Wilson Wat Puppy 7 or Avalon Opus Ceramique?

Hi Goatwuss,

I agree with you that he should choose a speaker he will be happy with in his current room and also work well with his current equipment especially his amp. I'm assuming that at this time Mike has a lead on a good deal for either of these speakers. At the same time, I feel it would be wise to look to the future in making this decision just in case he is going to want a speaker that will work well in a larger room with the ability to dive deeper in the bass and play back at higher volumes.

best,
Tom

It would make more sense to buy a room-appropriate speaker now, and if/when in the future the room size increases and the situation changes, then re-evaluate the situation.

The Avalon Opus, predecessor to the Opus Ceramique has a beautiful sound and looks great, too.

The Wilson is easier to drive and the tweeters are more polite than the Opus Ceramique's. That's based on my experience having owned Eidolons for 11+ years and listened to both Opus Ceramique and Wilson WP7s. WP7s do not sound like WP5s and WP6s. They are actually extremely buttoned down and can work well in small rooms.
The Opus Ceramique will not give you any possible bass problems with woofers overwhelming the room but don't expect the highs to be as detailed and refined as the WP7.

And then, of course, there is the Fletcher-Munson curve to consider, if Mike is going to play music at low volumes. Given that, a small, high-quality monitor with a sub (or subs) might be a good choice. I suppose he could get an integrated amp with tone controls instead, but that wouldn't be my first choice.

Mikefi: what does "rather low volume" mean?