Even with the music on Peter McGrath's unfamiliar setup CD, it was immediately apparent—and very surprising—to me that the Alexx significantly outperformed the Alexandria XLF in some key areas. This lowish impedance will make the life difficult for about almost any poweramplifier, causing the output stage to operate in it´s less linear area for no reason at all. But even if that is left aside, the TD is still horrible, and I´m flabbergasted that someone making speakers this expensive, can get the idea of reversing the phase of one or more drive units. The Alexx shares with the Alexandria XLF Wilson's Aspherical Group Delay technology, whereby the positions of its individually enclosed midrange and treble drivers can be adjusted, precisely, to recreate a time-correct waveform at the listening position. "Provenance"—in the art world refers to the place of origin or history of a particular piece of art. Time alignment of the drivers' outputs is not the end-all and be-all of speaker design, but in my experience, once you've grown accustomed to the sort of minimal-baffle, time-aligned driver arrays produced by Wilson and Vandersteen Audio, when you then hear a flat slab speaker, you hear a flat slab, especially in nearfield listening environments like mine. It is the latest beneficiary of Wilson’s ongoing analysis of low-resonance cabinet strategies via laser micrometer. And in 2011 I gave an illustrated lecture on the subject at the RMAF: I look forward to reading these! One problem I encountered was that having the designer on hand interferes with the measurements because if I find a problem, the designer wants then to change something with the speaker to address the problem, which means the sample is no longer representative of what our reviewer auditioned. Wilson Audio Alexx is de 4de nieuwe Wilson audio luidspreker in evenveel jaar tijd. It blends smoothly with the step responses of the tweeter and lower midrange unit to give a time-coherent output. Another unimpressive test result for a very expensive passive speaker. "The Alexx shares with the Alexandria XLF Wilson's Aspherical Group Delay technology, whereby the positions of its individually enclosed midrange and treble drivers can be adjusted, precisely, to recreate a time-correct waveform at the listening position." Betaal met iDeal, Creditcard, Paypal. Do not listen. Nu beschikbaar bij Listening Matters in Den Haag. And as I said in the review, the output of each drive-unit blends smoothly with that of the next lower in frequency. But I owe you and a.wayne an apology, as while you were incorrect about the polarity of the Wilson's tweeter, I was also incorrect when I said that both of the midrange units were in the same polarity. Going from the MAXX 3 ($68,000/pair in 2009) to the much larger, far more costly Alexandria XLF ($210,000/pair) brought with it high expectations, all of which were met. Want a better idea ? WAMM Master Chronosonic Chronosonic XVX Alexx Alexia Series 2 Sasha DAW Yvette SabrinaX. So, I would need some opinions on the Magico M6 in comparison to my Wilson Alexx before I make a purchase. Just plunked down in the approximately correct positions and still on their casters, the Alexxes' nimble sound perked up my ears. An elastic edge on the bottom of the cover will ensure a snug fit. S-material has been optimized for the unique demands of the critical midrange. Subwoofers WATCH Dog Thor's Hammer Wilson Audio Subsonic. Description. But using the phrase "Aspherical Group Delay" for this facility, no matter how effective, seems misleading”. With the Alexx's lack of the Alexandria's rear-firing, top-mounted supertweeter, I expected a somewhat smaller soundstage, especially in the vertical dimension, and that's what I heard. I´m sorry, but to me this looks like carpentry more than speakerbuilding, and for the latter only for one self. ..is referring to someone as being butt-ugly...shame shame..LOL, ..is quite the Joker...a real knee slapper...har har, Having discontinued the MAXX3 loudspeaker ($68,000/pair in 2009, when I. Driver polarity, and step response continued...... www.stereophile.com/content/wilson-alexx-inroom-impulse-response, www.stereophile.com/content/wilson-alexx-midwoofer-steps, www.stereophile.com/content/wilson-alex-midrange-steps, www.stereophile.com/features/99/index.html, www.stereophile.com/features/100/index.html, www.stereophile.com/features/103/index.html, ..and once again Mikey resorts to name calling, ..now now Mikey you’re being a bit dishonest, Electro-Voice Model Two & Model Six loudspeakers, Piega Premium Wireless 701 wireless loudspeaker system, Wilson Audio Specialties Sasha DAW loudspeaker, Hegeman Model 1 omnidirectional loudspeaker, Counterpoint Natural Progression NPS-400 power amplifier, The FTC Proposes Eliminating Its "Amplifier Rule", Re-Tales #5: Pro audio and hi-fi cross over, Analog Corner #289: Ortofon Anna Diamond MC phono cartridge, Moonriver 404 Reference integrated amplifier, Revinylization #14: The Grateful Dead's Magnificent Eight, Gramophone Dreams #45: T+A Solitaire P headphones & HA 200 DAC-headphone amplifier, Acoustic Geometry Room treatments (before & after), My current and likely the last home audio setup, Recording of February 2021: Newvelle Records Season Five, Recommended Components: Fall 2020 Edition. So I see no excuse for the poor Time Domain measurements. The smaller, upper woofer's radiation pattern at the top of its