Wilson Alexia 20x15 Room

For this kind of money I would try it first at your home. And I would take some time to audition to more spakers in this range. You could take a listen to Magico as well. The S5 is sealed, plays easier in a smaller room.

I had this problem in the past as well. What I did was that I took all my stuff ( amp/source/cables/conditioner) with me to the person who sold the speakers. It was a very good combo so I bought them. And my house it also did very well. I hope this can help you, good luck.

The newer Wilson are better in smaller rooms, but still not easy. In the past I visit many Wilson owners. Almost all had acoustic problems. Even in a bigger room. When you spend this kind of money you need to be very sure if it will be a succes. Don't take any risk!!

In 1999 I bought a new set of B&W 802 Nautilus. They were not so high. I wanted the stage higher and moe free from the spaker. So I made a granite plate of 42 kg in the shape of the Nautilus. Even with the logo on the front side. And I used dempers. The difference was big and the improvelent the same. The stage became higher just as I wanted. The music was more free from the loudspeaker. I remember that I had contact with B&W that time. And I adviced them to higher the next version. I don't say they did it cause of my emails send to them. But the 802S in 2005 was a lot higher. This is also what you can do with your speaker.

Clear, but I still advice you to test the speakers with your own equipment. Even if you cannot try it at home.

I met too many people who spend a lot of money on audio who were not happy. You need to test something. What I said; just don't take any risk!

I owned and sold a lot of AQ Sky. You need to be aware that this interconnect has a very open mid freq. With some tweeters it can sound a little harsh. That is why you need to need to bring in your own stuff when you have no option to audition it at home.

The Meteor is a nive cable. But the better AQ loudspeakercables reveal so much more details and have a sharper individual focus.

A few months ago I bought 2 pair of the new AQ Wel Signature xlr cables. They give a much better insight in height of a recording. They also give a much higher level of black and individual focus. These parts cannot be revealed by a very expensive loudspeaker. I was amazed that it took listening to a new and much higher level. I never had this before during any show or test I did with other expensive cables.

The first cable AQ makes who can reveal better heights of a recording is the Wild. But the Wel goes even a lot further in this part. It also gives a much sharper physical image than the Wild. The best cables influence the overall sound a lot more than in the past.

@Skinzy; you have a different room and a lot of height. That is a very good room for your speaker.

I auditioned 2 days ago the Rockport Aquila with the Absolore
best pre amp with their monoblocks. ( 50 watt) This was also
not the best combo in control and authority. You could not
play that loud. You lost control, tweeters became difficulties
and the overall sound became less involving. Sensitivity of
the Aquila is 89db.

When you have no option to audition it at home you need to
bring in your own stuff to the shop who sells them. Here you
can see if the combo is a good match and you will hear if your
set can drive the Wilsons well.

There is one thing I want to make clear. I have tested many
cables in over 16 years of time. These days it is a lot easier
to create a higher endresult with expensive and stunning
cables with less expensive poweramps. This against a very
expensive poweramp with less espensive cables for the same
amount of money. I have proven this in many blind tests. My
focus is always on the endresults. This counts most.

I give you another example; I use the latest Audioquest
Redwood with the brand new AQ Wel Signature xlr cables and the
Purist Audio Limited powercables. These cables give a superior
level in details, blacklevel, dynamics, differences in height
of a recording and a much more physical 3d image against the
Meteor and Sky interconnects. This difference is huge.

With these cables you can reveal details which will not be
there even if you bought a very expensive set of speakers.

Most people who have this as a hobby play at an average level
in % of the whole capability what a speaker is capable of. In
16 years of time I have showed many people that they miss a
lot of what their speaker is capable of. You need a good
balance in how you created your system. The most common
mistake in audio is that peopole spend a lot of money on
speakers against less money on their equipment. Be aware of
this!!

That is what I understand. But you need to be aware that what you connect to the speaker is the quality what comes out of the speaker.

Beside this your used equipment have their own properties togheter.

This means that they have an overall sound and a kind of image.

Like the Alexia have his own kind of overall sound and way of image.

The combination will create a new overall sound and a new kind of image. Because all the different properties togheter will create the new sound and image.

That is why you need to find out how the combination in sound and image will work out.

@Melbguy; nice to read that there are more people who are
capable to look further. From 2005 till 2007 I have visited
about 40-50 sets between 10.000 euro and above 150.000 euro.
Only one I found well balanced.

In my eyes and insight they all make different mistakes. Many
had acoustic limitations. But most create wrong combinations
of properties which does not fitt with eachother. So here you
see that most are not capable of creating the right balance.

That is why I always say; when you are not aware of all the
different properties of each different tool in your system you
never know how the overall sound and image is being build. And
you need a lot of luck to get a good balance.

Why you want and need to play loud. I still think 85-90 db is
loud during a long period of listening!

Audio is also a very addictive 'hobby' and most of us are always looking for better. Good to read that you can audition the S5 at your home. I still would take time to audition a few more.

When I look for a new 'tool' auditioning is so much fun!!

* I even think a newer Vandersteen is worth auditioning!