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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
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
426 posts
 

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

goldenways
87 posts
 

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

audphile1's avatar
audphile1
5,674 posts
 

Your issue is synergy.
There are two main challenges with Wilsons. 
1. they require very high quality amplification and upstream components including cables

2. they’re very sensitive to room acoustics and placement 

when the speakers sound tipped up in the treble this usually means you lack power to drive them sufficiently. It will be more apparent with the Watt/Puppy that used the metal dome tweeter.
To solve this problem you should try 

1. high quality amplifier - i.e. Pass Labs Int-250 if you like integrated amps or X250.5 or X260.8 with either Pass Labs preamp or a tube preamp such as Audio Research Ref5 or Ref6

2. Treat first reflection points (space on a side walls between listening chair and speakers)

3. Treat corners with bass traps. Contrary to the name bass traps improve bass if implemented properly 

4. rug on the floor between speakers and chair

5. good interconnects and speaker cables (no silver)

I don’t know what you use for source components but garbage in garbage out with Wilsons. 

I used Pass Labs separates to drive my Wilson Sabrina, as well as Coda CSiB integrated and now use Boulder 866 integrated amp. You need to keep everything on the level. Wilsons are amazing speakers. You can get a lot of enjoyment out of those Watt Puppies. 
 

Take a look at my system page you can see the room treatments - I use GIK Acoustics. 
https://www.audiogon.com/systems/12098

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