Wilson Audio Alexia V Loudspeaker £79,998 Review

https://www.hifinews.com/content/wilson-audio-alexia-v-loudspeaker

Recalling a mentor who said, ‘If the soundstage is correct, all else will follow’, as with the Wilsonian concern for coherent and correct time arrival, within the soundstage – thanks to its scale, width, depth and height – I could picture with ease the performers and the instruments, and their relative sizes. Retrieval of detail was of macro-lens precision, as was exact instrument positioning. Confirmed in part by images in the CD’s booklet, it occurred to me that use of the term ‘uncanny’ is actually an understatement.

What turned this into a life-affirming experience, after dozens of favourite test tracks including most of Lou Rawls’ At Last [Blue Note CDP 7 91937 2] and the most authentic reproduction and contrast between his growl and Dianne Reeves’ sparkle, as well as Keb’ Mo’s Peace… Back By Popular Demand [Okeh/Epic EK 92687] with its gorgeous piano passages, was a recording from the Age of Sibilance. I don’t know why so many 1980s recordings are the antithesis of those from the velvety 1950s, but too many nestle on a knife-edge between treble extension and torment.