Wilson Audio WATT/PUPPY or Gershman Grand Avant Garde?

I haven't heard the Wilson Audio, but I understand they are very good.

I did audition the Avant Garde (10 years ago) at the same time I auditioned their Sonogram model and at the time I could not warrant the additional expense of the Avant Garde for what I considered a similar level of performance, so I went with the Sonogram and I haven't regretted it for a single day

I also auditioned the GAP 828, which were significantly better than the Avant Garge, but they are no longer made.

All Gershman speakers are extremely good - they have a reputation for being invisible and mine certainly are.

Eli Gershman used to truck each model to Ottawa and put them through their paces in an Anechoic Chamber to "tune" the enclosure.

The Grande Avant Garde is their latest version of that model and supposedly much better than the model I auditioned. With a bass going down around 20-22Hz it's a great place to start

Of their current lineup I like the look of the Grand Studio II :-)

I know there are lots of great speakers available these days, but the only speakers to better my Sonograms in a significant way are the Avangarde Horns from Germany - but then they are $35k Canadian.

Good luck with your purchase - Steve

Wilson sound is slightly more incisive and has better micro detail. Dynamic, with excellent bass performance but no particular emphasis. Gershman are warmer and more forgiving with a bottom up sound and slight bass emphasis. This is my experience on numerous listening sessions with both. Wilsons at home (5 different models) and shows, Gershman probably about 6 times at different shows.
You cannot go wrong with either.

Many thanks.
Glad to hear I won’t go wrong with either choice.
I have two sets of amp/preamp. Plinius SA 102/Plinius M16P, and Audio Research 150M.2/PrimaLuna Dialogue Preamp. Hope both of them would work well with Gershman or Wilson.

I'm sure they will.

tvad and others,

My room (basement) is 15 x 30 x 8. Would it be too small for Watt/Puppy? I am sure it is adequate for Gershman.
I am leaning to Gershman, and one of the reasons is that Watt/Puppy may overwhelm my room. And also, it would be a bit hard to move them to basement.
thx

As I said before, you cannot go wrong with either. Neither speaker will overwhelm your room. I had a WP 7 and then the Sashas in my room which is 16 x 20 x 9 and neither overwhelmed at all. In fact, I now have the Alexia 2s in that same space.  While I get the feeling that the Alexias would show a bit more muscle in a larger space (but I'm not complaining), I can assure you that I had no such feeling with the WP.

15 x 30 is a pretty good sized room. A lot of speakers should work in there.

Oz

Great.

Both Gershman AG and Wilson Watt/Puppy became available within driving range from where I live. I'll make a decision by the end of the week.
Again, thanks for all input.

I bought Gershman Grande Avant Grade.
I appears to be power hungry.
To crank up, I need to turn the volume to over 12 o'clock on my 100w, 125w, and 150w amps.
I don't have such wow feeling that I had with Wilson Watt/Puppy a long time ago at audio show. Also, its sound stage and image is not as good as Diva. It lacks liveliness too. 
However, it still sounds better than my Harbeth 7ES-3 and Tyler Linbrook signature. Anyway, it has to be since it costs 2~3 times retail.
I could have gone for Wilson Watt/Puppy 5 used for less price, but due to its size and the need for professional setup, I chose Gershman. It is quite light and I have no problem of carrying it by myself.
Even though I cannot say that I am 100% satisfied, I will stick to Gershman at least for a while (a couple of years) and enjoy the music.
Again, thanks for all your input.

Hi. My room in feet 8.5W/15L/9H, the Grand Avant Garde could play nicely in my room? Thanks for advice. 

I think 8.5W is a bit too narrow. Mine is close to 15W. This speaker may easily overwhelm the room. 

@ihcho are your Amos stereo Amps? I just pulled the trigger on a pair of girshmans. I have tube monoblocks , KT120 tubes and each tube puts out 150 watts per channel. Hope that’s okay and enough power

My amp is Plinius SA 102 and Audio Research 150M.2.
I think 150W tube power is more than enough. Not only the power, but the quality of power would matter too.
Your room size, the listening volume level, and the speaker cable will make difference too.
If your room is bigger than 20W-25L-9H, you may not feel that the sound would fill your room.
One downside is, some bad CDs sound really bad. Good audiophile CDs and SACDs sound really good. (Also audiophile LPs) Of course, you need to have a good CD/SACD player. Mine is OPPO 105D and Esoteric UZ-1.