Wilson Audio at the Ferrari Challenge

Tags: Events Stories
For those of you that were not able to attend Wilson Audio's event at the Ferrari Challenge at Miller Motorsports Park in Tooele Ut, here is a video to show you the highlights that you missed.
 

WAMM Master Chronosonic—Magnum Opus

In this video, Dave Wilson speaks about his early research on the time domain, and how this poorly understood phenomenon affects the way we hear music. Dave also reveals his inspiration for designing loudspeakers—the passion that has been central to his designs during a career spanning more than thirty-five years. Please celebrate with us this small homage of Dave’s remarkable life work, which, as it relates to loudspeakers, now culminates in his Magnum Opus, the WAMM Master Chronosonic.

Alexia Series 2—A Classic Reborn

How do you update a classic? By almost any measure, the Alexia has been one of Wilson’s most successful products. The physicians’ maxim of Primum non nocere (first do no harm) certainly applies here. On the other hand, Wilson’s technology has continued to evolve and advance in the areas of drivers, crossover analysis and design, time-alignment accuracy, and composite materials research. Research and development for the WAMM Master Chronosonic was particularly fruitful. Daryl Wilson was determined to incorporate some of these new technologies and strategies into the Alexia platform to further advance its remarkable musicality and resolution. But, at the same time, he was determined to preserve Alexia’s salient appeal. In Wilson’s latest video, we provide you the first glimpse into the Alexia Series 2.

WAMM—It's About Time

This video previews the long awaited WAMM, Master Chronosonic™, Dave Wilson's Magnum Opus. Nearly five years of research, development, and thought have gone into the new WAMM. Now, as a preface to its launch in a few months, we offer up this small homage to Dave, a visionary who has indelibly changed the way we all think about music and its reproduction.

Introducing Yvette

With the success of Wilson’s large systems—starting with Dave Wilson’s original WAMM, and followed by the X-1 Grand SLAMM, the Alexandria, and most recently, the Alexx, it may be easy to forget the Wilson that most indelibly left its mark on the industry: the WATT/Puppy.

Wilson's All-new Alexx

"Provenance"—in the art world refers to the place of origin or history of a particular piece of art. Provenance has special meaning to Wilson Audio, in this case in exploring Wilson's latest foray into the large speaker category. In this video, Dave and Daryl Wilson discuss the Alexx, its new technologies and architecture

Announcing Alexx

Wilson is excited to announce its third all-new loudspeaker in as many years. The Alexx will be slotted above the Alexia and below the Alexandria XLF in Wilson's lineup. Like the Alexia and the Sabrina that preceded it, Alexx will push the proverbial envelope in the areas of coherence, dynamic contrast, and musicality for its category.

The Measure Of Sabrina

How to take the measure of Wilson Audio’s newest—and smallest—floor standing loudspeaker? As this video suggests, by comparing it directly to the Alexandria XLF. While size and complexity are the most obvious differences, more telling are the traits the two loudspeakers share in common.

Sabrina - Wilson Audio's newest floor-standing loudspeaker

Wilson Audio's newest floor-standing loudspeaker. Sabrina is a pure distillation of the Wilson approach to speaker design. A reflection of the original WATT/Puppy, a speaker whose size belies its performance. Perhaps counter-intuitively, as our technologies become more sophisticated, so has our ability to distill the essence of great sound—so that neither size, nor simplicity of design become predictors of performance.

Announcing Wilson Audio Alida

Special Applications projects have a illustrious history at Wilson Audio. In 1983, Dave Wilson needed a small location monitor for the series of recordings he was doing at the time. Finding nothing suitable on the market, he went into his laboratory and built the original WATT®. Alida is the latest Special Applications product from Wilson Audio. It was designed to offer the timbrel neutrality, dynamic response, soundstage depth, and transparency of floor-standing Wilson loudspeakers, but to do so in the ext

Wilson Audiophile's Music of Chopin

These words, written by Chopin after the fall of Warsaw to the Russians, seem as relevant to us in the latter part of the twentieth century as they did in 1831. Poland's struggle for freedom and dignity strikes a common chord in all of humanity, and this perhaps best explains the continuing rise of Chopin's popularity in an age which reviles romanticism. Friedrich Nietzsche spoke for many people of all nations when he was stirred to say: "I am too much of a Pole not to prefer Chopin's music to all other mus

The Violin Bow

In the second video in our series, Dave Wilson had the opportunity to spend time with Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra violinist Wilfried Hedenborg during the orchestra's recent North American tour. In a discussion of the bow's importance to the sound a violinist produces, Hedenborg relates the captivating tale about his attempt to make a copy of a bow borrowed from his teacher and mentor, Ruggiero Ricci.

