Looking at the potential Resolution upgrade from the Act One Evolution for my 500/552 system…
Impossible to demo or home trial as I am miles from any dealers… @billyrubin how was your move?
I also have the Torus, which I really appreciate… also a major consideration is the room size for the Resolution as my dedicated treated listening room is roughly 20’x12 with 8’ ceilings… (no other junk, just the rack and speakers… oh and a a chair!) Specs show the Resolution has the same troika top section as the Act One, but obviously a way different bottom end… wondered if the voicings were significantly different also…
I endorse that: It will be good to learn more, as there is not much on the forum about WB speakers. A fascinating brand but seemingly with few users, and not much opportunity for people to hear without going out of their way to hunt them down.
When I’ve looked at their ranges, purely on their website, I’ve been left somewhat unclear along thd lines if the OP’s question.
Ok, no problem. Where are you located roughly? I’ve had both the ACT One Evos and the Resolutions (both with Torus) on demo at home during the last six months (incl. the ACTs for a couple of months whilst my Resolutions were being built) and can try to give some insights. But for context, it’d be helpful to know how you find the ACTs and what you find their strengths and weaknesses to be. Then I can chip in with my experience of each of them and the differences…
Appreciate the notes… I am in Telluride CO now… and as I mentioned I have a dedicated room with my 500/552 set up… The interest on the possible Resolution upgrade came after I had my stuff DR’d and then added Chord music cables to the mix… Everything improved noticeably, but having heard the Resolutions at a show, I was fascinated to see whether it was even possible to make the setup even better. With the Torus covering the ~34Hz and below, I felt everything was perfect… but the more I listen, I’m just curious as to what you experienced, being one of the few folks who has had the exect same journey, and the opportunity to compare over a longer period, and not just a demo’.
One consideration is room size as I mentioned, but my main interest is what the resolutions bring to the party, over and above the ACT One Evo’s and Torus. For context I also have Dave/MScaler for digital and Turntable/Superline for analogue…
Ok, I found the ACTs to be transparent and uncoloured, to be able to project a vivid image, to be deceptively compact for their performance and to be very revealing of upstream components. For me, the inability to pick holes in one or other aspect of their performance was noteworthy and set them apart from everything else I auditioned: they just seemed to get ‘out of the way’. And the Torus provides extra depth or perspective or 'air’ rather than bass per se, seemingly further opening up the space where the music takes place. Hard to describe but this makes the combination satisfying and engaging across the range of program material but especially for live concerts. Resolutions seem to follow the same ‘house’ sound in terms of neutrality and lack of colouration, speed, musicality and engagement. As compared to the ACTs, they provide more ‘scale’ and ‘presence’ as you might imagine since they are a much larger speaker. If your room is on the smaller side, the Resolutions may be outsized – and room interactions are difficult to predict at the best of times anyway. For expenditure at this level, you absolutely must audition at home. Are you sure that this isn’t possible?
Yes, a home Demo would be easier if I lived on the moon…
Couple of questions then… could you confirm you kept the Torus with the Resolutions, given they have lower register than the Acts… and also the size of your listening space for comparison?
Given the larger enclosures on the Resolution, did you find the troika set up for treble and mid bass any different? I recall the bass was clearly handled differently in the demo I heard, with the clamshell set up etc, but wondered if you comment on the mid - upper comparison.
Really appreciate the help here and would have obviously pm’d you if possible.
Hi - yes, have Torus with Resolutions. As I mentioned above, it is less about bass reinforcement (as you know, each channel of the Resolution has two pairs of isobaric woofers) and more about ‘air’ or depth (you probably know what I mean from your use of the ACTs plus Torus). Crucially, the Torus output is low - and this is key to its correct use. To my ears the mids are wonderfully neutral with both the ACTs and the Resolution which makes voice in particular sound very natural (I believe that both speakers have the mid unit driven ‘open’ ie. no crossover). There is more bass with the Resolution but this is in proportion to the scale of the presentation, just as it is with the ACTs. My listening area is open plan but the end with the speakers and sofa measures around 6 meters wide by 12 meters long, ceiling height is around 2.75 meters. I might be able to help you arrange a home demo - this time I do suggest that @Richard.Dane passes you my contact details. In meantime, happy to answer other Qs here.
Thanks again Billy, your experiences are very helpful.
Last question before @Richard.Dane makes a (possible) intro’, did you ever audition the Endeavor in the WB upgrade journey? Its probably the one Geometry series that I haven’t heard, and obviously sits between the two speakers we have been discussing…
All the best…
Ok - @Naimthatune, Richard is being a little tardy so here is how to reach me. In the song "America’ from the 1957 Broadway production (not the subsequent movie) of Bernstein’s ‘West Side Story’, a particular kind of steel is mentioned in one of the verses. Put 51 after it, add @Apple’s current e-mail service. Put your forum handle in the subject line and I’ll spot your e-mail coming through.
@Richard.Dane - I can put Naimthatune in touch with contacts at WB / their US distributor if you are happy for me to post the details here. If not, please pass my e-mail address to Naimthatune so that he can contact me directly - thanks!