Wilson TuneTot-performance for HALF THE MONEY?

[@mvgiles45]

The Mon Acoustics speakers, has a bass presence that really surprised me. The lows I heard coming from those ports made me ask the question, "if there was another speaker on the inside?" Nope, that's just the magic that this speaker brings. It's heavy, the aluminum cabinet is dead quiet and does not add any coloration. We listened to a couple of cuts from Marcus Miller's, Afrodeezia CD, "Preacher's kid and We were there," awesome imaging! The highs were silky smooth and detailed. The stands and aluminum cabinets made the speakers just disappear: all we heard was the music, just like it shoud be.

[@timpascoe5393]

How is it that you see to be the only KZbinr that’s figured out how to handle ad breaks? - it’s much appreciated and really makes watching more enjoyable

[@pony_drums]

Earliest I've been to a Darko vid! Just wanna say your music choices for your videos always hit

[@lsaideOK]

I like hearing about the various music choices but I think there tend to be too many. Makes the comparisons too complex and brief for my simple mind.

[@macmovieman1]

I always give you a like, and I’m already subscribed. Really an impressive speaker for the price and it was interesting how it gave the KEF R3 a gut punch, and beat out the Wilson’s overall.

[@rosswarren436]

AMT = Heil Air Motion Transformer, developed by Oskar Heil. Friend of mine had some nice speakers (the ESS AMT1) in the late 1970s with those and they were outstanding. Think the patent has expired so others may use them freely. One downside today is the "baby poop yellow" or "honeybee tail end yellow" depending on your psyche. Fortunately, some manufacturers have superseded those with other colors. I seem to remember my friend's tweeters looked more like metal plates, but maybe those were front baffles of some sort. Interesting concept for a tweeter. The upper notes of pianos sounded great. Love the Alva Noto. Perfect for an early cold November day. Thanks.

[@ivanm1800]

Thx for all your videos, honestly you're doing a brillant and entertaining job ! Cheers !

[@ajsdu06]

Thanks for another great review John. I would love to see you review the Audiovector R1 series (which also features an AMT tweeter in their high end models). Actually, I don't believe I've ever seen you review an Audiovector speaker 🤔?

[@nicholaskaethner2584]

Nice review. Thanks also for your album track mentions (recommendations). As a result I just relistened to The Man Who Sold The World again on Amazon Music in all its HiRes glory and was blown away - it's one of the first albums I bought on vinyl 40+ years ago at a school jumble sale!

[@syanhc]

Good to see lesser known brands being reviewed.

[@stevedeharde2712]

Since you are in Germany, I would be interested to see you review Fischer and Fischer slate loudspeakers. Their stand mounts would be a great comparison to the MONs

[@Z-u-m-a]

Solid review John. Always good content but you do seem particularly 'at ease' with them lately, which comes across really well. Nice looking speakers.

[@jonass.4449]

Thank You for mentioning, you really can see the music! Excellent content. 🙏

[@chrisrud5158]

GREAT call on Alva Noto....I'll be listening to this all night. Thanks!

[@nickthebubble4060]

For me EDM and IDM has always been my go to for testing my rigs but then I’m a massive old time raver. Added you music selection to my playlist . Chuffed.!👍

[@WarrenD-c6s]

Alva Noto - Hybr:id 1 and Erot - Gnesis were my staple albums in 2021 while working from home. Absolutely incredible albums!

[@audio_acoustic_engineering]

John, I appreciate your attitude towards HiFi. I always make a habit to listen to the songs you share in your videos on my system, it’s great fun.

[@greatwhite1958]

I’ve never bothered listening to electronic style music before but hearing some of your stuff has got me interested. I have just ordered your recommended album on this video as i enjoyed it on Apple Music. Please keep doing the recommendations as I would like to hear some more.

