Wilson Audio TuneTot Review (high-end bookshelf speaker)

[Eggs Ackley]

This is the most absurd thing I have ever seen!

No it's not. This is...

 

[617]

No it's not. This is...

Those things remind me of the giant red sea worms that live near volcanic vents on the ocean floor

 

[MrHifiTunes]

Your point misses a key element: these speakers *require* EQ to sound better than the M106. DSP and equalization are more accessible than ever, and I use them in every system of mine, but how many average consumers can say the same? Most buyers of these speakers will be stuck with terribly aberrant sound.

I think they require EQ in Amirs room because it is not designed for that kind of room. I assume the designs is meant to be close to the wall and very reflective room. I do believe that this speaker is very specific for its environment and when that doesnt match up it will preform (far) less than a stardard correct textbook design.

 

[HiFidFan]

Recommended cables for the TuneTotView attachment 174000

Anaconda oil

 

[ROOSKIE]

And on top, they are nowhere near as precise as Apple Watch. Figure this.

Keep in mind the Apple Watch is spying on everything you do and don't think for a second it is not. How convenient for Apple that many folks can afford one.

I mentioned this and so have others. $10k is really alot for myself and many many of us but for some folks it is litterally nothing. Nothing.
There are people with millions and millions of dollars for whom 10k usd is absolutely nothing.

Wilson Audio like it or not is a purely bespoke brand with zero interest in affordability.
All of their clients can afford their products whether because they are completely rich or because they at least have significant means to divert to Audio.

I don't feel bad for a single person who bought speakers in this price range no matter the performance. They have food to eat.
You do not need to worry about them.

As far as the Panther, it is the subjective rating. Look at the data and the subjective notes and decide. Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater. Doing so is the act of hysterical people unable to perform well under stress.

Keep in mind the costs of @amirm's personal gear and measuring equipment and what that implies. He could easily afford to put a pair of these Tots in everyroom of his house, garage and shed and send many of us a pair as a mystery package. He has done a great service testing many affodable products and exposing some expensive crap. Give the dude a break and realize like a few other speakers these may just sound better in person than anticipated via measurements alone. I'd bet if he was biased to start he likely expected poor sound so the decent result had to likely overcome some hesitations. Maybe these speakers are okay or even good if you are not concered about the price.

 

[gsp1971]

No it's not. This is...

The curtain is touching the cable that is why the sound is muffled.

 

[BrokenEnglishGuy]

imho many people here is lossing the point.
The problem is not the cost of 10,000.
The problem is his cost - performance ratio.

 

[ROOSKIE]

Exactly that suprised me. Only very first time I have seen such review. How a speaker having an extremely bad peak at as high as 120hz can sound even subjectively good ?

Because at the frequency zone the due to the height of the woofer from the floor and likely also the side and front wall there are usually huge cancellations.
SBIR.
This peak is likely not a peak in room. It actually may be really smart and has me pondering as I DIY.
It would nice to see in room measurements of these but I realize they were already returned.

Also that woofer is claimed to have superb sound. It is also possible that it does delineate the bass region so well and cleanly that lack of stress and HD and IMD hides that boost even further. If you have ever heard very low distortion bass it usually sounds like "less" SPL even if it is very loud.

 

[orangejello]

Then you can say this about everything cars, houses, boats, art, .... Wouldnt life be boring? Im sure some "rich egoist" also know what sounds good. They probably hire a sound engineer anyway. D
idnt Mark Levenison did this also with his own brand? Tune an amplifier to an environment, got bored of not been able to explore his "artist freedom" with mark levinson.

”Wouldn’t life be boring?” I guess that would depend on what you value.

 

[Dj7675]

The over the top reactions to this review are a bit surprising to me..
-People morally objecting to Amir’s recommendation
-People who question that they could sound good with EQ, despite being shown that with EQ the score can be as high as 8 with a subwoofer
-People saying how can this speaker be recommended when other speakers can sound as good or better at a lower cost. One has nothing to do with the other. Either it sounds good or it doesn’t. Both can be recommended based on sound
-Some seem to be against anything that is expensive. That is fine but shouldn’t really come into play for Amir on if something sounds good or not.
-I think there is a knee jerk reaction here anytime something measures less than Genelac flat but with or without EQ can sound good. It seems hard for people to accept that at times. Like headphones it seems that some speakers with a bit of EQ can be very good. I don’t see why that is hard to believe, even when we have examples of EQ that show this.
Have to give Amir credit on posting a recommend on this speaker based on what he heard after EQ, knowing what would follow...

 

[MrHifiTunes]

”Wouldn’t life be boring?” I guess that would depend on what you value.

Yes some appreciate a communist regime where everyone and everything is the same. Not me, I prefer diversity.

 

[Vict0r]

The over the top reactions to this review are a bit surprising to me..
-People morally objecting to Amir’s recommendation
-People how question that they could sound good with EQ, despite being shown that with EQ the score can be as high as 8 with a subwoofer
-People saying how can this speaker be recommended when other speakers can sound as good or better at a lower cost. One has nothing to do with the other. Either it sounds good or it doesn’t. Both can be recommended based on sound
-Some seem to be against anything that is expensive. That is fine but shouldn’t really come into play for Amir on if something sounds good or not.
-I think there is a knee jerk reaction here anytime something measures less than Genelac flat but with or without EQ can sound good. It seems hard for people to accept that at times. Like headphones it seems that some speakers with a bit of EQ can be very good. I don’t see why that is hard to believe, even when we have examples of EQ that show this.
Have to give Amir credit on posting a recommend on this speaker based on what he heard after EQ, knowing what would follow...

