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I just heard the Wilson Alexandria XLF's Wednesday

My local high end audio shop hosted its annual "Music Matters" open house where reps from their prime product lines demonstrate their latest wares. In the past I've been introduced to many products that were either just reaching the market or still in prototype stage (e.g., the Magnepan Mini's).

In one room we had Peter McGrath of Wilson, Dan D'Agostino with his new $50K/pair monoblock amps, a Meridian rep with a Sooloos front end, and John Atkinson of Stereophile, who had some great 24/96 music files he'd recorded himself.

Two demos were of music Atkinson had recorded with minimal miking--a small orchestra and pianist playing Rhapsody in Blue and a 9-person vocal group with organ accompaniment.

This setup produced the most realistic reproduction of music I've personally heard. I am a subscriber to the Seattle Symphony and attend live concerts there monthly. It's obvious to me that these live performances have--in addition to the music--a sense of room energy that's consistently lacking in audio reproduction. NOT THIS TIME! The Meridian/D'Agostino/Transparent (Opus)/Wilson signal chain produced a completely fleshed-out, live-feeling presentation. A sonic hologram if you will. The presentation was transparent and resonance-free, linear, extended, but most of all, live-sounding.

In fact, the very next demo I went to was of Audio Research pushing the new Wisdom Audio $95K flagship panels+sub system, and it sounded artificial by comparison. On its own I'm sure the Wisdom is an excellent speaker, but following the twice-as-expensive Alexandria XLF it was a complete letdown.

Anyone who has an opportunity to hear the Alexandria XLFs should give them a listen just to see what can be done. For me it completely re-defined what can be done with musical reproduction and makes me regret not setting out to become a millionaire when I was young so I could afford a pair (plus the D'Agostino amps) today.

BTW, in all previous Wilson demo's I've heard (Sophia 2 & 3, Maxx 2 & 3, Alexandria X-2, Watt/Puppy 7, Sasha W/P 8), they always sounded decidedly better--more musical, liquid, resolving, real-sounding--with tube electronics. Not so this time. The D'Agostinos are so neutral and so good at driving the speakers that all you think about is the music and the holographic presentation.
johnnyb53
lloydelee21
1,202 posts
 
Himiguel,

I would appreciate your thoughts on the Stahl-Tek Opus...i heard the AE room with Stahl-Tek, and tried to 'dissect' what i think the Stahl-Tek was doing...i have a sense.

But my reference (for tonality and musical cohesive presentation) is Zanden, and it is very difficult to make that precise a comparison in a vacuum. I DO know i prefer Zanden to DCS Scarlatti, Wadia...even though the latest digital is more detailed with lower noise floor...i still prefer the musical cohesiveness of the Zanden and its pure tonality.

Lets put it this way...of all the digital i have ever heard (incl Metronome Kalista Ref with C2A, DCS SCarlatti, wAdia s7, Esoteric X01SE, Emm CDSA, ARC CD5, 7, 8, Krell 505, Weiss Medea)...Zanden is my favorite...but the only one i might consider upgrading to is STahl-Tek Opus.

Any thoughts on how you might compare Stahl-Tek Opus is GREATLY appreciated!!!
himiguel's avatar
himiguel
120 posts
 
Lloydelee21, Most likely under your conditions the Zanden will excel in musicality, cohesiveness, and tonality. When you start changing other variables; roomn treatment, power management, grounding, mechanical isolation the results completely changes your perspective of each component. System synergy is the key to making one particular front end excel in one particular system. Noise clouds up the senses and destroys musicality. If you like you can contact me outside of this thread and I'll save you 20 years of trial and error.
lloydelee21
1,202 posts
 
Himiguel,

Totally agree...change one thing and be prepared for lots of follow-on implications on the rest of the system.

How can i contact you outside of this thread?
sacman
110 posts
 
I completely agree with the assessment of the D'Agostinos monos. I auditioned them driving a pair of Wilson Sasha at CES '11 and they're probably the most musical setup at the show. Meeting Dan was definitely the highlight for me that weekend. If I can ever afford the upgrade from my current system (801Nautilus + Krell 650mc), it would be the Sasha + Dan's new amps.
lloydelee21
1,202 posts
 
HI Sacman,

Just saw your system...pretty amazing! I actually think your system is pretty amazing and am not 100% convinced having heard the Sasha numerous times and the D'Agostino monos that it is as much of an upgrade over what you have.

Will the D'Agostino's present a more refined treble and mid? definitely. Will the Sashas present a smoother upper treble (where it also distinguishes itself from WP7 and before, and somewhat WP8)...yes.

Do i think it is an upgrade i would go for if i had your system?...i actually would be quite happy with your system. And if i did upgrade, would probably feel the need to go a few levels higher than Sasha/650mc.

I would look at 'big tweaks' in your system: first your preamp, then smaller stuff...Monster power conditioner, or cabling. I imagine the Sashas and D'Agostinos were being run with great preamp (ARC Ref 5?) Transp Opus cabling which is absurdly expensive but absurdly good as well. I imagine if you went with SOTA preamp, your sound would change dramatically...for a lot less... You really have an incredible system imho.
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