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Which amp with Wilson watt puppy 8

Hi there !

i live on an island with no audiophile shops around. 
I arrived in 2011 with a Jeff Rowland continuum 250 and Sonus Faber Cremona m speakers who were a great match. Unfortunately I blew the speakers a few times, then upgraded to columns, blew them also twice. I guess the amp is too powerful for them, but this time Sonus Faber was unable to provide me replacement tweeters and speakers, which is an enormous disappointment. I will never buy anything from them again. I ran through the web and found corresponding parts that I changed myself, but they seem to sound much higher in the trebles and lack bass, especially at high volume levels, (above 55%) . I tried swapping the cables, but it didn’t change anything. 
I now bought a pair of Wilson audio watt puppy 8 that arrived this week from a NYC store. I hope them to last lifetime. 
They have cost me around 11.5k$ door to door, look great and tough, but need to be driven above 60 % of volume otherwise nothing comes out of them, especially bass !
I also get the same sharp treble sound, which is very disappointing.
My problem is to find the issue : 

1/ room acoustic

2/ change my class D amplifier for tubes or transistors

3/ find better cables

4/ me turning old ?

what should I do next ? what amplifier would you recommend with this configuration (watt puppy 8, MIT Avtr 1, ps audio direct stream mk1, aurender n10, musical fidelity M6 CD) ?

thank you 


 

lendivf

Showing 2 responses by jsalerno277

jsalerno277
365 posts
 

I am in the camp of the need to determine why you were burning out Sonus Farber drives.  If the JR is at fault, it could be causing SQ issues with the Wilson’s as well. The following are potential root causes:

1:  Overloading the speaker.  Possible.  The SFC is rated to 250 W.  The JF is 400 W into 8 ohms, double that into 4 ohms.  So the amp maximum is a lot for the speakers. But the SFC has a 91dB sensitivity.  So I question whether you still have eardrums if you were overdriving the SFCs. 


2:  Distortion related causes:

  • Clipping:   Based on the specs for the speakers and integrated amp mentioned above, I do not believe this is a potential root cause.  
  • Integrated Amp Power Supply:  A faulty power supply can have a broad range of effects including introducing DC into the speaker terminals and blowing speakers or causing   issues like you describe with the Wilson’s. 
  • Capacitor failure: Faulty capacitors can introduce DC into the speaker terminals and blow speakers and cause some of the SQ issues you describe with the Wilson’s.  Did you ever have it recapped?

The JR integrated is a musical piece.  It should be able to drive the Wilson’s 89dB sensitivity and nominal 4 ohm impedance (low 2 ohm) with ease but remember, it is a more difficult load than the SFC.   Before you budget a significant spend on a new integrated amp, I would have the JF evaluated by a good technician, or by the JR.  Also, follow the directions of all those before me on giving attention to setup, speaker placement and room acoustics.   
 

Finally, if you are set on a new integrated amp,  I have the following recommendations in order of my preference:

  • Audio Note Humboldt - Clarity and powerful.  Three dimensional.  Musical. 
  • Burmester 232 or 032 - Clarity.  Less power than the Humboldt and this may not be for you.  Commandingly musical and dimensional. My favorite.  
  • Dan D'Agostino Progression Integrated Amplifier:  Powerful.  Darker sound than the two above.
  • Mola Mola Kula:  Don’t let its small size fool you.  Enough Class D power for the Wilson’s.  Highly musical.

Each of the above has its own sound characteristics so you need to audition and choose for yourself.

 

 
 

 


 

jsalerno277
365 posts
 

OP.  
I agree with GHDPrentice.  I also, in 50 years of being in this hobby, never had to set gain at 60-80%.   My speakers are only have 87dB sensitivity and my integrated amp only puts out 105 watts/8Ohms.  Even on recordings intentionally mastered at a lower loudness like Reference Recordings, 60% gain produces 110dB crescendos in my room.  The fact the you have had issues of shorting the amp a few times supports a conclusion that the most probable root cause is an amp malfunction.  I disagreed with you that the spend for repair will be more than the spen for a new integrated amp.  When I had big Krell separates, and suffering from OCD, I used to have them recapped every 5 years, an expensive deal since big Krells had many caps.  The last time I did that it cost less than $2k at Krell.  Your old and new speakers deserve a world class integrated, that preowned will be a spend at the upper range of your budget (10k).  Usually a diagnosis will cost around $250.  I would do that first.  The JR is good enough to deserve an attempt at a cure.  Respectfully, John. 

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