Well is that interesting. The GR-Research guy worked on Wilson Watt Puppies. A bit shocking to me how bad these measured. I love Wilson’s workmanship and advances designs, but maybe they do not have a Klippel system, and/or do not optimize for sound quality so well vs design. I expected a better frequency response. If that tweeter diffraction issue is really true, it’s disappointing. Maybe it’s model specific and some other models measure better. The PS Audio curves definitely look better.
My favorite part was when he said it’s too bad that he didn’t work there.
When Stereophile tested them back in 2006, when the series 8 came out, John Atkinson found similar measurements. But strangely, they loved the sound of the speakers. What?? How could that possibly be??
Could this be sarcasm I detect? I’ve not heard nor will I ever likely hear any Wilson Audio speaker and I respect what Danny and the crew at GR Research do, but is ~90 +/- 2 (+3@18K) going to sound that much different than ~93 +/-3?
Everyone’s ears measure differently regardless of the brand. Does any of this science really matter?
One of my favorite local hifi friends is a dedicated measurementalist.
He took some lovely Maggie .7s and modified the crossover with Danny’s kit. After the mods, the speakers measured impressively flat. But to my ears, they were unlistenable after 10 minutes. I never revealed my thoughts to him.
He sold them off pretty quickly.
edit: They might have been 1.7s.
I like to listen to both points of view. I have equipment loved and mocked by both sides. The irony here regarding “science” is that Danny is mocked relentlessly on ASR (sorry, think we’re forbidden from mentioning that site here).
Disclaimer, I’ve owned several pairs of speakers designed by Danny and assembled by Tyler Acoustics. Loved them all.
I’ve also heard several pairs of Wilson speakers: magic!
A few months ago I decided to give GR Research a try and bought a pair of finished X-LS Encore stand mount speakers. I have to say the cabinets are the best built I’ve ever owned - solid and very heavy (30+ pounds each). The drivers are some of the most mediocre looking but best sounding that I’ve used and the internals (crossovers) are the best quality I’ve used by far. The over all sound beats anything in a stand mount that I’ve ever owned and that includes KEF, Klipsch, Polk, and Bowers & Wilkins speakers. So impressed I am that I bought an upgrade kit for my ZU DW-6 towers so I can do a comparison - upgrade vs non-upgrade. Haven’t installed the new components yet but will soon. I know very little about the whole argument going on with Danny and a lot of folks out there but I know his design is solid and sounds impressive as all get-out. Would love to compare the X-LS Encore to the PS Audio FR-5, and I just might do it at some point. For now his speakers are my primaries and will remain so for the foreseeable future.
Now that’s weird. Aren’t they singing from exactly the same hymnal?
Not at all! It’s a funny site.
“I can’t explain this with science, but the cup you drink your coffee out of matters” - unknown
You used a swear word, lol
Is it possible Wilson is adjusting for common room characteristics?
As far as I know, having the front baffle stick out further than the drivers is a universal design no no, compounded by having sharp edges instead of being rounded off.
I guess the exception would be if there’s a wave guide on the driver, which would keep frequencies from interacting with the front baffle.
In general I have learned not to place too much emphasis on reviews, especially online YouTube reviews. Personal bias I suppose. If there should be something I am interested in I arrange a demo, make the trip and let my ears be the ultimate judge. It can be fun as well.
Unless @RonP likes frontrow cables. Then we trust his online descriptions.
I’ve rolled the dice a few times based on reviews, but still made sure I had at least a 30 day trial period to verify.
I wonder how Danny measured the Maggie’s, those types of panel speakers are hard to get accurate measurements of.
Danny is an expert. I’m sure he could do it.
Jay from Jays Audio Lab has a sit down video coming out soon with Danny about the Wilson review.
Oh Lord