Wilson Audio TuneTot Review (high-end bookshelf speaker)

[Madjalapeno]

Yea, that's just what you need John, another vintage receiver. LOL

I called him the ASR Relic the other day, and even though I meant it with the highest regard I don't think he's forgiven me.

 

[amirm]

Would you say the Genelec 8050 ia better than Tunetot? Thanks

Yes.

 

[tuga]

Or in other words the Michael Fremers of this world.

Does he pay for his gear? (surely not even half price)

Extended loans and "accommodating prices" galore.

 

[Slayer]

Yes.

Amir, this is one of those reviews where it makes it hard to vote in the polling, so i can not cast a vote.
You need to add a category to the poll. Call it the NFW, as in no F'n way.
Whether some like it or not, I think many will agree, price vs performance is a huge factor. Which is why this 10k speaker deserves an NFW.

 

[amirm]

You need to add a category to the poll. Call it the NFW, as in no F'n way.

Well, you don't get more categories than I have at my disposal.

 

[amirm]

On giving it the piggy bank panther, that one is reserved for products that do nothing to the sound. This one clearly does.

 

[Laserjock]

These or

Ikea SYMFONISK Picture Frame Speaker ?​

 

[amirm]

You guys are terrible.

 

[phoenixdogfan]

If $10,000 is your budget, D&D 8C and don't look back.

As one who has heard the 8Cs and several iterations of the Wilsons, I could not agree more.

 

[richard12511]

Are we letting the subjective impressions prevail over the poor measurements? I mean, this speaker is nowhere near full range.

This has pretty much always been the case. You can think of the Olive score as the "objective score" and the Panther score as the "subjective score". I like having both. Keep in mind the "poll panther score" is more just a subjective take on the objective measurements, which is completely different than Amir's panther score.

The disconnect between the two here is really interesting. I dare say these are the worst measurements we've ever seen(price considered). We've seen $80/pair speakers that measure better and still don't get the recommendation.

I'm glad Amir gives his honest impression, though. Better that then him just saying everything that measures good sounds good(and vice versa). I do wonder how large a role subconscious bias plays here though.

My only fear is this review will be used as evidence that measurements don't matter as much as Toole/Olive want us to believe; and it'll actually be be a decent argument. If a speaker can measure this terrible(lots of resonances, exaggerated upper bass, no deep bass, poor directivity, not great distortion), cost this much, and still sound good enough to get a recommendation, how important can good measurements really be?

 

[amirm]

My only fear is this review will be used as evidence that measurements don't matter as much as Toole/Olive want us to believe; and it'll actually be be a decent argument. If a speaker can measure this terrible(lots of resonances, exaggerated upper bass, no deep bass, poor directivity, not great distortion), cost this much, and still sound good enough to get a recommendation, how important can good measurements really be?

Most speakers don't present such juxtapositions. I think we should expect a few cases that are puzzles.

 

[Voo]

measurements are NOT end all be all

 

[richard12511]

You mean getting beat up for my text review is not enough???

Honestly, I think a video review of this speaker could do really well. Maybe give you a chance to explain your reasoning in more detail. Also, Youtube recently disabled public "dislikes", so you don't have to worry about getting ratioed

 

[amirm]

On people saying you could get the same performance in a cheap unit, I don't think you can. I think part of the good response is the super rigid box and high quality drivers. I can't prove this but it is a working hypothesis. There was certain clarity in high frequency notes that was really nice.

 

[Voo]

easy case in point for me is magnepan LRS vs focal...focal measure really flat in my room, LRS all over the place...but for most music the LRS are way more enjoyable

 

[richard12511]

A big thumbs up for Armir and the member that provided the sample.

Finally a Wilson speaker measured! Now someone bring in a Magico.

Couldn't agree more. So great to finally see a Wilson on the NFS. Was a dream come true when I first saw the thread, and it didn't disappoint

 

[amirm]

FYI the member who loaned it to me is local. I just drove it back to him. Both of us drove many miles to meet in the middle. And with Christmas shopping season, we had to deal with a ton of traffic. It was worth it though to get a taste of Wilson products under the magnification of Klippel NFS.

 

[vkvedam]

Room friendly speaker I suppose, then again accuracy and good sounding might not align at times. Still, $10k is a lot of dough

 

[Rvrd90]

I’ve been waiting for a Wilson measurement my whole life lol and it did not disappoint! There are speakers that measure better for $150 and yet Amir still recommended them anyway knowing full well he was going to get a bunch of shit for it and that’s what makes this so awesome!

I think the Chane A1.5 actually measure better and he didn’t recommend it. SMH.

 

[Helicopter]

Thanks Amir. Nice to see something at this price point that relies on lore and legend over engineering competence. It is unacceptably bad for the price. I won't list all the better things one could acquire with this much audio budget. I guess the aesthetic is divisive, but it doesn't suit my tastes, or my décor.