Price Paid:  $0.00

Summary:
THIS WAS NOT BUILT FOR THE AVERAGE CONSUMER.IT WAS INTENDED TO SHOW WHAT YOU CAN DO WITH NO MONEY COSTRAINTS AND NO SIZE REQUIREMENTS.THAT SAID,I HEARD THIS SUB AT A ELECTRONICS SHOW AND IT DOES WHAT IT IS MADE TO DO.THAT IS PRODUCE THAT ABSOLUTE DEEPEST WITHOUT COLORATION OR ARTIFACTS KIND OF BASS AVAILABLE IN A REAL WORLD SITUATION.DON'T BE MAD AT THE MAKERS OF THE LARGEST AND BEST SUBWOOFER IN THE WORLD THAT IS PASSIVE NOT ACTIVE.SOME SAY OTHER SUBS CAN GO AS DEEP AS THE XS BUT NONE CAN MOVE THE AIR WITH SO MUCH AUTHORITY.THIS SPEAKER DOES IT JOB WITHOUT FLAWS!

Strengths:
THE BEST SOUNDING SUB IN THE WORLD BUT MADE FOR PEOPLE WITH SIX FIGURE SALARIES.

Weaknesses:
PEOPLE WOULD SAY BUT WHAT IS THE PRICE FOR BEING THE BEST AT WHAT IT DOES.

Similar Products Used:
NONE I CAN THINK OF

Price Paid:  $0.00 from I could never own th

Summary:
This is a response to Chris Bone's less-than-audiophile comparison of the Wilson XS with the vulgar and totally crude SVS B4-plus. I've heard the SVS. It can play 8 Hz (!). It can go so loud you won't believe your ears. If you have one in your home theater, it will definitely outperform the comparably-priced Velodyne flagship. It will flat-out blow away the best from Klipsch and Infinity. But it can't touch my Alón in the areas I find compelling, let alone hold a candle to the Wilson. The true test of an audiophile subwoofer is not how loud or low it goes, Mr. Bone. It's how fast and articulate it is in the delicate and soft passages. That's when you find out if you got your money's worth. That's why people will spend $5k for a REL that wouldn't consider an SVS at any price. Not that SVS doesn't produce some fantastic subs. They're a boom-for-the-buck leader. It's just that some of us out there like music, not explosions. All things considered, I think my Alón beats the Wilson. This is because I have price and placement constraints, like 99.999% of other buyers. But the XS isn't built for me, and obviously its virtues are lost on 'Audiophiles' like Chris Bone. Bone states that I know nothing of subwoofer design. I am a mechanical engineer who has designed subwoofers for four different vehicles, and will design the sub for my next new car as well. My autosound designs continue to get cheaper (my 2000 Accord sedan uses a single 8" woofer in a tuned enclosure, and gets more bass to the cabin than my first effort, a twin 10" sealed custom-fitted box in a Maxima, pushed with 600 watts of A/D/S power. This current setup (amp/driver/materials) cost me around $180, and with some careful tooling it almost can't be seen when you open the trunk, except for the custom porting. It's better than the crap you get at Circuit City or in Chris Bone's garage, but careful attention to the car's acoustics have allowed me to maximize the perceived amount of bass while minimizing the idiotic earthquake around the vehicle. I'm pushing that woofer with a bridged 60wpc amp, and it sounds better than my friend's $2000 Magnolia hifi setup--he told me he felt ripped off after listening to one of his discs in my car. So Chris Bone, unless you know what you're talking about, keep your trap shut. I hope you enjoy your slushy boombox. Just stop using the 'audiophile' tag until you acquire some knowledge of how music is reproduced.

Strengths:
Best sub you can't own.

Weaknesses:
see above.

Similar Products Used:
M&K (various), Revel, Alón.

Price Paid:  $0.00

Summary:
Wilson is the most over-priced company in the business. I have heard this sub and it is great-just not for the price. The poster who claims that this is some sort of engineering miracle that can not be reproduced in a home shop knows nothing about sub-woofer design. This sub is very do-able. In fact, the new SVS B4-Plus is as good or better for only $2400.00 (without amp). Make no mistake, when you buy Wilson you are paying for the price! Great equipment but purposely over-priced to garner clients who believe price equates to better.

Strengths:
Deep fast base.

Weaknesses:
Ridiculous price.

Similar Products Used:
Aerial, Rel, M&K, Krell

Price Paid:  $0.00

Summary:
Heard at CES at the Wilson display. The clowns that have bagged on this sub do not understand Wilson's philosophy. It is quite simply to produce the best possible sound, cost-no-object. All the bull**** about being able to come up with a homebuilt system that can do what the XS can do--for any amount of money, forget about LESS, is blowing smoke. Every inch of this thing, from top to bottom, was engineered for music, while our resident comedians talk about slapping a couple woofers into a box and hooking it up to an amp. The development cost of such a project is enormous, where materials, dimensions, components, etc. are chosen to make a sub that is a)the fastest possible, instantaneous and musical; b)capable of heart-stopping subsonic energy that is quantum leaps ahead of anything previously available; c)a previously unheard-of combination of limitless slam, bottomless frequency reproduction and delicate accuracy; and d)housed in an enclosure that is absolutely, totally devoid of resonance (better than if it were carved out of a piece of granite). EVERY subwoofer in existence is a compromise. They ALL have limitations imposed by size, cost and marketability constraints. Wilson's philosophy is to take the size, cost, and marketability concerns and throw them straight into the trash, then engineer the best subwoofer they are capable of regardless of whether they can sell a single unit. I'll never own a room capable of housing such a thing. I'll never budget the kind of money it takes to own such a thing. But I'm very glad there are humans out there exploring the absolute outer limits of what is possible. I trust my ears, and I trust the instruments used by the independent testers, and I trust the ears of experienced reviewers who've heard just about everything that's out there. Those guys essentially will tell you what I'm telling you: that the XS is excess. It is impossible to buy, impossible to get into your listening room, and impossible to place once it's there. It is also better than any other subwoofer currently in existence, and better than any sub likely to come along in the future unless it is the XS series II.

Strengths:
The best you can't own.

Weaknesses:
See above.

Similar Products Used:
Revel, M & K, Alon (my current sub--the best you CAN own).

Price Paid:  $0.00

Summary:
Why the hell do people have to give this thing a bad review just because it''s expensive? I understand a low rating on value, but on performance that''s just bulls***. Just because it''s expensive doesn''t mean anything, this sub is THE BEST. Period.