Hi folks, my S5's clicked over the 100hr mark today, so I thought i'd re-post this email I sent to one of my audiophile buddies stateside marking the milestone...
"Hi mate,
As promised I am getting back to you to share my thoughts on my system. My S5's now have around 100hrs on them & are starting to open up nicely. Last night I ended up crashing with my system left on, so by the morning it was well and truly warmed up! I have been listening to cd's all day today, and switched the Vitus over to Class A mode to do some semi-critical listening. I quite enjoy world and meditation cd's, and was listening to a Tibetan meditation cd which featured chanting and percussion instruments such as Tibetan singing bowls, the ragdung, cymbals, gongs & the Tibetan thighbone. What I love about these speakers is how engaging and musical they sound in synergy with the rest of my gear. Even the Taoc racks contribute a bit of body and touch of warmth.
The S5's are chameleons in the way they present music, or a better way of describing them is great "all rounders". First thing this morning I listened to Pink Floyd - Pulse. The S5's don't hold back and give you concert level energy when the music calls for it, whilst their fast transients, rich textures and speed provide plenty of detail and information and an emotional connection to the music. Delicate bells ring with an echo which floats in space, cymbals and brushes on a snare drum have bloom and fast shimmering decays. Listening to Nora Jones on the S5's is a delight as the S5's warmth, body, speed & solid low and mid-bass foundations give a warm, intimate sound to her voice and give brass realistic color and body, with airy, fast top end. Of course, some credit needs to go to the Vitus SIA-025 running in Class A & terrific Jorma Prime cables. Even small details like my Oyaide R1 twin outlet matter imho.
Coming back to the Tibetan meditation cd I listened to, that showed me the other side of the S5's; their delicacy, body and speed. Tibetan singing bowls and flutes truly sound transcendental and the S5's almost disappear. Not bad for speakers with 100hrs sitting flat on pieces of carpet not even on their factory feet!
When discussing the S5's however, it's impossible not to mention the Q3's. In response to a letter, Jeff Fritz had this to say about the the two speakers -
"As for sound quality, the Q3 is going to be the more transparent, more neutral loudspeaker, with greater resolving capability from the lowest bass to the highest treble. There are several reasons for this superiority: the Q-series products have less-resonant cabinets, Magico’s Nano-Tec drivers for the woofers and mids, and more advanced beryllium tweeters. The sound of the Q3, which I had in my room, is outstanding in every regard, but there is one reason a listener might choose the S5: voicing in the bass. The S5 is richer and more fulsome in the lows and some might prefer that type of sound."
Picking up on one point Jeff raised, the best way imho to reduce cabinet resonance and substantially improve the sound of the S5's is by replacing the factory feet with Stillpoints Ultra 5's and Ultra bases which add height adjustment and further improve the Ultra 5's performance. That removes one advantage the Q3's have over the S5's, bringing the S5's closer to the Q3's. I think Jeff didn't give the S5's midrange/mid bass coupler enough credit. It is basically the same Nano-Tec midrange as the Q3's with dual-neodymium underhung motor system and titanium voice coil, only tuned for the S5's greater power handling. As for the tweeter, it uses the same Berylium diaphragm and surround as the Q series, Magico design (which is again tuned for the S5's), though assembled off-site by one Magico's partners.
Once my S5's reach 500hrs and we've installed the Stillpoints Ultra 5's and Ultra bases, I expect the speakers to sound overall more transparent, attacks and decays to further improve, the bass to open up more & highs should lose any residual edge from new. I already sense at 100hrs the speakers are starting to disappear a bit more, and there should be a dramatic improvement once the above milestone is reached.
As for the Wilson Alexias, I would definitely recommend listening to them with different amps in a treated listening room, and if possible in different setups to see if you like them. But you already know my view about those speakers
Anyway, hope that provides some insight!
Regards,
David."