I was on vacation this week and spent some time in Denver, and stopped in Moab for some jeep'n on the way home. Then yesterday as I drove through Utah, I stopped in for a scheduled tour of the Wilson Audio factory/headquarters. WOW.....is all I can say. Very clean, very organized, every process on every speaker they have ever made has been documented. Some really really cool R&D setup. They have expanded and are in the process of building a full-on anechoic chamber, and an "environmental" room where they can simulate any weather condition (for international consistency in product design and construction as well as sound quality).
I got to listen to 3 identical speakers other than the enclosure materials. The drivers and crossovers were matched within .1% or something ridiculous....so the only difference was the material of the enclosure. It was interesting to see why they choose to use proprietary composites for their enclosures rather than more conventional materials.
I also got to have a proper A/B comparison between the Watt Puppy 8 and the B&W 800D. No contest. I have never really been a huge fan of the "B&W sound"....the diamond tweeter, new crossover, and new woofer materials have made a definite improvement over the old Nautilus line, but still....not my taste.
The finishing process is nothing short of amazing! The inspections, prep., and paint process is extensive and the tolerances are unreal. The cabinet faces are spec'd within a 8/1000" tolerance. They use a feeler gauge over the whole cabinet....this happens once before prep-work, and once again after paint. Their new paint booths are the best in the world. Dave Wilson recently made a trip to the Ferrari factory, and their paint facilities dont even measure up to Wilson's standards and equipment. Its serious business. The paint is naturally cured for at least 5 days before packing and shipping.
The extensively modified Focal and Scan Speak drivers are burned in before measuring for matching. And then measured again after assembly to be within the .5% tolerances for each speaker compared to a reference. The custom crossovers are also tested and measured 3 times....once as individual components for matching, once assembled, and once after potting....then the whole speaker is measured again after final assembly.
You can read more about most of this on their website www.wilsonaudio.com. It was a fabulous visit and great people they are. I met briefly with Dave Wilson himself...his son Daryl gave me the tour. One day....I will own Wilsons. Mark my words.
My second stop turned out to be an entire afternoon spent with Sean Casey, co-founder of Zu Audio. I ran around with him as he took care of some business. One of our stops took us to the Kimber Kable factory/headquarters. I got to meet Ray Kimber, and he gave me a short but WOW demo of the famous IsoMike, 8 x Soundlab ProStat 4 channel system. It was unreal the space, and realism that rig produced. Do some research on this setup.....its eerie how real things sound with that system.
Then we took a quick tour of the Zu facility. They also do any paint finish you can imagine on their speakers. They have an extensive burn-in procedure as well for their speakers. They simply apply loads of power, and play it super loud. Every pair of speaker has I think 100 hours on it before leaving the factory....and they claim to need more to become fully broken in....but thats a service any customer will appreciate.
I then was invited to Sean's home, where we listened to music for well over an hour. A decent Vinyl rig, and a full tube setup was on tap for the Druid MKIV speakers in Sean's basement. AMAZING....is all I can say. These speakers sounded different from any I have heard. But it was a good kind of different. They sounded like music...and not hi-fi. I heard that quoted a few other places by other people who have listened to Zu speakers. Its true. They have tone, timing, attack, realism, and just plain musicality. They play music so well, its hard to try and analyze the system....sometimes with super detailed, high resolution speakers (not that the Zus dont have detail and res.), you find yourself listening to the system and not the music....not so with the Zus.
After the evening was over, I thanked Sean, and drove back to ID. It was a great trip, and very rewarding. I have the utmost respect for the people at Wilson, Zu, and Kimber. 3 companies whom I would recommend anyone to consider when shopping for high end audio gear. Zu is a relatively new company, and is very innovative, energetic, and aggressive in their philosophy, and market strategy. They all love music, and have the know-how and resources to make their ideas reality. They sell direct and have a 60-day "try-before-you-buy" on all their cables and speakers. Their cable technology is extensive....both co-owners have worked for Kimber in the past, as well as other well-known audio companies. They make some deadly subwoofers too. And relatively inexpensive for the performance you get. www.zuaudio.com
Enjoy!
My Wilson Audio, Zu Audio, and Kimber Kable tours....
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Audiophiliac
- Posts: 918
- Joined: Mon Dec 18, 2006 9:41 pm
- Location: Boise, ID
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Audiophiliac
- Posts: 918
- Joined: Mon Dec 18, 2006 9:41 pm
- Location: Boise, ID
