DTLongo Posted November 28, 2004 Share Posted November 28, 2004 Has anyone heard and can offer an opinion about how Kipschorns sound versus top of the line Wilson Audio speakers? I first heard of Wilson some fifteen years ago in Stereophile. Supposedly, super high end, super high quality and super expensive speakers. See their current line at www.wilsonaudio.com. They offer a Watt/Puppy system at ca. $15,000/pair, an X-1 Grand SLAMM system at ca. $75,000/pair, and their top of the line, Alexandria X-2 Wilson WAMM ("Wilson Audio Modular Monitor") at upwards of $125,000/pair, including custom setup by the company's owner. The WAMMS are real megaliths, six feet tall and several hunderd pounds apiece. Anyway, how do Wilson's speakers sound compared to the Mighty Klipschorn at a bargain basement price nowadays of some $7500/pair new. (I have a pair of '03 Khorns.) Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteelerFan Posted November 28, 2004 Share Posted November 28, 2004 Isn't it a rule you have to be a pro athlete to own the the Wilson's? LOL I did read where they have a super technical setup protocal and they send someone to your house to do it for you. I'll never hear them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheSoundBroker Posted November 28, 2004 Share Posted November 28, 2004 The big Wilsons are a different flavor. They are very very accurate, very punchy and very transparent...not to mention BLOODY EXPENSIVE! The K-Horns (and by extension, the Belle and LaScala) are ultimately somewhat colored and don't have anywhere near the bass extension, or the high frequency extension. Both will play at volumes that are not meant for humans. Both will rock, but big Heritage speakers will give you more of that "cave your chest in" feeling. Personally, I'd rather have the K-horns if you have a room that will handle them. As good as the big Wilsons are, I think they lack the one thing the big Klipsch speakers have in spades...soul. The Wilsons make you think about the sound, they are so bloody accurate that they come off almost sterile in my mind. They are a great instrument for taking things apart and analyzing them. I've had several sets come thu my shop and never could warm up to them. I admire them technically, but there are other speakers I think are just as accurate but have a better groove. The big Klipschs are the polar opposite. K-Horns get you involved with the music. They DEFINITELY have a groove to them. They are a low distortion design, primarily because they are so bloody efficient they make most amps loaf along in the safe zone. In that manner, they are actually pretty accurate but ultimately they do have a sound to them. They are more fun! Both are pretty amplifier specific. The Wilsons need horsepower...and lots of it. They *can* run with low power but there is a BIG difference between being *able* to run with a small amp and sounding *good* with a small amp. The big Klipschs need an amp that sounds REALLY good at low power. Tube designs are often used with them since tubes do pretty well with that "first watt". McIntosh (only the transformer coupled models) and the smaller Brystons like the 2BLP and Powerpac 60 do really well with them. I wouldn't mix a recording with K-Horns (then again, I wouldn't do it with Wilsons...PMC's are actually better) but for sheer musical enjoyment and sheer bang for the buck, it is hard to beat a set of Heritage speakers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deang Posted November 28, 2004 Share Posted November 28, 2004 Damn, that was a good post. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guy Landau Posted November 28, 2004 Share Posted November 28, 2004 I'd prefer a $11k, tube friendly, Wilson Sophia to a $7.5k pair of Khorns (but not to a $2k pair of Khorns). Actually, I prefer the Sophias to the Watt/Puppy 7. They're much easier to set up and they don't sound as dry as the WP7's and are much easier to drive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soundthought Posted November 28, 2004 Share Posted November 28, 2004 No doubt... Great post, Soundbroker. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdm56 Posted November 28, 2004 Share Posted November 28, 2004 Hi DTL; How's those big horns doin'? I listened to a pair of WATT/Puppys a few years ago at a dealer in KC (well, Overland Park to be specific). I thought they sounded very, very good, but not worth the money they were asking at the time. And I'm sure they are higher now. As for Wilson's other, more high-end speakers, they ar just off the value chart into the stupid zone. Comparing a k-horn to any kind of more or less conventional "high-end" speaker is an exercise in futility, I think. Speakers like the Wilsons are all about ACCURACY to the nth degree, at any cost. The klipschorn is in a class pretty much all it's own. In most objective areas you could look at, the Wilson will win hands down, but if it doesn't put a smile on your face, what good is it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Audio Flynn Posted November 28, 2004 Share Posted November 28, 2004 People that would buy Wilson's most liley would not hang out in a place like this. They would be someplace nibbling on the $ 22 escargot appetizer right now wondering what they are going to get for the entre. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kev313 Posted November 28, 2004 Share Posted November 28, 2004 What are you saying? That we can't appreciate the finer things in life? That we don't need to? Or, that they don't even exist? