In the third review of the Cardinal in as many months, Wilson Benesch are delighted to share ‘theaudiobeat.com’ review. For those looking for the first truly comprehensive overhaul of the Cardinal’s extensive engineering complexities, look no further, Roy Gregory’s 17-page review is almost biblical in length and the message is very clear,

“This is not just an impressive product, it is a loudspeaker that confronts the cost/ content/performance question head on and delivers an emphatic response. In an industry and at a time when products just seem to get more and more expensive and those price tags are harder and harder to justify, the Cardinal is quietly saying, “We can do better.” This is an industry that needs to listen to that message”.

As a family business, with a unique portfolio of hand-built product, Wilson Benesch always encourage reviewers to visit our facilities in Sheffield. We genuinely believe that our approach to building HIFI products is different from our competition and to understand this, you have to see it. Designing and Manufacturing almost every part that makes a Wilson Benesch product is a long and arduous process, made possible by the highly trained team that inject passion and pride into the companies output, creating something very special. At this point, perhaps I’ll let Roy take over,

“If I had to sum up the Wilson Benesch Cardinal in a single word, that word would be integrity: the integrity of the people and company behind it; the integrity of the thinking that underpins the design, the manufacturing processes and materials that produce it; but most important of all, the integrity of the musical performances that it in turn produces.”

The full unedited Audiobeat review can be downloaded here.

Part One of a two part World Exclusive by one of the World’s foremost Audio Critics, Roy Gregory.

HIFI+ CARBON CARDINAL WILSON BENESCH”S HIGH TECH FLAGSHIP LOUDSPEAKER

“The Wilson Benesch Cardinal is as impressive from a sonic perspective as it is in pure engineering terms – and that’s really saying something. Here we have a product where innovation and execution are perfectly in accord with purpose” – Roy Gregory, HIFI+, 2013

PART ONE Covers the numerous innovative aspects of the Cardinal design.

PART TWO  Covers the intricacies of the Cardinal setup and sonic nuances.

Roy discusses in some detail the Tactic-II Drive Unit, the Semisphere Tweeter, the Isobaric Bass System and the innovative Troika System.

“The Semisphere tweeter is a masterpiece, retaining all the proven virtues of silk domes, but using novel bracing techniques and its optimised rear chamber to extend the performance envelope far higher than you’d expect- Roy Gregory, HIFI+, 2013

Continuing the Geometry Series prose from the wonderful Vertex and Vector reviews now coming from all corners of the globe, the Cardinal safely takes its position at the forefront of the Wilson Benesch portfolio. As Roy comments,

“The Cardinal represents the tip of a long and perfectly mapped development path, stretching back across multiple models. But the pace of advance isn’t necessarily even and the Cardinal represents a genuine step change in both ambition and performance. It might be demanding but it can also be mightily rewarding and is, by some considerable margin and on any terms, the best speaker that Wilson Benesch has ever made” – Roy Gregory, HIFI+, 2013

We are naturally delighted with the review and would like to extend our gratitude to Roy Gregory and all the team at HIFI+.

The full unedited Cardinal review can now be downloaded here.

For more information on the Cardinal Loudspeaker you can view the product page here.

To learn more about the unique technologies of the Cardinal download the White Paper here

Following the excellent Square Three review by Max Delissen earlier this month, we now have the second review in his series this time on the Vector Loudspeaker. Max spent the day listening to both speakers in the comfort of the our Dutch distributors, ‘art’s Excellence’ demonstration room.

It quickly becomes clear that the Wilson Benesch Vector not only possesses an absolute sense of musicality, but it also goes a very long way when it comes to speed, neutrality and dynamics. Because small details are reproduced better than on the Square Three, there is also an even more generous spatial image. The Square Three projects the musical image in a large circle in front and behind itself, with a fair bit of projection ‘outside the loudspeakers’. The Vector does not only make that circle a lot bigger, it really does justice to its name by adding quite a lot of height as well – Max Delissen, Independent Reviewer, 2012

Max’s findings reflect the sonic benefits that come from the use of advanced materials and drive unit technologies that are employed in the Vector. Unlike the Square Three, the Vector’s cabinet is built from a carbon composite – aluminium monocoque with an optimised geometric form to reduce internal standing waves. These factors give the Vector significant advantages in terms of its’ signal to noise ratio and this goes some way to explain the musicality and neutrality that Max describes. Whilst the Square Series II includes the original Tactic drive unit, the Geometry Series features thenew Tactic-II drive unit which has been refined and redeveloped to improve sensitivity and power handling. The major addition to the Geometry Series is the all new Wilson Benesch Semisphere Tweeter which is the result of almost a decade of R&D. Max’s findings rightly reflect the increaseddynamics, higher resolution and improved imaging that one should expect from a product that is almost twice the price of the Square Three. It follows that both the Square Three and the Vector are excellent products with a justifiably different performance.

