would get good results from Focal, Sonus Faber, or Magico as well as Wilson. I've only heard the Wilsons and they're certainly the best I've ever heard.
french_fries
815 posts
 
one thing i thought was a little tricky about the article, and that was the inclusion of TWO THOR subwoofers as a part of the audition. the speakers already have a 13 and a 15 inch driver and a larger cabinet to get clean bass (even cleaner/better than the alexandria ver.2). he only "mentions" the added effect of the sub's briefly, but doesn't elaborate on what the XLF's aren't quite able to do without them...
i understand the comments related specifically to the speakers themselves, but if you need to get the whole 10th row at a Led Zeppelin Concert effect you might not want to skip on the whole enchilada. this also might help to realize the effect of sitting in the Notre Dame while someone plays the organ.
speaking of which i got to hear a few organ concerts in churches and one of the most impressive ones had an electronic model playing through a VERY good set of speakers. i was surprised but it really did sound fantastic- a few notches above even a great stereo system. maybe THAT was what he was talking about.
lloydelee21
1,202 posts
 
As a personal opinion, I agree with Oneobgyn who has posted elsewhere...i would take the Series 2 plus well set up subs over the XLF.

The subs make a tremendous difference...and pretty much all the owners of X1s/X2s i have spoken to use either: JL Gothams, Velodynes or the Wilson Thor.
french_fries
815 posts
 
i agree about working around the bigger cabinet or the port issue by adding a subwoofer. Except Wilson should be willing to offer the new tweeter to owners of either model of alexandrias. Even if the crossover frequency to the midrange drivers might have to be changed it shouldn't be that difficult to do.
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