Will a Wilson Maxx be possible in a small room

Hi Peter,

I am using a pair of Watts/Puppies 5 in a room half the size of yours with excellent results. I get plenty of bass with the smaller Watts/Puppies 5 most of the time. I miss the deep bass only in a few specific recordings.

A few things you may want to consider before taking the plunge with the larger, better, and more expensive Maxx.

1. Try moving your speakers around a little (or a lot). You may be surprised how a small change can alter the bass response, in quality and volume.

2. Try changing the speaker cables. When I switched from the recommended MIT CVT to a triple run of inexpensive OCOS, the bass improved noticeably in quantity and tightness. If you have a spare amp, it might be worth a try as well. The bass output of my Watts/Puppies 5 increases when I switched from Rowland Model 7s to the BAT VK-60s, and finally to a digital switching amp, which seemed to have doubled the bass output, subjectibvely. Of course this is also an expensive option, though far less than the cost of a pair of the Maxx.

3. Have you considered a subwoofer? Wait, don't cringe. I had great results with a Muse 16 with special crossover card to match the Watts/Puppies 5. The sound was nearly seamless. Now, my Velodyne DD-15 (15-inch woofer with servo-control and 1000+ watt digital amp) doubles as my video AND audio subwoofer. This subwoofer is pretty amazing: it is small, powerful, and ultra-fast. With the on-screen digital adjustment and a supplied microphone, I am able to customize a nearly seamless blend with the Watts/Puppies 5 at a fraction of the cost of "audiophile" subs. The bass increase in depth and volume is nothing short of staggering. You can also go to the larger DD-18 to move even more air. I prefer the smaller, faster, and definitely cheaper DD-15.

Speakers' bass response in a room is position dependent, amplifier/cable dependent and difficult to predict. Try the above options if you can. But if you must have the Maxx, it would be ideal if you could try them in your room first.

"Justin, I am amazed that you can get "excellent" results in a room "half the size?" From my experience, speakers of this size need oodles of room, to breathe, for "excellent" results. IMHO"

Hi Warrenh,

Yes, I get excellent sound in my 12 x 15 room with the Watts/Puppies 5. They do not really have big sizes (only big price tags, unfortunately) and they are specifically designed for near-field listening. I place the speakers along the short axis of the room (one to two feet away from all boundaries) and use the rule of third to position the speakers and my listening spot along the long axis of the room. The sound from the Watts/Puppies 5 blends immediately in front of the speakers so that as you sit at the top of the equilateral triangle that you form with your toed-in speakers the holographic effect is quite palpable, especially with a digital switching amp. The huge sound stage is thrown several feet behind and beyond the sides of the speakers! That's also the closest I've come with cone speakers to the speed and inner details of electrostatic speakers without the bass and image-size limitations of the latter.

The Velodyne DD-15 has an amazingly small foot-print (18" x 18" x 20"H) that belies it's powerful impact. With the myriad of sound adjustments, it can be perfectly tailored to disappear in a small room like mine--the DD-18 would have over-powered the room.

So overall, the combination of Watts/Puppies 5 and Velodyne DD-15 is just about the perfect system for my pocket-size listening room.

Dear Raul,

I did try two 12" Velodynes. They did not work well in my small room--what was I thinking?. Each sub had to be near each speaker so placement became a nightmare. They were tried behind me but blending then was far from optimal. And in both cases, I can still hear where the subs were because the optimal crossover for 12" woofers was still a tad high. Lower it, and the bass output suffered. I sold both subs to a friend and he is ecstatic about the results in his large video room .

I also tried a single 18". It completely overwhelmed the room. Sold again to another friend with a bigger house. Another happy customer.

With a single DD-15, the big woofer allows me to set the crossover low enough that I cannot hear the sub's location. Thanks to the servo motor and fast digital amp, the 15" woofer is quick enough to blend well with the Watts/Puppies. It completely disappears and the bass sounds like it's coming from the middle or the speakers, not from the sub.

I now quite content with the arrangement.