ChronosonicXVX

[Charles]

Originally Posted by SuperDave

Hi Charles,
I enjoy reading reading about this new speaker after hearing the WAMM. I may have missed it somewhere but I'm curious why you are settled with Mac? No judgement, I have many and enjoy them but If I hear something I like more, I can be persuaded. I agree with you about speakers but feel amplification and electronics still play a significant role in our sound. To my ears, every amp sounds different so in the end it comes down to our preferences and synergy. I hope the speakers deliver for you!!

Dave

Many reasons but it would take a complete redo of my whole system which I'm not prepared to do. This would be a drop in. I have owned topline Mac forever. Will never change. It's good to be settled in like I am. I believe in sound signatures. I enjoy greatly how folks change out this cord or a new amp or pre but this has never been for me. I am smitten by this speaker but I will have to be confident it will first fit and then sound good in my room. I'm not going to ever upgrade to a new Alexx and think Mac AQ Wilson a super combination as I have proven to my ears.

[SuperD]

Understood. Once you get it right, the smallest change matters. Keep us posted.

Dave

[Joe P]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQ44...ature=youtu.be

[piolaxo]

Originally Posted by Joe P

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQ44...ature=youtu.be

Thanks for the link! Yesterday, I was looking for it in the WA website,
but it wasn't there, maybe it is already there today. I really enjoy the new
products' videos, they do capture their magic and somehow are quite unique
in the industry.

[Charles]

Excellent video. Here's my initial assessment: the XVX will fit and I believe work well in my room. If you swivel the Alexx around and point it straight ahead it is 23" from the side wall. The XVX would be 36" and this would allow 3" below the ceiling. The Alexx is 8.5' apart inside wall to inside wall of speaker and 23" off the Thor. The XVX would be 6.33' apart inside wall of speaker to inside wall and 8" from the Thor. The toe in would be less and I sit 11' from the Alexx. I could move in up to a foot closer with my sofa to the XVX if needed. My room is 15.25' wide and my measurements are based on 180". My ceiling slope is 45 degrees and wall height 5' so if I go out 3' I am at 1.5' up or 78" which is where I get the 3" ceiling clearance, since the spiked height of the XVX would be 75". I hope the rear tweeter is low compared to the XLF. The way I make a purchase like this is that first I have to check and see if the funds are there. They definitely are. Would this change my financial position at all? No. Would it change anything, a meal, vacation, large purchase for home, car purchase, anything. No. Then I buy it in my mind and let it sit for a while to see how it feels.

The really good thing is that all my other equipment is new, recently purchased. They are absolute endpoints for me. As much as I like the Alexx, it does not have the feel (not the sound), to be may last loudspeaker but it could be. The XVX would be. It sounds like a lot of money but it would end my quest for a reference loudspeaker.

Everything will have to be double and triple checked as far as measurements. And I will have to check with Wilson and my dealer in great detail. A purchase like this will take 12-18 months especially since the ship date is the end of October. I suspect a back log of orders.

I have to say there's is nothing that I don't like about the XVX. It's everything I dream about in a speaker. There's nothing I don't like about my Alexx. It really is a great speaker and the first I have heard that I was totally satisfied with sound wise. This is really not about sound for me. It is about owning a true reference. I never thought one could fit in my room.

Last thought: all things are a matter of priorities. If I had hundreds of thousands of dollars invested in amps, preamps, and sources, as some of you do, a purchase like this would be impossible for me. I have always felt that Mac represents the best by far value on the market. I've got 1,500 watts of very clean SS power per channel enough to easily drive an XVX. The D1100 is in my mind the best value in a preamp/DAC on the market and my cables are Wel Signature and power cords Dragons, all solid silver. High end audio is very personal: I have exactly what I want for me source, amp and preamp. I feel that adding an XVX would give me an extremely cost effective, frugal, well thought out reference system. The only change would be that as Mac upgrades their reference D1100 to drop in the new piece at my discretion. That's pocket change but great fun to have the current most up to date Mac digital preamp/DAC.


