Legendary high-end speaker gets major face-lift
Wilson Audio's latest, the Sasha W/P speaker.
(Credit: Steve Guttenberg)Wilson Audio Specialties didn't invent high-end speakers, but its original WATT speaker, introduced in 1986, changed the rules of the game.
Up to that point, state-of-the-art speakers were all large beasts, but the WATT was a comparatively tiny stand-mounted speaker. Its distinctive pyramidal shape went on to spawn countless imitations.
The WATT was soon joined by the matching Puppy (woofer), and over the ensuing decades the two-piece WATT/Puppy system evolved, culminating in the WATT/Puppy 8 in 2006. Well over 15,000 WATT/Puppys have been sold since 1986, but rather than move to the W/P 9, founder David Wilson decided to start afresh, so now we have the Sasha W/P ($26,900/pair).
Wilson Audio Specialties' director of sales, Peter McGrath, came to New York City to present the Sasha W/P to the press at Wilson dealer Innovative Audio last week. The new speaker's sweeping curves and refined shape make for the best-looking Wilson speaker of all time.
It's a three-way design, with a 1-inch inverted dome tweeter, 7-inch midrange, and two 8-inch woofers elegantly housed within the 197-pound cabinet. Build quality is off-the-charts impressive, and the 12-step automotive paint job is absolutely flawless. The tweeter and midrange drivers are identical to the ones used in the $68,000 Wilson MAXX Series 3 speakers. Wilson Audio just recently expanded its factory in Provo, Utah.
McGrath played a mix of music styles that night, but his own high-resolution classical recordings were the ones most breathtakingly rendered by the Sasha W/P. It was one of those rare, "you are there" audio experiences where you feel transported to the musical event. The Sasha W/P's ability to unravel massive works with ease is what separates it from merely excellent high-end speakers. The Sasha W/P can unleash uninhibited dynamic contrasts that belie its modest footprint.
Steve Guttenberg is a frequent contributor to magazines and Web sites including Home Entertainment, Playback, and Ultimate AV. He is a member of the CNET Blog Network, and is not an employee of CNET. Disclosure. 
If that isn't good enough for you, then go somewhere else. I'm sure there's a whiner's blog out there that will welcome you with open arms.
i've only made three decent purchases, ones that i can say were good "investments":
a) Magnepan 1.4 speakers
b) Linn LP12 turntable
c) Akai GX 635 reel to reel tape deck.
i've never been completely satisfied with an amplifier. but ( of course ), i'm not willing to spend 10K on a pair of Class A tube amps that put out 16 watts, like the Air Tight ATM211.
Wilson speakers don't even sound that good. I worked in a store that had WIlson WATT Puppies driven by a Krell Audio Standard (four-piece mega-amp of the era, about $25,000 at the time), set up to a fare-thee-well, and I spent hours listening to it. Just nothing special. (The best thing about that whole setup was watching the manager's face as five Asian friends took turns buying the KAS--politely stepping up to the counter one after the other saying "me too please." They dropped $125k collectively that day. The manager thought he'd died and gone to heaven. That was worth seeing.) You can keep making hi-fi equipment more and more expensive, and the best thing you can say about it is that, like equipment that is still good but much cheaper, it also works. There is just nothing magic about megabuck audio--some of it is good, some of it is bad, most of it is so-so. It's really only good for perfectionists with bad OCD problems and over-monied people concerned with displays of status and exclusivity. Whoever spends the most and has the most absurd-looking turntable wins.
Still, he's the Emperor, so you have to doff your hat I guess.
I can imagine friends trying to figure out where they put their empty beer cans in the thing.
LMAO!!
- by amfx22000 August 13, 2009 11:10 AM PDT
- Ha ha ha ha! That looks like a f*cking trash can!
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