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Wilmslow Audio

S

silviffer

pfm Member
Anyone on the forum own/owned or auditioned any of the Wimslow speakers ?
Did you buy them completed or build yourself?
How do you rate them ?
Also anyone any experience of the Visaton range they advertise?
Was looking at their website this afternoon and was curious.
Hopefully I will treat myself to some new speakers in the new year but just where do you start ?
 
silviffer said:
Anyone on the forum own/owned or auditioned any of the Wimslow speakers ?
Did you buy them completed or build yourself?
How do you rate them ?
Also anyone any experience of the Visaton range they advertise?
Was looking at their website this afternoon and was curious.
Hopefully I will treat myself to some new speakers in the new year but just where do you start ?
Click to expand...

The value for money ratio is quite high but they don't provide any measurements so I gave up on the idea...
 
Start with knowing what you mostly play and what kind of room you've got and where you can put you speaker, then budget, then match speaekrs to that.

Stefan
 
Hi tuga.
Not sure which measurements you are referrng to but I found quite a few on their website.(not that it means much to me apart from the physical size) Maybe they've modified it recently.
Just wondered if the consensus was bright or warm sounding or if they liked a particular amp etc. Are they sensitive to position, that type of thing.
Also they ae supposed to be 'childsplay' to build so I was just curious if anyone had found this to be true.
Regards.
 
Thanks orangeart.
My room is roughly 24"×12 but have to have speakers firing across. Because of this they need to be positioned close to the back wall and around 7 feet apart.
My amps are Avondale monoblocks.
As for type of music it''s pretty much anything depending on the days mood.

Regards.
 
Probably best to avoid speakers with a rear firing port then, try sealed or front port. Maybe a rear loaded horn that needs boundary loading if you don't mind them sticking out a bit.

What sort of extension and volume do you prefer?

Lautsprecher kits are good, however they only supply the components, not the cabinet, they aren't the cheapest for components either. Falcon would be best for components generally although I can supply them, albeit not through my site.

If you do fancy the DIY route then some of the Ergo IX speakers James designed and that I supply occasionally, work very well in your situation.

Wilmslow are a good company, some of the speakers are great, worth getting opinion on some of the larger ones though before taking the plunge. They are great to deal with though.

Stefan
 
silviffer said:
Anyone on the forum own/owned or auditioned any of the Wimslow speakers ?
Did you buy them completed or build yourself?
How do you rate them ?
Also anyone any experience of the Visaton range they advertise?
Was looking at their website this afternoon and was curious.
Hopefully I will treat myself to some new speakers in the new year but just where do you start ?
Click to expand...
The lads from Wilmslow helped me finish off my IPL kit, always good to get a pro on the job...I live nearby and they've always been very helpful

I don't have any personal experience of their kits, however I'm very happy with my IPL S5TL Mk2s, and would thoroughly recommend going the kit route...even if you have to employ a grown up to build them...

http://www.iplacoustics.co.uk/S5tl Kevlar 2.htm

I believe Wilmslow provide fully built kits too
 
Have a look at AOS too, they make some gorgeous kit speakers.

http://www.aos-lautsprecher.de/

I have a pair of their Studio 100 XL ATC. Huge transmission line floorstanders and bloody marvellous they are too. You are welcome to come and have a listen.
 
silviffer said:
Hi tuga.
Not sure which measurements you are referrng to but I found quite a few on their website.(not that it means much to me apart from the physical size) Maybe they've modified it recently.
Just wondered if the consensus was bright or warm sounding or if they liked a particular amp etc. Are they sensitive to position, that type of thing.
Also they ae supposed to be 'childsplay' to build so I was just curious if anyone had found this to be true.
Regards.
Click to expand...

Hi silviffer,

I was referring to measurements akin to those published by Stereophile, not just a few simple specifications.

R
 
Thanks to all for the advice and offers, especially Mike P for the offer of an audition, but surprisingly no replies from any owners of Wilmslow kit, past or present.

