2. speakers
  3. 194892-201182

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
goldenways
90 posts
 

Reading the above comments and other discussions, I’d say you need to whip out the checkbook. As said here, your Class D is dated. It’s time to face the music and write if off. If you’re not in position to bring out the checkbook in a big way sending it in for possible refresh/repair is your last option. My bias opinion is to go the Pass Labs route for it appears to be a good match with Wilsons based on multiple readings on this forum.  It’s a safe bet but not adventurous. Tubers have a good argument to go the tube route or a combination of solid state pre amps, amps and tube. This is the fun part deciding which direction to go. You need to get a handle why you are blowing speakers. Abnormal. Usually its the ear drums that blow first.

audphile1's avatar
audphile1
5,692 posts
 

@lendivf good dac. You just need a good amplifier. 
I’m confused about playing over 40% volume. The volume level on the control unit is not an indication of anything. How much volume range you have depends on the amplifier gain and sensitivity. In example on my boulder 866 I usually listen volume at 57 for normal slightly higher than background levels and at 70-77 when I really want to hear what it’s capable of. The 70 level is usually going to get me to around 80db. Max is 100 steps in the volume control. 
My pass separates sounded about as loud with 65-70 in volume. 
 

It’s good to have a large range. 
 

Get good amp and room treatments you should be fine. 

ghdprentice
8,119 posts
 

@ozzy 

+1 The Watt Puppy 8 does have a notably harsh... unnatural top end. It’s doesnt’ ruin the experience... otherwise it is very good sounding. I have a friend with a pair. Even with very natural sounding tube electronics this is obvious to an experienced listener. With the Puppys set up correctly in a good acoustic space the brittle top end was obvious to me inside of a minute. But if the room acoustics aren’t good, or set up not great, it could be masked by other problems. I

jsalerno277
392 posts
 

I am in the camp of the need to determine why you were burning out Sonus Farber drives.  If the JR is at fault, it could be causing SQ issues with the Wilson’s as well. The following are potential root causes:

1:  Overloading the speaker.  Possible.  The SFC is rated to 250 W.  The JF is 400 W into 8 ohms, double that into 4 ohms.  So the amp maximum is a lot for the speakers. But the SFC has a 91dB sensitivity.  So I question whether you still have eardrums if you were overdriving the SFCs. 


2:  Distortion related causes:

  • Clipping:   Based on the specs for the speakers and integrated amp mentioned above, I do not believe this is a potential root cause.  
  • Integrated Amp Power Supply:  A faulty power supply can have a broad range of effects including introducing DC into the speaker terminals and blowing speakers or causing   issues like you describe with the Wilson’s. 
  • Capacitor failure: Faulty capacitors can introduce DC into the speaker terminals and blow speakers and cause some of the SQ issues you describe with the Wilson’s.  Did you ever have it recapped?

The JR integrated is a musical piece.  It should be able to drive the Wilson’s 89dB sensitivity and nominal 4 ohm impedance (low 2 ohm) with ease but remember, it is a more difficult load than the SFC.   Before you budget a significant spend on a new integrated amp, I would have the JF evaluated by a good technician, or by the JR.  Also, follow the directions of all those before me on giving attention to setup, speaker placement and room acoustics.   
 

Finally, if you are set on a new integrated amp,  I have the following recommendations in order of my preference:

  • Audio Note Humboldt - Clarity and powerful.  Three dimensional.  Musical. 
  • Burmester 232 or 032 - Clarity.  Less power than the Humboldt and this may not be for you.  Commandingly musical and dimensional. My favorite.  
  • Dan D'Agostino Progression Integrated Amplifier:  Powerful.  Darker sound than the two above.
  • Mola Mola Kula:  Don’t let its small size fool you.  Enough Class D power for the Wilson’s.  Highly musical.

Each of the above has its own sound characteristics so you need to audition and choose for yourself.

 

 
 

 


 

goldenways
90 posts
 

@lendivf After you have had time to soak in all this good advice and you are thinking about a new/used amp, give us what you are thinking about for your price range so folks can update their amp suggestions. 

More to discover