I use cary 805c on watt/puppy 7's.
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I used to use a Krell KSA 200s sometime back with my Watt Puppy 6s (with the new tweeter) and although the system is not the same, it probably sounds somewhat similar to your current setup. If so, there is plenty of room for improvement on the amp side. I'm using a pair of YBA Passion 1000s now and the difference between now and with the old KSA200s is night and day. Yes, it's not tubed (but it has a tube-like sound) and the price is more than your stated budget. Just letting you know that there's plenty of improvement waiting if you make the correct choice. |
The CAT tube amps have tremendous synergy with Wilson speakers. In fact, the guys at Innovative in Manhattan said that the CAT monoblocks paired with X-1's yielded the best sound they have ever gotten out of a two-channel system. That said, and while they are unusually well built, those amps can be quite finnicky, and expensive, to own - they require very carefully vetted output tubes, which CAT charges outrageous prices for, for reliable operation due to the hot-rodded circuit. Both the monoblock and stereo versions of the amp can found for less than $10,000 used. I believe a new stereo amp (the JL-2) goes for +/- $14,000 new. |
No, these SE's tubes won't drive the 7's impedance in the bass. They may sound ok in the mids and highs. The 7's are the best of all the Watt/puppy's, but also hard to drive in the bass to get the very best out of. You need an amp that is very happy to see a 2ohm load at bass frequencies and power levels, usually a solid state amp domain. https://www.stereophile.com/images/archivesart/Wilfig1.jpg From Stereophile: " The Wilson Audio WATT/Puppy 7's However, also like its predecessor, it will need a good high-current amplifier before it can be driven to satisfying levels. Its impedance drops to 2.4 ohms at 78Hz and remains below 6 ohms for much of the region where music has its maximum energy (fig.1). In addition, an impedance of 4 ohms at 59Hz is associated with an electrical phase angle of -34 degrees, which will add to the drive difficulty. Cheers George |
You have the best sayings Ralph, zombie thread, expectation bias ect you should write a book on sayings. At first I thought you meant they were all zombies and can’t read graphs. Now I see that the thread is 2008 old, then my post is directed just at the last poster. Cheers George |
‘I’m not dead yet!’ This thread still has some life in it!
It’s now 2024 and I am asking nearly the same question… What tube amp(s) are recommended for Watt Puppy 7. I am currently considering a pair of Quicksilver V4 but I am concerned if they will have enough guts to produce tight / voluminous bass. |
@jdeitch i don't know if this helps, but about 300 years ago, i heard the audio research ref 600s with some watt puppies (maybe the fives). the sound was immense and impressive. |
The Watt/Puppy has an impedance dip at about 2KHz. This is there to absorb energy since there is a 2KHz resonance in the tweeter. This is why the speaker had a reputation for brightness with solid state amps, because solid state amps will try to make more power into lower impedances. A lot of tube amps will make less power into that 2 Ohm dip. In that way the tweeter behaves with them. Since most of our OTLs didn't make power into 2 Ohms, this worked exceptionally well with them and is likely part of the reason why the National Sales manager used them back when they were being made. In every other regard the speaker is easy to drive- our local dealer used our M-60 OTLs to demo the speaker. The M-60 makes 60 Watts into 8 Ohms so that gives you an idea of the power needed. If using a conventional transformer-coupled tube amp try the 8 Ohm tap first. This will help prevent the 2KHz brightness. |
