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Are Wilson speakers

I have posted under the Amp thread the fact that my Krell KMA 160s are too "mean, lean and sterile" in my sytem and have blamed everything but the speakers. I am currently deciding between a number of tube amps (Atma-sphere, VTL-450, Wolcott, etc - they must have balanced inputs and fill a 23 X 15 room with high resonance. Then I assembled a baby system in a 12X12 room - Jolida 302B (mod Underwood HiFi) and Totem Sig 1's, Naim CD 5, Nordost interconnects and Poeima! speaker wire) and it sounds magical, musical, engaging and glorious. So I blamed the amp only. Now, after listening again and again, and running upstairs and downstairs, to compare, a horrible thought struck me: Maybe it is the Wilson WP 3:2's that are not musical and engaging, rather than all the associated front end and power.........obviously, this is a reluctant conclusion, given all the positives written everywhere about the Wilson speakers and the expense in getting not only a new amp, but new speakers as well - let alone wife factor. So I will change the amp - since it seems to be a universal consensus that the Krell KMA 160s are "lean and clinical" (every dealer I speak to says so and I must have spoken to dozens this last month)and listen to the Wilsons with an Atma-sphere or VTL-450.
I cannot get a Sound Labs or Quad 989 because of wife factor and need the same/similar footprint as the Wilsons - I have seen the thread of someone looking for a pair of speakers under $15K, so will look at those 4 speakers - or try to hear them.
I dont want to bash Wilsons, as I believe they are a wonderful company (I will tell a Dave Wilson story on another thread that confirms what a great guy he is..........) but need A'goners help/input again to sort out my musical non-bliss with this expensive system so that I get the same musicality, involvement and engagement that I dont feel with it, but do with a baby system, costing a tenth or less, in my main listening room.
Thanks in advance for your comments on attaining musical improvement - this and a warm, engagement with reduction of the clinical, sterile sound is the goal.......

System:
Mark Levinson Ref 32
Esoteric DV-50
Krell KMA 160
WWP 3:2
PAD Dominus, Poiema!, PAD Venustas cables
BMI Shark, Michael Wolf PCs
PS HO/HC
springbok10
woodburger's avatar
woodburger
143 posts
 
Don't know about the 3/2s, but the 7s were a nice step in every way over the 5.1s.
nrchy's avatar
nrchy
2,124 posts
 
I really doubt that there is much out there by way of 'unmusical' equipment. There are things that go together better than others, but a lot of that is personal preference, and nit-picking.

You have good gear! Combinations of good gear should sound good (personal preferences aside) regardless of what combination you put together.

The issue more often than not is the room. There are lots of reasons for ignoring this issue, not the least of which is WAF, but there are reasonable compromises that can be made to make any room sound better. Slipknot just completed a room makeover (I wonder if he could get on one of those reality TV shows?) working with Rives Audio. He seems to be very happy with the results (I don't assume to speak for him) and the changes made are not radical or unsightly. I've never seen him though! He might be unsightly. That's why woman marry personalities while men marry looks. Which might be why women are happier as relationships mature. What does this have to do with the question?!?

I think Watt/Puppies are musical speakers, I think Wolcott amps are musical amps, but all of them are capable of sounding bad in a bad room. That is not the fault of the gear. That is the reason though, I think, why people make idiotic claims like 'I heard ____________ (insert any really good audio product here) at CES or my local dealer and they sounded like #$%^*&! There are any number of things that people do not like because it does not meet their set of priorities, but no company sets out to make gear that sounds like #@$%*&. They spend tons of money designing, researching, building, listening to, and finally manufacturing what they have determined is good enough to bear their name.

Good gear while never overcome the limitations of a bad room.

I still think the Wolcotts would sound good with your system. BWDIK.
baldeagle
21 posts
 
audition the avolon eidolons or joseph audio pearls these work will with the krell amps. they in no way could be concidered lean.
springbok10 OP
711 posts
 
Maybe I just have the disease we audionuts get - after all, it's been 14 years that I've been living with Krells/WWPs - and got revved up by hearing the tubes/Totems in my little rig..........so my main rig didn't ring my bells any longer or make me want to listen to music on it and gravitated to the small study with the tubes. I just spoke to a "pro" who has been with all the tubes/speakers one can think of and settled on an Atma-sphere/Utopia combination. That's what I'm looking at to re-ring the bells and energize the soul...if my wife would agree to electrostatics in the living room (she won't) I'd have the Quad 989 and Wolcotts in a heartbeat.
rbstehno
1,406 posts
 
i upgraded my totem model 1's to the totem mani-2's. if you like your model 1's, you will love the mani-2's. from what i rememeber about the sound of an older pair of wwp's, i like the totem sound better. the new wwp 7's are very nice speakers for $22k, i heard them at he2003. for your size room, try out the mani's before the utopia's.
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