[@eliotcole]

OK, now I want these to make a peninsula based stereo with my ( _now aging_ ) April Music components ... THANKS, Darko! 😩

[@Chris.from.1950]

Thorough, thoughtful, intelligent , and interesting, as always! 🎉

[@CeeJay591]

Solid review, as always - great work

[@igloo687]

Man who sold the world, I’d bloomin’ forgotten what an astounding song this is. I love the live at Glasto 2000 version. Thank you for reminding me. Doug.

[@brianfirlie3693]

Just heard these on 11/10 at Capitol Audio Fest and was blown away. I had not read or seen any reviews on these and in fact was un aware of the company. They also offer a 25k Supermon and a 2k Super Mon Mini I really did prefer the Platimon VC1 over the Supermon and I am also considering the SuperMon Mini for my kitchen. The sound Mon Acoustics is extracting from these smaller units is just other worldly. And anyone with a WAF problem should also consider an audition craftsmanship is impeccable and the look is sexy.

[@6643bear]

Hi , very interesting concept with aluminium housing, also having 2 main speakers instead of one and tweeter. Not many manufacturers make speakers in that way. I have kef carina mk2 which does have that speaker config and these are over 35yrs old . Regards Mark

[@davefreeh2892]

John, you do great work. I’m curious how these compare to your Zu Soul 6 speakers. They are similar in price and floor standing. In my humble opinion, the space below the stand mount speaker is wasted. Put to good use with a cabinet that improves the speaker.

[@AUDIO-U4YA]

Excellent review. I could actually make a decision on which one to try out if I were in the market for any more of the speakers.

[@MrBonger88]

Definitely good looking speakers. I have a love/hate relationship with amt tweeters.

[@josecintron85]

love the album recommendation... it is trippy.

[@carlitomelon4610]

Interesting aluminium ( not "aloonimum":-) speakers. Good to know they dont sound like they look. Alva Noto gives a HUGE, deep soundscape, thanks for the recommendation. Really needs a full range speaker system to convey the scale, or the last octave is lost. High fidelity isn't without true LF reproduction. All these speakers need a pair of subwoofers! 🎵🎶🤫🎶🎵 PS For those who've still enamoured by vinyl: EctopiaQuarksMinius has wonderful 3d clicks and pops all over the soundstage;-)

[@CapnJack100]

Thanks for another excellent review. You probably get warn out with people asking you to review certain speakers but would for you to throw some Dynaudios in the mix, particularly the Heritage Specials as they seem more apples to apples. Thanks again

[@DarkoAudio]

I did some Dyns last year but not a lot of audience interest in 'em.

[@CapnJack100]

@@DarkoAudio thanks for responding. I know you covered the active speaker which seemed to get a lot of activity. Regardless, thank you

[@jakenord5027]

I agree, more Dynaudio!

[@olivierdeneef37]

Another great review, thank you. Does someone know if there is a European distributor, did some searching but without success. I live in Belgium and I would like to have a listen session. Regards

[@bartbarelds8454]

Really loving the Air Motion Tranformer tweeters ❤️ Building my own speakers atm and choose the Mundorf AMT19 tweeters 🔇

[@nigelsmart7187]

Wow dude, that Alva is unreal and sounds spectacular my Devialets. Thank you.

[@kl9941]

Would love to see you do a comparison with Platimon VC1, the Audiovectre R1 Arrete', and the Raidho X1t. All around the same price point.

[@peterkuntz6076]

Great, detailed review. Thanks John! Appreciate the competitor comparisons too. While Wilson will not be able to make a comparable speaker at low labor costs (the way the VC 1 is made), the next Tune Tot Version (maybe "V") will continue the Wilson evolutionary process and feature improved drivers (specifically the tweeter), cabinet materials and crossover, resulting in improved sound in most dimensions you've analyzed in the review. It will still be significantly higher priced relative to the VC 1. One area, which is very important and may drive many listeners' purchase decisions, is relative company's pedigree, history, customer service and resale market viability. Here, the Wilson has it hands-down, no question.