I have developed a great admiration for the very consistent sound ‘signature’ that was created by Wilson Benesch’ engineers. Qualities you get at the entry-level are also present in the more expensive models, albeit in larger quantities. The most important thing I have noticed is that you can be sure that a new Wilson Benesch loudspeaker will always sound like a Wilson Benesch. So even when you enter at a lower level, you can always improve without losing that cherished musicality – Max Delissen, Independent Reviewer, 2012

We would like to thank Max Delissen and our Dutch distribution partners art’s Excellence for the excellent reviews. The full unedited PDF of the Vector review can be download here.

You can also see the Square Three review mentioned above here.

For more information on the Vector, Vertex or any other Geometry Series product you can view the product pages.

Just in time for Christmas we have another review to share with you. The Geometry Series Vector Loudspeaker will be gracing the pages of leading British Audiophile journal ‘HIFI+’ this month. Editor in Chief Alan Sircom, follows his Vertex review in Issue 88, in which Alan commented:

Some loudspeakers try to be musical instruments, this tries to be a reproducer of music in its entirety… It does what speakers are supposed to do, and so few really achieve; it plays what it is given – Alan Sircom, Editor, HiFi+, 2012

The Vector takes over where the standmounted Vertex left off. A 2.5-way design, the Vector is fitted with the same proprietary Wilson Benesch drive technologies. The loudspeaker reproduces the same precision, superb timing and timbre, but with the addition of a dedicated bass driver allowing reproduction of lower bass registers. The frequency response is 35Hz-30KHz.

The Wilson Benesch Vector is an outstanding loudspeaker. You need to take some care in what it works with, but when suitably fettled, the Vector tells you the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. If you want to know how your music sounds, it sounds like this – Alan Sircom, Editor, HiFi+, 2012

We would like to thank Alan and all the HIFI+ team for the excellent review. The full unedited PDF can be download here.

For more information on the Vector, Vertex or any other Geometry Series product you can view the product pages.

Wilson Benesch continues it’s fine run of excellent reviews with the third glowing review for the Square Series II in as many months, following the HIFI Choice Square Three review and the Max Delissen Square Three review. This time around it was the smallest speaker in the range, the standmounted Square One V2 which has been bestowed with Haute Fidelite’s “Best Buy” award.

The Wilson Benesch Square One V2 is a beautiful speaker, perfect finish and very rewarding.

Patrice Philippe, Haute Fidelite, France, 2012

The Square Series II was re-launched at last years Bristol Sound & Vision Show with the announcement that the original series had been revamped with a raft of new trickle down technologies, along with the addition of a completely new speaker in the range in the shape of the Square Three. This new speaker, along with the rest of the Square Series II also became available in what has turned out to be one of Wilson Benesch’s more popular finishes, Zebrano.

Amongst the trickle down technologies, the Square Series II included the Tactic Drive Unit, along with carbon fibre ribs and visco-elastically bonded energy absorption pads of varied mass. In addition to this the Square One V2 also benefited from the inclusion of bass-reflex ports on the underside of the speaker. The design modifications across the series were made with a clearly defined goal: to increase the bass performance of the Square Series II and improve the performance of the speaker when in free space, away from rear walls that have been traditionally used to reinforce bass performance. As ever Wilson Benesch made a clear statement about it’s design philosophy: the signal to noise ratio of the cabinet must remain as low as possible. The answer was the addition of the carbon fiber ribs and energy absorption pads to counter these problems.

These speakers are amazing and they deliver superb music. Perceived quality is matched by intrinsic quality and the care that has been taken in the design and the manufacture of components makes the product highly desirable.

Patrice Philippe, Haute Fidelite, France, 2012

We would like to thank our French distribution partners JFF Diffusion, Patrice Philippe and everyone at Haute Fidelite for the excellent review.

You can download the full unedited review in French here: Haute Fidelite, Square One, Series II Review (French).
Or alternatively the fully translated English version here: Haute Fidelite, Square One, Series II Review (English).

For further information about the Square One, Series II you can view the product page.