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Old 07-22-2018, 11:24 PM
IM3CPO IM3CPO is offline
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Default Ordered new Alexia 2's

I had Alexia's for the last three years and recently heard the new V2's in person. I decided to make the upgrade, so crated up the V1's and having them picked up on Tuesday. The wait for the new V2's is going to be a while as I am moving to a different state and will get them delivered down there, but looking forward to the new sound of the V2's!
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Old 07-22-2018, 11:39 PM
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New house, new speakers...exciting times Congratulations.
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Old 07-22-2018, 11:56 PM
2fastdriving 2fastdriving is offline
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Wow! Congrats! What are you running them with? What did you find better about them? I've heard the v2's and of course they are great, but I have never really compared them rather directly to the v1's (which I have).
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Old 07-23-2018, 01:11 AM
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For The Love of Music For The Love of Music is offline
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Good for you, along with Marc’s questions what color did you decide?
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Old 07-23-2018, 02:09 AM
IM3CPO IM3CPO is offline
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Thanks for the congrats guys!

I have Mcintosh 1.2KW's for amps and Mcintosh MX-150 for pre-amp (eventhough its only a 2 channel setup; I wanted the room correction and digital inputs). I have stillpoints on all my sources and use a PurePower 2000 for powering regeration along with upgraded power cords (shunyata and PS Audio). I also had stillpoints on my V1's which I will swap over to the V2's. For color, I went with "Azzuro California" (which is apparently a 2010 Ferrari California color; its a light blue that looks really cool!) with black grills and black hardware.

As for differences between the V1's and V2's, I may not be a good source for this info quite yet. Let me explain why.... I have always preferred silk dome tweeters as the alternatives always seemed harsh to me, but using stillpoints on the speakers, and source components along with upgraded power cords, took a lot of the "edge" off my V1's. I demo'd the V2's in store but to be completely honest, my overall components and setup at home was superior to the listening environment at the dealer. Having said this, I was able to compare the V2's to Alexx and I liked the V2's better, so thats saying a lot!
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Old 07-23-2018, 02:36 AM
ervstt ervstt is offline
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There's a new review of the Alexia 2's in The Audio Beat by Marc Michelson. I believe that he has reviewed most Wilson speakers, past and present, for Soundstage and The Audio Beat. The Alexia 2 followed the Wilson Audio Alexx in his listening room and the comparison is very interesting...

http://www.theaudiobeat.com/equipmen...o_alexia_2.htm

He writes for example that:

"However, from the very beginning of my listening, I was stunned by the Alexia 2, so much so, in fact, that I wrote confidently in my listening notes "the best-sounding Wilson speaker I've heard in my room." And this boiled down to coherence, the sense that what I was hearing wasn't the product of a multitude of cabinet materials, drivers, passive parts and metal pieces, but rather that of a single, unified entity. Yes, the music seemed "of a piece" and "to emanate from a single full-range driver," to quote a few audio bromides, but it was also something beyond, something greater. The Alexia 2 was, again from my listening notes, "a breakthrough, a new door of perception."

As mentioned earlier, the Alexia 2 immediately followed the Alexx ($109,500 per pair) in my system, making head-to-head comparison easy and essential. The Alexx was our Product of the Year for 2017, and in my review I questioned how it would compare to the speaker directly above it in the Wilson product line, the Alexandria XLF ($210,000 per pair). I wasn't able to answer that question with any certainty, because I hadn't heard the XLFs in such a long time. But since my review of the Alexx, I've gotten some convincing anecdotal evidence in support of the less expensive speaker.

Well, I have to complicate matters and say that the Alexia 2 also needs to be included in this conversation. Putting aside that all three speakers display the triumvirate of Wilson Audio strengths -- coherence, dynamics and bass power -- very well, the Alexia 2 simply sounded more coherent with the wide array of music I played. And while it couldn't compete with the bigger speakers, and their bigger woofers, in terms of bass power, that coherence, extreme as it was, was simply too engrossing to consider the bass the arbiter of overall quality. There was also the Alexia 2's sense of inherent poise, its high resolution and relaxed way presenting detail, that gave it a musical advantage. The bigger speakers, with their higher sensitivities, were more overtly dynamic, showy even, but the Alexia 2 was never dynamically reticent."

He concludes the review by:

" If you end up with the Alexia 2, you'll own one of the very best speakers from one of high-end audio's most acclaimed companies; and if you think it's the finest Wilson speaker not named WAMM Master Chronosonic, you'll get no argument from me."

I have now had the Alexia S2's (replaced the Alexia S1's) since September last year and I fully agree with what Marc writes in his excellent review.