frequency range is claimed to produce a better blend with the lower limit of the lower and larger midrange driver's response (see below). I am thinking to deviate from Wilson Audio and am considering the Magico M6 speakers ($176k/pair). Sprekers hebben ongeveer 500 uur de tijd. Your experience on this site will be improved by allowing cookies. Alexx is the fourth all-new loudspeaker from Wilson Audio in as many years. This configuration preserves the dynamic benefits of the larger midrange driver, with its robust half-roll rubber surround, while slightly extending the upper-midrange response, which relieves the tweeter of some of its former upper-midrange duties. Aspherical Propagation Delay describes the unique adjustability of Alexx’s modules to precisely align all the drivers in the time domain, in conjunction with the ability to optimize driver dispersion for literally hundreds of potential listening positions. De luidsprekers zijn in de afgelopen 20 maanden ongeveer 30 uur gebruikt. I've never once seen a review with anything remotely indicating a time domain accurate speaker. This is horrible. Most impressive was that such a tall stack of drivers could produce a 100% coherent, three-dimensional picture from less than 8' away, while managing to sound small or grand, depending on the recording. The time domain is really terrable, and the impedance is even worse. The Wilson Audio logo is proudly displayed in the lower front of the speaker. But using the phrase "Aspherical Group Delay" for this facility, no matter how effective, seems misleading. Still, at 62.3" high by 15.75" wide by 26.75" deep; and weighing 452 lbs, this is a big, heavy speaker. Provenance has special meaning to Wilson Audio, in this case in exploring Wilson's latest foray into the large speaker category. The single pair of binding posts for connecting the entire Alexx to a power amplifier—three other pairs of binding posts, for the midrange and treble drivers, accept the spade lugs with which the crossover's wiring looms are terminated—are low on the bass bin's rear panel, but higher than on the Alexandria XLF, where they're too close to the floor for the comfort of thick, bulky speaker cables. Thanks very very much. Sometimes I wonder if speaker and amplifier makers even try to hook up their products in real-world situations. Parts by Loudspeaker; Parts; Setup & Care; Clothing & Apparel; Books & Literature; Info 2233 Mountain Vista Lane Provo, Utah 84606 USA Call us at (801) 377-2233 The sure to come comment asking "Did you listen to it?" Exemplary quality!" You can see that the tweeter's output - the sharp spike at the beginning of the impulse - is in positive acoustic polarity. This would mean 2-5 watts of class-A power at 3 ohms should suffice, if this is your concern ( Only 20 watts@ 8 ohm of class-A power would be necessary to achieve this ). To me this looks like someone without any knowledge of speaker design ran into a huge stack of components, drivers, MDF and veneer, and had a lot of fun. Wilson Audio Alexx – XLF (Cross-load Flow) port system. Wilson’s proprietary X-material, now in its third generation, is the ideal “launch pad” for woofers and tweeters. And of all the worst @ 60Hz you have 3 Ohms in conjunction with around 45 dgrs. If I did this speakers measured performance, I would start all over again. Subwoofers WATCH Dog Thor's Hammer Wilson Audio Subsonic. "I have only once in 30 years of measuring speakers traveled to a manufacturer to measure a speaker. You can see that while the output of the lower midrange unit is in positive acoustic polarity, that of the upper midrange unit is in negative polarity. 4 of the review measurements. I've measured way worse...as have you, and we've both measured better. Wilson Audio Certified Authentic™ Program; Wilson Audiophile Recordings; Sitemap; Categories. Vern Credille did the complex math that determined each baffle's fore-and-aft position and rake angle, based on the listener's distance from the speakers and the height of his or her ears when seated. The newly designed drivers with their cones of hard paper pulp replace the Alexandria's Focal-sourced "W"-material woofers. Mr. Atkinson, this statement is a bit confusing...is there a second unpublished step response measurement in addition to figure 4? Wilson Audio Alexx Loudspeakers. Thanks for the response and explanation John ...... You're welcome. Thanks for the response and I do agree with your concerns , but do oppose your conclusions. The step response calculated from the in-room measurement of the Alexx at the position of Mikey's ears that I made with the Fuzzmeasure system is not in conflict with the quasi-anechoic step response shown in fig.4, ie, tweeter and midrange units are connected in positive acoustic polarity, the woofers in negative polarity. 