After an exhaustive search, I’ve finally acquired my first pair of Wilson Audio speakers. First introduced in 2006, the Duette Series 1 speakers were handcrafted in Provo, Utah and are unique among their peers in that they can be configured to support a variety of “hostile environments” without sacrificing performance or sound quality. This is accomplished by selecting the appropriate tweeter resistors and specialized “umbilical” speaker cables that connect the external crossover network to the actual speaker enclosure per the setup instructions. There’s a LOT to unpack here with the Duette’s so I’ve included helpful time-stamps and a 60-second tl;dr section on my listening takeaways. If you own Duette’s or other Wilson Audio speakers, or if you have questions, let me know in the comments below and I’ll try to respond to as many as I can.
(Full disclosure: I purchased these speakers myself and received no compensation or discounts from Wilson Audio or any other entity.)
Make sure to check out my conversation with Wilson Audio CEO, Daryl Wilson: https://youtu.be/HmwPvvdwcwM
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Tracks referenced in my video ⬇️
• “Reeth” (Live at Paramount Theater) by Penny and Sparrow – https://amzn.to/3GjZzuO
• “Iron Sky” by Paolo Nutini – https://amzn.to/3vwX2Z9
• “Roots & Branches” (Live Session) by This Wild Life – https://amzn.to/3X2wMS1
• “Undone (Some Kind Of Peace)” by Ólafur Arnalds – https://amzn.to/3Ckrtpa
• “Youngblood” by 5 Seconds of Summer – https://amzn.to/3Q8JTPn
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📷 Follow @markonhifi on Instagram for more behind the scenes content.
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🚨 I also post regular updates for subscribers on my YouTube community page: https://www.youtube.com/c/MarkonHifi/community
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Here are a few other videos you might find interesting ⬇️
• My thoughts after listening to Wilson Audio Chronosonic XVX speakers at JS Audio: https://youtu.be/jpkmjVoC40w
• Fixing My Awful Room With GIK Acoustics: https://youtu.be/GooYEH7UQvc
• Dynaudio Heritage Special Review: https://youtu.be/ZV56xgUqIhA
Timestamps:
00:00 – Introduction
01:12 – Duette Background Info
10:15 – Listening Impressions (60 Second Summary)
10:57 – Low-Level Detail
12:53 – Imaging
14:31 – Midrange Body & Texture
16:40 – Bass & Dynamics!
18:57 – Comparison To Dynaudio Heritage Specials
21:09 – Listening Notes w/ Track Mentions
27:28 – Things I Didn’t Like As Much
31:30 – Are They Still Relevant Today?
#wilsonaudio #audiophile #speakers
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Really great music suggestions, Mark!! Love the tracks.
Soooo….. is there a Macintosh 9500 in your future?? 😂😮
I really like this video, your viewpoint and crystal clear analytics that i am unfortunately not capable of doing!
I am still happy with my HS's – interestingly I originally got hooked by them because of their speed…When those Wilsons are difficult to setup properly to achieve good results, they are probably not for me as a kind of "earless" Hifi noob 😉
Would you think that the HS's would also benefit from even more juice? Did you "EQed" your HS with the tone control, too? (i am outing myself as a loudness hearer)
PS: hearing Ólafur Arnalds the first time and loving it…Thanks!
My local HiFi pusher played a pair of Sabrinas with an Audio Research I/50. Very hard to forget. And I completely get what you are talking about regarding lack of graininess. I covet them.
I'm still waiting for someone to give the Ascend Sierra LX a go, it's a near perfect measuring speaker for a significantly more affordable price.
Many pro speakers give you settings for different placement in your room. I have a pair of Kali IN8's which have this facility.
Great looking pair of speakers Mark! I’m curious to hear how they compare to my Totem Fire bookshelves which Vince Bruzzese actually design to compete with the Wilsons. I live in Montgomery County so maybe we can actually compre them at some point.
Mark, Just to be clear (no pun intended) A/R lenses are not just so you look better on camera, it significantly improves your vision. A/R coating was first invented for camera lenses to improve resolution when taking aerial photos for military surveillance about 80 years ago.
Nice finding that next level isn't it Mark! Nice share on the song selections, first three added to mine.
Nothing wrong with going to higher end older stuff for sure, my 802d2's are all I'll ever need, sure an a happy camper! 😊
Thank you for remembering me of Paolo Nutini! "New Shoe's" is one of my favorite songs.
Stand mount speakers are a compromise – not recommended unless space is very limited
Can't afford them thousand dollar speakers, thus Dyi copy foam/cloth front baffles.
Very nice speaker.I have a pair of Watt& puppys the first thing i‘ve recognized that they need more control than my Mcintosh MA-7000 could deliver.I switched to Class -A Brinkmann Stereo and they play on a completely different level.
I think propably that would be a way to make your speakers play even way better.
A midsized setup of for example spectral-gear would put you 5 steps ahead.I don’t think mcintosh is a bad amplification, but there‘s a better choice for Wilson.(only my oppinion and listening expierence)
Wicked cool Mark and huge congrats man!
Sophia 3 are not much more money and a better value.
I have Sasha 2's powered by Mc MA12000 and can use every single watt
Good to have you back 😁
For 15,000 USD (price in 2012), they should not only play music, they should also clean, wash the dishes, make the beds and walk the dog.
