Click title to read one, or click date to read all below it.
10-27-05
I scaned the review rather quickly and have to agree with hi ... Czbbcl
10-27-05
I have the exact same feelings as chuck. i don't know why b ... Aball
10-27-05
Finally, someone who doesn't have wilson in their pocket tel ... Robm321
10-27-05
You mean a brutal review of the reviews of the wilson maxx. ... Honest1
10-27-05
I heard some crazy grand slams or something from them in lik ... Matrix
10-27-05
I'm gussing that wilson didn't send him any speakers for him ... Tgrisham
10-27-05
The best thing to do on any review is trust your ears. never ... Bryans
10-27-05
I agree with honest1. did he even listen? doesn't seem so. b ... Ozzy62
10-27-05
I am willing to bet that audioperfectionist is a fan of time ... Larryi
10-27-05
He has a "measuring stick" that obsesses about 6db ... Hhiggins
10-27-05
Http://www.vandersteen.com/pages/pdffiles/model%205a%20repri ... Fsarc
10-27-05
I'm not a big fan of the wilson sound either, and hardesty d ... Hooper
10-27-05
Good guess larry - i think hardesty wrote for widescreen rev ... Matti
10-27-05
My dealer was in business with hardesty years ago and if im ... Braro
10-27-05
I don't own wilson speakers, never have, probably never will ... Mgattmch
10-27-05
No agenda...are you kidding?!! i haven't seen pissing in pri ... Siliab
10-27-05
One vote for wilson here!!! i am a big maxx and sophia enjo ... Goatwuss
10-27-05
Even though its very refreshing to finally see a high end ma ... Bigjoe
10-27-05
Not to beat a dead horse, but i too wish that he would have ... Ghunter
10-27-05
Czbbcl, you said it far more eloquent than i could have and ... R_f_sayles
10-27-05
I remember widescreen review's reference system having the m ... Ozzy62
10-27-05
Bright yellow ones go nicely in any moderately sized listeni ... Jaybo
10-27-05
Larryi, your guess is partially or even completely wrong. a ... Marakanetz
10-27-05
I dont want to talk about personal tastes, but if one buys a ... Seurat
10-27-05
Well, finally, an honest review of a wilson product. i have ... Cleopatra52
10-27-05
Hi, seems like a honest review to me. there are a lot of pr ... Larry510
10-27-05
I beleve he owns vandersteen 5a's. Husk01
10-28-05
I respect, but i don't particularly like wilson speakers. t ... Onhwy61
10-28-05
I don't mind if people don't like wilson speakers, but i won ... Nrchy
10-28-05
"unless you can afford them, you're really not in any p ... Ghunter
10-28-05
He is not the only reviewer that gave a luke warm review of ... Downunder
10-28-05
Perhaps he was turned down when he approached wilson about a ... Ptmconsulting
10-28-05
Sounds pretty accurate to me. the review that is. not the sp ... songwriter72@
10-28-05
with no mention of context, comparison, system or anythin ... Samuel
10-28-05
Wow just read it. very interesting. never heard the maxx2 ... Henryhk
10-28-05
I'm pleased to see a review that isn't just gushing. person ... Dmurfet
10-28-05
Hmm from my experience with the wilsons, which is very limi ... Piezo
10-28-05
Thanks for taking me to this well written review of the wils ... Splaskin
10-28-05
Splaskin: "i am hoping that some of the wilson maxx2 sp ... Cytocycle
10-28-05
Lets try it this way, no wilson slamming here, but fact is a ... Matrix
10-28-05
I have to say that i didn't have wilsons in high regard (i h ... Elberoth2
10-28-05: Opalchip
Some of you guys really don't get it - Absolute Sound, Stereophile, etc. are old-fashioned hucksters, plain and simple. They are big businesses that have no agenda other than selling adspace - NONE. The fact that Fremer and pals can write reasonably well, know a modicum of theory, and a lot of jargon, does not make their ears any better than anyone elses, including the average Audiogon'r - and it certainly doesn't make their ethics any stronger. If you actually read Hardesty's publications you will see that he has no ulterior motives, other than making a living by giving advice on how to achieve excellent audio reproduction. If Wilson's were great speakers, in his opinion, he'd say so.
The irrefutable reality about Wilsons, and a lot of the newer crop of speakers, is exactly what Hardesty says. They're not designed to reproduce the original recording faithfully, but to EQ it in such a way that people with more money than ears take the bait. The "boom and sizzle", as Hardesty calls it. And as he also points out, you can like "boom and sizzle" AND the Wilsons, and there's nothing wrong with that - but THEY ABSOLUTELY CANNOT REPRODUCE THE RECORDING ACCURATELY, period! No argument. Because they don't even attempt to - it's demonstrably inherent in the design. Which doesn't mean they won't impress your buddies with sizzling cymbals and slammin' bass.
So the question comes down to what you consider to be the "audiophile" quest:
1. the pursuit of absolute purity in reproduction OR
2. Impressive Sound, which in our younger days we'd get by pushing in the "Loudness" button.
What Hardesty, and many others, are saying is that the Wilson style of speakers simply has the Loudness button built in and flipped to "on".
Personally, I'd rather have absolutely flat, phase and time correct speakers as a starting point. Without that, how can you possible call it "audiophile". You can call it High End, you can enjoy the Bling, your friends can say WOW, but it ain't audiophile in my book.
It's not that "flat" is what I enjoy all the time either. There are electronics which can be added into the chain (such as DBX 5BX, EQ, and even subharmonic synth.) to pump up or tone down certain recordings or media, a little or a lot, on demand. And believe me, the electronics can do it with far more effectiveness and versatility than a Wilson Sophia.
So I also disagree with "audiophiles" who say that processing the signal to make it more enjoyable is unacceptable or "wrong". If I enjoy it more, I win. But having a fixed version of it built into the speaker makes no sense.
So I very much agree with the Hardesty camp that Flat, Time and Phase Correct HAS to be the holy grail, at least as a starting point, for serious listening.
Opalchip (Threads | Answers | This Thread)
10-28-05
Just an opinion that i find hard to dispute after listening ... R_f_sayles
10-28-05
I have read this thread with much amusement. look, choosing ... Grooves
10-28-05
Realize a wilson speaker is just the run of the mill audioph ... Matrix
10-28-05
I'm glad to see michael fremer weighing in and weighing in s ... Wattsboss
10-28-05
Interesting response by mr. fremer, but he doesn't address a ... waldner123@
10-28-05
My post was not meant as a personal attack on mf, whose uniq ... Opalchip
10-28-05
Way off topic, but i own the definitions and they defy under ... Miklorsmith
10-28-05
This is a pretty silly description of the maxx2s or any othe ... Grooves
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