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

Hi folk’s

Wow this is my first post on audiogon and I got so many interesting answers in such a short time  ! Thank’s to you all. It would take me months to get a similar thread in French. God bless America ! 
I actually bought my w/p on audiogon, and to answer @hjdca, they arrived fully serviced and in extraordinary condition (no scratches, new pads) from a NYC Wilson Audio official reseller. So I am confident. 
I must correct something after 5 days (and nights😨) of listening. 
My house is very noisy during day time (5 kids multiplied by numerous friends). 
My living-room is an L form opened on the rest of the floor with no door (first thing to fix!). Walls are covered with books on one side and the floor is covered with carpets. A 50-80% volume during the day in a noisy environment turns into a 20-40% at night for a similar experience (normal/ loud) and I do get in that range a well developed bass and a cristal clear treble, which I would qualify as “ Powerfull and detailed” vs “acute and accurate” for the SF, but then I can only refer to a “non official” rebuilt pair of speakers (with original drivers from madisound, but not the ones coming from SF). The SF would start sounding very loud and distorted above 80% and burn between 90-100%. The Wilson Audio seem to be capable of holding those volumes, but I won’t risk it for the moment. I actually never listen music at those volumes, but I presume my boys have 🤔 
I am very concerned about those who advised me to have the amp checked, because it might cost me the price of an amp to do so from where I am. I did have a few accidents in the past (short circuits when moving the speakers for ex) and the amplifier did turn to protection mode once or twice. If any one know’s precisely how to test the different components on a class D, I could maybe give it a try with my multimeter.   I did compare a class D amp to 1 and 0’s, but it was more of an image because obviously the entering signal is analogic and not digital. Thus, the ice modules have far less transistors and more chips and filters at équivalant power than a class  A/B amp, so I presume the effect on sound to be more brutal in case of defect. 
My issue is first to determine if my listening disappointment comes from a technical (faulty amp) aspect or an emotional aspect (lack of warmth and roundness of my class D) who maybe was giving me more satisfaction in my small Parisian apartment with bookshelves Sf Cremona M speakers than connected today in a bigger space to bigger speakers. 
I have a last issue regarding lamps : we have very fluctuant voltage on the island and sometimes electrical overpower. Of course my hi-fi is surge protected, but I was afraid to go for a McIntosh 275 in the past and having to deal with lamp problems, especially when those lamps will completely change the sound according to the brand you decide to buy ?  
If I manage to sell my current amp and speakers I could go for a second hand amp and preamp (although the ps audio dac works also as a preamp) in a 5-10k range. 
best regards. 
ps there is a pair of pass labs XA-100 for 6k on the French market. 
I cannot buy amps in the usa because of the voltage problem so I am looking at 220v units. 

XA-100 are pretty old. See if you can find XA-60.8 or X250.8 and even X350.8. You can drive the amps directly with ps audio dac. Should be ok. 

You do not need a new amp. The JR is a very capable and good sounding amp, no matter how old it is, but as you've been blowing drive units, that may be the whole cause of your 'problem'. The JR will easily drive the WP to loud levels (btw, you've been asked a few times about your hearing - do you have hearing issues?). As somone else has said - if blowing tweeters, it's usually a clipping amp issue - it DOES NOT mean the amp is too powerful - but it may mean the amp is faulty, given your house power issues. If you keep on blowing tweeters, you cannot blame SF for not wanting to continue to supply them to you if it's your own fault that they're blowing.

You also don't mention the size of your room, as a very large room will make any amp work harder, and 'L' shaped room are awful for sound stage creation.

Finally - keep your kids away from your system and get them their own.

Lots of good advice here. You definitely should replace the integrated amp, soon if it is blowing speakers, and consider separates. Five kids, stick with solid state for now. Having separates will allow you to tune your sound a bit going forward by trying some different preamps. Look for something that offers a touch of warmth to take the edge off of the highs. Pass gear is a good and reliable place to start.

OP,

Thank you for all of your additional information, But with that, I am still of the opinion that there is something wrong with your electronics. The volume of any of my systems in the last fifty years at 60 - 80% would have been deafening. I mean plates on the wall rattling.... glasses vibrating off the table... I am exaggerating a bit. But walking by the speakers would be a hearing hazard.

Use your iPhone and a SPL meter app, and take some measure ments from a meter in front of the speakers and from the seated position in front of the speakers. This would give us some metrics.