Very sensible, thanks.

 

[Spkrdctr]

No it's not. This is...

That is obscene!

 

[MrHifiTunes]

The over the top reactions to this review are a bit surprising to me..
-People morally objecting to Amir’s recommendation
-People how question that they could sound good with EQ, despite being shown that with EQ the score can be as high as 8 with a subwoofer
-People saying how can this speaker be recommended when other speakers can sound as good or better at a lower cost. One has nothing to do with the other. Either it sounds good or it doesn’t. Both can be recommended based on sound
-Some seem to be against anything that is expensive. That is fine but shouldn’t really come into play for Amir on if something sounds good or not.
-I think there is a knee jerk reaction here anytime something measures less than Genelac flat but with or without EQ can sound good. It seems hard for people to accept that at times. Like headphones it seems that some speakers with a bit of EQ can be very good. I don’t see why that is hard to believe, even when we have examples of EQ that show this.
Have to give Amir credit on posting a recommend on this speaker based on what he heard after EQ, knowing what would follow...

Wilson audio TuneTot is made for not sound friendly environments. Look at their website, where this speaker is places against windows, concreet walls etc. I believe it is tuned like this. Balancing on- and off-axis the way they do to get the best result. Look at the estimate in room response. Placing this speaker against the wall will raise the 500-100Hz region as baffle step creaps in at around 500-600Hz for this kind of speaker. Placing it at the right distance from the back wall, will sound pretty good

BTW picture is not from Wilson Audio.

 

[Steve Dallas]

I think they require EQ in Amirs room because it is not designed for that kind of room. I assume the designs is meant to be close to the wall and very reflective room. I do believe that this speaker is very specific for its environment and when that doesnt match up it will preform (far) less than a stardard correct textbook design.

You are presuming facts not in evidence. Their wide (but very uneven) horizontal directivity may play well in a reflective room, depending upon placement. The bass peak will only be amplified by boundary gain. Low F extension will improve, but will be masked by the 115Hz peak. Look at KEF FR curves to see a speaker that is designed to be placed near a wall and leverage boundary gain. This is not it.

 

[heflys20]

Wilson audio TuneTot is made for not sound friendly environments. Look at their website, where this speaker is places against windows, concreet walls etc. I believe it is tuned like this. Balancing on- and off-axis the way they do to get the best result. Look at the estimate in room response. Placing this speaker against the wall will raise the 500-100Hz region as baffle step creaps in at around 500-600Hz for this kind of speaker. Placing it at the right distance from the back wall, will sound pretty good

BTW picture is not from Wilson Audio.

But their own material claims that the average in room response for the speaker is 65-25khz +/- 3db. So either they "intentionally" designed the speaker to measure/behave this way, or someone goofed when writing the specs.

 

[DWI]

Don't know how many people commenting here use Wilson speakers. We bought a pair this time last year. The price was not really a consideration because my wife chose them and did not ask the price of any of the speakers we considered. We both sat down and listened to them in a sensibly treated dealer room and decided to buy them before she knew what they cost.

Certainly the Wilson we own make a beautiful sound that we enjoy almost daily and put a smile on my face every time I listen to them. They are especially good at low volume, which I much prefer. It seems from Darko's review that he had the same experience with the Tunetot as us. Amir says the issue he has with their measurements is not noticeably audible.

So I get the feeling these Tunetots are peas from the same pod.

We did have a pair of Focal Utopia Colour EVO at home on trial, which cost the same as the Tunetot, but probably have a lower bass performance. I found those speakers too in-your-face and quite tiring after a couple of hours. Fortunately the wife made the decision on those, hating the sight of them.

 

[Dogen]

I really don't understand the complaints about Amir's recommendation process. He has stated repeatedly that he usually does not take price into consideration, and in the rare cases when he does, he says so. It is not the same basis I use, but so what? As long as he is clear about his standards, consistent, and honest, that is all anyone should ask. Read the review and then make a decision for yourself about whether it is a product you are interested in.

Right, I’d prefer that gear be rated for value at a price point, but I have the measurements, I have the price, I can do that calculation for myself. Does Amir get swayed by the allure of luxury goods? If he does, it makes him human.

I get everything I need to make my own judgment with the current review process.

 

[Spkrdctr]

But their own material claims that the average in room response for the speaker is 65-25khz +/- 3db. So either they "intentionally" designed the speaker to measure/behave this way, or someone goofed when writing the specs.

Let me correct an error you made.

So either they "intentionally" designed the speaker to measure/behave this way, or someone lied when writing the specs. I say this in that snake oil, fraudsters and scammers run the audio industry. Thank heavens for the few companies that are honest, decent and actually care about delivering a good product for a decent price. The good companies deserve our patronage!
Amir finds the great and decent companies in his testing. I never want to support scammers like Audioquest, Shinyata and Synergistic etc

 

[xaviescacs]

BTW if you also like to practice German, "tot" means "dead" in German (seriously)

I'm very fond of German romantic music, so I know what "tot" means