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Swapping Wilson Watt Puppy 6’s for open baffle Pure Audio Project Trio15 Voxative's

I would appreciate any thoughts form forum members on the following.

I am considering selling some Wilson Watt Puppy 6’s and purchasing a pair of Pure Audio Projects Trio15 Voxative open baffles http://www.pureaudioproject.com/product/trio15-voxativ-open-baffle-speakers/

The price differential is not that great (the trios are £5,250 inc tax in the UK) and so I could make the speaker swap with a relatively small cash injection.  

I am in discussion with a UK retailer to loan me pair of Trio15's at the end of February but there is a cost (refundable if I purchase) and logistical fuss to the process.

I like the Wilsons a lot, however the lower bass can get out of control at higher volumes (my room has raised wooden floors). My rational is that the open baffle design will put less bass vibration into the floor because the energy is dissipated more widely and not contained within a cabinet.

The Trio15’s also allow future upgrades (for example swap in a horn tweeter) and they will also allow bi-amping via the DEQX, which means I have an upgrade path, as funds allow.

The downsides I can see would be:

  1. Buying new means there would be immediate depreciation.

  2. I may lose some slam, which I enjoy with the WWP's.

  3. I have read that that the imaging of open baffles is wider but may be less precise for individual performers?

I would be interested to hear from any other forum members who have made the move from traditional cabinet speakers to open baffle/Pure Audio Projects and any observations they may have.

Thanks very much.

soma70
douglas_schroeder
3,281 posts
 
Having reviewed the PAP I can assure you the experience will be holistically different. Prepare to be amazed at the variance potential between speaker technologies. Give time for your ears to adjust to the difference, and you will appreciate the nuances.
soma70 OP
153 posts
 
Douglas. Thanks for that intriguing advice above. I have also enjoyed reading your reviews on Dagogo, from which it is clear that theses are great sounding speakers, however it is also the fact that they allow for uprgrades and other opportunities for tinkering and tweaking with wiring and crossovers which is also very appealing.
soma70 OP
153 posts
 
Delete “however” above and replace with “and” !
atmasphere's avatar
atmasphere
11,753 posts
 
Having heard the PAPs, I can't say that they have any lack of punch! That seems to have a lot more to do with the amps driving them.
radiohead99
79 posts
 
I'm moved from a traditional box dynamic speaker to PAP Voxativ and then to PAP Horn1. 

@douglas_schroeder review had a lot to do with my decision. Given he also owned Daedalus speakers which I'm a fan of and moved from, I had a good idea what to expect. 

I think there will be people who would prefer Daedalus speaker over PAP. Daedalus is so inherently musical and sings with little/no effort. Tbh, I can happily live with either Daedalus and PAP.

However, when it comes to PAP - being open baffle, the details/soundstaging is better. No box speaker can compete with open baffle/ribbon in this regard.

The macrodynamics and bass is superb, thanks to 4x15" woofer. What I surprised with is that it doesn't overload my small room (15'x12') at all with bass. Not just that, I removed my corner bass traps and absorber from second reflection point. The sound improved more. They are very easy to sound good in a room. I thought open baffle needed more work to sound good due to more room interaction. That wasn't my experience with PAP.

Upgrade and tweakability of the PAP speaker could be a blessing or curse depending on your personality ;) I also should mention that support from the owner Ze'ev is truly fantastic. 
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