So, I listened to a $1Million Dollar System


So, I listened to a $1Million dollar system.

A somewhat local dealer had an event that showcased the Dan D’Agostino Relentless Epic mono block amps, Relentless Preamplifier, Wilson Audio Chronosonic XVX speakers and subsonic subwoofer. Along with the Transparent cabling, HRS stands, DCS Dac and other accessories I estimate the total cost to be over $1Miilion.

I was able to sit in the front row center. The speakers estimated to weigh over 700 lbs. were toed in quite a bit towards the listener.

The demonstrator played a lot of obscure music that centered on some very deep bass. I must admit the bass was quite impressive.

Eventually (reluctantly) the demonstrator played a few tunes that I requested, and I was quite surprised.

With this million-dollar system the music sounded quite dull, the rep called it “mellow”, but to me it was dull. There was no life to the music, limited highs and zero music coming from the extreme left- right.

For instance, I use the Linda Ronstadt track “Blue Bayou” as a reference. Within this track at about the 40-60 second mark there is a mandolin that plays in the extreme left channel. On many systems that information is buried deep into the mix. However, systems with high resolution can play it clearly. Unfortunately, with this million-dollar system I could not even detect it.

So why is it? Can the Wilson speakers be adjusted in such a way as to accent the bass and attenuate the mid-treble? If so, why would they demonstrate that way? Were the speakers too toed in? Or was it because there were about 10 people in the room (btw, a large room) which muted some of the speaker’s energy? Whatever, I was NOT impressed.

ozzy

128x128ozzy

Ozzy, 

 

I've listened to a few different systems at that dealer I know exactly what you are talking about, my buddy and myself looked at each other and said how completely underwhelming that was. I don't know how they sell the stuff that they do when it sounds so mediocre. 

 

Steve

@ozzy    It may be that the sound of the system simply did not suit your taste - we each have different sound preferences.  Presumably your own (much cheaper?) system does suit your taste.  So just to put us in the picture please let us know the components of your system.

I heard the big Wilsons with ARC gear at Axpona and they sounded excellent! 

Okay a few things…Wilson’s are not dull! The cables are the worst and Dagastino gear is more musical now and takes away some bite.

The average Wilson dealer does this stupid combination and if it is an NYC dealer they will always put the speakers to close to a wall because in NYC all the rich wives don’t want to see the speakers in the middle of the room even if they are 700 pounds!!!

Tell the dealer to switch amps and throw out those dull cables and try different brands! Siltec or Nordost Valhalla 2 will give it the viagra you need! Also better amps from DartZeal, Audionet Heisenburg, Boulder will completely fix it!

That’s what I love about this hobby….it’s about the synergy among components, the room, and your tastes. You don’t need a million dollars for it to sound great!