About the new Wilson Audio Watt/Puppy 8

"I'm not a huge ARC fan either, although Oneobgyn has been dying to prove me wrong on the Ref 3 :) My general feeling about ARC is that it is a tad too SS-like for my tastes (and therefore, why not get SS)"

Keith, I do intend to prove you wrong about the Ref 3 when you are next up here in the SF Bay Area.

IMO, it is the best preamp that I have ever owned.

When I decided to get the Wilson's...after spending about 10 years looking for something clearly superior...I had to listen through the AR Ref 3....fortunately it didn't deter me from determining what the speakers could do....neither did show rooms that added warmth....and to a degree a level in trust of a sales person who had some understanding what I was seeking....and since I was in the speaker business a strong sense of how rooms and setup could greatly injure the potential of any given speaker...so I filtered all that out....given that...Wilsons seem to have the ability to let the music come through...which then gives me a chance to measure the result against live music....which then led to me Spectral and Ayre equipment....all tube stuff (except perhaps in pre amp area)intrude too much into what I hear versus the potential of live music....but some tube stuff....some of the time...sound "magical"...but alas not real....the other issue is the subtle...but always there...degnigration of the tubes themselves...and the level of heat that they generate....that slowly and absolutely erode sound quality...rarely in an obviouls manner...but none the less relentlessly. But not my concern at this point....just hopeful that the WP8s meet expectations

I had been waiting to get WP7s, and now have the opportunity to get a pair relatively "cheap" with the 8's coming out, but have found the more I listen to them, the thinner and brighter they seem. I thought tubes might add some fullness and warmth to them, so I auditoned them for hours with VTL and Nagra and found it less to my liking then SS- great detail, resolution and imaging, but lacking in emotion and fatiguing. I don't have the same problem with the MAXXs, but was not particularly enamored of the Sophia 2, although a definite improvement over the 1. I'm wondering if the WP8 will resolve (or ameliorate) the problem, but at too high a financial cost, or if the right electronics can satisfy me with the 7s.
OB, I met you at Tzucc's house a few weeks ago- I'd love the opportunity to hear your set-up at some point.
Terry

"OB, I met you at Tzucc's house a few weeks ago- I'd love the opportunity to hear your set-up at some point."

It would be a pleasure