new member, some questions, need help please
Hi, my name is Jaime. I've been lurking this site more intensely over the past few months as i'm at the end of my career and would like to assemble a very nice, better than mediocre equipment and listening environment. I was heavily into audio and considered myself an novice audiophile for a few year back in circa 1988. Got into med school, married, children, mortgage, fast cars, fine wines and, well, you know how it goes thereafter. fast forward onto the current epoch, a few lbs heavier, tinnitus in one ear and still have the bug and still covet some equipment that I could not afford back then. Well, don't hear too much of Mark Levinson, Wilson Audio is still around, cassette player are out (remember Nakamichi :-) ), now there's so much digital this and digital that, servers, streamers.... I've got much to learn. But, for now, I just have one question regarding one piece of the audio chain...... speakers
I've alway wanted to own Wilson Watt puppy ever since I first heard them in 1990 paired with Jadis amp and preamp. Wow, still remember back then the music was palpable and haunting (remember i was and still am a novice). I"d like to return to Watt puppy and a great amp, but here's my question: Specifically regarding Watt puppy series 8..... are they too old to be meaningful in 2024? Do speakers lose their magic to an extent that renders them less capable to a significant extent after 15-18 years (assuming proper physical condition condition for their age) or do they still have enduring quality sound after all these years? I know that my ears and temporal lobes of my brain ultimately have to please me, but I do have to start somewhere with some knowledge moving forward, hence my ask for help.. thank you very much in advance.
Jaime
This very recent thread should answer your questions. https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/wilson-watt-3-puppy-2-loudspeaker Wierd...almost smells like someone’s wanting to get rid of some old watt puppy real bad and the stars are getting lined up for that desperate soul ...something in the air, I say. I suppose you can get one and try modding the crossover to tame some of its issues, make it a project speaker if you can snag one dirt cheap. |
You could spend a lot of cash these days and make mistakes, not get the right combo of gear..or just get tired of things. Mark Levinson is still very much around and his current company is called Daniel Hertz. He sells integrated systems now, speakers + his front end electronics in 1 package and prices range from 20k to 200k (capable of blowing the socks off other things). Such systems make it easy for you, takes the guesswork out and prevents you from popping in and out of rabbit holes, i.e. this methodology gets you straight to enjoying the music. So, if you are the doc who’s busy saving young lads from dying in the trenches all day, wanna get home, chug wine and relax to music, go the Levinson route maybe. But, if you are a tweaker/tinkerer nerd (like many audiophiles), like the thrill of constant tinkering, exploring different permutations, flavors, etc...Levinson’s stuff is not the right avenue for you. For the latter type of tweaking/nerding, you just audit stuff, buy stuff, hoard stuff, mod stuff, sell stuff, etc.... keep it more cyclical, keep at it. |
