Coherency from top to bottom. Excellent imaging.

Rather large cabinet. Price is not for everyone($70,000).
Moving the speakers for optimum performance can really be a big job(These speakers are monstrously heavy!)

Spending $70,000 on these speakers are definitely not worth it for most audiophiles. If you earn well over $250,000 a year, then these speakers might be a consideration. You also need to have a properly designed large room with excellent acoustics to acheive great results. The tonal balance is superb. From the lowest bass to the midrange and all the way to the highest treble, it is almost perfect. The listening room that these speakers were placed had poor control in the bass range(It is very difficult to get the bass right). Below 50 Hz the bass rolled off. And below 40 Hz, it rolled off even more sharply. I blame this on the room and not the speakers. But still for $70,000, these speakers aren't the best for the price. My current stereo rig costs less than $2000 and base on my hearing, I get about 90% of Wilson from the midrange up. You might say this is impossible, but you know what it is possible. With careful placement, there is a possibility of great sound. And I know what close to perfect sound should sound like. I own a pair of Sennheiser 600s and they are the reference.

Not only that I get 90% of Wilsons sound quality, the bass response in my room is light years better than in the store I heard the Wilsons. Mine goes all the way smoothly (no boom) to 25 Hz and falls 4 decibels down to 20 Hz.

My only complaint that my speakers (Sound Dynamics RTS-3) have a little forwardness in the lower treble. And I mean very little. They are only apparent with a couple of my cds. Don't tell me that the extra 10% on sound quality is worth it for $70,000.

Similar Products Used:

B&W 802, Meridian

Flawless reproduction, perfectly matched, meticulous craftmanship

None

Well for the idiots out there that keep giving these pieces of art a bad review, you have no idea what you are talking about. I am a college student, but an audiophile non the less. I have no way in the world to purchase these (at least for another few years), however, they are the best speakers I have heard. I have honestly heard a vast number of different systems, I have even heard these side by side to the nautilus 801's which so many in this review are saying are better speakers. They don't even come close. These speakers are the epitome of the word reference. They are designed using the price is no object model. They are not to be judged on value, but on pure aritistic quality. They are the product of years of listening and fine tuning. For anyone that disagrees, they are by no means a true audiophile. An audiophile is an appreciater. They do not consider cost. They consider it an art.

Similar Products Used:

All

A few nice things, some decent lows...not much else

harsh sounds, very bright, ugly looks, weight

Wow..some folks here get really nasty. This is not a nice place. And to call someone an idiot because they "don't realize that these speakers are works of art" is very snobby. And if that is what it means to be an "audiophile" then I will happily remain an enthusiast.

I have heard these speakers rwice, and I hate these speakers. And no, it is not because of money. I can afford them, but I will not buy them.

They are ugly, ugly, ugly.

I heard these with gear that ranged in price from $15K to over $50K....some nice things, but enough was enough, and I soon knew that I would NOT buy them.

Finally, for anyone here to call someone else an idiot for not agreeing with you because you do like them is insulting and immature.

Audio gear, like wine, is ultra-subjective, and one's opinion is just that..an opinion. You can take it or leave it. Only the most arrogant person would be critical of a person who did not agree with them or their opinion, whether the problem was price or sound. What differnce does it make if a person hated them because of the price??? If they do not like the price nor the sound, are they still idiots??

This forum was designed for nice people to put their thoughts about a piece of gear. Wow..it sort of got out of control here.

My $.02 cents...

Similar Products Used:

Linn, Dynaudio, Martin Logan, Silverline,

Amazing imaging, incredible bass, and the best voicing

Size, Weight and Price

Having heard the X-1 series 2 at Innovative Audio, my Watt Puppy 6 purchase was driven by the basic sanity and economics of the situation. I was shelling out for Levinson 33Hs and it was the most satisfying system that I could imagine building, with the exception being an upgrade to X-1s.

Several months after buying the Watt Puppy 6.0s I found a used pair of X-1 series 1 and picked them up for a great deal. Having the good fortune of being able to listen to the Watts and the X-1s in a real world environment and a dealer show room highlighted the true difference.

In a perfect listening room the difference is much greater, what seems like endless imaging and the perfect staging of the instrument on X-1s is less apparent once set-up in the less than ideal world of the normal home. I don't think that one can really justify the price difference between the Watts with an excelelnt Sub and the X-1 unless you have a perfect room and a forgiving spouse.

But if you really enjoy music and want to experience music, rather than just listen, the X-1s makes the difference. Incredible articulate bass, amazing imaging, and when combined with Levinson gear, an amazingly accurate and un-tainted sound that is the finest reproduction of music I have ever heard.

I suspect those who prefer Krell gear might find other speakers more satisfying due to what I think is the harshness of the Krell front-end and amplification, there may be a better combination out there, but I think that the Levinson/Wilson X-1 combo is the finest.

Another benefit of the ML/X-1s is their ability clearly present each instrument and voice without separating them and disembodying them from the music as I feel Spectral gear is prone to do by being too accurate for my tastes and when mixed with X-1s I feel it loses some of the musical quality that I look for when I sit down to really listen to music.

You will however give up a lot on the domestic tranquillity front, occasionally you will find your wife weeping in the bedroom mumbling something about how you have ruined her home... Just turn the music up a couple of notches, she'll never forgive you anyway!

People on this board seemed to be pissed about the price of the X-1, I won't defend it, but I think that if top of line reference gear is what you are looking for the X-1 has to be in the running. Is the 15-20% musical benefit worth the money? I live in New York City, so I don't own or need a car.

Similar Products Used:

Watt Puppies

near perfect sound...

...which requires a near perfect (i.e. dead, and properly shaped) to enjoy the benefits of

as a huge fan of high resolution audio gear, I have auditioned many different high-end speakers systems fairly extensively. and, I have found that 15 to 20,000 is the approximate point of diminishing returns; in that once one crosses this mark the only way the very real sonic benefits of better speakers can be realized is the combination of extensive room treatments, and precision placements. all this having been said I consider these speakers phenomenal in every performance category, especially when resolving SACD and other high-demand formats. they cross from phenomenal to reference when paired with exceptional ancilliary equipment, and when properly placed in a suitably prepared listening area.

Similar Products Used:

revel ultima, b&w nautilus (both 800 series and true nautilus), aerial acoustics, monitor studio, vienna acoustics, and wilson watt puppies