Musicians and Wilson Loudspeakers, Pt. 1

This video is the first in a multi-part series that focuses on the stories of professional musicians who use Wilson Audio loudspeakers. This inaugural installment was made from footage of an impromptu interview with Peter Poltun, conducted by Dave Wilson and filmed by Daryl Wilson during their visit to Vienna in the Fall of 2012.

Winds of War and Peace and Center Stage

In this candid interview with Dave Wilson, he shares his experiences of recording of the 2 albums: "Winds of War and Peace", and "Center Stage". Amazingly, these 2 albums were recorded in 1 day, and the band had NO time to rehearse

Sasha Series-2: Technology and Features

Dave Wilson imagined the original WATT/Puppy as a compact and simple loudspeaker that could provide a degree of musical enjoyment rivaling—and even surpas­sing­­—much larger systems. This seemingly simple idea redefined how the au­dio community viewed high-end loudspeakers. Twenty-five years later, as we begin shipping Wilson Audio's latest iteration of the successor to the classic WATT/PUPPY, we thought it might be a good time to review how far we've come. In this video, Dave and Daryl Wilson outline the d

Sasha Series-2: The Legacy Continues

The role that Sasha W/P plays in the world of high-end loudspeakers, like that of the WATT/Puppy platform that preceded it, is best understood as the evolution of an idea born a quarter century ago: the idea that a compact loudspeaker can produce a degree of musical enjoyment rivaling much larger systems. Sasha Series-2 now incorporates the latest technology derived from Wilson's own state-of-the-art loudspeakers, to raise our best-selling product to a new plane of performance.

Announcing Wilson Audio's Newest Loudspeaker

For the past quarter century, one iconic product has been emblematic of our quest to employ experience and technology to advance the state of the art in compact loudspeakers, while still honoring the brilliance of the original design. Now we're about to raise the performance bar once again...

The Alexandria XLF at RMAF

At this year's Rocky Mountain Audio Fest, Wilson Audio demonstrated the system that represents their state-of-the-art: Alexandria XLF supported by two Thor's Hammer Subwoofers. With program material including DSD transfers of some of Dave Wilson's legendary recordings from the 1980s. A video recap of the undertaking, from setup to the reactions of those who were there.

Announcing Wilson Audiophile Recordings

Widely considered by critics as the finest loudspeakers ever built, the WAMM and WATT were originally designed expressly as professional references for the evaluation of: master tapes, test pressings, associated equipment, as well as basic research into the psychoacoustics of the listening phenomenon.

Duette Series-2 and Hostile Environments

Duette is a unique product in the audio world: a loudspeaker engineered to provide state of the art audiophile performance in installations typically anathema to good sound, namely when the speaker must be placed near a wall, either on stands or in a bookshelf or cabinet. Now Duette Series 2 further refines and perfects that objective, with features such as a new stand with an integrated crossover, new cabinet design and bracing for better resonance control, and tweeter technology derived from Alexia. The d

Introducing Duette Series 2

In 2006, Wilson Audio designed Duette to be a problem solver, a speaker that could be comfortably installed in a wide variety of difficult environments. With Duette Series 2, our design mandate was simpler: create the best compact speaker. Period. While still most at home in near-boundary installations, the Series 2 has been simplified, its essence distilled into a purer, performance-oriented form. Introducing Duette Series 2.

The Guild

The most productive workplaces have a culture that attracts and holds people most in tune with that environment. In this candid piece, some of Wilson Audio's employees reflect on what keeps them engrossed in building loudspeakers after a decade or more with the company.

An Audiophile's Journey

Most of us can trace our passion for reproduced music to a specific experience—that moment in time when we discovered the ability of speakers and electronics to convey the emotional power of a musical performance. This is the story of an audiophile who traces his history back to that time of discovery, and tells us where that led him—and the effect the journey has had on his family.

