OP- since you already have the Wilson speakers, just ditch your current amp and get a Pass X250.8 and Pass Xp-22 or a Cary SLP if you want some tube sound, then, a pair of good speaker cables and start there. play around the positioning of the speakers in reference to your listening position.
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
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we have tested many class d amplifiers including Ice, hypex, ncore and a few others none of these amplifiers were as musically engaging as our better class a/AB amplifiers
so the first thing we would recommend is trying a new integrated amplifier particularly a hybrid design our owner Dave Lalin personally owned wp 3 and fives and setup dozens of pairs of wp over 20 years at sound by Singer, so give us a call we can assist you.
Dave and Troy Audio Intellect NJ |
Reading the above comments and other discussions, I’d say you need to whip out the checkbook. As said here, your Class D is dated. It’s time to face the music and write if off. If you’re not in position to bring out the checkbook in a big way sending it in for possible refresh/repair is your last option. My bias opinion is to go the Pass Labs route for it appears to be a good match with Wilsons based on multiple readings on this forum. It’s a safe bet but not adventurous. Tubers have a good argument to go the tube route or a combination of solid state pre amps, amps and tube. This is the fun part deciding which direction to go. You need to get a handle why you are blowing speakers. Abnormal. Usually its the ear drums that blow first. |
@lendivf good dac. You just need a good amplifier. It’s good to have a large range. Get good amp and room treatments you should be fine. |
+1 The Watt Puppy 8 does have a notably harsh... unnatural top end. It’s doesnt’ ruin the experience... otherwise it is very good sounding. I have a friend with a pair. Even with very natural sounding tube electronics this is obvious to an experienced listener. With the Puppys set up correctly in a good acoustic space the brittle top end was obvious to me inside of a minute. But if the room acoustics aren’t good, or set up not great, it could be masked by other problems. I |
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