[@A-gks]

Whatever Wilson does, it's still a bunch of scanspeak drivers put in a resin box. Meh. What will they call the cabinet next? XXXZYZ material?

[@siraug1]

Great looking speakers 🔊

[@RedSinter]

Always a Pleasure John...

[@Jason-sr3pr]

Thanks for your ongoing work John. Always enjoyable. Can I ask, when undertaking your comparative listening do you position the speakers like we see them in your video? (i.e., with one pair further apart than the other). Or do you place/replace each set of speakers in the same location? I ask as much is made of the effect of relative room position on the effect of the sound we hear from speakers. Cheers.

[@DarkoAudio]

No, I don't. That inner/outer positioning is just for the benefit of the video -- to show that I have both products in house.

[@Jason-sr3pr]

Copy, thanks for that clarification John, much appreciated

[@cbayardelle]

I just downloaded alva noto, I only heard the first track, really like the space in the recording

[@Peter_Crow]

I hadn’t heard that Bowie song but had heard many times (pre entering this hobby) the saying of comparing apples to apples. And like your dad I do sometimes shout at the Tv (as mentioned in previous vid(s)) Maybe more of us have heard RHCP’s “Give it away”. I dare say testing with that track would only bring to light the easiness one could find one particular button and its responsiveness / lag to take effect once selected.

[@davidread4342]

Speaker and stand combination looks interesting. Did you try listeng without the ball bearings to assess any difference?

[@furiososso]

I appreciate the revue, cheers.

[@matthewhoult1350]

A lovely looking speakers and appears very good value for a high quality product and good to see the overall cost includes the stands which are a must have given the interface decoupling design. What amplifier was you using them with?

[@vorpane]

Great review, thank you. AMTs often require quite a bit of current. It'd be very useful to know just how burly an amp would I need to get the best out of them.

[@newdevilman1167]

They are pretty easy to drive.

[@rock3tgr33n2]

Hey John, really interesting video this one, loved it. I’d be interested to hear you talk on some of these interconnects. I know it feels like a trap with how some people talk about high quality cabling, but these audioquest ones with those battery operated … (dongles?) seem like quite a departure from what most of us are used to and an area of HIFI that you haven’t spoken much on. Please correct me if I’m wrong though. Food for thought. Thank you very much.

[@norm4332]

John - Old School Boomer here. Love your channel. Looking at getting a DAC. Currently have an OLD system for audio. Onkyo Grand Integra M-508, Onkyo P-308 PreAmp, Yamaha CDX-750 for music, Dennon DVD-3800 for movies and an old Onkyo TS-R600 Audio/Video recevier. What should I look at getting to tie into the audio system. We have had most of these items for 30 plus years. Just had the speakers restored; a pair of Infinity RS4b units. Looking at something reasonably priced. These old ears (65) can only hear a fraction of what they used to. Would something like a Eversolo 6/8 work best ? Need some guidance please. Top end price should be no more than 2K. Thanks

[@JaccoSW]

If you're just talking DAC then reasonably priced and high quality starts as low as €100-200 nowadays with something like a Topping E30II or SMSL models. I've been very pleased with my E50. The Eversolo is an all-in-one DAC/Streamer/Media server. Gorgeous piece of kit but unless you have a lot of local files or intend to listen to a lot of streaming apps it is probably overkill. Besides, a Streamer + DAC solution might be more flexible. DACs especially have come a long way in the past 5 years. Where it used to be common to need to spend €2000 on a high-end DAC those older models tend to be blown out of the water by even entry level DACs. The chips have become cheaper and there is a lot more competition, meaning prices have gone down significantly.

[@norm4332]

@@JaccoSW Thank you for your input. I decided after viewing many videos from various sources to go with the Eversolo DPM-A6. We have a ton of CDs and a couple of boxes of vinyl ( I have a Denon Linear Tracking turntable somewhere boxed away) so as storage is MUCH cheaper than when I first copied over the music it's time to do some lossless CD copying to get my CD's moved over to storage in case there is a problem with CD degradation down the road. Also looking at a USB device for laptop, thinking for the RU7 based on some reviews?