3. Alexx. Wilson Audio Specialties Alexx loudspeaker Stereophile Alexx GadgetyNews Alexx The Audio Beat Alexx Posi+ive Feedback 01/01/1970 Wilson Audio Alexx HiFiClube Alexx The Audio Beat. We do not have any Magico dealer here in my area (Seattle area). I have written 3 articles on this subject, based on a paper I presented to the Audio Engineering Society 20 years ago: www.stereophile.com/features/99/index.html. Yes, Lazy typing on my part , I did say reverse phase , instead of out of phase, as all the drivers dont share the same phase, , I did not specify as i should if positive or negative phase and yes you are correct the tweeter is of positive polarity, but that was not what i was addressing. i can remember when SP used to do great measurement stories like that .. While this does not change the anechoic behavior of Alexx in the deep bass, it does enable it to more seamlessly interface with a larger number of rooms. How can this ever be called high end? One of these was Wilson Audio Specialties' Alexia loudspeaker, which I reviewed in … What did I expect from a speaker costing about half as much as the Alexandria XLF—which, before Wilson developed the WAMM Master Chronosonic, had been the company's flagship model? Thank you for the response and additional measurements. y experience with Wilson Audio speakers goes back over twenty years, beginning with the first time I heard a pair of WATT/Puppy 5.1s, along with a WHOW subwoofer, in a dealer showroom, through the WATT/Puppy 6 (the first Wilson speaker I reviewed) and various other versions of the WATT/Puppy, the MAXX, the Sophia, the Sasha W/P, the Alexandria, the Sabrina and now the Alexx. So, yes, a joke, with a point to it. In this case your measurements show, that after adjustment the response at the measurement location is not a correct representation of a step response. I can imagine most listening will be done in the 1-2 watts RMS range with 200 watts or so on dynamic peaks. Incidentally, Darryl didn't design it alone: He managed a team that included Vern Credille, Wilson Audio's chief acoustical and electrical engineer, whom I met when I toured the Wilson factory in fall 2016 (footnote 1). The strategic advantage of developing Alexx alongside WAMM is perhaps best exemplified with new technology surrounding the all-important midrange. Wilson’s venerable seven-inch unit, first introduced in the Alexandria Series 2, covers the lower midrange. Please visit http://www.nagraaudio.com or call 1-800-813-1663 for more information on our award winning products! I am sorry but you are both wrong. I wonder if it would be possible, and worthwhile, to do an article (maybe a series) that more fully explain what we see in your graphs? The fact that the midrange has such a sharp risetime and long tail indicate they are operating over widebandwidth, possibly with large amounts of overlap both acoustically and electrically which would explain the low impedance in the 500Hz to 3kHz range and the difference in on axis response 50" and 85". The very-limited-edition WAMM Master Chronosonic aside, the Alexx is easily the best big speaker Wilson Audio … The fore-and-aft position of each upper enclosure is determined and secured by where in each of two dimpled tracks the enclosure's front spikes are placed. With such a large complex speaker , why not measure it at WA..? I have only once in 30 years of measuring speakers traveled to a manufacturer to measure a speaker. Together they examined Alexx's unique relationship both to the speakers that precede it, as well as to the WAMM, with which it was co-developed. Otherwise, the Alexx is another example of Wilson Audio's meticulous build quality: robustly braced, nonresonant enclosures of Wilson's X-Material (S-Material is used for the front baffles of the midrange enclosures); overbuilt, potted crossover networks, the wiring looms of which comprise twisted pairs, each of a specific construction, length, and twist ratio (Transparent Audio manufactures all of the Alexx's internal wiring to Wilson's specifications); and even the grille frames, which are not injection molded but machined of X-Material. It uses drivers that will also appear in Wilson's WAMM replacement (for lack of its actual name) when the design work for that speaker system is finished, and a new composite material: W material, which is. Class D will remain linear far longer than class A will @ lower frequencies, but at higher ones class A will be able to stay linear into more difficult loads than class D. 1. The Alexx looks like a smaller Alexandria XLF. I think I understand better now....and now I'm even more perplexed about the time domain performance marketing claims of Wilson Audio. To the discussion about the step response; as it was clear to me what was initially written about was wrong. You are too foolish a person to let your ears tell you anything. My issue is not with the performance of the system in the time domain itself, for a large format multi-driver system the measurement in figure 4 is entirely reasonable. And we should not forget the measured time domain behavior, which looks even worse. Perhaps take a couple of speakers that you have recently tested, do some more annotated graphs ("this point here shows the effect of an out of phase frammistat or perhaps a busted knobflicker"). Its rake is set with a rear spike, after which it's locked rigidly in place with large-diameter bolts. It may be natural to assume the Alexx replaces the venerable MAXX, in that it is Wilson’s latest entry into the large speaker segment just below the Alexandria, but, in reality, the comparison with the MAXX begins and ends there. It is unlikely that either woofer would show the negative going risetime between 3.75 and ~3.9mS due to the low pass filters. Look at the measurements and decide. Incidentally, Darryl didn't design it alone: He managed a team that included Vern Credille, Wilson Audio's chief acoustical and electrical engineer, whom I met when I toured the Wilson factory in fall 2016 (footnote 1). The tweeter enclosure