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fgarib Posted November 29, 2004 Share Posted November 29, 2004 Hey there! The WATT / Puppys are no doubt excellent speakers, and, in Wilson's line, I think they are (just barely) worth the price. Having said that, however, I think the rest of the ENTIRE line takes out from the fun of the stereo experience. What good is it having an engineer come in and install the speakers, check out your listening room, suggest changes, perhaps even do them for you, suggest amplification, tell you where to place them, how to sit, where to sit, what time of the day to listen, etc etc... You do nothing!!! In Pakistan, where I live, I would go as far to say that, per capita, we have more Wilson speakers than anywhere else in the world. That's because we have a whole group of people here who are chock full to the brim with money they don't know what to do with, and want to claim their audio "know-how" by showing off their set of Puppies! No!!! The past six months, having worked on my '91 KHorns, finding the right placement for them, still looking for good amplification, etc... Man, this is a journey that you would never get with most REALLY high end speakers. Even if I had the money, just for the experience and "one-ness" that you feel with your audio setup, I still wouldn't go for the Wilsons. Of course, if my wife were responding to this post, it might be a different matter altogether, but she's not, so there! -fgarib Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nicholtl Posted November 29, 2004 Share Posted November 29, 2004 ---------------- On 11/28/2004 6:55:33 PM SoundBroker wrote: Personally, I'd rather have the K-horns if you have a room that will handle them. As good as the big Wilsons are, I think they lack the one thing the big Klipsch speakers have in spades...soul. ---------------- So very true. I've only listened to Wilson's Watt Puppy's, and it was pretty recent, in fact. 2 days ago. Beautiful sound, but you nailed it. No soul. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdm56 Posted November 29, 2004 Share Posted November 29, 2004 Define "soul" as it relates to loudspeaker performance. I'm not trying to be a smarta$$, I just don't know exactly what that would be, or how you would define it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nicholtl Posted November 29, 2004 Share Posted November 29, 2004 When it makes me jump out of my seat, clap my hands and dance like nobody's looking. In all seriousness though, I guess I'd define it as music that satisfies you to your core. Involves you. Creates a stir within. Causes an emotion to well-up inside. Brings a smile to your face. Melts away the day's stress. Something to that end, perhaps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdm56 Posted November 29, 2004 Share Posted November 29, 2004 OK, I'll buy that. All the same, if somebody wanted to give me a pair, I think I'd take 'em. (And list them on Audiogon asap) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deang Posted November 29, 2004 Share Posted November 29, 2004 When you don't hear the mechanical artifacts associated with the gear and the speakers -- and catch yourself hearing music. Most speakers sound like your listening to speakers -- they never get out of the way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maxg Posted November 29, 2004 Share Posted November 29, 2004 I have only heard the Sophia's. Nice sound - bit dry. One major problem. That problem - which may be unique to the High End show or not - I dont know - is a half height soundstage. It sounds fine when you are sitting in front of them - but when you stand up and move around the soundstage seems to stay at waste height - I have experienced a similar effect with Quad 988 speakers - although the 989 - being taller - doesnt suffer from this at all. Of course for the majority of listeners this is probably not a problem at all. It just happens I am sensitive to this issue as I suffered the same problem with my own speakers when I built them - it took me a long time to sort it out!! Way too much money for what they are. I would take an 802 (B&W) over these in a heartbeat - and in another room / another life - a pair of Khorns in preference as well (over both possibly - depending on said room). I imagine the bigger more expensive models solve the problem of the soundstage height - but with that kinda money I could buy the right house for the Khorns!! (well - almost) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DTLongo Posted November 29, 2004 Author Share Posted November 29, 2004 This has turned into a very interesting string I think SoundBroker's post was particularly on point and sounded very knowledgeable. I doubt I will ever have the chance to get up close and personal with a pair of Wilson's. But from what I have read on how they are built and their design philosophy, they doubtless would go deeper and perhaps higher than Klipschorns. Probably not LOUDER though than the super-efficent Klipschorns, without breaking up. My recently remodeled 16' x 16' room is probably not large-enough ideal for Khorns, but one side and the back wall have large door openings plus the room has a cathedral ceiling, which opens it up and breaks up standing waves. The Khorns are in ideal corners. Played in straight stereo through my modest but good-sounding new Harman-Kardon AVR 130 they sound very impactful and with "soul." "Soul" is a subjective term but having tried these speakers with three other receivers, two of with which they definitely sounded thin and sterile, I think "soul" equates to sonic fullness, sonority, a singing-ness that I gather the Wilsons would lack. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doudou Posted November 29, 2004 Share Posted November 29, 2004 just one question: who will pay 75000$ to have one of these ugly wilson box in their living room? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radiob Posted November 29, 2004 Share Posted November 29, 2004 I have listened to the WATT PUPPYS, a dealer in my home town used to carry the wilson line , he also carried vmps, in my opinion, the vmps/ elixer sounds far better than anything I heard from wilson. A better value is the vmps rm40. does a klipschorn compare?, well the rm 40 is cheaper than the klipschorn, not as efficient, less colored,has a huge detailed soundstage, has real bass, has won best of show regardless of price 2 years in a row at the CES show, does the watt puppy or k-horn compare?, NO Way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunnysal Posted November 29, 2004 Share Posted November 29, 2004 I wanted to add my congrats to soundbroker, great summary. soul baby, soul that´s the difference between wilson and heritage. regards, tony Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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