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Wolf Von Langa SON (TAS 2022 PofY) and Gestalt Audio - my experience & review

In light of the recent accolades for the Wolf Von Langa SON speakers as The Absolute Sound product of the year, I am sharing some feedback.  The WVL brand, along with the technologies used are not well publicized in the US as of yet so I thought it would be helpful to those that read the most recent article.  I also can't do so without sharing feedback on the outstanding experience I have had working with Colin King, owner of Gestalt Audio in Nashville.

This isn't intended to be an extensive review so check out the Jan 2023 TAS for that.  I have been an audio nerd for many years and have owned a decent variety of equipment but I'm generally not a frequent equipment flipper.  That said I have listened to a lot of gear from budget to very high end.  I over-research before making any changes.

My previous setup has been in place for about 10 years and was a Red Wine Audio (now Vinnie Rossi Audio) hybrid DAC/Pre , a VTL tube amp, and Reference 3a Grand Veena speakers in a dedicated small to mid sized room.

The WVL SONs were truly a rare speaker experience compared to anything else I had listened to.  They provide a combination of outstanding detail, tone, realistic sound stage or image, and ultimately musicality.  It achieves this all in addition to being one of the most enveloping speakers I've heard.  I assume this is attributed to the di-pole design.  However, its not imprecise like di-poles I've heard in the past.

Two more thoughts stand out.  First, is that bass information sounds more like instruments than just frequency sounds than most other setups I've heard. The field coil driver technology likely is the reason for that.  It's WVL's hallmark technology and worth the read for those interested.  Second, the most unique thought I've had listening to the SONs is that voices sound like they are coming from a human head.  Many speakers do a great job of placing a voice in 3D on the soundstage.  But this is the first time I've noticed the source of the voice in addition to the voice itself.

The SONs are very good at very delicate as well as very complex or dynamic music.  I listen to anything from vocals, jazz, and guitar only all the way through orchestra, metal, and rap...truly everything.  Good recordings are spectacular but it also makes the worst recordings sound much improved.

These are not the right speakers if your preference is a much more direct, out front, image.  That said WVL makes a horn version that was outstanding but not my style.  Also, the SON's detail is excellent but its delivered in a slightly less edgy manner than many speakers.

In short, they were the best speakers that I can remember every listening to for my taste in audio.  My preference is on the more linear and accurate side of the tube/analog spectrum if that helps.

If you are looking for the WVL line or other audiophile level needs, Colin is the owner of Gestalt and is truly exceptional to work with.  His style is to understand your interest and simply let you hear some things.  He has a great ear but most importantly is extremely non-salesy so you never feel like you're pushed to make a purchase.  His "store" is his house so its more like going to hang out and listen to great gear and great music with a friend.  I've been to far too many audio shops or talked on the phone with many others and he is a rarity in the industry.  For those interested, I live in Louisiana so if someone wants to listen to the WVL's in the area let me know.  He works very well with people that don't live nearby and will ship gear to you if you'd like.

To complete the picture, I also bought the Gold Note DC-10 DAC and power supply.  Also fantastic for my musical tastes after listening to many DACs.  I can share info on that if you'd like to message me.

I'm glad to answer any questions. 

Steve

geauxaudio
Post removed 
hchilcoat
154 posts
 

@grannyring thanks for the advice on footers and cables. I’ll follow up with an update after speakers are set up. 

metaldetektor
160 posts
 

FYI. Good write-up on these on Positive Feedback. Seems like a well-balanced take, recognizing that every speaker has its compromises.

 

hchilcoat
154 posts
 

It’s been a few weeks now since Colin came out and set up my WVL SONs. I’ve been too busy listening to write about my experience. It was a busy, long day while Colin was here. Not only did he set up the speakers, but he brought a few different speaker cables and ICs to try out. Also we had to play with positioning the SONs on floor, carpet, and the  Sistrum stands. 

In my 11w x 17L room we ended up with the front of the speakers about 4 feet from the front wall and the outside edges just under 2 feet from the side walls. That position gave us nice solid bass with boom and clear highs without honk. To make a long story short regarding cables, I settled on the Hijiri speaker cables. I really enjoyed the energy and transparency of the Sternklangs but in the end the more laid back musicality of the Hijiri speaker cables was what suited me best. I have been torn between Hijiri HCS interconnects that I already owned and the Tchernov Ultimates that Colin bought. I think I’m going with Tchernov IC. Both wonderful cables yet markedly different.

It was pretty clear that the Sistrum stands were the way to go. I’ve used them for years on my Audiokinesis Jazz Modules and they really worked their magic with the SONs. We set them up directly on the wooden floor and they sounded great. For aesthetic reasons, we pulled the area rug in the room and placed it under the front spikes of the Sistrum. The rug has a thick pad so we couldn’t get the spike through it to make direct contact with the floor and this ended taking away the magic we heard previously so pulled the rug back again. 

Others here and in reviews have described the sound of the SONs better than I could, and I heard much of the same qualities that they have. While setting up the speakers and testing positions, we listened to a recording of the Roches singing Hallelujah that Paul Weitzel of TRL (who made the incredible Dude that I used to own) had given me. Colin commented that the lead singer sounded pretty much like she was in the room and the harmonies as the other singers came in were glorious. The word that came to my mind with these speakers was “palpable”. You could just feel the music through deep rich bass, solid dynamics, and emotional highs. 

When Colin was here we didn’t move the speakers out further because we needed to be able to fully open a bathroom door on the side near the speaker. A few days after he left, I decided to hell with the door, I’ll try moving the SONs further into the room and deal with door later. So I moved the SONs about a foot further into the room and this really increased the 3d quality of the soundstage in terms of depth and width. There was mare air around voices and instruments and more sparkle to highs.

I think the Circle Labs separates work very well with the SONs. Colin, as well as many of you on this thread have suggested the New Audio Frontiers 211 integrated as an amazing match with the SONs. So I will have to go to Colin’s shop or have a home demo to see whether I would want to trade the Circle Labs M200/P300 in. Need the audio coffers to be replenished first!

Finally, I plan to trade in my Starsound SP-101 Sistrums and an extra Sistrum 3 level rack and purchase the newer Rhythm-JR stands that would fit more cleanly under the SONs and the Rhythm rack under my amp. So more on that front later.

It’s late, but more later. 

lalitk's avatar
lalitk
5,550 posts
 

@hchilcoat 

Glad to hear you’re enjoying the SON’S, what’s not to love, they are pretty amazing! Based on my listening at Colin’s place, with NAF 211’s + HIJIRI HCS; you’re in for a royal treat! 

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