The Son of the Bishop

HiFi & Records, Germany. Wilson Benesch Discovery loudspeaker. (Spring, 2001)

Expensive products are willingly shown as technology carrier.
But the Wilson Benesch Bishop has left its tracks.

When Wilson Benesch launched its first loudspeaker the ACT One five years ago it was a big surprise. Here was a well known analog specialist, who showed that there was still something to say in the world of loudspeaker manufacturing. The ACT One was an innovative debut “a high end product in the best sense of the word” as this writer once stated. Who else manufactured cabinets with curved sides in 1996 to minimize standing waves in the enclosure? Nobody else used carbon fibre for a stable enclosure (which is still true today). And never before has a slim two and a half way system sound so majestic.

Since that time a lot of things have happened in Sheffield. Loudspeakers are still an essential part of the Wilson Benesch design program today. Nevertheless Craig Milnes is following his principles faithfully: from the ACT One a straight line can be traced directly to the Bishop and on to the Discovery. At first sight the new little one is probably highly undervalued. When I saw the first pictures I wondered if Milnes hadn’t come up with a conceptually too small number.

[Ok in reality the Discovery looked stately, but taking into consideration its technical data can 13 litres really be adequate?] Also this small volume is split again as the diagram on page 3 makes clear that the Discovery is a 3-way-speaker that is in its conception different from the ACT One. The mid driver in the upper chamber can use 6l and the inner driver of the bass 7l. Both chambers are connected with the outside via bass reflex tubes. Above the bass is a 25mm tweeter which is built by Scan Speak to specifications from Wilson Benesch. The tweeter uses a double magnet. Milnes is realizing the crossover with a first order filter design. This minimalistic crossover concept is passionately defended by Milnes. “Its the only way to do it. A box, which measures well on axis and at 30 degrees can be built by anybody nowadays. Buy your chassis in China or Denmark, (whatever your moral conviction) place your badge on the speaker and you’re in business, spat Milnes.

Wilson Benesch went a different way. The Bishop is a full range-speaker which plays out of one founding, reaches extremely deep, stays precise and is not sounding like single chassis.

This “seamless sound” is a central point of the loudspeaker development from Wilson Benesch.

The midrange speaker of the Discovery (which is also used in the Bishop) for example could be theoretically smaller. Milnes stays with the 17cm Tactic to assure that the subjective sound characteristic is the same. “This is practically the best interplay of the drivers.”

Mechanical stability is the point for Wilson Benesch. If the enclosure starts to vibrate with the music these minimal movements detract from the precision of the sound. Therefore the Discovery is using the unique spikes and a dead, but not over damped, enclosure.

Even the integrated metal foot, which looks like it could ring, shows no ringing at all.

The side panels are made from new carbon elements, these are formed out of 7 composite layers.

Milnes claims an additional new constructing benefit: Because the isobaric bass units are mounted vertically the cabinet reaction to cone excursion is also vertical. Movements are not front to back as usual, but instead against the floor where the speaker is at its most stable.

Wilson Benesch is looking sceptical against wooden materials, the argument is that a conventional speaker has uncontrolled resonance around 100Hz which even internal braces cannot overcome.

For those who think the combination of Aluminium/Carbon is too modern or too cool, all sorts of wood veneers are available. Rolls Royce make it possible. The car manufacturer knows how to veneer aluminium.

When asking Joachim Böse, if the Discovery needs a stronger partner amp because of the isobaric he said a good amp like the SAM from Audionet would bring very pleasing results.

So we did. We connected the SAM and the Mark Levinson No.39 CD Player and connected it with HMS Fortissimo cable. This combination worked from the first second – and how it worked!

The Discovery plays like the ACT One, much more majestic than you might imagine.

If you equate less sensitivity with less loudness the Wilson Benesch will teach you the difference: The effortless way that only the very best loudspeakers can follow the subtle modulations of a voice, which in case of Nat King Cole´s “Stardust” was partnered with an unbelievable presence, authenticity and inner tension, that you are glued to the man´s lips.

This effect is neither in a hifi sense, nor in a false sense of detail-fetishism. Its just that you could follow the fine facets of Cole so effortlessly.

Where Wilson Benesch gets this inner tonality from, where the voices get this authenticity and radiance is still a miracle for me.

The “live”- test was passed by the Discovery with bravado. Livingston Taylor’s whistling at the opening of “Isn’t she lovely” sounded so authentic, and so melodic – that’s real magic, that gets under the skin.

The Discovery is without any question a speaker that has the special something. Every sound has the finest dynamic shading, is extremely differentiated, unbelievably clean and practically free from enclosure colourations.

The bass is astoundingly deep, for my taste more than enough and with more weight than we are normally used to from a bass reflex systems. The total freeness of sound from the speakers is something I won’t miss again.

And aside all else the inner musical message is never missed- the Discovery is a milestone.

The Wilson Benesch Discovery is the most fascinating loudspeaker aside the B&W Nautilus 801. This is a speaker which gives its measurement a lie. The Discovery is so full of value and at the same time so awake, lively and detailed that you run out of spit. If you don’t like big boxes in your living room anyway you should put this dreamlike jewel to your heart.

Three questions Mr. Böse

hifi & records
Wilson Benesch manufactures drivers with (stream/flow) optimised cast and Neodymium-magnets. Is this effort worthwhile with the comparatively small numbers that are built?

Böse
The effort is clearly worthwhile. Wilson Benesch is interested in creating something really new and to bring the development of loudspeakers forward.

We might be a small company compared with the giants, but for sure there is no other company in this area in the last years which invests such high sums into research and development.

Wilson Benesch is with the manufacturing of drivers –a key element of loudspeaker building- independent from suppliers today. Every detail in the manufacturing process can be controlled and WB must not be satisfied with the restrictions of conventional technology.

Take the ACT One for example and look around. There is no other speaker in the last ten years that has influenced the development of a whole scene like this speaker did.

Actually you can follow up, that one of the renowned speaker manufactures is following the ideas of the Tactic driver, that is more than confirmation that Wilson Benesch is on the right track.

hifi & records
Carbon fibre is something of a trademark for Wilson Benesch. Why do you build the diaphragm for the bass driver out of a kind of Polypropylene?

Böse
Diaphragms out of carbon fibre would have been an easy solution for Wilson Benesch and naturally they were part of the research and development. They are not used, because the material is not suitable for this operation and especially in the prominent midrange area it would have been a step back

The diaphragm material of Wilson Benesch has only so far to do with Polypropylene because both belong to the group of the polymer.

The hot compacted Polymer from Wilson Benesch allows for the first time the manufacturing of a stiff diaphragm with low weight and an ideal inner damping.

The woven polymer mat are pressed under defined pressure by 800 degrees so that it bonds the fibres at the surface while the structure still keeps the same inside.

It is like Craig Milnes says “the best diaphragm material on the planet”.