Ketan Bharadia of What HIFI? recently visited the Falcon House, the Wilson Benesch factory, to see first hand how Wilson Benesch design, manufacture and in turn assemble by hand its range of loudspeakers, subwoofers, turntables, tonearms, cartridges and hifi racking systems.
Ketan is very familiar with the Wilson Benesch products. Him and the What HIFI? team reviewed and wrote about the original A.C.T. One loudspeakers and subsequently the Discovery loudspeakers in the 1990s and early 2000s. The What HIFI? team has consistently reviewed Wilson Benesch products since then. Publishing product reports on the companies entry line P1.0 and P2.0 loudspeakers, followed by reports on the A.C.T. 3zero loudspeaker and most recently the Discovery 3zero loudspeaker. So we invited Ketan to visit our factory in Sheffield, South Yorkshire to tour the 25,000 square foot facility and see first hand how Wilson Benesch designs, develops, engineers, manufactures and in turn assembles its industry leading British high end audio products.
Ketan has now published his report in What HIFI? It is a great report that immediately recognises the long industrial heritage and history of engineering in Sheffield and also acknowledges Wilson Benesch’s place within it. Having been established in 1989, Wilson Benesch celebrates its 35th Anniversary year in 2024. As Ketan writes, Wilson Benesch has pioneered in the use of advanced materials within its products since its foundation, namely in the use of carbon fibre composites.
What HIFI Magazine, UK, July 2024
“The brand was founded in 1989 and its first products were a high-end turntable called, quite simply, The Wilson Benesch Turntable, and the A.C.T. One tonearm. The initials A.C.T. stand for Advanced Composite Technology, and indicate the pioneering use of carbon fibre in the turntable’s sub-chassis and the arm’s tapered arm tube.
At the time, only four companies in the UK were capable of producing carbon fibre: Lotus Racing, two suppliers connected to the Ministry of Defence, and Wilson Benesch. It is impressive that a start-up could be numbered among that group”.
What also stands out is the recognition of the vertical alignment of Wilson Benesch. The company is distinctly different from all of its competitors in this regard. Counter to a more conventional business structure of assembly of finished components from third party OEM suppliers, often with almost all manufacturing being done off site with third party manufacturers, Wilson Benesch has consistently invested in plant and machinery allowing it to integrate almost all of its manufacturing within the same building that also houses not only the assembly of products, but also almost all development and design. Ketan draws a line directly from this structure to the release of State-of-the-Art products like the new GMT® One System and Prime Meridian System Turntables and also then acknowledges the advantages that this has given Wilson Benesch in the development and manufacture of all of its own drive technologies entirely in house.
The conclusion to the report is in the brand new listening and development facilities in the factory listening room. The main system in the Wilson Benesch factory listening room is comprised of its flagship Eminence loudspeakers, IGx Infrasonic Generator, GMT® One System Turntable and Trilogy Amplifiers. Ketan’s experience and conclusion from this sonic experience!? …. Head over to the What HIFI? website now to read his report in full using this link.
Want to invest in a Wilson Benesch product for your personal home audio system? You are welcome to visit our factory or one of our dealers now.
To organise your demonstration please contact us info@wilson-benesch.com or call 0114 2852656.
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