____________________
Charles Updated System
Most recent update: AQ Diamond USB replaces AQ Coffee
Amps: McIntosh 1.25KW’s (3) set on floor on custom made cultured marble slabs
Preamp and DAC: McIntosh D1100
Sources: McIntosh MCD1100 SACD player, MVP881 BR player, MVP851 DVD player, MR87 tuner, Marantz 510LV Laser Disc player, ASUS laptop USB (JRiver Media Center 23)
Speakers: Wilson Audio Specialties Alexx
Sub-woofer: Wilson Audio Specialties Thor’s Hammer (1) horizontal lie and Wilson Watch Controller (abbr: WC)
Cables main system: Audioquest Wel Signature speaker cables and balanced IC (preamp to amps); Wel Signature AES/EBU balanced digital IC for CD playback; Audioquest Diamond optical (1) for tuner, (1) for BR player, and (1) for LD player for total of (3); Diamond USB cable; McIntosh MCT cable for SACD playback; Dragon power cords (5 HC cords and 3 source cords for total of 8); Thunder HC power cord for tuner; cables for DVD player not listed
Cables subwoofer system: Audioquest Redwood speaker cable (1); Wolf balanced subwoofer IC from WC to amp; Wind balanced IC from preamp to WC; Hurricane HC (2) and Dragon HC (1) power cords
Power conditioners: Audioquest Niagara 7000 (1) and Niagara 5000 (3); (4) dedicated 20-amp lines with no. 10 wire straight out of fuse box
Cabinet: Double Custom Woodwork & Design (CWD) solid walnut cabinet on large casters; holds all sources and preamp; also, Niagara 7000; 11 feet minimum distance from speakers
Acoustic Treatments: Room and Echo Tunes enough to turn the room into a virtual anechoic chamber if desired; however, at present my room is significantly reflective giving me a bright, vibrant, dynamic, highly resolving, smooth sound free of harshness and grain and perfect for my taste; zero slap echo; gorgeous midrange
AC: Dedicated to this room only, an ultra-high efficiency and quiet Trane split system 2.5-ton heat pump with 4 returns; active electrostatic filter and top-grade digital thermostat
Room (mancave): 40’L x 15.5’W A-frame; max ceiling height 8’ min 5’; wall within wall construction built of 2 x 6’s; built over garage with custom hardwood floor with gym seal with over 40 Lowes stiffened wooden I-beams supporting floor; complete isolation from rest of house

[Joe P]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_jslqJ4TkE

[Charles]

Thank you for the excellent video. Very helpful. It looks like the rear tweeter (not shown in video) is high but not at the very top. I would like to see the rear tweeter. Alas, not to be. It would seem that when you are showing a speaker like this, providing a view of all the drivers would be important to potential buyers. I also note that speaker height and price was a consideration with the XVX. The fact that the rear tweeter is totally adjustable is very important to me. It was not with the XLF. All in all Daryl has priced it within reach and the height is acceptable but the rear tweeter is a question. Gorgeous speaker. I'd set the XVX as far apart as possible, then adjust my sofa for optimal sound. I have contacted my dealer. He can get me one and says he is confident he can assemble it and tune it to my ears. So we shall see. Again, thank you for the video and if you have an understanding of the rear tweeter, much appreciated.

[tima]

Wrt location, this is my speculation.



It is the same 1-inch silk dome Convergent Synergy Mk.5 tweeter as the front driver. It is not identical to the one in your Alexx, which I believe is the Mk.3

[Joe P]

Charles, from the XVX Press Release:

"For the first time, the rear-firing tweeter will fea-
ture adjustable 0dB to minus 37dB attenuation to en-
able fine tuning of this element for each installation."

Combined with the other adjustments, I think you and you dealer along with your experience with your Alexxs, should be able to dial in the XVX to your room and listening position.

I'd suggest you get your order in, since I think the first production run will sell quickly.
I'd also suggest you have your dealer get samples of the new WilsonGloss Premium Pearl
colors.

[piolaxo]

I am not normally too kind on white speakers, but the XVX looks so slick in white.
There are other great colors, but the white one caught my attention. Congratulations
in advance, it's going to be a serious upgrade.