Wilson Audio Haters

bo1972

I simply must know. What medications should I take? Would that prevent me from going 2d? 

There is probably demand for the WAMM from the Asian market. I hope he sells them all. I have owned Watt Puppy 7’s. They were Brooks Berdan’s demo speakers from his showroom. They replaced Martin Logan Odysseys. Years later I am now retired and upgraded to Maxx 3’s I bought from Sunny's. It’s a much larger and more dynamic speaker compared to the WP/7’s.

I hear you, why do some of our fellow audiophiles have such "strong" opinions?  Hey, if a speaker "floats your boat", good for you!

I bought my current speakers (Focal Sopra No2's) about a year ago.  The search took me to showrooms with many a fine speaker brand, including the Wilson's, but I just like the Focal's, for my hearing, they were more pleasing.

Having said that, I have friends who have Wilson's and love them.  My response, "good for them".

Ivan:  I agree;  you see the same thing with high end cars.  People with financial means can gain entry, but whether there is any ability to extract the best or appreciate it is another matter entirely.  I can think repeatedly of seeing fine high end sports cars being driven as family sedans, with no expectation of extracting an inkling of its potential.  The item is itself a status, nothing more.  I suspect audio is no different, and for those whom have been in audio for a while can appreciate, but not afford, the items others can afford but not appreciate.  I think part of it is that the "earning of the right" to own expensive gear is often not due to years of audio experience but financial prudence (however that is attained).  I think deep down a part of it is envy, but a lot of high end companies make gear explicitly for the well heeded, not necessarily the audiophile, and after a while, one develops a sense (to them) whom these companies are.  

I echo others' sentiments that if Wilson was not very successful, no one would hate them. Some people seem use Wilson as comparison to sound smarter as they "graduate" past the brand, which is social marketing issue not related to the product. The value of Wilson speakers is questionable as viewed as an opportunity cost and although there is a very distinct house sound, some models are better than others, imo. What I think the haters do not consider is that Wilson's competitors, i.e. other expensive box speakers, tend to fail in comparison in terms of dynamics and often scale and time alignment, especially Wilson's lack of dynamic compression for their sensitivity and form.