Stefan
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Old 07-23-2018, 08:46 AM
Charles Charles is online now
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ervstt View Post
There's a new review of the Alexia 2's in The Audio Beat by Marc Michelson. I believe that he has reviewed most Wilson speakers, past and present, for Soundstage and The Audio Beat. The Alexia 2 followed the Wilson Audio Alexx in his listening room and the comparison is very interesting...

http://www.theaudiobeat.com/equipmen...o_alexia_2.htm

He writes for example that:

"However, from the very beginning of my listening, I was stunned by the Alexia 2, so much so, in fact, that I wrote confidently in my listening notes "the best-sounding Wilson speaker I've heard in my room." And this boiled down to coherence, the sense that what I was hearing wasn't the product of a multitude of cabinet materials, drivers, passive parts and metal pieces, but rather that of a single, unified entity. Yes, the music seemed "of a piece" and "to emanate from a single full-range driver," to quote a few audio bromides, but it was also something beyond, something greater. The Alexia 2 was, again from my listening notes, "a breakthrough, a new door of perception."

As mentioned earlier, the Alexia 2 immediately followed the Alexx ($109,500 per pair) in my system, making head-to-head comparison easy and essential. The Alexx was our Product of the Year for 2017, and in my review I questioned how it would compare to the speaker directly above it in the Wilson product line, the Alexandria XLF ($210,000 per pair). I wasn't able to answer that question with any certainty, because I hadn't heard the XLFs in such a long time. But since my review of the Alexx, I've gotten some convincing anecdotal evidence in support of the less expensive speaker.

Well, I have to complicate matters and say that the Alexia 2 also needs to be included in this conversation. Putting aside that all three speakers display the triumvirate of Wilson Audio strengths -- coherence, dynamics and bass power -- very well, the Alexia 2 simply sounded more coherent with the wide array of music I played. And while it couldn't compete with the bigger speakers, and their bigger woofers, in terms of bass power, that coherence, extreme as it was, was simply too engrossing to consider the bass the arbiter of overall quality. There was also the Alexia 2's sense of inherent poise, its high resolution and relaxed way presenting detail, that gave it a musical advantage. The bigger speakers, with their higher sensitivities, were more overtly dynamic, showy even, but the Alexia 2 was never dynamically reticent."

He concludes the review by:

" If you end up with the Alexia 2, you'll own one of the very best speakers from one of high-end audio's most acclaimed companies; and if you think it's the finest Wilson speaker not named WAMM Master Chronosonic, you'll get no argument from me."

I have now had the Alexia S2's (replaced the Alexia S1's) since September last year and I fully agree with what Marc writes in his excellent review.

Stefan
The Alexia 2 also gets superb reviews from John Atkinson and Jason Victor Serinus in the July and August issues of Stereophile. I you want more bass you could certainly add a subwoofer. Congratulations and wise choice of speakers!

Last edited by Charles; 07-23-2018 at 08:49 AM.
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Old 07-23-2018, 09:01 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Charles View Post
The Alexia 2 also gets superb reviews from John Atkinson and Jason Victor Serinus in the July and August issues of Stereophile. I you want more bass you could certainly add a subwoofer. Congratulations and wise choice of speakers!

Or you still buy the Alexx.


Must be quite something with your sub added!
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Old 07-23-2018, 09:33 AM
ervstt ervstt is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Charles View Post
The Alexia 2 also gets superb reviews from John Atkinson and Jason Victor Serinus in the July and August issues of Stereophile. I you want more bass you could certainly add a subwoofer. Congratulations and wise choice of speakers!
The choice of speakers, Alexia 2 or Alexx (with or without a sub), depends also to a large degree on the size of the listening room. For me the Alexia's were a perfect choice. I might try adding a subwoofer later on, but right now I'm very pleased with the sound that I get.
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Old 07-23-2018, 09:47 AM
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For The Love of Music For The Love of Music is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by IM3CPO View Post
Thanks for the congrats guys!

I have Mcintosh 1.2KW's for amps and Mcintosh MX-150 for pre-amp (eventhough its only a 2 channel setup; I wanted the room correction and digital inputs). I have stillpoints on all my sources and use a PurePower 2000 for powering regeration along with upgraded power cords (shunyata and PS Audio). I also had stillpoints on my V1's which I will swap over to the V2's. For color, I went with "Azzuro California" (which is apparently a 2010 Ferrari California color; its a light blue that looks really cool!) with black grills and black hardware.

As for differences between the V1's and V2's, I may not be a good source for this info quite yet. Let me explain why.... I have always preferred silk dome tweeters as the alternatives always seemed harsh to me, but using stillpoints on the speakers, and source components along with upgraded power cords, took a lot of the "edge" off my V1's. I demo'd the V2's in store but to be completely honest, my overall components and setup at home was superior to the listening environment at the dealer. Having said this, I was able to compare the V2's to Alexx and I liked the V2's better, so thats saying a lot!


Sounds like your happy, and a good color choice.

Mechanically isolating gear and playing with cables creates amazing results. On isolating the speakers, did you listen to them set up following their instruction with spikes?


Send photos, enjoy!
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