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

jaimeromero

I think if you can go out and listen, you will find that the Watt Puppies have been eclipsed in their price range. I audition but can't afford... I'm a window shopper when it comes to a certain price point. I settled on the used Maggie 1.7i, and am about to buy a pair of "bass" panels, but for what the majority of my listening (big band, bop, free jazz, fusion, prog rock, avante garde, experimental, jazz vocalists, and 60's psychedelic) the 1,7i has been great. Hard rockers won't be satisfied with the bass response. Don't throw out the quality cassette deck, in my world there are still artists that release primarily on cassette, and CD, and are sometimes hard to find on streaming platforms because those artists self release and there's no corporate level $$$...

@jaimeromero 

Jaime, tells us about your room and music choice.  It would help answer your question.  Also, where do you reside.

Saludos, Juan (South FL)

Hello everyone, thank you kindly for the information you provided. Very helpful. Having confirmatory info from various members resonates with my approach to new purchases.  Thank you

I live in Boise Idaho, not much here tho we have grown in the valley over that past 8-10 years. I've been to one high end dealer (see above speaker audition in my post), nice people, very nice physical plant and interior decoration.  Planning on going back, but I think its the only high end store in the valley.

As far as room dimensions is concerned, this will change as I plan to sell my current home/property and go back to SoCal where I grew up and did all my training. Thinking on landing in South Orange County somewhere.

Budget:  Well, depends on how i'm feeling but I am an emotional buyer and often take the "for a little bit more I can have model x instead of y".   I think for the right price I would be interested in the price range of preowned Sash2's but not necessarily DAW.  I need to budget for other gear and SoCal will not be inexpensive living.

Again, thank you all for your input

Jaime

@jaimeromero at (what i think is) the price of used Sasha 2 you should look into some of the new offerings out there.

I like planar drivers and had a brief listen to some PS Audio FR 20 and they are very nice.  Worth a test.

Moving to SoCal, you should stop in Sacramento and visit the vintage store there.  They have a lot of cool vintage components and speakers.