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    Wilson Audio WAMM Master Chronosonic - An Audiophile Bucket List Item - Checked

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    Ā  Ā  Audio: Listen to this article.

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    A short, but sweet and satisfying sonic update today.

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    Like all self-respecting audiophiles, I have an audio bucket list. Several years ago I participated in a dealer event that enabled me to spend time listening to the B&W Nautilus loudspeakers. Up to that point Iā€™d only seen them in photographs and read about the story behind the speakers. Iā€™d longed to hear them in person. Checking the Nautilus box was very enjoyable.

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    WAMM-MC-Web-Res-17___responsive_1106_1475.jpgThis week I had the good fortune of checking off another audio bucket list item, and I will never forget the experience. I spent a couple days listening to David Wilsonā€™s Magnum Opus, the Wilson Audio WAMM Master Chronosonic. It may be hard to believe that seven foot tall loudspeakers and a matching pair of WAMM Master Subsonic subwoofers can disappear from oneā€™s consciousness while sitting directly in front of them, but once the music starts, the speakers are gone.

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    Iā€™ve never heard a better loudspeaker. Period. The texture, detail, separation, palpability, and overall musical experience was second to none. No matter what music I played, I never had the thought that it would sound better on speaker XYZ or using driver technology ABC to reproduce it. The WAMM was sonic perfection.

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    I pulled myself out of listening mode a couple times, to assess the sonic differences between my own Wilson Audio Alexia V speakers and even the Wilson Chronosonic XVX. While I absolutely love my Alexia V speakers, they will never do the things I heard the WAMM Master Chronosonic do, nor do them at a level Iā€™d only dreamt was possible. Along a similar line, the Chronosonic XVX also does many things my Alexia V canā€™t do, and Iā€™d love to have the XVX as my every day loudspeaker because itā€™s just that good, but the XVX is also no WAMM.

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    WAMM is my Mount Everest of loudspeakers, capable of presenting an entire symphonic orchestra or an acoustic singer / songwriter on stage right in oneā€™s listening room. I often couldnā€™t believe what I was hearing when listening to music I know very well. The separation of musicians and instruments was likely the most amazing aspect of what I heard. It was the exact opposite of an entire orchestra that emanates from two loudspeakers. The WAMMā€™s presentation made Stravinsky Conducts Le Sacre du Printemps (Columbia Symphony Orchestra) sound like there was a loudspeaker for each musician on stage. The separation was mind blowing, and the entire performance retained amazing delicacy, transients, and musical engagement like Iā€™d never experience.

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    I didnā€™t set out to write about this listening experience, but the more I listened to the WAMM Master Chronosonic the more I thought I had to at least share a little bit of what I heard with everyone who may never get the opportunity. Only 70 pairs of WAMM Master Chronosonic loudspeakers will ever be built, and the cost is certainly prohibitive for most people, including myself. I have to thank The Audio Salon in Santa Monica, CA for enabling this bucket list audio experience. The WAMM Master Chronosonic checks an item off my bucket list, and checks absolutely every sonic box imaginable for those of us who love music.

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    About the author -Ā https://audiophile.style/about
    Author's Complete Audio System Details with Measurements - https://audiophile.style/system

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    5 minutes ago, PYP said:

    just curious about the size of the room, if you could approximate the dimensions and ceiling height.

    If I had to guess, I'd say the ceiling was about 12 feet tall and the room was roughly 20x30 feet. All a rough estimate.

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    You kind of grazed over the B&W Nautilus thereā€¦ Iā€™m more interested in hearing about those. Did they keep up with todayā€™s modern hi-fi sound quality?Ā 
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    I saw them once in person, but no music coming out of them and that was like decades ago.

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    16 minutes ago, Deyorew said:

    You kind of grazed over the B&W Nautilus thereā€¦ Iā€™m more interested in hearing about those. Did they keep up with todayā€™s modern hi-fi sound quality?Ā 
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    I saw them once in person, but no music coming out of them and that was like decades ago.

    The nautilus were enjoyable, and I'm glad I was finally able to hear them, but I wouldn't persue them if looking for state of the art sound quality today.

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    Out of curiosity, I went and looked up the price for these. I am still in a bit of shock. I would also love to be able to hear them some day.

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    20 hours ago, The Computer Audiophile said:

    The nautilus were enjoyable, and I'm glad I was finally able to hear them, but I wouldn't persue them if looking for state of the art sound quality today.

