Monumental XVX Review by Robert Harley of TAS

[2fastdriving]

Originally Posted by joey_v

I hope that wasnt directed at me.

No! It wasn't. I belong to a FB group where I see a lot of nasty Wilson bashing and that was on my mind. Sorry for the confusion.

[bart]

You don't find many trolls on AA.
And if they appear Ivan is usually there to wash them out quickly.
It's one of the reasons I only visit and post on this forum.

[Bob Bubeck]

Having heard the Chronosonic XVX system with the Subsonic subwoofer with D'Agostino Relentless electronics to match all carefully setup by Daryl Wilson himself at Paragon Sight and Sound last fall, I was fully prepared for the ecstatic review from Robert Harley. It is the best system that I have ever had to pleasure to audition. The system total cost was over a million bucks and, for once, sounded like it. Is the XVX expensive? Oh my, yes. Is it worth it? If one can afford it and has the interest, yes!

Enjoy!

Bob
_______
Sources: Clearaudio Jubilee MC/Clearaudio Innovation Wood TT w/Universal Arm 9”; MCT500 CD/SACD transport; OPPO 205; NAD C446 Internet Tuner; Nakamichi 670ZX cassette deck. Electronics: MacIntosh C2700 preamp w/DA2 and MC462 power amp. Speakers: Wilson Yvettes Headphones: MacIntosh MHP 1000 Interconnects: Transparent G5 balanced and speaker cables; MCT - MCT500 -> C2700.Power cords: Transparent (on preamp, power amp and transport). Surge protected. Record and CD maintenance : Kirmuss KA-RC-1 ultrasonic. L’Art du Son CD treatment.

[CDG]

[joey_v]

That’s awesome CDG

[Still-One]

According to Wilson's Facebook page the XVX has been named the TAS Product of the Year for 2020. Nice.

[Charles]

It's a well deserved honor based on my listening experiences. I have lived with my XVX for almost a year. My sine qua non is that the gear perform and be "perfect". When you look at the XVX, it takes several months to appreciate its complexity. It is incredibly complex. Even one slight manufacturing defect would be so easy but would be a disappointment. The discipline it takes to produce a perfect physical object of this complexity amazes me. Wilson did it for me. I am grateful to them.

I have always been a bass aficionado. I have discoverd why. Subconsciously I said. "OK, I can't really have that perfect midrange or treble but, I can have plenty of bass." So I had always had too much bass. I never had a speaker that truly satisfied me in the mid and treble before the XVX.

Even with a slight chronometer spike length, step, and detent misalignment the moment I heard the treble, I thought, "What an incredible treble." It took two trips by the dealer to achieve the correct settings and each time I could hear an improvement. The setting changes were small yet I could hear the correction each time.

I learned a lot because I went through and verified every setting both speakers and it allowed me to begin to appreciate the incredible manufacturing effort. In the XVX you get what you pay for. It is worth its asking price, every penny. I enjoy it every day.

For this reason I believe the XVX deserves this honor.

Best

Charles

[RH67]

Originally Posted by 2fastdriving

The thing that drives me crazy is the trolls on the internet that laugh at speaker prices like this and say there is no way its worth it.

Well, perfection is never cheap, in any undertaking.

The trolls must think the speaker just gets tacked together and magically appears, but in fact there are countless hours of research and development behind these products, as well as many, many hours in the construction of each one. I've been to the Wilson factory and I've seen the effort, and that was years ago when their most ambitious product was the xlf. You can tell just by looking at the xvx that it's on a whole different level of craftsmanship.

While I can probably never afford it, I can take comfort in knowing that the advancements will trickle down to something I can afford. So I'll probably benefit, one way or another!

Very well said.

[stevebythebay]

I first heard the XVX using Boulder pre/power amps and found it distressingly "bombastic" and felt terribly underwhelmed. However, as an owner of Alexia 2's I knew it was very unlikely that the XVX was at fault. Then about 9 months later I got to hear them again but this time with top-end Spectral gear and all became clear - this speaker is tremendous. And in retrospect, it cannot hide deficiencies of what's upstream. And I don't know what electronics and any other upstream components Harley owns and uses with the XVX but likely as not, these have been selected with experience in using prior Wilson speakers as well as input from Wilson and others who test and test the hell out of equipment. After all we're not buying a complete high-end auto, but putting together a system of components ourselves. Every link in the chain will matter.