Wilsons, the Sasha, and the Alexandria X-2
I was reading the RMAF Show report in TAS… We already did our report, and our report on the Jonathan Valin report – (JV’s report from their website is printed in the TAS as part of their report in the mag). But glancing through the other reports…
These show reports, just like the ‘Best of the Year’ reports, esp. in TAS, and Hi-Fi+, etc. and ALL of the online rags… well, you would do better picking good gear with a monkey and some darts and a lot of beer.
But I want to talk about Wilson, how dealers are selling Wilson, how reporters are reporting on it, and how it reflects what is wrong with… well, it just reflects the lack of support for decent ethics and due diligence in our culture at large, so not much to say there.
The Alexandria X-2 (thanks Jim :-))
To put it simply, dealers are pushing inferior equipment to drive Wilson speakers, and the ‘press’ is, through incompetence or worse, saying that this is just great.
We can talk about WHY, and WHO, and WHAT… but the answer to these is easy [follow the money] but fraught with finger pointing and blame and there is enough of that on the faux news channels.
What we can talk about though, is the IMPACT this has on [the reduced ranks of] audiophiles and the [proliferation of gear in our] industry. I mean, how mucked up is our hobby that the #1 selling loudspeakers have an …undeserved!… reputation for being bright, edgy and hard to make sound good? [where the real truth is that the equipment they are being sold with is bright, edgy and hard (impossible) to make sound good. And to make it Suck Less they are sold with cabling that is choking the sound as much as possible because the less there is of the (bad sounding) sound, the better]
Or we can talk about how to fix this [there are many people, however, who do not want it fixed – again, who makes money off the status-quo?]. The fact is that most dealers and reviewers do not give a hoot. Reminds me of the U.S. auto industry before Japan killed us. Some decent equipment manufacturers do an end run around the whole kit-and-kaboodle – choosing unique, and perhaps crazy [that would be us :-)] dealers who care about the sound. Others try to play the ‘game’ and hope that their higher quality will get ‘noticed’ by dealers and/or audiophiles… someday… hopefully real soon.
But the truth seems to be that it would be very difficult to fix. Someone would need to start their own magazine, with honest (but not ruthless) reviewers. They would have to have a dealership in most major metropolitan areas that focused on what things sound like, and trust that money would eventually follow quality. They would have to eschew manufacturers that, for whatever reasons, just gave up the pursuit of quality a long time ago.
And they would have to point out every once in awhile that the industry status-quo is very sick and this sickness is killing off audiophiles and potential audiophiles faster than they are made [which is pretty darn fast].
Hmmm… [our entire industry] kind of reminds me of the newspaper industry [which doesn’t have to die either, but it does have to change]
Two of my favorite mantras: “You get what you settle for” and “Seek and ye shall find”. You are right of course on the X-2. Inferior equipment IS being paired (in defense of dealers I’ll stop just short of “pushed,” but you’re probably right in nearly all cases there too) with X-2’s. Speaking from direct experience with Wilson Maxx 2, traded up to Alexandria and then X-2, the dealer in my case had first to introduce me to Wilson, a big step up, and then delicately handle each subsequent step up, and my willingness to fork out more $$ rather than settle for less or go elsewhere. Dealer’s have to make a living and I’ll go soft on them with this caveat (emptor) to wit: Mantra 3 – “Let the buyer beware.” And while I’m at it, Mantra 4: (from a cut-rate clothing consolidater selling name-brand women’s clothng with the labels cut out) “An informed buyer is our best customer”.
So where’s the rub? How does one get informed? Sadly, Mike, you nailed this one: the press/reviewers “through incompetence or worse” are little help. Its worse because they can leave you with an extremely limited view of the options out there and even promote the concept of individual taste and preference as if accurate, indeed, drug-high inducing replay of recorded music were merely one of myriad personal tastes or a poor relative of shock and awe sounds of home theater and/or motion picture soundtracks#%$&. To those seeking to ascend the audiophile ladder and maximize return on investment: don’t settle quickly or for less than you have to; seek out beyond dealers, rags, and reviewers (don’t ignore them, just be sure not to confine your search to them only). I’m on this blog, as a result of that search and, [thx Mike&Neli] have found the way to a supurb integrated system around the X-2’s that exceeds every set of pairings I’ve heard in authorized dealer settings and shows and/or touted as “Dave Wilson’s reference [amps, preamps, cables, interconnects etc] in Utah”). And for any who might be curious, those dealer pairings can be matched or exceeded at significantly less $$, and if discover and opt for the best-of-breed components you’ll discover how great the X-2’s really are. And don’t be fooled into thinking high-powered amps (SS or tube) are required to bring out the best sound – not true.
Hi Jim,
Thanks, and see you in a few…!
Take care,
-Mike
Mike,
While I wholeheartedly agree with your comments and those of Jim, I think that it is an over simplification to say that there are no reviewers out that that make an effort to honestly evaluate the equipment to which they listen. They are in the minority but are there. Small manufacturers and importers of their equipment have a responsibility to try to educate the press, at least that part that can be educated, by arranging auditions of musically accurate products. Believe me I know that you and Neli try. One of the best dealers that I know explained to me that many years ago when direct drive turntables were the rage, he got on the Linn band wagon. He said that the first 6 months that he carried the LP12 he had almost no interest but that he kept playing it for his customers. Eventually, he educated them and became a very successful Linn dealer. The point here is that education and perserverance is the key. I wish that you and Mike were located in a more accessible location, but you work with what you have. I should also note that Wilson is only one example of excellent speakers saddled by mismatched electronics.
Fred
Hi Mike,
With regard to the apparent questionable behaviour of many elements of our audio-press, you guys are much too kind. The overwhelming evidence points to the fact that the mainstream audio-press is not there to serve the interests of their readers, but that of their advertizers. And this has been going on for many years. The effect of this on audiophiles, and high-end audio in general, is much more than most of us seem to realize.
If you can, do refer to – ‘AUDIO MAGAZINES’ SINISTER PRACTICES; Let the Reader Beware’ – an article of mine on the subject, at; http://wajonaudio.webs.com/audiomags.html
Bye-the-way, I’m not sure whether such a small ‘web-zine’ would merit a listing on your pages, but if so, please go right ahead, if you’re so inclined – the name is WAJ on AUDIO.
Thanx
Winston A. James