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Maxx 3

Maxx 3

Overview

Wilson Audio

Maxx 3

Since its introduction in 1998, the MAXX has proved a clear success by every measure--in units sold, in glowing reviews, and in the degree to which it has become the reference for many of those leading reviewers. (One writer said the MAXX Series 2 was "the most significant product I've written about in my eight years as an audio reviewer.") Perhaps MAXX's greatest measure of success is its use by top-tier electronics and cable manufacturers in their reference systems.


We realized that, as good as the Series 2 was, the existing platform stood in the way of further improvement. So we conceived an all-new design.

The primary objective was to further improve MAXX's time-domain performance. The Wilson design team split the single upper module into two discreet units and incorporated Aspherical Propagation Delay.

They added a slightly simplified version of the astonishing new midrange driver developed for Alexandria Series 2. Then, all-new crossovers were designed to capitalize on the performance of the new driver.

Because the midrange is arguably the heart and soul of music, we wanted the bandwidth of the driver to be as broad as possible so as to reveal the true tonal density and color of musical instruments. But perhaps even more important, the goal was to create a highly rigid and yet low mass cone that could start and stop instantaneously. Only a driver with these properties can reveal the subtle low-level dynamics and the earliest reflections of a live musical event. These are the cues that the brain recognizes as defining aspects of music's "realness", and it is precisely these cues that more conventional drivers smear and obscure.
maxx3 side view
maxx3 with grand piano

To meet the design challenge of a highly rigid but low moving mass cone, we created a unique blend of proprietary cellulose fibers. When the driver was deployed in the new Alexandria, it was obvious the bar for realistic reproduction of music had been raised. Now, with a slightly simplified motor assembly, the same driver makes its debut in the newly released MAXX Series 3.

The solid brass stairstep pictured at the right is part of the technology we call Adjustablel Propagation Delay. In both the Series 1 and Series 2 MAXX, the stairstep adjusted the tilt of the upper module, to accurately align the propagation and dispersion of the upper drivers to any chosen listening position. When it came time to redesign the MAXX, Wilson's engineers knew that the single upper module of the Series 1 and 2 was its most limiting feature. Although it was far more accurate than competing designs, the single, three-driver head ran into the laws of geometry and physics. It is simply impossible to align three drivers in one module for ideal propagation delay. The solution? Divide MAXX's dual midrange drivers and tweeter into two upper modules and introduce Aspherical Propagation Delay.

Along with tonal beauty, dynamic integrity, and wide bandwidth, the new MAXX sets new standards (equaled only by Alexandria itself) for the coherent integration of all the drivers. Music seems to emanate from the MAXX Series 3 as if from a single, very wide bandwidth, high-resolution driver.

A key architectural element of MAXX Series 3 is the mechanical and electrical isolation of the crossovers. The midrange crossover has been relocated to the bass cabinet, freeing up space for both it and the now independent tweeter crossover.
corssover soldering

The removable rear panel accesses proprietary driver tuning and protection hardware. In all Wilson loudspeakers, the crossover assemblies themselves are wholly encased in epoxy. This serves two functions. One, it eliminates a possible source of electromechanical resonance, and two, it frankly preserves the proprietary nature of some of the technology which makes Wilson Audio crossovers unparalleled in the audio world.