Wilson Audio Specialties Launches Autobiography Loudspeaker

Jacob Heilbrunn reports and reminisces

Some of my most memorable audio memories are centered around my friendship with David Wilson. I saw Dave numerous times in Utah and he visited me twice in Washington, DC, where he set up the WAMM Master Chronosonic loudspeakers and subwoofers. How well I recall our conversations about loudspeakers, music and politics! He would, more often than not, inject a salubrious note of sobriety when I waxed enthusiastic about a new cartridge or preamp. Dave, you could say, had seen it all. His favorite topic, I think, was discussing LP recordings. He sent me a passel of the LPs that he had recorded and recall that Dave wrote a wonderful essay in 1984 in Playboy at the advent of the compact disc, noting that the LP was a superior format: “Disciples of digital, seeking perfect sound, forever, have instead found imperfect sound for longer than even they are likely to want it.” At bottom, Dave’s true love was his first calling as a recording engineer.

Shortly before he passed away in 2018, I traveled to see him in Provo, Utah, where he took me on a day-long ride. The evening ended with dinner at one of his favorite restaurants and I realized later that our joint expedition was his way of saying goodbye to me. To this very day, I miss his keen intelligence, dry wit and sound judgment.

Like me, David was an avid classical music fan who cherished his time at Vienna’s Musikverein, which must be considered one of, if not the, best concert halls in the world. David also had the original orchestral layouts for numerous Decca recordings that he showed me and that he used to help in the development of his loudspeakers. The results speak for themselves.

At the same time, it was clear that David and Sheryl Lee were arranging for a transition in the company. Their aspiration was to ensure that David’s original vision—his emphasis on time-alignment and build perfection, among other things--could be carried forward by youngest son Daryl. It has. Over the past decade or so, Daryl has accumulated an impressive track record, releasing loudspeakers such as the XVX that have been hailed widely. But the one thing Daryl did not do was to release a new flagship loudspeaker. Instead, the WAMM remained the company’s reference. Daryl felt the WAMM should remain intact in the version that Dave had envisioned.

Daryl’s caution was understandable. With great power comes great responsibility--and the WAMM is at the center of the Wilson Audio origin story. Writing in 1984 in Hi-Fi News, for example, Ken Kessler underscored the importance of the original WAMM for David and Sheryl Lee. “The Wilsons,” he wrote, “are a gracious couple who seem far too normal to want to house a multi-array loudspeaker system out of Flash Gordon in the middle of their living room.” But house it they did.

Visiting the spacious factory in Provo, Utah, this past week offered a reminder of just how far the company has come since the days that Wilson Audio was working out of a garage. The facilities and the team alike are impressive. It’s also the case that Daryl has upped the company’s game by acquiring the Rel-Cap capacitor company, thereby allowing Wilson further to refine its crossover networks. I was smitten by the tidy appearance of the crossover network boards at the factory.

Now that he has been at the helm of the company for almost a decade, Daryl felt confident enough to embark upon designing a new flagship together with Wilson’s team of engineers. How has he done? Very well indeed.

Autobiography, the name of Wilson’s latest offering, is intended to sum up the company’s history. From what I heard, the loudspeaker boasts an exceedingly low noise floor, not to mention excellent dynamics and imaging. A piano recording by Wilson Audio’s secret weapon, recording engineer Peter McGrath, achieved a degree of verisimilitude that was most persuasive. I’ll refrain from further comment about the loudspeaker’s precise capabilities as the redoubtable Michael Fremer intends to expound upon the Autobiography’s virtues in his own blog post.

What was clear to me is that Daryl has drawn upon the WAMM design to create a new loudspeaker that represents an audacious step forward both in sonics and appearance. I myself am eager to listen more extensively to the Autobiography at two different stores--JS Audio, which is located near me in Bethesda, and the Audio Salon, which is based in Santa Monica. As it happens, the first public demo of the speaker will take place at JS Audio in early May, which Daryl himself will conduct. I expect a full house so reserve your spot now to listen to Wilson Audio’s continued pursuit of sonic nirvana. Excelsior!

 Lead photo shows Daryl Wilson and Peter McGrath. This group shot includes Jacob Heilbrunn standing next to Sheryl Lee and Daryl Wilson.