Stereophile review of the new Wilson Watt/Puppy


I received my copy of the latest Stereophile yesterday and was curious to see what Martin Collums had to say about them, even though I would take it with a grain of salt, knowing that he had owned them in the past. He's still one of the reviewers that I consider to be most technically informed and balanced in his reviews.

I'm starting this thread because I want to know if others found his conclusions as confusing as I did. He says that the speakers have deep powerful bass, great detail, wonderful dynamic range, and are able to play very loud without breakup. 

However, after all of that, he concludes that they are better for jazz and orchestral and perhaps a bit reticent for pop and rock. This made no sense to me, especially for a $40.000 speaker. I am curious about the opinions of anyone else who has read the review. 

128x128roxy54

You are so right about that @fsonicsmith , and I have been guilty of it as well. I clearly recall buying a mint set of JBL Array 1400 speakers that I thought I would like sonically (I couldn't hear them before buying) They had been well reviewed by Larry Greenhill and measured well, and I liked horns too, so it seemed like a good fit. On top of that, I loved the looks. When I received them, they were good, but to my ears not as good as my Klipsch Epic CF4's. I did sell them, but I kept them for a couple of months longer because of the way they looked.

@chrisoshea 

 

There is no contradiction.  I told you why he feels that way.  Whether you choose to accept it is another thing.

 

@fsonicsmith 

+1

If you pay for a full-page ad monthly, your products instantly get a 'product of the year' recommendation. I recently bought into this hype regarding the stellar review of Wilson's Sabrina X. I had money in hand and did a demo. Possibly one of the most uninvolving speakers I have ever heard. My dealer recommended I compare it to a pair of B&W 803D4s. The B&Ws were substantially better in every aspect. 

I did not have time to audition the Watt/Puppy, but I wish I did. However, a speaker in that price range should have no weaknesses! 

 

I learned long ago that when a reviewer mentions any aspect of the sound, the reality is much more exaggerated.

"A little warm" = dull

"A little neutral" = sterile

"A little bright" = searing treble

"A little reticent" = dead

We all hear differently and have our own preferences.  As it should be.  Some seem put off by a speaker you have never heard; maybe resenting its unafordability.  There are many successfully speaker brands giving everyone choices.  The magazines may be influenced by their readers who have made Wilson the leader in high end speaker sales.  I'm a Wilson guy having worked my way up through the B&Ws to the 800 Nautilus.  Current B&Ws are now better.  Then the Wilson WP7s charmed me.  Since then, three more pair from Wilson.

That said, my long time and highly successful Wilson dealer has had some custom Sasha Vs on order for some time.  He is a trained expert in speaker setup so great ears. They sell many high end brands, dCS, D'AG, etc. He has just cancelled that Sasha order for himself in favor of a pair of the new Watt/Puppy. Very similar sound for way less money and a smaller footprint as well. 

Your ears, your money comes to mind.

Enjoy the music.

Bob