CAS 2013: Music Lovers presents Wilson, Aesthetix, AMG, Ayre, Shunyata
These little critters were super dynamic and I thought the sound was very well-rounded and balanced; I didn’t find myself wishing for a subwoofer to fill things out. When I first entered the room they were definitely a little overdriven, probably in an attempt to demonstrate that they could hold their own in a ballroom — the volume was turned up to eleven, and while they performed valiantly, I much preferred the sound when turned down to simply “loud” rather than “earsplitting.” I have no doubt, however, that they could handle my living room with little difficulty, and in an apartment I could get myself in trouble with my neighbors, no problem.
The Wilsons were powered by Ayre gear: a KX-5 preamp, VX-5 power amp ($7,950), and DX-5 A/V Engine ($10,950). The Audio Beat caught some good info on that new preamp:
The Ayre KX-5 preamp was derived from the preamp section of AX-5 integrated amp, which itself was derived from the KX-R. It has the same VGT variable gain stage as Ayre’s top preamp and Ayre’s Diamond output stage. It was shown in pre-production form, so pricing was not set, but it should be around $8000.
This was an all-analog room, with an AMG Viella 12 turntable with 12J2 tonearm ($16,500) and Benz Micro SLR Gullwing cartridge ($3,000) running through an Aesthetix Rhea Signature phono stage ($7,000). Shunyata cables throughout.
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Unsightly cables?
Most cables tend to make a room look a bit cluttered, even if they are the prettiest cables ever. It’s something I accept in my living room (my living room is incredibly cluttered anyway), but I think the built-in cable runs in the speaker stands are a bonus for people who are trying to make a system fit into a smaller shared space, which is one of the intents of the whole speaker design.
Very few reports mention the audio racks. I a assume these are Grand Prix racks with glass shelves. Did you notice any negative contribution from the glass shelves?
These particular Grand Prix shelves are acrylic. They also come in a carbon fiber version for improved damping.
You’re right, I overlooked the racks on this one! I’m trying to be better about that. These are, indeed, Grand Prix racks — Grand Prix Monaco, I believe. I’m afraid I couldn’t really speak to any contribution, positive or negative; nothing stood out as glaring, but I usually have to be more intimate with a system before I start to key in on things like rack resonance — unless it’s really atrocious, of course.