I Can See Music Everywhere

This is a story of friendship, tradition, and the power of shared music. How did an experience listening to classical music in a professor's living room at the University of the South in Sewanee Tennessee change a young student's life? An experience so indelible that forty years later it galvanized him to spearhead the creation of a campus listening library with 40,000 recordings, showcased in a million-dollar room with state-of-the-art audio. What impact does this unique academic facility have on the lives

Alexia - Concept To Reality

Alexia began with a simple question: What would happen if we merged the time-domain accuracy and driver technology of the Alexandria XLF with a form factor similar to the Sasha? But as Wilson's engineers began development of Alexia, they quickly realized that as seemingly simple as this idea was, its real-world implementation, if possible at all, would require all of Dave Wilson and his team's resources, ingenuity, and engineering expertise. In this movie, we follow the journey of Wilson's engineering team,

Announcing Alexia

It's not often that Wilson Audio announces an all-new loudspeaker, so when we do, it is always surrounded by a sense of occasion. Announcing Alexia. In terms of price point, it is positioned between Sasha W/P and MAXX. Alexia's form factor is similar to the Sasha W/P, even sharing its room-friendly footprint. But Alexia is much more ambitious and complex, inheriting much of its technology and overall sonic personality from Wilson's flagship, the Alexandria XLF.

The Choice

The Choice explores a simple question: Is there intrinsic merit in accomplishing a task to the best of one's ability? Certainly this idea pervades the culture of Wilson Audio and is rooted in the character of its founder. It finds expression in the daily efforts of the craftsmen who thrive in this environment, precisely because they love the challenge of doing their best work. And it is manifest in the myriad detailed ways Wilson products themselves exhibit the dedication to excellence for its own sake, and

The Observer and the XLF

From his earliest days as a loudspeaker designer, Dave has been transfixed by this observation: Why don't loudspeakers sound more like live, unampflified music? The Alexandria XLF project was launched as the most unrestrained effort to date to close the distance between live and reproduced sound. Despite the obvious fact that a loudspeaker will ultimately be judged by how it sounds, many designers instinctively devalue listening as an objective design tool. As a result, these loudspeaker designers reject th

Alexandria XLF: Idealism and Technology

Dave is an idealist, but he is also a disciplined empiricist. Dave the idealist insists that no detail is too small to be scrutinized. Dave the empiricist knows that it's all too easy to be seduced by the technological promise of a given part. See how these two defining characteristics played out in Wilson's new flagship loudspeaker.

Announcing the Alexandria XLF

Dave Wilson believes in the end result. He has spent a lifetime refining the art and science of the empirical approach. Dave knows that engineers and technicians are often seduced by exotic high-tech elements that potentially make up a product. The technical veracity of any given part, no matter how it appears on paper, is only as good as the experience it produces. For Dave, the experience is everything.

Provenance

provenance (n): a term primarily used to describe the origin (and hence, the authenticity) of an artifact or piece of art. In manufacturing, the term implies the notion that certain products embody the culture and place they are made, and would lose that essential character if they were designed or built somewhere else. Few would dispute that a Ferrari is a quintessentially Italian automobile. So what is the provenance of a Wilson loudspeaker?

Modus Operandi

An impressionistic look inside the Wilson factory at our loudspeakers being built. It's a process that presents a daily challenge to the craftspeople involved--realizing the only hope of preserving the pure ideal of the loudspeaker as it undergoes metamorphosis into physical product lies in flawless execution at every stage of manufacture.

Music Matters at Definitive Audio, February 9, 2011

Wilson Audio participated in the 6th annual Music Matters event at Definitive Audio in Seattle, WA. It was an evening devoted to two channel music reproduction, and an opportunity to build community with listeners and manufacturers who have never lost their passion for the possibilities of high-end music systems. Wilson paired their Sasha loudspeakers with Audio Research, who debuted the prototype of their new Reference 150 amplifier.

Six Rooms in Two Days

Every year, Wilson Audio receives requests from various manufacturers to use our loudspeakers in conjunction with their CES exhibits. This year, Wilson was inundated with more requests than could be accommodated. Ultimately, we agreed to provide loudspeakers for six demonstration rooms -- the largest number we've ever supplied for a single show. To ensure optimum placement and performance, the Wilson team sets up the loudspeakers in each one of the exhibitor's rooms. It was a whirlwind two days of work for

SnowGhost Music Recording Studio

For indie musicians wanting to make records with the best possible sound, mecca just may be a little recording studio in Whitefish, Montana. There Brett Allen presides over a state-of-the-art, spare-no-cost facility designed for the sole purpose of providing indie artists the kind of recording experience they would expect from a label-owned studio. Watch Brett at work, discussing the music industry, the art of recording, and the decision to outfit the studio with five Sashas and a pair of Alexandrias.