    I have not seen them in person, but they are gorgeous in photos.Ā  BTW--I think this answers your recent question on another thread--who is a "collector" rather than a listener

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    11 minutes ago, AudioDoctor said:

    Out of curiosity, I went and looked up the price for these. I am still in a bit of shock. I would also love to be able to hear them some day.

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    This is why I politely declined to listen to them when I had a chance ;)

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    Breathtakingly expensive, like the Varese in another thread.Ā  But easier to understand how these and $300K or so on amps, source et al could produce an incredible experience.Ā These require a certain combination of cash/room/wife, but if I squint...

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    55 minutes ago, ray-dude said:

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    This is why I politely declined to listen to them when I had a chance ;)

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    That's probably a good idea. Once i get a taste of something it's hard to let it go.

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    3 minutes ago, The Computer Audiophile said:

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    ā€œI have the simplest tastes. I am always satisfied with the best.ā€

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    ā€•Ā Oscar Wilde

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    A man after my own heart.Ā  ;-)

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    Actually, though it would likely be hard to walk away from the sound, I personally think it would be interesting to hear how much better they sound than the best speakers I have personally heard, which are the Avantgarde Duo GT with their iTron amplification. Followed by drowning my tears in a good, old, bottle of whiskey...

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    I was lucky to hear these speakers once with Dag amps and pre and dCS Vivaldi stack. Ā Bested my prior best heard (Magico M7ā€™s with constellation and MBS). Ā You should hear the Alsyvox big panels. Ā 

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    20 minutes ago, MarkS said:

    You should hear the Alsyvox big panels.

    If the big panels are what they show at Munich, then Iā€™ve heard them.Ā 

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    I very much enjoyed almost an hour with theĀ Chronosonic XVX driven by Dā€™Agostino with dCS source at a dealer in Manhattan before my new Meridian DSP9 active speakers were delivered. Even though much smaller and far less expensive, especially considering that the 1,260 Watts (each) are built in, they still manage to compete sonically with that Wilson design.

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    All-In-One computer audio (just provide a quality source) has apparently advanced to the point where power, the operating system and innovative circuit design can directly address the drivers (eliminating Ā passive crossovers) to present a lifelike, full-range 3D soundstage from 4ā€™ tall floorstanders for less than $100k. -Not as impressive in a HR Giger way, but they fit my living room and budget.

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    @The Computer AudiophileĀ the WAMM Master Chronosonic (does things) at a level Iā€™d only dreamt was possible......and checks absolutely every sonic box imaginable for those of us who love music

    Yeh it is an awe inspiring experience when this happens, it is what keeps me interested in the high end. Thanks for sharing.

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    13 minutes ago, Audiophile Neuroscience said:

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    @The Computer AudiophileĀ the WAMM Master Chronosonic (does things) at a level Iā€™d only dreamt was possible......and checks absolutely every sonic box imaginable for those of us who love music

    Yeh it is an awe inspiring experience when this happens, it is what keeps me interested in the high end. Thanks for sharing.

    Iā€™m glad you totally get it. Awe inspiring sound, of our favorite music, is otherworldly.Ā 

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    Chris: The first thought that came in reading this was: "Speakers are still the single largest factor in the gap between the real thing and what we hear in the home...and, closing that gap appears to require extraordinary expenditure on behalf of the manufacturer of such a device."Ā  Am I reading you correctly in that regard?Ā  For example, is the best DAC, amplifier, pre-amp, etc. as much better than the rest as these speakers were above what else you might listen to?Ā  Is there any hope that a speaker with these capabilities could ever be built at "affordable" (maybe more like a new car than a new house) prices?Ā Ā 

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    On 8/16/2024 at 6:07 PM, The Computer Audiophile said:

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    ā€œI have the simplest tastes. I am always satisfied with the best.ā€

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    ā€•Ā Oscar Wilde

    A common misconception how this quote should be understood. Oscar Wilde was a man who knew what style and aesthetics mean and would never even go near anything as extremely ugly as these monsters. They may sound better than any other speakers on the market but at the same time they are also the ugliest I have ever seen. (I know, I know, beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder...) There is not even an ounce of jealousy in my opinion, but I've never understood how the audiophile community can disregard aesthetics to to the extent that so many seem to do. How can you love beautiful music and at the same time pollute your home with the most hideous ā€œinstrumentsā€ that are supposed to reproduce it? And no, I have not missed the point that everything should or perhaps even must sound good to enjoy the music experience, but for me personally, the limit goes somewhere with such beauties that Sonus Faber produces with their Homage and Reference series.

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