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As already established, the Grand Viola Monitor never hit the value scales with any real conviction to begin with. Receipt and review of Zu's Presence in the meantime only undermined this further. For a smaller dollar figure than WLM's euro number -- the currency imbalance enlarges that offset greatly -- the Americans deliver a triangular, full-range and gel-coated SuperPly enclosure. This houses an integral 2 x 10" subwoofer, bypassable 160-watt Hypex amp with EQ bass facilities reminiscent of WLM's and unlimited color finish options. The end result is a ready-to-go speaker that needs just one speaker cable and takes off like greased lightning on Red Wine Audio's $2,500 Signature 30.2.


The WLMs at minimum need a quality stand and second speaker cable. To even begin competing, the Diva Control analog bass contour is essential. For a closer match, add WLM's Duo 12 instead. But being passive, you now need a bass amp. Unless your amp included an active crossover, you'll need that too. In short, by the time WLM competes with Zu neck to neck, your cash outlay has doubled, your box count more than that. Certain audiophiles always claim that reviewers routinely insinuate things between the lines rather than state them outright. This one's for you then: WLM's Grand Viola Monitor, no matter how you cut it, is very poor value. There, that couldn't possibly be misconstrued. Only if you must have fine wood veneers rather than Zu's paints will you enjoy a small measure of relief. (And to be sure, the comparison to Zu is made only because both companies rely on Eminence drivers -- stock in WLM's case, heavily modified and rebuilt in Zu's -- to satisfy very similar sonic expectations).
While still on the Zu topic, here's the upshot of comparing the Presence to the GV monitor run passive with Duo 12, hi/lo-passed at 80Hz via WLM's Sys VI crossover, 100-watt transistor monos on the sub, monitors biwired off the 30.2. The big 12ers can ultimately play louder than the 10s to do greater damage if you've got the Pipes Rhode Island CD Stereophile columnist John Marks contributed to [Riago 101]. This organ
extravaganza includes a 16Hz pedal which your system will either extricate from the binary data stream or overlook completely. The WLM subwoofer proved the more serious weapon in this context. When it comes to low bass, there's no substitute for cone area. Size rules.
In non-optimized PAC mode -- i.e. outside the prescribed triangle as you'll most likely be in a short-wall setup -- the holography advantage of the WLMs diminishes. Their power response does not. There's twice the cone area and deliberately broader dispersion to make for more treble energy. However, this tweeter system is brought in at 800Hz to no longer be a pure
tweeter system. Now that Zu has gone to far greater lengths to match their drive units, improved the high-pass parts and matched them to radical tolerances -- while their tweeters' corner frequency remains at 12kHz to only handle harmonics uncut before the shallow 6dB slope kicks in -- WLM's treble advantage has also shrunk.

To my ears, the later but shallower transition of Zu's widebander to horn-loaded tweeter is texturally more seamless than the lower steeper WLM hand-off which introduces more incisiveness in the upper midrange than the widebander creates on its own below. Some listeners will relate to this as higher resolution, others -- myself included -- will detect a bit too much sharpness in this context. Beyond argument are the more powerful harmonics of the SuperPAC system which, in character while not dispersion, seem related to ribbons.
While I find Zu's new treble balance just right, other listeners with expectations educated by ribbons might prefer the more energetic dynamics of the SuperPACs. They intensify the inner life of triangles and cymbals and the outer gloss of instrumental timbres. It creates a more charged presentation vis-a-vis the more relaxed Zu Presence. As already stated, this quality also occupies the Monitors' presence region for a more modern take on hifi sonics than Zu's widebander which, unlike WLM's, actually operates as a widebander.
These Eminence drive units are brilliant devices despite -- or rather, squarely because of -- their Musical Instruments roots. Their low raw cost has most audiophiles snub them by reflex. This overlooks how scale of operations -- raw volume in other words -- impacts pricing. As a speaker maker, your per-unit price will be very different whether you commit to 50 at a time or 5,000. Now swap sides. Eminence is the largest drive unit manufacturer in the world. How much would these transducers command were they manufactured in small runs in Scandinavia and sold to a handful of elitist speaker houses in small quantities?


To conclude comparisons, Zu's Presence is a sealed alignment, WLM's ported. Wisely, the Austrians didn't tune their port to some overly ambitious frequency. The Grand Viola Monitor thus mostly overcomes the obvious giveaways of ported bass. Still, migrating over from the drier, more highly damped bass of sealed systems, you'll instantly recognize the contributions in amplitude and fullness-from-more-looseness which the vented scheme contributes. For a sanely sized monitor that is meant to already satisfy without a subwoofer, porting becomes nearly mandatory - especially with a low-excursion hard-hung mid/woofer and American audiences in love with buxom bass.


