Mikey Fremer has a new sweet heart!

[Deleted member 12]

Well it looks like Mikey has finally found a new sweet heart! Her name is Alexx and she's probably going to replace his old sweet heart..Alexandria XLF. The X standing for ex and the LF standing for last female!

In the current issue of Stereophile, Mikey takes a real shine to the Alexx's...and even goes so far as to state that his past their prime...Alexandria XLF's, are bested in many areas by the new Wilson's. What's interesting is that the Alexx's are about 50% of the price of the XLF ( which IMO are CRAZY overpriced). Now, anyone want to wager how soon Mikey will be falling in love with a totally new mistress....this time called WAMM!

( WAMM...what's another mighty mistress, LOL)

Should be interesting...flip flop, flip flop.

 

[Wayne A. Pflughaupt]

Sweat heart? Inside joke I presume?

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt

 

[Fitzcaraldo215]

Mickey never met a Wilson speaker he did not like.

 

[Deleted member 12]

Mickey...er Mikey, does seem to like Wilson a lot.
So would you if you received the kind of 'accommodation' pricing he receives!

 

[DonH56]

I remember hearing the original WATT/PUPPY system. I also remember when SOTA used to be almost within reach of most folks. Now in that issue they have speakers filling the sweet spot in the middle at $109k (USD) a pair, a DAC for $5k, a few other multi-thousand dollar components; who can afford that stuff? My son is becoming interested in this stuff after I helped him set up one of my old systems in his apartment, but reading magazines these days you'd get the idea that, unless you have $50k for a good system, you might as well stick to your iPod. Exaggerating a little, but the overall average prices just seem outrageous. No hope for the middle class anymore, if there is one, let alone students starting out... I know there are a lot of good modestly-priced components and speakers around, but the "tilt" of magazines seems to be rather high end. Probably just my impression...

 

[Nightlord]

still haven't heard a pair of Wilson I'd like (if I weren't allowed to sell them and keep the money). They have the dubious honor to be the most disappointing brand compared to their prior reputation I've heard.

 

[Ronm1]

^l feel the same way as you on W's.
I'll add Beemers to that list of disappointments too.

 

[Fitzcaraldo215]

^l feel the same way as you on W's.
I'll add Beemers to that list of disappointments too.

Might I assume you are referring to B&W? Not BMW, which, I guess, are Bimmers, depending on who you talk to.

Everyone who has been at it for awhile seemingly has a sentimental, or "go to" favorite. Reviewers in particular, such as Mikey, seem to wind up owning ever newer generations of their favorite manufacturer's wares. But, hey, it is their choice upon purchase, just like it is for the rest of us. And, frankly, Mikey and his choices have no credibility with me at all.

I find that I, too, have owned the same brand of speakers for over 30 years, in spite of new purchases or upgrades. It is just another bias we have, a piece of baggage, consciously or unconsciously. Personally, I think that matters less and less today in some areas, like speakers, as audio quality differences seem ever smaller and more asymptotically limited, except for some newer "out of the box", breakthrough technologies not yet widely accepted by the traditionalist mainstream - hi rez, Mch, DSP EQ, maybe even MQA, etc.

There is nothing new in the concept of blind brand loyalty. Our dads in the USA tended to be Ford/Mercury/Lincoln guys or Chevvy/GM guys and tended not to switch. Personally, I have have not had any big automobile brand loyalty, and I have switched frequently, especially when I had a generous new car purchase allowance every 3 years. But, it was never to Detroit iron, against which I always rebelled, especially after one bad early experience. I did find myself owning more Audis than anything else, however. There is no good explanation for that, except I enjoyed them and liked aspects of their engineering. But, even so, I never owned two Audis consecutively and wanted to try Mercedes, BMW, Lexus, Acura, Infiniti, etc.

 

[TitaniumTroy]

For some reason I find the smaller Wilson's sound better than their larger brothers. However I'm much more of a Vivid, YG Acoustics, fan etc...

 

[CAP]

Wilson can be a acquired taste.. That being said I was not always a Wilson guy.. Many ESL and other dynamic speakers.. However; When you hear them done right its instant addiction.. The smaller Yvette does well .. You do need a big room for the larger brethren but they don't always step up in performance to value! The Yvette is a great design but its not cheap..

 

[amirm]

What is the retail on Yvette?

 

[CAP]

$25 K .. The speaker it replaced was the Sophia that started at 12k in version 1 then went up to 15 k in 2 then 20k in 3 .. 1 and 2 are no diff.. but x over changes.. 3 was deeper bass. it hit 20 hz at $20 k plus.. That being said the 1 was special as it was easiest to drive and has a mid range that is to die for.. it does 29 hz measurable .. but damn its tight and real ..All use the TiOxid Focal tweeter that you need a good neutral amp and will reveal down stream junk ! As always ! Garbage in, garbage out !