Wilson Audio in the Mormon Tabernacle Choir Recording Studio

Every Sunday morning, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir broadcasts a live performance over the CBS Radio Network, the nation's longest-running continuous radio show. Trent Walker, the recording engineer in charge of the broadcast describes the process that led him to select Wilson loudspeakers for the control room, and the impact his decision had on the quality of the broadcast sound.

Alexandria at the Venetian, 2011

CES 2011 marked a milestone for Wilson Audio: the first time the company has provided a pair of their six foot tall, eight hundred pound Alexandrias for an electronics manufacturer to use in their room at the show. Vladimir Lamm persuaded Dave Wilson to undertake the logistical challenge so that Wilson's flagship loudspeaker could be heard with Lamm's flagship ML-3 monoblocks. The resulting collaboration earned the pairing "best sound at CES" from more than one reviewer.

30 Year Reunion

Nearly thirty years ago, Dan D'Agostino, the founder of Krell, helped a fledgling young designer named Dave Wilson launch his first loudspeaker, the WAMM, at the Chicago CES by providing the electronics for the display. This year, at the 2011 CES, Dan launched the first product from his brand new company, Dan D'Agostino: the jewel-like Momentum monoblock amplifier. The loudspeaker he chose to debut his amps with? The Wilson Sasha W/P. For Dave Wilson, it was the opportunity to return a favor, and shine the

B139

Meet Trent Workman and Jerron Marchant, the virtuosos of Customer Service at Wilson Audio. Trent and Jerron, like the rest of us, have been on the receiving end of both good and bad customer service. Armed with that experience, they are fanatical about providing their own customers with only the most empathetic and helpful kind of support. An approach that obviously wouldn't work unless it was upheld by the company they work for. The B139 in question? That's the discontinued driver used in a discontinued lo

Wilson Audio at the Rocky Mountain Audio Fest

The Rocky Mountain Audio Fest is one of the few industry events where consumers can attend a show devoted almost entirely to two-channel music reproduction. It's also one of the few venues where new companies can afford to present their wares, and high-end companies of any size can have direct contact with their customers. It's an event less about commerce, and more about the passion that, in its purest form, drives the high-end audio community. At this year's Audio Fest, Wilson Audio's John Giolas and Pete

Nanometers

Director of Engineering Vern Credille and Mechanical Engineer Blake Schmutz demonstrate one of Wilson Audio's newest tools: the laster vibrometer system. Originally devised for the aerospace industry, the laser vibrometer can measure and visually display minute resonances in a cabinet enclosure on the scale of nanometers. The data generated by the instrument will prove invaluable in the evaluation of new cabinet materials, as well as in the design of bracing structures, as we continue our industry-leading q

Music Lovers Event

Gel Coater

Gel Coating is one of the "in-between" processes in the completion of a Wilson Audio loudspeaker. It's completely invisible in the finished product, and yet it is critical to the durability and beauty of every loudspeaker we produce. Clint Odom, who is Wilson's "master Gel Coater" shows us the process, but, more importantly, talks about the meaning and satisfaction he derives from being part of a guild of craftspeople, each one dedicated to the part they play in the creation of the whole.

Sleeping on Sonex

Sheryl Lee Wilson had never encountered the arcane world of high-end audio until she met young Dave Wilson in college and they started dating. Together, as a married couple, they made the fateful decision to transform Dave's hobby into a business. In this intimate reflection, Sheryl Lee Wilson recalls the romance, the challenges, the hardships and rewards of building Wilson Audio from a tiny garage enterprise into one of the most successful privately-owned audio companies in the world.

Master Painter

The automotive-like finish on Wilson Audio loudspeakers is the result of a painstaking, multi-step process, but, ultimately, the quality of the finished product is a function of the skill of the person in the paint booth. Bryan Schramm isn't content with good enough. He's constantly seeking ways to improve his methods and hence, the end product--a product he regards with a pride offset by the humility he displays in talking about himself.