[@medonk12rs]

Hey, awesome components you have there! Just looked them up on the net. What are you planning to use the DAC for? If you want to play your CDs, I would honestly opt for a quality CD player instead of going the PC+USB+DAC route... Why? CD degradation (real silver ones, not copied ones) should be a non-issue, and audio quality with an old-school but well-made CD player should be still better than a self-made chain of some random PC, USB transport and DAC. ... heard a Rega CD player yesterday at a HiFi show and was really amazed. Good stuff!

[@Paulruk]

Any recommendations for speakers that are half the price of these, and then half the price of those, and half the price of them, and maybe a few more half the price to something around 400 quid?

[@newdevilman1167]

DIY Kit?

[@A-gks]

Adam t5v

[@davids2214]

Emotiva makes great, affordable speakers with the same style of tweeter. Talk of quid makes me wonder whether they ship to the UK though (American company)

[@mattwelcome2154]

What stunning equipment, just a smidge out of my price range! Todd HIdo print... cool.

[@DarkoAudio]

It's a book of his work.

[@jgilbertsolis]

Looking forward to buy those speakers. By the way cool glasses. What are they?

[@danny_davis]

I think they are made by Tom Ford. He uses that sideways “T” shape on the front corners of his eyewear.

[@timothyfreeseha4056]

Very interesting design. Wobble would be fun by itself.

[@ginap2112]

Very much enjoyed! Makes me think that at some point I have basically got to try a sub with my Bukhardts

[@Cesare-rj6wk]

Very nice! I wish you will review Yamaha ns 5000

[@taidee]

Nice review, thank JD.

[@bartbarelds8454]

Ps, love those Scan Speak revelator drivers inside those Wilsons 🙌🏼

[@vincentfickweiler4590]

Please can you also test the Kroma Audio Mimi loudspeakers?

[@TheMrgonzalo05]

Would the Enleum amp23 be a good match? I want a Korean system

[@budgetaudiophilelife-long5461]

🤗 LIKED 👍 AND SUBSCRIBED…VERY INTERESTING 🧐 TIMES,THANKS JOHN 💚💚💚

[@ericsamson557]

Very interesting video. How much of their performance can be attributed to the « suspension/stand » system? Have you tried them on regular stands? If the stands are a big factor, this system could be adapted to any speaker I think.

[@Robert_hill]

Congrats John! You learned a new phrase. Apples to Oranges is widely used in the US and all age groups. You should use the phrase more often. 😊

[@johnr1927]

R.I.P Ryuichi

[@jimlionberger685]

Great work! I have read about Totem Tribe Towers speakers. Have you heard of them? Any possibility of a review? Thanks.

[@Gustel]

I found my new dream speakers

[@fakeklg]

Al-You-Min-Eee-Umm … proper And also… love the video

[@ewhite5381]

You have my attention 😉

[@musiccritic8704]

With that level of build quality and with the gimmicks im actually astonished theyre not at least 30k

[@winston755]

Have you heard the elipson 3210 bookshelf speakers

[@kl9941]

John, any thoughts about the SuperMon Mini paired with good quality subwoofer sas compared to the PlatiMon? Been considering these for a while and with two subs already, I wonder if the SuperMon plus subs can compare?

[@newdevilman1167]

Totally different tier, my friend. John didn’t review Mini, so maybe you should ask Srajan with that question.

[@kl9941]

OK. Maybe John did have the occasion to hear the Mini even without a review. Possible????

[@suryadnb]

It's a bit strange to call these "virtual coaxial" since they are basically a simple MTM (also known ans d'Appolito) setup. I think it's also worth noting that the vertical dispersion of the ribbon tweeter is not just limited because of the way they are mounted. This limitation is inherent in ribbon tweeters, but might be exacerbated by the way it is mounted.

