David A. Wilson passed away in 2018 after a rather courageous battle with cancer, and the audio industry legend never settled for anything that was second best. Wilson Audio was his life, a company that he co-founded in 1974 with his wife, Sheryl Lee Wilson. Wilson Audio moved from California to Utah where it has been manufacturing some of the world’s best and most expensive loudspeakers for decades.
Wilson is a family affair run by the children in 2022 and creating some of its best products ever. The attention to detail and acoustic engineering has never wavered in defiance of naysayers who have longed considered the products to be over-hyped by the media. The new Wilson Audio Alexia V are definitely on the pricier side and decades removed from the Watt/Puppy model that carried the brand in the 1980s and early 1990s. Wilson Audio has a global following and while the prices certainly limit who can afford them — there are thousands of audiophiles who will own nothing else.
It is a stretch to call the Wilson Audio Alexia V a mid-tier model. With an asking price of $67,500 to $79,500 USD depending on finish, that’s exactly where the new Alexia V floor standing speaker sits in the brand’s range of ultra high-end loudspeakers.
The new Alexia V is the successor to the Alexia Series 2 from 2017. The company says it incorporates more than thirty areas of trickle down improvements from its higher-end models.
The Alexia V stand about 4.5 feet tall and weigh 265 lbs each. The handcrafted loudspeaker utilizes many exotic and proprietary materials including secretively named X-Material, S-Material, and V-Material as well as carbon fiber, aerospace grade aluminum, austenitic stainless steel, and gold connections throughout the entire signal path. Each element is said to have been carefully chosen and optimized for its distinctive role in extraordinary sound reproduction.
First introduced in the Alexx V, Wilson’s Convergent Synergy Carbon (CSC) Tweeter now finds a place in the Alexia V. This unique and complex carbon fiber rear-wave chamber is constructed entirely in-house on one of our many dedicated 3D printers. Listening to the results of this special tweeter, the company claims one can’t help but get lost in its ability to present an unprecedented level of ambient retrieval and exceptional harmonic expression.
The integration of the tweeter and midrange is an absolutely critical element to accurate sound reproduction. Originally, when Alexia Series 2 was introduced, it utilized the same cellulose fiber/carbon composite midrange unit as is found in the WAMM Master Chronosonic®.
This midrange has served Alexia well over the years. After extensive experimentation and system refinements, the Alnico (Aluminum-Nickel-Cobalt) QuadraMag™ has been successfully incorporated into the design and selected as the main midrange for the Alexia V. First developed for the Chronosonic XVX®, the QuadraMag midrange provides a tonally rich and life-like sound.
Wilson Audio’s bespoke binding posts create a cleaner signal path at its point of contact. Both banana plug and traditional spade connections can be used with this binding post. Additionally, the new spades, previously only found on the Chronosonic XVX and Alexx V, are optimized to couple precisely with the binding posts. New custom-built cables connecting everything inside Alexia V provide a balanced and beautiful sounding signal path.
Each custom capacitor used in both Alexia V’s crossovers has been wound and finished at Wilson Audio’s in-house capacitor manufacturing department (Reliable Capacitors®). These unique capacitors are made to industry-leading tight tolerances. The AudioCapX-WA™ capacitors, along with fine-tuning in the crossover topology, have contributed to a new standard in low-level loudspeaker resolution.
Modifications made in the crossover slightly improved the impedance measurement of 2.59 ohms at 84 Hz from 2.54 ohms. Alexia V’s sensitivity measurement has also improved by +1dB over that found in Alexia Series 2.
V-Material is nested in the top of the woofer and midrange enclosures for increased vibration mitigation and control. By using X-Material throughout all three modules and methodically refining the internal bracing and panel thicknesses, Wilson Audio’s Engineers have enhanced enclosure damping to a new standard for this product category. Wilson’s research has found S-Material to be a superior material option for midrange driver coupling and provides an open and accurate sonic presentation.
Sculpted to blend with the new form and increase structural integrity, the midrange enclosure alignment bridge better reinforces the module’s external frame and is a more massive construction using a combination of X-Material and aluminum. A delicate balance is formed within the lines of Alexia V.
In some areas, mass was increased, while in others, material was removed. The cutout that reduces unwanted pressure between the midrange and woofer enclosures found on the top of the Sasha DAW® woofer blades is now a part of Alexia V. The more aerodynamic-looking tweeter module has been reshaped to comfortably house the larger Convergent Synergy Carbon™ tweeter.
A few more of the upgrades found in Alexia V:
- Included with Alexia V is a complete set of Wilson Audio Acoustic Diode™. An all-new spike system launched with Alexx V, which has been completely upgraded from our standard spike system, and features a novel combination of austenitic stainless steel and V-Material. This coupling system was created by Wilson Audio’s Special Applications Engineering® (WASAE) division and has superlative vibration management that reveals far greater dynamic nuances across the entire frequency spectrum. These Acoustic Diodes come in two finish options – Natural Stainless Steel and Carbon Black.
- Resistor mounting hardware is now attached to carbon fiber and angled in such a way for a more beautiful presentation and ease to work with.
- The improved and aesthetically appealing external cable dressing solution.
- A new stylized alignment “staircase” block has been developed for ease of visibility during installation.
- The woofer port has been improved to increase laminar flow.
- Mid enclosure internal volume was increased 6.4% to allow a more open-sounding midrange. The woofer enclosure internal volume is now 8.9% larger compared with Alexia Series 2, creating deeper low-frequency reproduction and faster transient settling.
- Refined internal midrange wave diffusers allow faster midrange settling.
- There is now an integrated Bubble level on the top of the woofer cabinet which makes leveling the loudspeaker much easier and more convenient.
“At its core, it’s about our love of music. Sharing that love through the products we make is our goal.” -David A. Wilson II
Price & Availability
The Wilson Audio Alexia V will be available globally on September 23, 2022 at the following U.S. MSRP:
- Standard Finishes: $67,500
- Upgrade Finishes: $69,500
- Custom Finishes: $71,500
- Premium Finishes: $79,500
Alexia V Specifications:
Measurements:
- Nominal Impedance: 4 ohms / minimum 2.59 ohms @ 84 Hz
- Sensitivity: 90 dB @ 1W @ 1m @ 1k
- Frequency Response: 19 Hz – 33 kHz +/- 3 dB
- Minimum Amplification Power Recommended: 20 watts/channel
Drivers:
- Woofer: 8 inches (20.32 cm) Cone Material: Paper Pulp
- Woofer: 10 inches (25.4 cm) Cone Material: Paper Pulp
- Midrange: 7 inches (17.78 cm) Cone Material: Paper Pulp Composite
- Tweeter: 1 inch, Dome (2.54 cm) Material: Doped Silk Fabric
Dimensions:
- Height: 53 3/32 inches (134.86 cm) w/spikes [Variable]
- Width: 15 3/4 inches (40.01 cm)
- Depth: 24 3/16 inches (61.41 cm)
Enclosure Type:
- Woofer: (Rear Ported) Material: X-Material
- Midrange: (Rear Vented) Material: X-Material/ S-Material baffle
- Tweeter: (Sealed) Material: X-Material
- Damping Inserts: Material: V-Material
- Woofer Top / Midrange Top / Acoustic Diodes
Product Weight:
- Weight Per Channel Uncrated: 265 lbs (120.20 kg)
- Approximate Shipping Weight: 795 lbs (360.61 kg)
For more information: wilsonaudio.com/…/alexia-v
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