Like cooking ingredients matter as this relates to loudspeakers the quality of crossover components cabinet construction and architecture to provide minimum diffraction issues are crucial. One can also throw huge amounts of money on top-notch parts, but without a truly good design roadmap the results are gonna be disappointing as I found out when I started building speakers 30 years ago. Wilson Audio has always made a great product, but as you pointed out with lesser recordings it could be a bit disappointing. My middle ground on this has been Vandersteen model 5 and Magnenpan with lots of mods, Structure and crossover
I owned a wilson watt pupy for years and than switch to BW801 . The wilsons were not musical .The watts/pupies were a great monitor speaker . Great clarity but not musical and tend to emphasis the midrange and up .
Great review!!! I've had these for many years and have really loved them. My system is similar to yours — I drive them with a McIntosh MA6900 (200 wpc) integrated. Your review is really spot on and matches my experience closely. These really do benefit from care in placement. The bass is also surprising in its depth and clarity. The sound is wonderful, but they are not forgiving of bad recordings. I've never thought that they are under powered by 200 wpc, but I generally listen at moderate volumes. Your review accurately captures in detail what I have experienced with speakers, and I recommend it to anyone considering purchasing these speakers on the used market. Thanks for the great content!
Nice, Looks like its time to get Jeff Rowland's Continuum S2 integrated, that will hook them up. 400 into 8 and 800 into 4.
What kind of sound absorption do you have on your back walls?
Hi.
Do you feel that your Dynaudio journey is over?
The Wilson Duette are musical enough?
My father was a huge Wilson fan. I was a huge diy fan. Long story short he died and I started looking up Wilson's. My diy speaker is scan speak. We were both right. I've since listed to quite a few Wilson's and they are my new reference too. If you can't afford them I'd highly suggest diy. It's really the only way to get top end crossovers and sound. Even my focal 1038s don't have the nuance and clarity of the diy bookshelf I built.
I demoed the duette v1 in the same room as a pair thiel 3.7s one time. Same system back to back.
I came away thinking the duette had a lot of upper bass for their size but lack the resolution and refinement of the Thiels. As in the thiels were smoother with wider dispersion.
Yeah totally different speakers but the price was more or less the same…
I bought a pair of thiel 2.4s and used them for about 10 years after that.
Thanks!
Where did you get the Wilson's from
I owned these for a long time, very very good…. need the stands
Watt Puppy 6 or above for 5-6k used will take you to the next level.
Great video.
Spot on review…. Dry and forward, recordings sound live. Room position is key. I hate to say it, Wilsons live up to the hype.
What is a "reference speaker"?
Glad you like them. I doubt they will be long termers for you though. 'Dynamics, dynamics, dynamics' maybe in the end too much for you for constant listening. Subtlety and finesse tend to lend themselves to overall listening pleasure. Perhaps save money instead, move to another property with a better listening room which may after all be better for you long term.
put those speakers on pieces of pure dyneema rope.. You will be surprised
Congrats mark on the Duettes. I hope you will have an update down the road after living with them for a while and be curious if you have any further opinions you are still quite happy with them and perhaps over time after breaking in they even become more mellow. I currently am using a pair of Joseph Audio Pulsar 2 Graphene bookshelf speakers paired with a Hegel H590 and if you happen to be familiar with them as a side by side comparison with your Duettes. One reason I want to know is I am tempted to change the J.A.s to the next model up which are the Perspective 2 Graphenes and whether it is worth it or consider the Wilsons like you have. Thanks Mark.
So glad you’re back and discussing your journey with your audience. You have inspired me to build a Mac system and I have a life goal of getting the Wilson Sasha DAW. Someday.
IT'S A MUST!! BLIND FAITH!! DO WANT YOU LIKE!!! GREAT ALBUM!!
Happy new year Mark, good to see you back with another brilliant review. I know I can trust you as we both play the violin and listen to all kinds of genres. I used to think wood makes best resonant material hence I tend to like Harbeth Spendor and Dynaudio. Now you really got me thinking! Can Wilson really reproduce timbre that much better than HS?but this is serious money lol, think I’ll keep my car for now.
Music suggestion: Album – Music for Organ, Brass, and Percussion, Empire Brass and Michael Murray –
Track – 1st track
Hi Mark, nice to have you back for more reviews. I noticed you got a Chord Qutest DAC. Any plan on reviewing that? I’d like to know you thoughts to compare the Qutest and Denafrips Pontus II DAC, which you reviewed before.
I guess you never heard the TAD ME1. They sound better and more full range to me. I like Wilson speakers but there are definitely other companies that can compete easily. Often at a much lower price tag.
Wish your voice dB a bit louder in this video.
Congrats! It's only natural a vocalist would gravitate to Wilson!
15k for a passive Compact Speaker… ridiciolous… there are far better options in the Active Market where you get the same accouracy but incl dsp, roomcorrection and active concept (Neumann, Genelec, PSI Audio and so many more…)
These are nice!! I’ve always liked WA speakers. Just beautiful
Get a pair of Maggies and call it a day.😉
Where's the TuneTots?
Mark have you tried any other amps with your speakers besides Mcintosh? Always a bit underwhelming when I auditioned them and very over priced in Australia.
I like your videoes. You should listen to Audiovector R1 arrete standmount speakers. They are among the very best.