The $27,900 disappointment? Wilson Audio Watt Puppy 8 issues.

1)Does anyone here think Wilson isnt aware of these measurements?

2) Lets assume we all agree that they are. 

IMO if 1 and 2 are true, then its intentional, and perhaps for reasons we’ll never be privy to. But the reason could be that flattening the curve for the sake of proper engineering may completely ruin the sound. 

My first post - I just joined but I’ve been a reader of this forum.

I have Wilson Sabrina X’s with 2024 Watt Puppys ordered.

My opinion of this video and his methods of measuring speaker performance aside,

my one comment is actually about the title and premise of the video.

”$27,900 disappointment…”

First off, anyone who spent $27K on a 20 year old pair of Watt Puppys probably deserves to have issues…  Maybe I didnt catch it, but did he ever mention that these speakers were released in 2006 (and discontinued in 2011)?

I ask because in the beginning of the video when discussing the Focal, he made specific mention that he used the same part “way, way back in the late 90’s” in their first speaker.  So he is dating components, but conveniently seemed to leave out the date of the model he was working on.

We can argue whether or not that was intentional, but for anyone that doesnt know the Wilson line well, they’ll conveniently conclude that this speaker isnt old and costs close to $28k.  This is evidenced by many of the comments based on misinformation (or maybe, lack of information.)

Maybe he did mention the age and I missed it - but if he left that out then he did Wilson a disservice, and its a convenient way to throw shade without actually spelling it out  

I’m new to this site - is it common practice to be skeptical of someones intentions when they defend Wilson speakers?

If thats the case then I should be suspect one. I actually joined the site just to comment on this thread 😂

I felt I had to because when youtube personalities throw out content than raises more question than it provides answers, and spawns a litany of comments (youtube comments) that are so off base and misguided that it makes my head hurt… then its the responsibility of those with actual experience to try to set the record straight (or at least provide some real world examples. )

Its funny - I’ve read time and time again about Wilson’s lack of efficiency and low impedance. Hence requiring high quality amps to drive them. And when they are driven by the proper amp most people seem to agree that they sound very good.

here’s the thing, I’ve never heard a Wilson owner complain about this. I think thats because most Wilson owners have no intention of buying anything but a high quality amp.

Would I, or any other Wilson owner, prefer they improve their design to be more efficient? Speaking for myself I say no. Because theres a possibility the sound I get from my setup is a result of the relationship between the speaker and the amp. And I would never spend the $$ on Wilsons with the intent of connecting them to an underpowered amp.

Personally this lack of efficiency in design is irrelevant, except to those who wouldnt buy or own them in the first place.

Am I unique in feeling this way - or are there Wilson owners that listen to their speakers and say “damn, yeah it sounds good… but the impedance inefficiency is driving me nuts!”

All good engineering makes certain assumptions about the intended applications and audience for a product. It’s completely valid for Wilson to take the approach they have - for the sound quality they were trying to achieve, the context of the time perdiod, their intended audience

This. Wilson makes choices with their design, they arent flaws (to them). They create their speakers to function optimally within a given system, even if it means they wont perform as well in a different system.  They’re building a product that is designed to work with high quality components because thats what their customers will have. 
As a Wilson owner, if you asked me if I would be willing to sacrifice some performance in my setup, so that my speakers would sound better in a lower end setup, I would obviously be against that. I didnt buy them so that I could connect them to a mass market amplifier and I wouldnt expect anybody else would either.