A brutal review of the Wilson Maxx

Intersting thread, having never heard the Max 2's so I would never presume to comment on their sound quality.
One of the things I learnt over 25 years ago when I got into this hobby ( that's what it is BTW, nothing more/nothing less) was to listen to the speaker or any piece of equipment for that matter before making any purchase decisions about it.
Without question, once a piece of equipment is acquired, psycholigically the customer needs to defend the purchase decision. Still, I have always believed that everyone has a different take on what sounds like music to them.. which is why this hobby is interesting.
Reading magazine articles is fun, but one would be idiotic( for want of a better term) (perhaps ignorant would be better) to make a large purchase decision based upon someone else's preference and beliefs. IMHO if a consumer cannot hear a particular piece of kit, then DON'T buy it till you do..Simple.
Now, fads in this hobby come and go, remember the clocks that were supposed to clean up wall noise...0:) But again IMHO what might remain a constant is the difference between the sound of live unamplified music and reproduced. Recently, I have been feeling that all the speakers I have heard are indeed colored as Mr. Framer points out.
This of course in contrast to live unamplified music. It never takes me very long to show a critical listener or even a non-critical listener the difference between my Taylor 6 string and a reproduction through a system of a guitar. A world and again IMHO a WORLD of difference. The question is what I feel makes the difference vs. what another listener feels makes the difference. Both are valid opinions and both are possibly right and both are possibly wrong.
One of the things that perhaps should be emphasized more in the magazines that are part and parcel of this hobby is the difference that the reviewer feels the piece compares to the 'Absolute Sound'
Oops, that term had to slip into here somewhere, but I really feel that Harry had the thing right all those years ago when he coined the term. Not so sure that today the readers or the writers in this hobby are so cognisant of the difference, but again maybe a small suggestion is to go out when you put together your ideal system and buy/borrow almost any decent real instrument and pluck/blow/hit/tap/whatever and see how close you feel you have come to this mark....Maybe not..

So true Daveyf. I also realize often while listening to my system that yeah the guitar, or violin, or piano or a human voice is very palpalable but then I think does it really compare to the real live sound, the answer is USUALLY no. But at times, on very well recording, the answer could be yes. For example on my system well recorded drum kit or a piano really sounds real, at a very high volume from other room or ouside the house. But when I hear the teenage girl band practicing thier band in their garage across my house, my drum kit pales in comparision by a half mile ;). Even with thier garage door closed these three sisters, one friend and one brother band's sound is so dynamic, so clear. My dunlavy V's and two Classe CA-400's does as good as a job they can but....

Now is there a system out there (be it Wilson's top spekaers-here is Wilson content to be consistent with this thread topic) that were to be placed in my neighbor's garage and played same sessions that they ususally play on this system and if I were to listen in my front yard, would it ever sound same? or even closer? I highly doubt it.

Just a thought on playing live music next to a rig. I had a friend walk into my home with his trombone in hand. He commented that the rig was playing loud. I told him my aim was to reproduce the sound of the live performance to scale. He then proceeded to take his horn out and play along. To his astonishment he said he could not effectively play soft enough to properly accompany the sound eminating from my system.

Many times in the past, people have said to me that their systems are really close to the sound of real live unamplified music. Its when I proceed to play my Taylor next to their system do their jaws drop... NOT even close.
That is one of my pet peeves about the audio hobby today, many reviewers hold a particular piece of equipment up on a pedestal,so the public believes it is capable of reproducing music; especially since it costs tens of thousands of dollars. What the reviewers never seem to do is hold the piece to the highest standard as a reference.
When Harry coined the term 'The Absolute Sound' I for one felt that this standard was one that would make reviewers and the public realize how inadequate all equipment is and that with that in mind, no real exultations would be forthcoming ( except in regards to other available equipment perhaps). Today it seems that several reviewers and magazines are happy to stipulate a piece of equipment has amazing abilities. Compared to other available equipment maybe, but compared to live sound...NOT IMHO.

Unsound

As a pretty poor trombone player myself in the past I can confirm this to be true. Trombones when they are *leant* on can really be very dynamic - equally true of trumpets and parts of the percussion section.

I guess that's why the orchestra only has very few of us and a boat load of strings!

Also you may find your recording of the trombone was taken at say 40ft if it was in an large group and your room might not be that big!

Good to see the the discussion has moved toward the live instruments

:o)