Wilsons to the MAXX

SSI 2009

By John Atkinson • Posted: Apr 6, 2009

Okay, so the system in the big room from Montreal dealer Coup de Foudre was very expensive, and the room's acoustics I knew from the 2008 Show were excellent, but the sound was both my best at show and the best I heard in that room. Not only did Peter McGrath's high-resolution recordings, played back from his Sound Devices recorder feeding the very promising Playback Designs' D/A processor, reproduce with extraordinary dynamics and a superbly transparent window into the soundstage, my own recordings sounded the best I have experienced, with the audiophile attributes supporting/reinforcing rather than getting in the way of the music. And that was from CD!

Speakers were the Wilson Audio Specialties MAXX Series 3 (currently under review by Michael Fremer), reinforced below 32Hz with the humongous Wilson Thor subwoofer and driven by the Pathos Adrenaline monoblocks and a prototype tube preamplifier from Pathos, the Synapse. Cables were all Transparent Audio. Such was the musical communication ability of this system that Peter McGrath and I were doing some listening before dinner Friday night, with one recording leading to another, until it was too late to go out to eat!

Other news from SSI was that Audio Plus Services, the North American importer of Focal, YBA, and Cambridge Audio, has taken over US distribution of Pathos, as well as distribution of the revitalized Micromega brand from France.

Comments

Submitted by Shawn on April 7, 2009 - 6:59am.

I thought the sound from this room was pleasant, I wouldn't give it best in show, particularly considering they had one of the better shaped rooms. It was far from the best room in terms of value for the money. I found the sound to be full and having a sense of solid weight to it. This unfortunately also applied to sounds that should be played as thin and tremulous and "whispy". The very top end wasn't as effortless and open in my opinion as I've heard from other speakers (say the piega LTD series).I also thought that the "size" of the instruments and vocals were overly large. I like my singers to sound like their mouth is 3 inches wide not a meter. That's a matter of preference, but I find it's a common problem with the bigger speakers that they can't present the size of instruments and vocalists accurately.I thought the verity strarastro / Nagra room had better sound as well I would take the Vienna Accoustics speakers with it's arc ref gear over these. th

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