To Jeff Fritz,
First off, I just wanted to let you know that I am a big fan of yours. I've been following your reviews for years, but this is my first correspondence to you.
I just read your "Opinion" article, "Superspeaker Analysis: My Current Take on the Top Brands," and was wondering why the 180 on Wilson Audio? The last few articles you had stated that that brand was a far cry from the current SOTA [state of the art]. Thanks in advance for your time and hopefully a response.
Stephen Wong
Canada
I haven't made a 180 per se. But I have come to realize that, truly, it's not all about the sound when buying gear. Of course, great sound quality is critical, but to discount factors such as after-sales support is shortsighted. Would I buy the best-sounding loudspeaker in the world if I knew there were no replacement parts and no one could repair it in the case of a component failure? No, I wouldn't. Although you don't buy a superspeaker strictly as a financial investment, there is no denying that an owner is quite invested in the product -- financially and otherwise. I just happen to think that Wilson Audio is one of the safer brands to buy from -- they have been around for a long time and have an excellent track record for supporting their products worldwide. I still prefer the sound of speakers from several other brands to that of any Wilson speaker I have heard, but can easily understand why one would buy a Wilson product considering all the factors that go into a buying decision of the superspeaker magnitude. . . . Jeff Fritz
