Back in early spring, I stupidly sprained my ankle while running (footnote 1). At 2am. The injury kept me off my feet for a few weeks, and I found myself spending time reading and actually participating in a hi-fi forum, an activity I generally try to avoid. One thread that caught my attention was on the Stereophile forum, and the subject under discussion was the Furutech DeMag device. In brief, Stephen Mejias…
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And every time, this thought hit me: It wasn't a record she was handling. It was a fragile soul inside a glass bottle.—From South of the Border, West of the Sun, by Haruki Murakami
Willie Nelson: American Classic
Blue Note 5099926719726 (CD). 2009. Tommy LiPuma, prod.; Al Schmitt, Steve Genewick, engs. AAD? TT: 45:33
Performance ****½
Sonics ****
Blue Note 5099926719726 (CD). 2009. Tommy LiPuma, prod.; Al Schmitt, Steve Genewick, engs. AAD? TT: 45:33
Performance ****½
Sonics ****
In 1978, in partnership with Booker T. Jones, Willie Nelson decided to throw the music business and the listening public a curveball with Stardust. Stepping out of the "outlaw" country persona that had revolutionized and saved country music—which, by the early 1970s, had become formulaic and isolated from the changes sweeping American society since the late '60s—Nelson became a hip cabaret singer. The set was…
Though taller, narrower, deeper, more gracefully sculpted, and even more mantis-like than the MAXX Series 2 that I reviewed in the August 2005 Stereophile, at first glance the Wilson Audio Specialties MAXX Series 3 seems little more than a minor reworking of its predecessor with a major increase in price: from $44,900 to $68,000 per pair. But first looks can be deceiving. Take a closer, longer gaze—or, better yet, spend some time listening (especially if you've spent time with the MAXX 2)—and you'll quickly realize that while the familiar Wilson design concepts remain in play, the MAXX 3 is…
While the MAXX 3's cabinet resembles the 2's, closer inspection reveals it to be completely new and far more refined-looking, particularly when viewed from the side. But if you didn't like the MAXX 2's looks, or speakers finished in automotive paints, you probably won't like the looks of the taller, even more imposing MAXX 3.
Four years with MAXX 2
I owned a pair of MAXX 2s for more than four years and thoroughly enjoyed every listening minute, while never deluding myself that it was the perfect loudspeaker. There's no such thing. Had I had such delusions, my reviewing of other…
One of the MAXX 2's great strengths was its ability to produce clean, tight, nearly flat bass performance down to 20Hz in my room. However, even discounting room-boundary effects, which slightly boosted the region around 100Hz, the lower-midbass was a bit too punchy, giving it more of a "hi-fi" than a natural feel. No speaker manufacturer has ever lost money giving customers too much bass, so long as it's cleanly presented; and everyone, including me, always loved the MAXX 2's entire bottom-end presentation in my room.
But the MAXX 3's bottom octaves, while not as pronounced above the…
Wilson Audio has made heroic improvements to the motor and structure that drive the Focal-made tweeter, but it's still not going to be everyone's favorite (though anyone over 50 who claims to hear ultrasonic resonances is blowing smoke). Wouldn't it be nice to hear what Wilson could do with Focal's beryllium model, the resonant frequency of which is way beyond the audioband?
That said, the improvements made to the tweeter and its integration with the outputs of the MAXX 3's other drive-units are significant: reductions of edge and grain commensurate with the speaker's overall greater…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Three-way, floorstanding loudspeaker. Drive-units: 1" inverted titanium-dome tweeter, two 7" cellulose-fiber/paper-cone midrange units, 11" carbon-fiber/paper-cone woofer, 13" carbon-fiber/paper-cone woofer. Crossover frequencies: not disclosed. Frequency response: 19.5Hz–22.5kHz, ±3dB (average in-room response). Sensitivity: 90dB/2.83V/m. Impedance: 4 ohms nominal, 3 ohms minimum. Minimum amplifier power: 15Wpc.
Dimensions: 67.2" (1722mm) H by 16" (410mm) W by 24" (616mm) D. Weight: 425 lbs (193kg).
Finishes: Multiple automotive paint…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog Sources: Continuum Audio Labs Caliburn, Cobra, Castellon turntable, tonearm, stand; Graham Engineering Phantom II tonearm; Lyra Titan i, Miyajima Shilabe, Shun Mook Signature, Shelter 7000 cartridges.
Digital Sources: dCS Scarlatti, Playback Designs MPS-5 Reference SACD/CD players; BPT-modified Alesis Masterlink hard-disk recorder; Sooloos music server.
Preamplification: Manley Steelhead, Ypsilon VPS 100 phono preamplifiers; darTZeel NHB-18NS, Musical Fidelity Primo preamplifiers.
Power Amplifier: Musical Fidelity Titan, Musical Fidelity kW…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
As with the MAXX Series 2, the MAXX 3's bulk made transporting one of them to my place for measurement impractical. I therefore measured the MAXX 3 in Michael Fremer's driveway, where I could get the speaker well away from boundaries other than the ground. I did three complete sets of acoustic measurements: at my usual distance of 50" on an axis corresponding to the line of sight from Michael's ears to the speaker, with the upper-frequency array as set up in his listening room; on the same axis at 100", close to the distance from his ears to the speaker in his…
It seems as if I came of audiophile age in the George Kaye era. The first truly high-end system I ever heard contained a pair of Julius Futterman OTL monoblocks that Kaye had "finished" after Futterman's death in 1979 (footnote 1). In the mid-1980s, I owned both an New York Audio Labs (NYAL) Superit phono section and a Moscode 300 amplifier—two lovely examples of high-value high-end. Both components were far from perfect, but they were fun—and, unlike most of the other components that were then highly regarded by magazines and listeners, I could afford them.
To Kaye—and his…