Wilson Audio “The Pedestal”

Wilson Audio “The Pedestal”

The US manufacturer Wilson Audio ( sales: Audio Reference ) is known for its extremely complex and expensive loudspeakers. The WASAE (Wilson Audio Special Application Engineering) accessories division shows that the rest of the chain is important to the Wilson makers - without immediately getting involved in their own electronics development. Wilson Audio calls the latest project of the in-house task force for special solutions "The Pedestal". These are special coasters for audio components - not for loudspeakers - in a rarely uncompromising design. LowBeats had the opportunity (for the first time in Germany) to try out a set of three extensively.

As usual with the Americans, the Wilson Audio "The Pedestal" are uncompromising developments: elaborately designed and manufactured, tested and measured in countless listening sessions. And, in typical Wilson fashion, they're pricey too. However, I was thoroughly amazed and convinced by its effect.

Only a three-piece set of accessories from the Wilson special unit was available for testing. That is, the pedestal could only be tried under one component at a time.

In contrast to most conventional representatives of their type, the large but by no means overly bulky coasters have an effect in different frequency ranges. From impact noise and other floor resonances to high frequencies that can cause microphonic effects in electronics. To achieve this, Wilson combines different materials in a cleverly nested structure. What is interesting here is that under load, the internal V-material and other critical elements are virtually decoupled from the steel body, which ultimately represents a final resonance barrier with its high density and mass.

Each pedestal has a weight of 240 g and is designed for a load of up to 11.34 kg. A set of three carries around 34 kg. A white ring indicates when the load limit has been reached. Individual pedestals are available as supplements for heavier components.

First placed under the Trinnov Amethyst, which stood directly on a lowboard, the three feet provided more than just a marginal "purification" of the sound. The pedestals under the processor not only increased the precision of fine transients, which made the highs even more transparent. In the mids, the Wilson's feet brought out more emotion. Voices became more delicate and individual instruments could be identified more easily in the overall performance, for example in classical music, but without impairing the harmonious interplay. Less gains were noticeable in the bass – at least in this combination.

The "pedestals" under the Exogal DAC, which in turn was already decoupled from a small Solidsteel power amp rack, had the same effect low board but were not quite as pronounced. Even on racks that already have an isolating or decoupling effect, the pedestal can still uncover buried reserves.

And what does the fun cost? Around 3,000 euros for a set of three, and around 800 euros for each additional pedestal. Ouch! A lot of money for a couple of device coasters. But of all the solutions of this type that I know of, the Wilson device feet are by far the most effective. For perfectionists with enough cash reserves, this should definitely be worth a try.