Which amp with Wilson watt puppy 8

Hi OP,

The harsh treble, especially when the volume goes up is often a sign of excess solid reflections. 

I'd suggest you consider your room and placement before starting to swap gear.

Describe your room, amps and where in the room you put your speakers and listening location. 

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. 

Should have pointed out, another sign of poor room acoustics is not enough bass.  The reflections accentuate the mid-treble significantly.  Adding mid-treble absorbers fixes the imbalance and lets the bass bloom.

I spoke with Jeff Rowland in person over the phone. He confirmed that the amplifier cannot have a problem and would either work or won’t. The DC problem described above occurs only with class A/B, not D. He also suggested to work on the acoustics of the room. According to him, there is no reason to service the amplifier. 
He also confirmed that under powered amp will “blow” drivers, not over power, which also confirms some of the above sayings. The JR Continuum 250 delivers 500w per channel at 4ohms and should be enough for the w/p’s. Listening over 85% is a source of damage to the speakers. 
This brings me to the conclusion that I need to get that mic and find a way to work on my room acoustics. 

@lendivf refreshing to have a manufacturer that is pragmatic and no deal in vibes and feelings. YES, it is a learning experience but getting to know what your room/speaker synergy is like in Room EQ Wizard takes out the mystique of many issues people attribute wrongly to other things. Good luck but also man, you listen too loud. your hearing must be shot (a visit to check your auditory health is also something to look at)