Wilson Speakers & Reviewers

I was never that taken with the WP systems, certainly never enough to be tempted to buy a pair, and remained happy with my large Vandersteens for many years despite the complexities of separate bass crossover, multiamping and wiring.  Then I heard a pair of Grand Slamms well set up and had an 'aha' moment that I kept in mind for some years before buying a pair of Maxx 2s like handymann.

Unlike him, although I have lots of beefy power amps on hand (Classe, Roland etc.) I have been powering mine with tubes (CJ Premier 11a) and find it to be an excellent match (although I do switch in the Roland for AV use).

I also agree that given that a significant part of the purchase price ow Wilsons is, like Montblancs and Rolex, attributable to advertising bling, buying used is the best way to go.

I too have the Max 2's and they were a real PITA to set up. Lucky for me I knew the hassle expected, as I have had WP's before(and still do), and knew what I was getting into in regards to placement. My experience with Wilsons is that for them to sound their best, placement is CRITICAL. I spent a lot of time with the Maxx's to optimize placement, and due to the weight of them (as opposed to the WP's) on a carpeted floor, it was a difficult task. That being said, once I found the "sweet spot" for them, I am very happy.

Agree that set up is critical for these speakers, but didn't think it was a huge deal to do despite the fact that dealers take courses and charge you to come out and expertly set them up.

The manual that comes with the speakers is well written and detailed on the matter of set up and if you have a friend with a laser level/range finder as I did, there is no big problem getting the angle of the head unit correct as well as the distance to the listener's head within a centimeter or so.

At something like 450 lbs. per speaker, believe me, they don't move around once they are set up!

I haven't heard a lot of speakers that better them but would love the opportunity to listen to them on the same system using a couple of speakers I have heard that are very, very good, including the Magico S5 and the Vandersteen 7.

Handyman - your set up is similar to mine

http://www.rhodo.citymax.com/i/non-rhodo/wilsons.jpg

I have also kept them on the casters for fine tuning.

Set up is greatly helped by having a helper with a laser that measures distance and the Wilson tables.