sits on its spikes atop the housing of the 7" midrange, occupying the space within that enclosure's L shape (as viewed from the side). "The Alexx shares with the Alexandria XLF Wilson's Aspherical Group Delay technology, whereby the positions of its individually enclosed midrange and treble drivers can be adjusted, precisely, to recreate a time-correct waveform at the listening position.". Class A/B is not linear at anytime, but the harder the load, the more distortion you´ll get especially at low volume. The Wilson Audio Alexx speakers made me pay attention in a way that no other speaker system ever has. The Alexandria was an improvement in every way—especially on top, where it sounded airier, sweeter, more relaxed, and yet more detailed. www.stereophile.com/features/100/index.html. Sound: half the price, half as good? Firstly it's nearly impossible to design a multi driver system and maintain an 8 ohm ( where class-A ratings are valid) zmin, also 60-200 is not the bulk of most music , the difficult area for most music reproduction is in the 400- 3K Region and while 3 ohm accompanied with a -45deg phase angle could represent some difficulty to most dinky toy amps , this speaker has reasonably high sensitivity , this does go along way in alleviating drive difficulty and should not be an issue with any competent 2 ohm rated amplifier. I would hazard a guess that had you been able to run vertical polar response measurements there would have been relatively large nulls and peeks across that bandwidth...... Again, my issue is not with the measurements themselves, but the disparity between marketing statements and measured performance. Put another way if the woofer(s), midranges and tweeter are operating over three frequency bands, how can you have two negative going spikes if two of the driver bands are supposed to be positive. www.stereophile.com/features/103/index.html. Such disparity between marketing statements and measured performances. BTW, Is there any reason why you still favor using gated measurements with such short reflective paths ? There's no wood involved. . That now leads me to believe that the tweeter and one midrange are positive polarity while the woofer(s) and other midrange are negative unless you have additional measurements that would indicate the root cause. BTW class D will probably be the only amplifier type, which can function as "almost" linear into loads like this. McGrath did his final tuning by listening to "So Do I," from Christy Moore's This Is the Day (CD, Sony 5032552)—the same track he used to set up the Alexias in John Atkinson's listening room. The Alexx is thus easily recognizable as a Wilson Audio design. David Wilson, founder of Wilson Audio and his son Daryl Wilson (current Wilson Audio CEO) have not stood still since that magic moment 5 years ago when the original Wilson Audio Alexia loudspeaker was born. A speaker that truly shows why Wilson sits where it does. For the first time, two different midrange drivers are spec’d in the MTM array, each optimized to cover a specific portion of the midrange. This allows the port to fire from the speaker's rear or front. Its angled front baffle is claimed to produce better integration of the drivers' outputs in the time domain, and its sides gently taper toward the top, for a more graceful transition to the stack of tweeter and midrange housings above. Center Channel WATCH Center C/S Mezzo C/S. So while the Alexx's output is not time-coincident, it is time-coherent, which I feel more important. 2. WAMM Master Chronosonic Chronosonic XVX Alexx Alexia Series 2 Sasha DAW Yvette SabrinaX. Good measurements will not promise anything when it comes to listening experiments, but bad measurements will always do so. With all due respect, that step response is not symbolic of a time coherent frequency divided 4 way system. I wonder when somebody will say thew words that really should go with a speaker like this. Going from Alexandria to Alexx was like pushing a high-performance car's electronic-suspension button and going from Comfort to Sport mode. On the Alexx they're conveniently placed behind a transparent panel, on a beveled surface at the back. The goal, as suggested earlier, is to position the drivers for precisely simultaneous arrival at the listening position of all frequencies, and to improve frequency-domain driver integration. The Alexx's tweeter is connected in positive acoustic polarity - see fig.4 in the review's Measurements. The Alexx looks like a smaller Alexandria XLF. Activ XO. of phase shift. Unlike the Alexandra's midrange-tweeter-midrange (MTM) configuration, in which two 7" midrange drivers each cover the same range of frequencies, the Alexx's four-way design divides the midband between two drive-units, a 5.75" and a 7", each driver covering a different bandwidth. Each enclosure can be slid forward or back, and/or tilted, relative to the woofer bin. The impedance, CSD, and step/frequency response should be way better for a speaker of this name/cost. Alexx was the fourth all-new loudspeaker from Wilson in as many years, and its inception, short of the WAMM, brought more technology and innovation and experience than any previous design from any company. One of the benefits of being a reviewer is that, of the large number of products that pass through my listening room, occasionally there are those that I really would like to see take up more permanent residence.