4/1000s of an Inch

Wilson Audio's sanding crew uses a huge 70 pound hand-drawn sanding sled to sand flat raw speaker cabinets. That's the only sure way to get the enclosure flat enough to pass Joe Allan's inspection. Using a calibrated stainless precision straight edge bar and a feeler tool, he looks for any anomalies. If the flat blade of the feeler tool—which is exactly 4/1000 of an inch thick—slides beneath the bar at any point, it indicates a deviation from flatness unacceptable to Wilson: the cabinet is rejected.

The reason for such extreme tolerances is simple. The enclosure receives its eight layers of Wilson- Gloss™ paint and clearcoat before it is wet sanded and buffed to a mirrorlike finish. Any underlying bumps, divots, valleys or ridges would then be visible to the naked eye.

Wilson Audio's highest priority is sonic perfection, but it just doesn't seem right to house it in a cabinet built to a lesser standard.