Vanderteen 5A's versus Wilson WattPuppy 7's

Hello...I hope I do not start a controversy. However, I recently heard both speakers....the 5A's and the WP-7's.

My experience...The Vandersteens were quite good...with a smooth midrange and very good top and bass. I am used to the sub-woofer bass on my Infinity RS-1B's with much more air movement. However, the Vandy's were, how shall I say...polite??
When I listened to the WP-7's , they were spectacular .....wide and exact images. Clear, clean midrange and very tight and defined bass. The top end was good but still had that Wilson "bite"?

If I were to choose....don't know.....The Wilson were spectacular ...the Vandys were polite....BUT the reality is I believe the Vandys are MORE like live music the the Wilsons. Like it on not....live music is sometimes "polite".

i heard both of them at he2003 this year. not the best place to audition systems but you can get a good idea how they sound. i also have a local dealer with the 5a's and listened to them there as well. both are very good speakers. price no object,i would pick the wilson's. with 7k savings in my pocket, i would probably go the the 5a's. If i was going to buy a pair of speakers for 15k-20k, I would either purchase the joseph pearls or the revel salon's, both IMO, sound better than the WP-7's or 5a's.

Did you listen to any other speakers in the same room so you could get a feel for the sonic characteristics of the room. If you know what the roomsounds like it is easier to get a feel for how the speakers sound.

Which one of the auditioning system more closely resembles your own?

Just a couple of questions to consider.

I'd buy the Wilson Watt/Puppies if it were me.

they were dedicated rooms. the room with the wp 7's was a bigger room. i talked with a few people i knew that attended he2003 and they were impressed with the 5a's at he2003, so the room couldn't be all that bad. btw, i also liked the wp sofia speakers that were in a smaller room that the wp 7's, for half the price.

My favorite audio dealer in the Los Angeles area happens to be both a Vandersteen and a Wilson dealer. I have listened to both the 5As and the Wilson 7's in the same room with the same electronics. I have heard them both using all Jadis electronics, all Hovland, and a mixture of a Hovland preamp with several other amp manufacturers that he reps.
I really like the Wilson Watt/Puppy 7's. It is the first Watt Puppy that I could live with. It is very easy to listen to which makes it very different from the Wilson speakers of the past which I could only listen to for a short time. Somehow, though, every time I listened to the Watt Puppies I felt like I wanted them to do something more, and yet I don't know what it is. Every time I listened to the 5As I just sat back and enjoyed the music and never thought about what speaker I was listening to.
In the long run, I think that the Vandersteen lineup is just more friendly to the music and my ears.
In regards to the Joseph Pearls or the Revels. Maybe the Pearls but, the Revel Salons, pleeze. Only for HT.