That's why, despite its SET-friendly impedance and sensitivity, the Grand Viola Monitor tightens its belt and shoe laces when the main amp (or dedicated midrange amp) has more power and damping. 30 to 50 watts seem about ideal. Anything more is excessive, anything less likely not completely optimized.
The Xavian XN360's down-ported and slot-loaded bass system around twin 7" Scan Speak Revelators is ambitiously tuned to 25Hz. Based on initial experiments and perhaps lack of complete break-in, it wants high damping to tame it. Otherwise, bass amplitude and looseness can get excessive - more rotten than ripe. The famous 40kHz ScanSpeak Revelator ring radiator is less dynamically charged than the SuperPAC to feel more relaxed, less spectacular.
The Czech's chief asset is that small dedicated midrange. It is arguably the most resolved such driver of the three speakers discussed , i.e. the most insightful in the vocal band. WLM's low entry point for the SuperPAC system injects more sharpness to telegraph either as added articulation or a slight textural discontinuity. Where the Grand Viola walks away victorious compared to the Xavians is with upper bass punch. The port tuning, enclosure size and driver behavior are well matched to create real impact and power in the 100 - 300Hz band for excitement and wallop factor that are hard to overstate. Add a juiciness of tone that seems innate to the 10-incher chosen and you might well relate why I'm so fond of this speaker despite the charley horse number it so rudely imprints on your check book.

The wrap
The WLM Grand Viola Monitor is a unique proposition with hidden fees. It's uncommonly satisfying as a standalone monitor once the analog Diva Control contour circuit counteracts the native bass roll-off to increase 30-60Hz amplitude. WLM's active crossover (optional if you don't filter the speaker but add a WLM sub via Duo amp with inbuilt low-pass; mandatory for active drive and if you wish to high-pass the monitor at 80Hz) is far from cheap but easy to operate and supremely useful to tailor the speaker's response to your room and liking. The SuperPAC system is very dynamic, highly responsive and of broader dispersion than single-unit tweeters. Some listeners will find the energy field of the upper harmonics a touch intense, particularly when first transitioning from narrow-dispersion, dynamically restrained tweeter units. Those used to ribbons will feel right at home but still note how horn-loaded dome tweeters hold the ace on dynamics.


With a low 800Hz hand over, the SuperPAC qualities dominate the midrange to become more incisive than the 10-incher. This makes the speaker texturally more highly articulated in the mid-to-top bands while the bass and lower midrange carry the edge-wise softer imprimatur of the Eminence Beta with its powerful tone and excellent reflexes. The ported loading adds amplitude and a craftily applied dose of bloom to render the character full-bodied and feisty rather than dry and completely damped. Good amplifier damping will be preferred and once again, the 30wpc Red Wine Audio Signature 30.2 is a perfect example for power and drive. For sheer brio and verve, few monitors will let you forget their non-tower nature as easily as the Grand Violas which pack uncommon wallop to be truly fun to listen to when things get raunchy and driven.


The loaded question simply is whether the significant surcharge over the Diva Monitor -- for the SuperPAC modules essentially -- seems justified. If you say no, the active-drive upgrade path will seem mere window dressing and marketing fluff to disguise sticker shock. If you say yes, you'll look forward to going at least three-quarter hog by adding one of WLM's Duo subs with enough active filter functionality to cross out the monitors at 80Hz. That becomes the decisive move to take everything up into Sin City spectaculars. (For an excellent primer on why, refer to John Potis' review of Bryston's active crossover.) From there to actively biamping the monitors should be a far more subdued flourish if your initial full-range amp was good to begin with...
Quality of packing: Stout cardboard with hard foam separators protecting the speaker from all sides.
Reusability of packing: Yes.
Ease of unpacking/repacking: Easy.
Condition of component received: Perfect.
Completeness of delivery: Includes detachable grills and an alignment guide for the proper toe-in.
Quality of owner's manual: Excellent.
Website comments: Good looking but a bit lean on hard data.
Pricing: Very expensive for the concept and execution.
Usage conditions: 30-50 watt amps recommended. Optimal setup of SuperPAC system mandates either long-wall setup or speakers or listening chair half-way in the room.
Human interactions: Exceptionally prompt.
WLM website