As I wrote in my review, the XVX “is the most realistic sounding, the most musically expressive, and the most intellectually and emotionally engaging loudspeaker I’ve heard. Transient fidelity, from the hardest-hit snare drum to the finest micro-attack of a triangle, is thrillingly realistic. The sonic subtlety belies the massive amount of real musical information conveyed. Although the XVX abounds in sonic virtues, I’ve come to realize that what sets it apart, and what makes it so musically compelling, is that the speaker’s tremendous resolution is rendered not as sonic detail but rather as greater timbral realism and beauty. Even after 18 months of near-daily listening, the XVX continues to astound with its preternatural immediacy and sense of presence, a thrilling combination of bass weight, speed, and definition, and a treble that is highly resolving without calling attention to itself. Wilson Audio Chronosonic XVX Loudspeaker $329,000Īlthough I’ve heaped plenty of praise on Wilson’s Chronosonic XVX (including our 2020 Overall Product of the Year Award), I’m going to add to the accolades with this Golden Ear Award. The gorgeous leather-clad casework adds to the appeal. The Hybrid creates a directness of musical expression-of hearing nothing between you and the music-that is unique among solid-state amplifiers, in my experience. Yet there’s no hint of transistors in the Hybrid’s sound it has astonishing liquidity of timbre, is utterly grain-free, and projects that elusive sense of midrange presence that is the hallmark of the best SETs. As its name suggests, the Hybrid combines tubes in the front end with a 275Wpc (4 ohms) solid-state output stage. Astonishingly, Absolare has managed to capture much of the magic of those two reference-class products in the Hybrid Stereo power amplifier. The Passion SET amplifiers brought the glories of single-ended triode to an amp that could drive real-world loudspeakers. Both products are all-tube ultra-minimalist designs executed with the world’s finest parts. Absolare Hybrid Stereo Power Amplifier, Signature Edition $52,000Ībsolare made a name for itself with the spectacular Passion preamplifier and Passion 845 power amplifiers.
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