There was also now clearly more detail in the bass than before. Jerry Goldsmith's score for Congo (Epic EK 67266)—by far the best feature of a so-bad-it's-almost-good film—is loaded with fast, explosive percussion. Without the proper sense of weight…
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It didn't. With the Levinson No.332 amplifier and the XLO cables, the sound, special enough before, was now even better. There was a little less midrange immediacy than before, but it was hardly missed. The mid- and upper bass were now well-balanced—more full-bodied, certainly, than with most other audiophile loudspeakers, but somehow right.
Sidebar 1: Martin Colloms on the Sound
I enjoyed my test period with the WITTs. My pair were delivered with only a few hours on the clock, and I was intrigued to hear significant improvements in clarity, dynamics, and bass articulation with more extended use. Even after six weeks, they continued to sound more gracious, exhibiting a fluid ease which hadn't been so evident on first installation.
I liked the WITT. My first impressions that it sounded a touch distant were soon dispelled as it ran in, leading to my final opinion that it is outstandingly communicative, and in a…
Sidebar 2: Martin Colloms's System
Analog: Linn LP12/Lingo/Naim ARO/Koetsu Rosewood II or van den Hul Grasshopper IV GLA.
CD playback: Krell KPS20i/l, Wadia 16, Mark Levinson No.30.5.
Preamplification: Audio Research LS7 and LS22, Conrad-Johson PV10AL and PV12.
Power amplification: Krell KAS-2, Audio Research VT150SE & VTM120, Krell KSA-200S, Conrad-Johnson MV55, Meridian 605, Naim NAP250.
Integrated amplification: Musical Fidelity A1000, Exposure 20.
Cables: Transparent Reference, Kimber Black Pearl & KCAG balanced and unbalanced, Siltech 4x180 & FTM4, van den…
Sidebar 3: Specifications
Description: Three-way, reflex-loaded loudspeaker system. Drive-units: 12" treated paper-cone woofer, 7" treated paper-cone midrange, 1" inverted titanium-dome tweeter. Frequency response: 28Hz–22kHz, ±1.5dB. Nominal impedance: 8 ohms. Sensitivity: 90dB/W/m.
Dimensions: 16" W by 17" D by 43" H. Weight: 200 lbs each.
Serial numbers of units reviewed: 0209/0210.
Price: $8888/pair (Series I, 1996); $11,890/pair (Series II, 1998); both no longer available (2008). Approximate number of dealers: 44.
Manufacturer: Wilson Audio Specialties, Inc., 2233…
Sidebar 4: Measurements
Wilson Audio Specialties optimistically rates the WITT's sensitivity at a fairly high 90dB/W/m. In practice, I measured 87.5dB, which is about the industry average. I was able to A/B a Wilson WATT/Puppy 5 with a WITT in mono: I verified both the higher 91dB specification for the '5 and the easily-calibrated 4dB or so drop to the WITT. Both are sufficiently neutral transducers to allow this calibration to be made on music program as well.
You might logically expect, therefore, a given amplifier to play louder through the System 5 than through the WITT. That…
John Atkinson wrote about the WITT in July 1996 (Vol.19 No.7):
Every time we assemble "Recommended Components," there are loose ends that bother us, bother the readers more, and bother the manufacturers most of all. Where to put the $8888/pair Wilson WITT speakers in the April listing was a case in point. Tom Norton's January review (Vol.19 No.1, p.177) was almost uniformly positive, but when I asked him if the speaker should go into Class A, along with the similarly priced B&W Silver Signature and Thiel CS7, he shook his head. "It doesn't do quite enough for me," he explained.…
Martin Colloms wrote about the WITT Series II in January 1998 (Vol.21 No.1):
Just two years after being reviewed by Thomas J. Norton and me in the January 1996 Stereophile (Vol.19 No.1), Wilson's WITT loudspeaker has been improved to Series II status. Though often in such cases the changes are minor, occasionally more radical revision are needed. In the case of the WITT, unforeseen problems in the paint finish when exposed to high humidity and large swings in temperature forced designer David Wilson to undertake a costly rethinking of how the speaker should be built and finished.
…
Sidebar 5: Series II Measurements
I found the WITT's sensitivity unchanged at 88dB/W/m (an average reading), aided by the good impedance characteristic defining it as an undemanding amplifier load. For example, the Cary CAD-805C single-ended triode amplifier partnered the Series IIs surprisingly well. As with the Series I, using the larger PAW feet gave a cleaner, faster bass, and improved the speaker's appearance.
Over the past two years I have found both the WATT 5/Puppy and the WITT to be comfortable in the company of stereo systems [front-ends?] priced up to $50,000, and have…
In the waning days of 2007, I delivered some small audio doohickey to John Atkinson one weekend afternoon. "Come down to the listening room," he said. "I want you to hear something."
I forget now what he played me—a hi-rez recording of Cantus or Attention Screen, I'm fairly certain—but I remember what he played it through: the KEF Reference 207/2 loudspeakers he was reviewing for the February 2008 Stereophile. "Holy cow!" I said. "I've always admired KEF speakers, but this is a speaker I could actually be passionate about."
"Yes," agreed JA. "They are rather well sorted…
Waiting for the spark from heaven to fall
Robert Spano's new recording of Brahms's Ein deutsches Requiem with the Atlanta Symphony and Chorus (CD, Telarc CD-80701) would be a daunting challenge for almost any stand-mounted loudspeaker, but, goosed by the Nu-Vista, the KEF Reference 201/2s simply nailed it. The huge chorus, the tonal colors of the orchestra, the sheer scale of the work—I've heard "reference" floorstanders that didn't deliver as much of the sound as the KEFs did.
Robert Spano's new recording of Brahms's Ein deutsches Requiem with the Atlanta Symphony and Chorus (CD, Telarc CD-80701) would be a daunting challenge for almost any stand-mounted loudspeaker, but, goosed by the Nu-Vista, the KEF Reference 201/2s simply nailed it. The huge chorus, the tonal colors of the orchestra, the sheer scale of the work—I've heard "reference" floorstanders that didn't deliver as much of the sound as the KEFs did.
The KEF was ready to deliver a lot more sound than my 9' by 15' by 7.5' listening room could handle—room…