[@benjaminstorm5593]

Actually MTM doesnt mean its d'Appolito... d'Appolito has some strange parameters in terms of spacing and size of the speakers (actually pretty tricky to achieve real d'Appolito). It's hard for me to understand why you would choose those MTM designs... vertical off axis meassurements will show pretty bad cancellation at the crossover point due to phase shift. Nevertheless, this kind of waveguide, with its sharp edges above and below the tweeter will diffract soundwaves from the ATM. Sound engineering wise, its far from perfect, but who would want a perfect speaker ;)

[@kevinmcgrath3591]

exactly, seems all wrong to recess a ribbon tweeter like that, my MTM's baffle gets skinny in the middle with a dome tweeter to aid dispersion, much more sensible.

[@murraywebster1228]

Apple to oranges is a very common German phrase, as well as Apple and an egg- meaning cheap

[@AudiophileGuy1066]

Well done vid. Very informative. Will have to look into the South Korean brand

[@brianbob7514]

Who is we? You have other people listening? Royal we?

[@JohnnyRiddering]

“Decoupling” with ball bearings..? Maybe in the horizontal plain, but movement in that direction is not what you want in theory I think. But in the vertical plain it seems to me that your more coupling the speakers and the stands.

[@newdevilman1167]

Then tak’em off 😂 why you complaining? I’d rather have the options to try’em out

[@Edin8140]

Is there a floorstanding version?

[@barrybrennan2135]

Hi John, would these play Mull of Kintyre?

[@D1N02]

forbidden

[@blueninjasix]

Stereophony? Nice! You used the "wipes the floor" idiom

[@dougcampbell2814]

Possibly someone else already made this comment but...seems the loudspeaker should not move in order for the speaker drivers to provide more dynamics and smoother sound. The speakers being on top of the silver balls allows the cabinet to move in all directions. How does this matter, maybe I've had it wrong regarding movement of the speaker cabinet? Thanks! 🎵

[@newdevilman1167]

The balls help resonant frequencies inside the cabinet(I am guessing aluminium’s natural frequency) to exit. There are other ways to do this but they chose ball bearing mechanism. Usually cabinet materials colorize the sound, a part of designing selection. John mentioned aluminium is close to Mpingo wood sound.

[@bassandtrebleclef]

I have never thought of value when reading or watching reviews of equipment at this price point. I assume value isn't a priority for this group of buyers, but that's ridiculous. Everyone wants value and this kind of review - comparing products that are half the cost of category leaders - proves that point.

[@theoswinscow]

Love that dylan track

[@BennettMeierWerks]

If the speakers can move on the ball bearings wouldn’t that mean that some of the potential acoustic energy is lost by moving the cabinet on the bearings? I’m sure it’s a small amount but in the world of hifi I’m sure it’s measurable. You could use a dial bore gauge to see the movement of the cabinet at full excursion of the woofer.

[@klaverro]

Agree. We do all kinds of things to fix speakers to the surface and to isolate them from vibrations, etc. and then we see a speaker that moves and stands on ball bearings. Would like to see some measurement results between the speakers reviewed here.

[@A-gks]

Think of it this way, if the acoustic energy was already transformed into cabinet vibrations, it was lost already in the first place, and that portion of energy would never have had translated into actual direct sound. What you normally have instead are vibrations oscillating up and down the speaker cabinets, causing resonances, trying hard to find a path to exit. Ball bearings allow that exit, by transforming the movements into frictional heat, instead of waiting for the vibrations to dissipate slowly on its own. The key thing here is that the ball bearings must not flex or morph on a microscopic level, meaning you need to have the hardest, most rigid material possible for a most effective path to exit. Which is why you see companies like Ansuz applying exotic diamond or zirconium coatings to boost up the hardness levels. Standard steel, titanium, ceramic is not hard enough. The ball bearing indents on this speaker don't look perfectly finished and doesn't look like it has any coatings, and likewise for the ball bearings itself - so i don't think it's performing at a very high level.

