Only the fools never change their mind....WP8 !!!

[Jerome W]

Confucius said :

“Only the wisest and stupidest of men never change.” (China's most famous teacher, philosopher, and political theorist, 551-479 BC)

Well, I'm not the wisest and I hope I'm not the stupidest, so I can change my mind !

Yesterday I had a fabulous and I mean fabulous listening of the WP8 speakers at JM's place.
I had listened to them many times but never have been moved like yesterday.
I always considered them to be overpriced, especially here in Europe.
I always considered that they could sound wonderful on some recordings and awful on others.
Maybe that JM finally found the perfect positionning for them but yesterday, I saw the light !
I came to hear the differences between the latest MSB Dac with its power supply and the McIntosh MDA 1000 and I left thinking about the WP8.
Even if I missed sometimes the beauty of the mids on my PMC EB1i, and their sweet treble, it was only a very small advantage for the EB1i.
For example, the voice of Nora Jones in Live in Austin Tx vinyl, is more "hot" and round on my EB1i, it sounded nervertheless extremely good on the WP8, with a higher definition and the impression to be next to her.
The sound of the WP8 was more like a studio recording on this record while the EB1i are able in my place ( but that is with the REF PHONO 2 preamp and JM uses the C1000T phonostage so this could be the reason....) to recreate better the atmosphere and the larger scene of this live concert. But the definition of the voice of Nora with the WP8 was stunning.
On an old recording of Frank Sinatra and Count Basie orchestra sounded a bit harsh at times, especially for the trumpets / saxs but it was highly enjoyable and the diction of Sinatra was perfect. We were transposed in an other time, in an other place and Mr. Sinatra was giving us a private concert. The dynamics were incredible. At a moment, the music slow down and the volume lowers and we had the impression that someone turned down the volume button : damn those speakers have an incredible dynamic ability.
On Hugh Masekela famous "Hope" live recording, I had the feeling of a tiny more aggressive sound than the EB1i but I may have been blurred by the fact that we listened at really indecent level.
On Patricia Barber's Cafe Blue vinyl, I heard a double bass like never before with a striking realism. Honestly, the instrument was in the room playing for us. And its size was realist, much taller than the moderate height of the WP8. Her voice could not have been more warm and natural. As was her voice on the Night Club CD.
The most impressive listening was a live tune from Stevie Ray Vaughan : Tin Pan Alley.
My jaw hit the floored then. I never heard an electric guitar, along with the bass guitar behind it, sounding so real. At a time, I was an addict of live Blues concert in Paris ( I'm still actually, but I miss time ). Let me tell you one thing : this is the VERY FIRST TIME in HiFi for me, when I can say that I had not the "feeling" to be at the live concert in front of Stevie, I WAS THERE !!!

Overall, all the various recordings JM and myself picked, were sounding stunning, wonderful, amazing and gave me the will to listen and listen and listen again. On all of them, the bass performance was incredible not only compared to the size of the speakers, but also in absolute terms. The bass performance of these speakers is out of this world. Honestly, I can't see why someone would add a sub with those. Maybe that cut at 30 Hz, a sub would have given a better live ambiance on the Nora Jones Live concert
The Wilson WP8 are not only very musical. They give a sense of the live recording like no other speaker I heard before, except for the Alexandria. And they keep you involved in the music and waiting for each note after note after note. It is an unforgettable experience. These are speakers for true music lovers. Not HiFi lovers.

Conclusion : I'm sold to Wilson now. I still love my EB1i a lot. They are clearly more forgiving than the WP8 to my ears, and their medium may seem more magical, but they cannot reach this degree of realism and neutrality (in the good sense : purity and not "boring" neutrality ) on most recordings and I want a pair of WP8 too now ! I'm not sure if I have to thank you for that JM !
The WP8 may be the worst and most difficult speakers to set up in the world ( The demo I had of the Sasha in a Paris store was far from being good) but once they are set up properly, their sound is unique.
Do not judge the Sasha or the WP8 too fast and badly if you ever get a demo of them. If they don't sound good to you, chances are very high that they were not set up correctly. I am very very difficult when it comes to speakers. You can trust me on that.

[Jerome W]

From the Stereophile review :

"When speakers capture as much of that right here right now excitement as the Wilsons did, it's hard to resist"

"Give David Wilson his props: He may have meant to build a monitor loudspeaker only for his own use. Instead, he built a benchmark"

I could not say it better.

Something I found interesting is that the reviewer never felt in love with them, like me. And this time, the speaker set up and positionning was made by Peter McGrath himself. And..... Wes Phillips finally falls in love with them, attributing this to the newer design of the WP8 over the past models.
Well, I believe that the dominant factor was the set up by the best possible person apart from David Wilson himself.
If I buy a pair of those, it will be second hand and I'm not sure if I will have the patience to set them up like Jean Marc.
For years, they did not sound as good as they do now in Jean Marc's room and they were very far from satisfying me and giving me the will to buy them. You have been extremely good JM and I 'm not sure if Peter McGrath himself could have achieved a better sound in your room buddy !

[JemHadar]

THX for sharing Jérôme...these moments of wonder should be cherished

[Jean-Marc jmajma]

Wooww...Jérôme, I noticed you loved the listening session and that you were impressed, but not at this point.

Thank you very much...you know you can count on me if you need help to set up your future WP8, hoping you'll be able to buy the wonderful ones (color...) we saw . I can help you too if you need arms!

Anyway, thank you for this excellent reporting.

[Jerome W]

Originally Posted by Jean-Marc jmajma

Wooww...Jérôme, I noticed you loved the listening session and that you were impressed, but not at this point.

Thank you very much...you know you can count on me if you need help to set up your future WP8, hoping you'll be able to buy the wonderful ones (color...) we saw . I can help you too if you need arms!

Anyway, thank you for this excellent reporting.

Thank you JM !

Sent from my iPhone using A.Aficionado

[Rafale]

wow Jérome, seen your enthusiasm it has to be something really special

[alexandre10]

a small gift Jérôme to give you even more.

http://www.wilsonaudio.com/pdf/manual_wp8.pdf

[bart]

Jérôme, which color will you choose?

[PHC1]

Sasha...... Transparent cabling....

[jpspock]

Hi Jérome,

thx for this great return. Now you ha ve to listen a Sasha in good condition. Try to meet Laurent. The best reason is that the treble/medium is far better than the WP8 and bass is better controlled. WP8 is a very very great loudspeaker, but Sasha is something Exceptionnal, really. I had the chance to compare both, in the best condition.

Now, I am sure, you will come to the Wilson's owner club. Cheers..

Jean-Paul