Wilson Watt-Puppy Amplifier?


Recommendations on outstanding Amp & Line pairings for the new Wilson Watt-Puppy?

I'm considering purchasing but will need a new amp & pre also since I am moving from the SET world.

tinear123

Luckily your Wilson has a sensitivity rating of 91.4dB@2.83V/1m.

Meaning they’re not voltage hungry speakers.

For their impedance, when the complex impedance is accounted for in respect of peak current draw, the minimum value is close to 2.7 ohms at 93Hz.

 

So if say a 4 Ohm stable, possibly 2 ohm stable amplifier will do cos this speaker is current hungry with its DC input resistance being 3.3 Ohms..

 

TLDR: you need a current robust amp since these have impedance relationships that need a strong current delivery amp.

 

Thankfully there are many amps like that on the msrket @tinear123

 

For Preamp, get this - McIntosh C49

For DSP System, this - McIntosh MEN220

And for Power amp, this Purifi 1ET9040BA Eigentakt Stereo Power amp - https://apollonaudio.com/product/purifi-1et9040ba-eigentakt-dual-mono-premium-amplifier-apollon-pet1200-dm/

 

Really depends on what sound characteristics are most important to you.  Also, what’s your budget and are you looking for new or used?

The Audio Research LS28SE and VT 80SE. I helped a good friend that I helped put together a great system. He coupled Puppies with these ARC products. The sound is excellent and the warmth of the ARC components helped compliment the precision of the Wilson and calm down the treble. Sounds great. 

 

Roger Modjeski designed his Music Reference RM-200 specifically for low impedance loads. The amp resided in Stereophile’s Recommended Components List for a decade, and was Michael Fremer’s "affordable tube amp" for as long (and still is, I imagine). A Google search will lead you to his review of the amp (and the test bench measurements of John Atkinson, who was VERY impressed with the amp’s technical performance), both the original and MK.2 iterations.

The RM-200 delivers 100w/channel into 8, 4, and 1 ohm loads, from only a pair of KT-88’s each! Most tube amps are very unhappy with the load the WATT/Puppy presents it with (it’s very low at some frequencies). The RM-200 is a good choice for low impedance loads due to it’s far lower than normal (for a tube amp) output impedance (a/k/a high damping factor), it’s frequency response therefore far less effected by the impedance load of the loudspeaker than is typical with tube amps.