[@newdevilman1167]

@@A-gks very well explained. Interesting! I think for the level you described, the price will be a lot higher.

[@henrygrimmius8138]

A similar principle is used in the products from Iso Acoustics. Their products do allow movement, yet the work and I've heard substantial improvements, even at a Pro audio trade show, which is where their first market was.

[@brianbob7514]

The obsession with stand mounts is real

[@sebastianj9153]

Always like your videos, but i wish you would underline your buzzwords like "warm or cold" with simple inroom measurements to show that its not only boosted high frequenzy. And today every new speaker in this price range should keep up with the purify woofers in bass imho. Otherwhise sounds like the R3 meta is a better choice!? Grüße :)

[@Campo007]

Tresor T! Bangin'!

[@fabiyeah]

no doubt they sound amazing, but they look like the sound system of a spaceship!

[@lsaideOK]

These two speakers would fit in nicely in a Star Wars movie. Not in my place though.

[@MICAMOTEESTABIENGRANDE]

NO " Wilson TuneTot " why?

[@garganega]

Yamaha NS-5000 does 26-40khz with stands included for $15K.

[@MsCorbacho]

Isn’t that much more expensive than this Vc-ones?!

[@craigaust3306]

-10 db on the frequency response

[@auotoka]

GooD❤

[@rompstar]

apples vs. oranges comes from Statistical talk, when you have slight differences in the features of the data set and you have to call it out / not sure exactly why it is used in Audio, haha / I mean, you are not doing medical research here :)

[@joohhn]

I really dont know whats so special about the Wilson Tune TOT it just uses a 200€ scanspeak relevator "15W/8530K00" midwoofer and a 50€ Scan-Speak Discovery D2604/833000. I mean the finish is nice and they probably worked alot on the crossover to perfect the sound, but that price is just hilarious.

[@vorpane]

The cabinet. Still, I agree that given the drivers, the price is outrageous.

[@User_not_found_403]

did you say side by side?!?!? thumbs up in advance.. now to watch the review

[@Jaykay586]

If you like the sound of the guiro, listen to the Grace Jones albums 'Nightclubbing' and 'Warm Leatherette'...

[@DarkoAudio]

The Sly & Robbie albums?

[@Jaykay586]

Yes @@DarkoAudio

[@marcelpfeiffer6587]

Thank you for this great review. In my opinion the concept of the Speaker stands doesn't make sense, as the main function is to prevent relative movement. The floating construction of the steel balls does quite the opposite.

[@myself61607]

Kii Sevens are out

[@ibassnote]

I always think of the Wilson’s as top-tier. At their price they should run away with it. But they clearly do not. I’ve been noticing these silver speakers in the background for some time now. I thought they looked too much 1980’s boom-box silver for my taste. Knowing they are aluminum they likely look much more impressive in person. They seem more like studio monitors than living room speakers. Much to think about, thanks.

[@tubefreeeasy]

Are those new cables?

[@D1N02]

not burned in yet?

[@SuperMcgenius]

How about a North Korean speaker review 😂

[@carlitomelon4610]

Who, Kim? 😅

[@aaronfarley4577]

6500 dollars a pair incase someone is wondering

[@JamesWilliams-gf8gm]

Not hard to do. While I like wilson they are way over priced.

[@wildstar41]

How can I hypnotize my cat into not leaping on these? They look awesome, but cats would knock off and crush themselves 😂. The speakers might be fine given the metal construction. 🚫 🐈 🔈

[@starofcctv94]

None of the speakers are to my tastes looks wise

[@evertdewit4037]

Dont look at them.... Listen to them !

[@aus-reviews8462]

@@evertdewit4037 whos cares what they look like, use ya ears

[@bacon.dumpling]

@@evertdewit4037 If audio gear sits in your living quarters, it’s also considered furniture. How many pieces of (expensive) furniture do you own that are just functional but look ugly or out of place? Looks usually matter to people.

[@vincentmanners2589]

Smokey ? Moi ?…….