Mark.
 
silviffer said:
Thanks to all for the advice and offers, especially Mike P for the offer of an audition, but surprisingly no replies from any owners of Wilmslow kit, past or present.

Mark.
Click to expand...

I did own some Wilmslow Audio speakers medium sized floorstanding speakers about 7 or 8 years ago but they seemed to be a one-off rather than one of their standard models. I suspect they had been extensively modified by a customer.

Anyway, they had very good drivers and crossover components (the drivers alone were worth more than I paid for the speakers) and the clarity and imaging was good but they were rather bass shy in my room. But like I said, they weren't a Wilmslow design/recipe so I doubt they were at all representative of what W.A speakers usually sound like.

My current speakers are the AOS Studio 100 which I suppose would be very comparable to the current big Wilmslow Audio transmission line designs.

As a general rule, kit speakers will get you much better quality than famous name speakers bought at retail price.

Second hand kit speakers can be ridiculously fantastic value for money because they are far harder to sell and therefore command much lower residual prices than well known brands!
 
I too have built some in the past...tiny bookshelf monitors for a musician pal. They were excellent, but we ( he being a joiner) made our own cabs. In those days the range was far simpler, Theyb are great to deal with, so phone, explain your room , budget and taste and they'll suggest something I'm sure. You save a lot of money, but you'll also lose some at sale time. They won't hold value like well know commercial units can.
 
tuga said:
Hi silviffer,

I was referring to measurements akin to those published by Stereophile, not just a few simple specifications.

R
Click to expand...

There was some measurements of the Prestige Platinum on Diyaudio but you can't see them anymore, the description says It all though - (Post #552)
 
I built the Mercury standmounts about 10 years ago, it was great fun and they are superb speakers with top notch scanspeak drivers. I originally drove them active with a digital crossover but then went passive with the supplied crossover and they were still great wee speakers. I still occasionally hook them up but my room needs bigger speakers tbh.

The soldering was a wee bit fiddly but that's because I'm rubbish at it! I bought the plain MDF cabinets and painted them- which took weeks - used spray can paint but needed dozens of coats, sanding between each coat after drying time, then final lacquer.

I am very tempted to build one of their larger kits but am disappointed they don't offer any sealed box designs which I would prefer.
 
I think I've probably mislead people about the DIY aspect.
I doubt I would personally attempt this route but wondered if it was as easy as their website suggests.
I was however interested on opinions about the actial finished product. Mainly the floors standers .

Thanks to all who contributed.
 
I'd have thought they were easy to get a good finished product with. My customers always find my kits easy to build and Wilmslow have been at it for much longer than I have.
 
Don't be put off. They are VERY easy and fit together well. You made need some variation of screw size, but it you can make an IKEA cabinet, these are not much harder.
Veneered finishes can look untidy at the joined corners in a flat pack design. I'd buy MDY kits and paint them if you have those skills and the kit to do it.
 
I did a Morel driver based TL floorstander kit and a mini monitor with Elact tweeters from Wilmslow audio about 20 years ago. I heard the TL's at a hifi show and thought they were the best sound I'd heard throughout all the rooms. Both were dead easy to build for the most part and very satisfying. The hardest bit was getting the tuning right with the wool used for damping - mine lost all the mid-bass until I figured it out. Both are still in use today. My son has the mini monitors. I took my hifi gear up to Wilmslow's showroom and spent a couple of hours in the listening room until I found my favorites. Usually they have their full range on dem but not been there in ages. I used Iron on veneer for the sides and matt black for the front baffle. Looked very professional. Just make sure you get all the joints sanded smooth before you apply veneer or it will show through. For MDF you can get some primer/filler which you can build-up to give you that super deep gloss finish but I could not be bothered. For my main listening I prefer my Kef Reference only because they go lower and have better scale.

You can't argue with the cost benefit of doing a DIY speaker - you definitely get more bang for your buck. Depends how much time you have? I do plan to do another - recommend going there or IPL for some dems.
 
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