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  #71  
Old 07-01-2015, 10:21 AM
Charles Charles is online now
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Jacques, I'm very glad the Hammer's have worked for you. The Hammer has very little downside other than its size. It will really produce subsonics and at the same time it is an amazingly good "woofer". It was designed to work with an XLF so it has to be very efficient and quick. When I was seriously looking into an XLF I kept asking myself the question: In my room what more would I be getting? I don't think my bass would be substantially better so the main difference would be in the mids and highs. I have heard the Alexias and while I was mightily impressed I did not leave wishing I owned them for their mids and highs as opposed to my MAXX's. I would imagine the XLF to be similar to the Alexia in my room which is smallish. In a larger room of course there would be no contest. So again, congrats. You have a lovely system.
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  #72  
Old 07-05-2015, 10:26 AM
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JCR JCR is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Charles View Post
... The Hammer has very little downside other than its size.
I agree with you Charles, except, perhaps, of their weight as well ! I need to go to the gym whenever I want to move them even by inches - lol
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  #73  
Old 07-25-2015, 07:23 PM
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The Thor just keep getting better and better with burn in. Never add so much texture overall in my system! Simply amazing....
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  #74  
Old 05-16-2019, 06:01 PM
Gsheley Gsheley is offline
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Jacques,
It is great to see you are still using the Thor’s Hammer. Can you give an update on your impressions of it now that you have owned it for some time?

I also see you are using a Nagra amp while you were using the MC2kw previously. Can you help with insights on this change?

I am looking at Thor’s for my system and out will be very appreciated.
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  #75  
Old 05-17-2019, 03:02 PM
Charles Charles is online now
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Originally Posted by Gsheley View Post
Jacques,
It is great to see you are still using the Thor’s Hammer. Can you give an update on your impressions of it now that you have owned it for some time?

I also see you are using a Nagra amp while you were using the MC2kw previously. Can you help with insights on this change?

I am looking at Thor’s for my system and out will be very appreciated.
I'm obviously not Jacques but I have owned one Hammer for a long time. There are some things I don't understand about Wilson subwoofers.

1) Why does Wilson strongly recommend using the Hammer as an adjunct, i.e. no HP? I can tell you that in my system I use no HP and it sounds much much better but I don't understand why. I tried it both ways fully expecting that the HP crossover would be preferable. Absolutely not. Wilson is correct.

2) I tremendously like using my Hammer in a horizontal lie situated right between my Alexx and in the same plane as the Alexx woofers. I simply could not have better bass. I'm not sure why having the Hammers out of plane way behind the Alexx works very well. I want all my woofers to work together and in the same plane. But it obviously works well.

Although the Hammer is quite efficient you need a lot of power, at least the equivalent of a 1.25KW per Hammer with dedicated lines. A significant amount of the time its hard to tell if the sub amp is on. I run the Hammer summed mono LP 30 Hz 18 db roll off, no HP. This gives me a very smooth bass to well below 20 Hz by test CD. One of the things I like the best is the increased sensitivity to very soft bass notes. I notice zero slowness with my Hammer. On movies it can literally bring down the room so you must be careful. A second Hammer only provides 3db more. I simply don't have room even if I wanted one, which I don't. In addition I found the cabling very critical to the performance of the Hammer. I use very high quality AQ pc's, IC, and speaker cable along with a dedicated Niagara 5000 and dedicated 20 amp line straight out of the fuse box. Recently I replaced my AQ Coffee USB with a Diamond. The difference in the bass to my overall system was significant. Every change in cabling I have made to my system has caused a significant improvement/change in my bass. I was totally surprised at the difference in speed/articulation/sensitivity of my Hammer when I changed out my copper Kimber Kable to much more expensive AQ. Also, a Mac 601 is not nearly sufficient to power a Hammer. You need a massive amp to get the best out of a Hammer.

Lastly, I think you are making the right decision about going with Hammers as opposed to Subsonics.

____________________
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

Last edited by Charles; 05-18-2019 at 03:33 AM.
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  #76  
Old 05-17-2019, 04:37 PM
Gsheley Gsheley is offline
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Hi Charles
Thank you for the detailed reply. I am looking for any and all input at this point and really appreciate your insights.
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  #77  
Old 05-19-2019, 08:23 PM
Charles Charles is online now
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Default Pictures of Hammer

Pictures: There is a special dealer supplied rubber mat that the Hammer sets on protecting both the Hammer and my hardwood floor. The sub is literally glued to the floor and the result is a much better IMO bass than could ever be achieved from an upright/vertical mount.When I owned Genesis II's I learned first hand how large subs could move over time. Although I understand that proper mounting prevents that, nevertheless, there will still be some movement compared to a horizontal mount, IMO. Also, the sound stage is unaffected, meaning that the bass is totally unified. The Alexx like all big Wilsons has an elevated soundstage and the bass is elevated right along with the midrange and treble. I am used to an elevated soundstage. The voice on the Alexx is slightly above the middle of the TV, between the middle and top of the TV. I like this a lot. You can see the AQ Redwood speaker cable and the Wolfe sub woofer IC cable in these pics. These are gorgeous cables. Also the Hurricane HC pc going into the middle 1.25KW. I went all out on the Alexx: Solid silver WEL's and Dragons. It was amazing how much improvement in overall sound the cabling made. I might add that I took AQ's recommendation for my cabling. These are the cables and pc's AQ recommended, period.

I have just posted some new pics of my room (man cave) and system in the Member System Forum Section.
Attached Images
File Type: jpg 20190517_144116.jpg (89.6 KB, 124 views)
File Type: jpg 20190517_144305.jpg (94.8 KB, 119 views)
File Type: jpg 20190517_144908.jpg (83.6 KB, 121 views)

Last edited by Charles; 05-19-2019 at 09:41 PM.
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  #78  
Old 05-27-2019, 04:06 PM
Tullman Tullman is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Charles View Post
Pictures: There is a special dealer supplied rubber mat that the Hammer sets on protecting both the Hammer and my hardwood floor. The sub is literally glued to the floor and the result is a much better IMO bass than could ever be achieved from an upright/vertical mount.When I owned Genesis II's I learned first hand how large subs could move over time. Although I understand that proper mounting prevents that, nevertheless, there will still be some movement compared to a horizontal mount, IMO. Also, the sound stage is unaffected, meaning that the bass is totally unified. The Alexx like all big Wilsons has an elevated soundstage and the bass is elevated right along with the midrange and treble. I am used to an elevated soundstage. The voice on the Alexx is slightly above the middle of the TV, between the middle and top of the TV. I like this a lot. You can see the AQ Redwood speaker cable and the Wolfe sub woofer IC cable in these pics. These are gorgeous cables. Also the Hurricane HC pc going into the middle 1.25KW. I went all out on the Alexx: Solid silver WEL's and Dragons. It was amazing how much improvement in overall sound the cabling made. I might add that I took AQ's recommendation for my cabling. These are the cables and pc's AQ recommended, period.

I have just posted some new pics of my room (man cave) and system in the Member System Forum Section.
Your system is impressive!
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  #79  
Old 05-27-2019, 08:15 PM
Charles Charles is online now
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Originally Posted by Tullman View Post
Your system is impressive!
Thank you much. Comment much appreciated.
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