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Which amp with Wilson watt puppy 8

Hi there !

i live on an island with no audiophile shops around. 
I arrived in 2011 with a Jeff Rowland continuum 250 and Sonus Faber Cremona m speakers who were a great match. Unfortunately I blew the speakers a few times, then upgraded to columns, blew them also twice. I guess the amp is too powerful for them, but this time Sonus Faber was unable to provide me replacement tweeters and speakers, which is an enormous disappointment. I will never buy anything from them again. I ran through the web and found corresponding parts that I changed myself, but they seem to sound much higher in the trebles and lack bass, especially at high volume levels, (above 55%) . I tried swapping the cables, but it didn’t change anything. 
I now bought a pair of Wilson audio watt puppy 8 that arrived this week from a NYC store. I hope them to last lifetime. 
They have cost me around 11.5k$ door to door, look great and tough, but need to be driven above 60 % of volume otherwise nothing comes out of them, especially bass !
I also get the same sharp treble sound, which is very disappointing.
My problem is to find the issue : 

1/ room acoustic

2/ change my class D amplifier for tubes or transistors

3/ find better cables

4/ me turning old ?

what should I do next ? what amplifier would you recommend with this configuration (watt puppy 8, MIT Avtr 1, ps audio direct stream mk1, aurender n10, musical fidelity M6 CD) ?

thank you 


 

lendivf
sls883
773 posts
 

How loud are you playing music? It seems odd that you have had drivers blow on multiple occasions.  

lendivf's avatar
lendivf OP
9 posts
 

@kofibaffour : thank you for your very detailed

answer, it seems to stick with chat gpt’s suggestion.  
 

✅ Recommended Actions – in Order of Impact

1. 📐 Treat the Room Acoustically

  • Add thick curtains, rugs, furniture, diffuser panels behind or around the speakers.

  • For discreet treatments, look into GIK Acoustics, Vicoustic, or Artnovion.

2. 🧪 Try a Different Amplifier (Warmer Character)

  • Consider amps that are warmer and more musical, such as:

    • Accuphase (E-480, E-5000)

    • Luxman (L-509X, L-590AXII)

    • Audio Research (tube amps – open soundstage and warmer tone)

    • Gryphon, Vitus, or YBA for high-end richness

3. 🎛️ Try a Smoother DAC

  • Consider a DAC with a more natural, analog-like sound:

    • Denafrips Pontus II or Terminator II (R2R)

    • Holo Audio Spring or KTE

    • LampizatOr Amber (tube-based)

lendivf's avatar
lendivf OP
9 posts
 

Under 40% the sound is quite low compared to the Sonus Faber who have smaller drivers. I guess that’s exactly how a greedy loudspeaker behaves. 
Sonus Faber also mentioned the fact that the amp could be responsible of the multiple driver failures I went through, but isn’t a class D 1and 0’s ? 
I guess if it had a problem, no sound would come out of it. 
I also feel that the Wilson Audio are much more solid and powerful than the SF’s. 

kofibaffour
435 posts
 

I think you're confusing things. a Class D doesn't mean digital so no. class D is still analog @lendivf 

goldenways
89 posts
 

Is any Class D amp a match with Wilsons?  Seems like two different worlds.

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