anyone care to comment re: WP-8?


the recent review in stereophile seems (to me) to be "fair and balanced". while it gives high praise to the "reference" level of quality the speaker represents, it also raises some recurrent problems with the design and the sound. looking for the best tweeter, or the most rigid cabinet, or even the best material for the puppy-port on the back, dave wilson forgets, IMHO, that the sum of the parts has to exceed the values of the individual components. the dynaudio speaker the reviewer uses as a comparison seems to integrate everything together although it doesn't have the degree of transparency that the wilson has- virtually nothing i've seen or heard out there does. this reminds me of the issue of approaching a goal line by coming 1/2 of the way closer on each move forward. you would have to take infinite steps to arrive there; the WP8 discloses its own shortcomings like an almost flawless lens with one tiny chip in it- unfortunately not towards the edge but distractingly always in view. so what you have here is a speaker that gets closer and closer to an "ideal transducer" but the design, the "painting", is never quite finished. still, i have to envy anyone who owns one of these speakers. a rolex is a rolex, and a watt-puppy is small but uniquely elegant (unless of course you own a pair of kharma exquisites...)
french_fries

Showing 1 response by rgs92

The bass IMHO has always been the strong point of the
Watt Puppy series. The highs are an acquired taste. I heard
the WP8 recently and the signature WP highs and upper mids,
a kind of jangly, ever-so-slightly abrasive sound in
strings and vocals, are still there, though they are significantly more refined than earlier versions.
I still wish Dave would give a ribbon or silk a chance.
Of course, maybe Watt Puppies wouldn't be Watt Puppies
without this sound. Just my 2 cents.
(I had WP6s for about a year.)