Debuting Sophia 3 at the Definitive Audio Home Theater Experience June 2010

For the past 18 years, Seattle's Definitive Audio has hosted their annual Home Theater Experience, a 2 day event featuring new product demos and visits from representatives of some of the high-end audio and video industry's leading manufacturers. This year, Wilson Audio's John Giolas and Jerron Marchant introduced participants to the new Sophia Series 3 loudspeaker.

The Drive

Joe Allan is Wilson Audio's Quality Assurance Supervisor. For 16 years, he's driven 130 miles round trip from his home in the rural farming community of Spring City, Utah to the Wilson factory in Provo. Joe reflects on what motivates him, as well as what drives many of his fellow craftsmen to log tenures in excess of ten years with the company.

Introducing Sophia Series 3

A brief, impressionistic introduction to the Series 3 version of one of Wilson Audio's most popular and beloved products, Sophia.

Building a New Loudspeaker: The Creation of Sophia Series 3

This mini-documentary takes the viewer through the process and protocols of taking the latest version of Wilson Audio's beloved Sophia loudspeaker from concept to final product. Meet the multi-disciplinary team of engineers and artisans responsible for translating Dave Wilson's vision into a product that improves Sophia's performance without altering it's essential beguiling character.

Dave Wilson talks about new Sophia 3

In conjunction with Peter McGrath's arrival in Germany for the Munich Hi Fi show we are pleased to announce the next video in the Sophia launch series. In this video, Dave Wilson talks about his design goals and philosophies for the new Sophia. He also compares the Series 3 to the Series 2, and speaks about some of the technologies used the new Sophia. We hope you enjoy it.

Another Father and Son

Not every part of a Wilson Audio loudspeaker is fabricated in house. In this video, we meet a father and son team operating a state-of-the-art machine shop in the countryside of Salem, Utah, some twelve miles from the Wilson factory. For years, they've been solely responsible for producing the metal pieces—ports, spikes, alignment blocks, cover plates—that are part of every loudspeaker. What do they get out of it, besides a steady customer? Eric and Elmer Hartman talk about their personal stake in the value

A Brief History of Cabinet Materials at Wilson Audio

When Dave Wilson began building loudspeakers in his garage in the 1980's, he was, from the beginning, concerned about controlling cabinet resonances. Some of the techniques he used (and later abandoned) are now being heralded by other manufacturers as "cutting edge" technology. Meanwhile, Dave and the Wilson engineers continued to research and develop a range of proprietary composites ideally suited to loudspeaker enclosures.

Conversations, Part V

Can a loudspeaker which measures "perfectly" according to all known parameters still sound less than satisfying? Dave discusses the inherent relativity in the notion of "accuracy", and why all the things we're able to measure may not tell you how well a loudspeaker will reproduce the beauty of live music.

Conversations, Part IV

Audio Fundamentalism. Given the myriad equipment choices available to the audiophile, when does passionate self-identification with a particular brand or technology cross the line from the occasion for free-spirited discourse into something less savory--something detrimental to to the sense of community in the high-end, and, ultimately, to the enjoyment of the music itself?

Conversations, Part III

Wilson Audio Founder and President talks about what "voicing" a loudspeaker means to him.

Conversations, Part II

Dave Wilson, Wilson Audio Founder and President, talks about what distinguishes live music from reproduced music, and what aspects of loudspeaker design are most relevant to approaching the sound of live music.

Conversations, Part I

Wilson Audio Founder and President, Dave Wilson, talks about early influences on his ideas about loudspeaker design, noting in particular the work of Gilbert Briggs of Wharfedale. He also considers the myriad technologies available to loudspeaker designers, and their relative strengths and weaknesses.

MAXX 3 Loudspeaker of the Year Award from Stereophile

Stereophile Magazine Editor in Chief John Atkinson awards the 2009 Loudspeaker of the Year honor to Dave and Sheryl Lee Wilson of Wilson Audio

Dave Wilson discusses Polaris

At CES 2010, Wilson Audio Founder and President Dave Wilson discusses the genesis of the new Polaris Reference Center Channel and Low-Profile loudspeaker, a unique product with intriguing roots in the history of audio.

Behind the Scenes at CES 2010

Each year at CES, a number of the high-end audio industry's leading makers of electronics and source components request Wilson Audio Loudspeakers for their demonstrations. It's a logistical challenge to set them all up the day before the show opens. Featuring interviews with Vladimir Lamm of Lamm Industries, Geoff Poor of Balanced Audio Technology, and Alvin Lloyd of Grand Prix Audio.
 
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