Wilsons are the best speakers in the world

@whitestix  I heard some big Wilsons (Max II?) about 8 years ago at a CES T.H.E Show. I attended all 3 days. Day 1, the system sounded strained, thin, unremarkable. By day 3, everything had settled down and sounded abso!utely real (The Peter McGrath master tapes MAY have contributed somewhat). 

@whitestix 

In regards to MBL, I'm right there with you. In terms of an ultimate system, I've never heard anything that can get close.

You would have to own a pair of Wilson speakers in your system for some time to have a credible opinion (good or bad) I did just that as they certainly were not moving me at shows. I kept it affordable and got Sophia 2’s. They turned out to be very nice speakers for the time I had them, not the best but no complaints here. Show experience is almost useless and I’ve been to many over the years. The Sophia 2’s were light years ahead of the Spatials (M3 & M4 Turbo S) I used to sell. Sabrina’s are very nice with the right gear.

+3 on the MBL love but way out of my snack bracket.

It would be interesting to compare all MBL and all Gryphon systems. I think, Flemming of Gryphon recently came up with some monster $350k speakers. And his amps..well, everyone knows.

@shadorne 
The Focal W cone isn't nearly as stiff as some of the crazy stuff other companies are cranking out. Aluminum, carbon fiber, and the like. Those materials ring like freaking bells. Personally, I think Focal really hit on something with the F cone. Those are stiff, light, and very dead cones. From what I've read Wilson is using some extremely hard paper cones. Paper can be pressed into some very hard stuff. Of all the materials open to manipulation in application, paper has got to be near the top of the list. I don't buy into the generalizations made about materials and their characteristics. They just don't hold up well.