Audio Esoterica Issue 1 - 2021

The new Wilson Audio Alexx 5 is not an updated version of the original Alexx that was released to universal acclaim in 2016. Designer Darryl Wilson says he and his team decided to approach the Alexx V as it if were an all-new loudspeaker. “We took elements that clearly worked in the origi-nal design and began to apply the myriad of technologies generated by Wilson’s R&D since the advent of the Alexx for the WAMM Master Chronosonic, Chronosonic XVX, Sasha DAW, and SabrinaX,” he said This sees the new Alexx V using the same 177mm Alnico QuadraMag driver originally developed for the Chronosonic XV. Its crossover network uses the same AudioCapX-WA capacitors that are used in the WAMM Master Chronosonic, all of which are made in-house at Wilson Audio. Its terminals…

The new Wilson Audio Alexx 5 is not an updated version of the original Alexx that was released to universal acclaim in 2016. Designer Darryl Wilson says he and his team decided to approach the Alexx V as it if were an all-new loudspeaker. “We took elements that clearly worked in the origi-nal design and began to apply the myriad of technologies generated by Wilson’s R&D since the advent of the Alexx for the WAMM Master Chronosonic, Chronosonic XVX, Sasha DAW, and SabrinaX,” he said This sees the new Alexx V using the same 177mm Alnico QuadraMag driver originally developed for the Chronosonic XV. Its crossover network uses the same AudioCapX-WA capacitors that are used in the WAMM Master Chronosonic, all of which are made in-house at Wilson Audio. Its…

Bergmann turntables oat in the air, liter-ally! Or, to be more precise, the rotating platters on Bergmann turntables float on a layer of air, in order to make sure that unwanted noise cannot affect the music on an LP. It isn’t only the platter that floats in the air either — so does the tonearm that supports the phono cartridge, so there’s no way for noise to enter your hi-fi system that way either. Play LPs on a Bergmann turntable and you hear only the music, nothing else. The Bergmann name is hallowed in hi-fi circles because every single part used in its turntables and tonearms is manufactured in designer Johnnie Bergmann’s own workshop in Denmark. His Galder turntable (pictured here in its Gold Edition, with a matching Gold Edition Odin…

Melbourne’s Tivoli Hi-Fi in Hawthorn East is a destination store for hi-fi, home theatre and installation projects, and is renowned not only for the quality of its advice but also for the quality and décor of its listening rooms. We asked Tivoli Hi-Fi’s James Tranchina to give us a quick tour around some of their key high-end brands and latest arrivals. First stop was Wilson Audio, which has just returned to Tivoli Hi-Fiwith its SabrinaX, Sasha DAW and Alexia Series 2 models. We asked James what makes Wilson Audio special. “Well they just sound absolutely gorgeous,” he says. “It’s a speaker we know well as a store, and while there’s no right or wrong when it comes to speaker choice, I just feel they’re the most natural and honest-sounding speaker that…

Bergmann turntables oat in the air, liter-ally! Or, to be more precise, the rotating platters on Bergmann turntables float on a layer of air, in order to make sure that unwanted noise cannot affect the music on an LP. It isn’t only the platter that floats in the air either — so does the tonearm that supports the phono cartridge, so there’s no way for noise to enter your hi-fi system that way either. Play LPs on a Bergmann turntable and you hear only the music, nothing else. The Bergmann name is hallowed in hi-fi circles because every single part used in its turntables and tonearms is manufactured in designer Johnnie Bergmann’s own workshop in Denmark. His Galder turntable (pictured here in its Gold Edition, with a matching Gold Edition Odin…