It was around this time last year that we first started speaking with Luke Milnes of Wilson Benesch. At that time, it’s fair to say we had always admired Wilson Benesch from afar but had little understanding of their unique design philosophy or manufacturing pedigree.
As 2023 unfolded, discussions turned towards The Audiobarn becoming Wilson Benesch’s exclusive UK dealer, which would be their first retail presence in the UK for a decade. It soon became obvious that a trip to Sheffield would be needed to fully appreciate the intricacies and sophistication of their designs.
Ben, Graeme, Bryan and Jack outside Wilson Benesch’s Art Deco HQ
Arriving in Sheffield
A warm welcome greeted us all on an otherwise overcast day in Sheffield, so a hot cup of coffee in the main demo room and technical talk with Craig Milnes, Design Director, was very well received!
It didn’t take long to realise that the designs in front of us today, have progressively evolved over decades of research and development. What was surprising however, is how much of that R&D has happened in partnership with external institutions and companies.
Wilson Benesch has secured public grant funding through the British and European Government on more than fifteen occasions which has allowed them to work with institutions of excellence across the UK and Europe, collaborating with centres such as the Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre in Sheffield, Sheffield University, Oxford University and the FEMTO Institute in France to name but a few.
This pioneering approach to R&D has allowed Wilson Benesch to evolve not just the materials that are available to the company to build its products – but as was so evident from our visit – it has also evolved the very forms and complex geometries that Wilson Benesch is able to build their products in which lends so much to the success of their designs.
Wilson Benesch’s bespoke Carbon Fibre – PET material which has been woven specifically for the company being formed in preparation for ‘baking’ under vacuumed pressure in the VRTM Suite in the factory to create the top of an Endeavour 3zero loudspeaker.
Manufacturing Tour
We start the factory tour in the CNC Machine Suite, where raw aluminium billets arrive and are machined into the constituent parts of the various speakers. It’s impressive. Multiple large CNC machines sculpting intricate components under the watchful eye of a team of Machine Engineers. It’s every bit the gritty industrial yet artisan operation Sheffield is world renowned for.
Base plate for an IGx Infrasonic Generator having tolerances tested
Christina Milnes, Managing Director, explains that even at this very early stage, every component must be quality assured and inspected. With loudspeakers often being shipped around the world, even the slightest imperfection would be picked up before moving on to the next phase.
It is worth noting at this point that all the production team have considerable experience working at Wilson Benesch. Many have decades of experience working within the team. A family owned and managed business that extends to it’s employees, is clearly very much part of the Wilson Benesch DNA. As if to cement this point, next we are introduced to the Loudspeaker Technician of 10 years employment, who incidentally is named Wilson!
Wilson installing components into the Eminence foot; a giant 35-kilo aluminium structure hewn from a 120kg raw aluminium billet in the Wilson Benesch CNC Suite. This structure alone requires almost 5-hours of machining per foot.
As much as 95% of the build and production occurs in house, from raw materials right the way through to completion. Processes such as lacquering are outsourced, but even then it’s to local specialists in the United Kingdom.
Hemp and Flax laid into a VRTM Mould to form the new A.C.T. 3zero composite enclosure. Again this is on-site, and after decades of refinement on both process and material design.
The Fibonacci tweeter. Wilson Benesch have always preferred the soft dome tweeter, but this reinforced Silk-Carbon Hybridised dome has been developed by Wilson Benesch to take the soft dome performance past it’s typical restrictions. It allows the Fibonacci Tweeter to produce the full range to 20kHz which is the standard limit for redbook CDs and most content, but the addition of the Carbon Fibre structure allows the tweeter to extend to 30kHz for wide bandwidth recordings. The advantage is a tweeter with wide bandwidth that remains natural in character, without any harshness of sibilance through its range.
Bryan with the front baffle from a Precision Series 1.0, machined from a single billet of aluminium to the same exacting standards as the Fibonacci Series.
Graeme with an Isobaric Drive System collar. Wilson Benesch machine this component that in turn fits one Tactic 3.0 Drive unit on either side of the collar to create the Isobaric Drive System that is common to all models in the reference loudspeaker line. The collar adds stiffness, but also neatly allows ease of servicing.
Ben speaking with Christina about their unique Carbon Fibre – PET, a multi-axial carbon fibre fabric that is woven exclusively for Wilson Benesch. The unique fabric allows Wilson Benesch to create the IGx 18” Diaphragm from one single piece of fabric, so unlike other loudspeakers with a patchwork of carbon fibre pieces Wilson Benesch produce a drive unit diaphragm with just one single join. The fabric is also used to create the sculptured forms seen in the carbon fibre tops across the Fibonacci Series loudspeakers.
Graeme with the 18” Carbon Fibre – PET diaphragm used in the brand new IGx Infrasonic Generator. Incredibly stiff yet extremely lightweight, it allows the IGx to produce pistonic movements of air rapidly creating extremely accurate low frequency sound which compliments loudspeakers across the Wilson Benesch line but also any other dynamic, horn or electrostatic loudspeakers
Time for listening
After lunch it’s time for some serious listening. In the first instance, we are treated to the Endeavour 3zero – a larger stand-mount loudspeaker which manages to fill quite a large room with the most subtle and nuanced sound you could wish for. Achieving the two simultaneously is impressive. The result is an ultra-resolving loudspeaker, which has the ease-of-drive that even some valve amplification would thrive with.
When Luke introduces the IGx Infrasonic Generator into the same system, a new lower octave is revealed. Not that it was missing, but the details and atmosphere ‘hiding’ within the recording are revealed. It’s mesmerising. Leonard Cohen’s You Want It Darker was presented in a such a visceral, guttural manner that it will be hard to hear this track on another setup. Just incredible.
Next up, we listen to the mighty Eminence, their flagship loudspeakers. With more isobaric bass drivers arranged in Wilson Benesch’s clamshell design, it brings even greater texture and nuance across the frequency range. The sound doesn’t change in character, but there is ‘more’ of what we had enjoyed so much with the Endeavour 3zero. The mid-range drivers of the Fibonacci Series floorstanding loudspeakers have no crossover, meaning they are directly coupled to the amplifier.
We were politely reminded of our long drive back down south so said our goodbyes. Luckily, Luke was paying us a visit only a few days later with a set of gorgeous Endeavour 3zero in Senna Volcanic Orange (pictured below). We had already received our P1.0 and P2.0 Precision Series loudspeakers in advance, for burning in – these are also seen below and are available for immediate demonstration, with one lucky customer having a sneak preview.
Arriving later this week, we have the Discovery 3zero and then the Resolution 3zero will follow in early 2024… Exciting times!
Jack with Luke Milnes of Wilson Benesch at the Barn with the Endeavour 3zero, in the stunning Senna Volcanic Orange.
Precision Series P1.0 finished in Burr Walnut.
Precision Series P2.0 finished in Nero, textured black.
Precision Series P2.0 Demonstration, the first of many.