Wilson Watt Puppy, which version?

i will agree that when i first got the 7's the tweater was a little shrill at high volume but it was also easily fixed by buying better interconnects. If I was going to buy speakers in the ten grand range 7's would be very hard to beat. I did just buy some mbl 111e's and they are quite nice. They don't rock like Wilsons but do sound a little cleaner at normal listening levels.

I also think the shrillness was often caused by poor recoding qualities of the source, whether it be a cd, dvd or album.

"Upgrade1394---you are mistaken. the short life of the 8 was due to the Magico V3 which was a better speaker at a lower price."

Obviously you have never auditioned the V3, W8 or Sasha or you listened to the Wilsons in less than ideal conditions. I lived with both Wilson's and auditioned the V3 extensively. Not even close.

BTW, your room looks really cool. Congrats!

Vdosc,

I personally would try to stretch a bit and get the W8. IMO it is smoother on the top end and has a more natural bottom end. it is a more coherent speaker.

If this is not possible then I would go W7. The Sopia 2 could also be a possibility but I have not had any experience with this speaker but I have read great things. I have auditioned the Sophia 1 and I would go W7 over Sophia 1.

One more thing. You may want to upgrade your CDP as the W7's will let you hear all of the good and bad of your upstream gear.

My biggest suggestion is that you try to by these speakers through an authorized dealer and and have them professionally installed. Proper instillation of these speakers is key and you most likely will not get optimum performance if you do it yourself

Bjbcab - With the better dealers you are absolutely correct about assistance in set-up. Though I know there are some dealers that don't do nearly as good of a job. If you talk to most dealers (assuming decent proximity), they are willing to perform this service for a fee. Just something to keep in mind.

Do the W8s still sell from the dealers? If you find a dealer that still has some, maybe you could get a good deal from them.

Well I doubt any dealer will stock prior W/P series speakers but they do have a customer base and from time to time their customers will want to trade up to another Wilson speaker. You would be helping facilitate this move. You may pay a premium to what you can find on the Gon but I think it would be well wort the investment.

Vdosc, where do you live?