Wilson Speakers & Reviewers

     I had WP 8 for a couple years.  Set up was CRITICAL, when they say every 1/2" counts they mean it.  I also found that I needed "mellow" equipment and cables to counter the dynamic, forward presentation.  They could be considered bright with bad silver cables and edgy gear.  Once all of the appropriate ancillaries were in place I found that music was dynamic, detailed and fun to listen to.  They had great imaging and pretty good depth.  Music was nicely detached from the speakers.  I never tried them with tubes, but I think they would have been really nice.  I loved them for a couple years, but I came to the conclusion that they were too forward (un-natural) in the presentation.  I switched to a Magico S5M1 which resolves a little more detail, sounds more neutral (to me) and are much easier to set up, but they don't have the dynamic slam of the WP8s even with the 10" woofers vs the 8".
     

@firefightingrob - That's kind of my experience with Magico speakers as well.  My local dealer sells Mac, Wilson, Linn, Magico, Sonus Faber, Meridian, Wisdom, Maggies, Martin Logan, Totem, and MBL so comparisons are fairly easy to do (albeit in different rooms).  Magicos (I believe I've only demo'd the Q3 and Q5, no S series) IME do nothing wrong - they seem very neutral and balanced, and do most everything very well.  I think they may be too neutral for me, and seem to lack some of the excitement I get from my Wilsons, though I could live happily with them - out of my price range however.  I've listened to most if not all of the W/P iterations except the 8, so I really can't opine on that particular model, but your description pretty much agrees with what I hear from the 7s.  My Sophias are less dynamic than W/Ps, but more balanced and not *as* forward to my ears, and not quite as critical for setup.  I've lived with mine for 8 years now, and remain happy with them. 

Unlike some, I don't suffer from audiophilia nervosa, and as long as I'm happy with how my system sounds - which I am, I feel no compelling need to change it (well, after 20 years with my 802s I did feel a bit of itch...).  Nor do I worry that "I could be missing out on the Grail", that *true* audio Nirvana is just one more change, one more tweak, more _____ away.  That pathway, IME, never leads to satisfaction.  

IMO, when it comes to speakers, you can get *objectively* better speakers up to a point, but once you achieve full range performance, relatively flat frequency response, with real life SPL capability, then "different" is really what you get with different brands and technologies, and "better" becomes entirely subjective. I've never met a dipole I could live with long term, for example (even the Radialstrahler mbl 101 X-treme - though my God what dynamics!!! - for a measly $250K last time demo'd them), yet many feel only a dipole can sound realistic, while they sound unrealistic to me.  I'm right...and they are right.

I really  have no idea why some folks feel compelled to be either rampant fanboys, or haters, of specific brands (ok, well, maybe Bose), and refuse to accept that an individual's preference is inviolable, and requires no external justification.  Oh well, happy listening with your Magicos!

Wow;

it it sounds like a “Ford vs Chevy” debate, minus the beer( maybe not?)

You all have interesting perspectives 

Some more viament than others

     I do tend to agree...once you get full range and relatively flat freq........it becomes a preference
     I also think marketing is a big part of it, to

Merry christmas 
( we just a finished 8” snowstorm)

FWIW I have listened to Wilsons many times but only in store and show environments. I like what I hear, and I completely understand why others would love them and own them. I haven't wanted them after hearing them, but I find I often stop in and listen to them when I'm looking at other stuff. So they remain compelling even to someone who isn't captivated enough to own them. That, in itself, is commendable.  

@frozentundra - Dude, 8" of snow?  Two words; Move South!  Too cold for my blood - supposed to be 95F here tomorrow ;-)
As for being vehement, I am, but only insofar as defending one's right to a preference, and pointing out the folly of relegating dissimilar preferences to simple ignorance on the part of the holder.

@astewart8944 - Wilsons can definitely grab your attention.  For some, the attention doesn't wane, but for many others it does. A buddy of mine came over when I bought my Sophias and he was really impressed (his speakers at the time were B&W 804s), so much so that he had to go out speaker shopping.  He came home with Sonus Faber Cremona M's after auditioning them side by side with the Sophias.  He and I think both are great speakers, we each could live happily with either, we prefer a different one.  That's why I've been clear that I'm not promoting Wilson speakers, or making any claims of their superiority or inferiority relative to other speakers.

There are a great many very good speakers out there that I'd be satisfied with - many if not most are more than I paid for mine, and more than I'd choose to spend.  But there are many (e.g. Paradigm Studio 100 V5, Triton 1, etc.) that provide an incredible amount of performance for reasonable money as well. Each to their own.