Al "surfend" -zo heet dat nu eenmaal- over het internet, kom je soms stukjes tegen, waarvan je denkt dat ze wel de moeite waard zouden kunnen zijn voor de hifi-notes.com lezers. Daarom kwam ik op het idee om een rubriek "NETSPOREN" te maken en die te gebruiken voor stalling van die artikeltjes, nieuwtjes, testjes etc. Natuurlijk rust daar mogelijk op de een of andere manier allemaal Copyright op, maar een keertje zondigen heeft ook wel eens iets. Gaat het fout, dan gaat het fout. Dan maken we er wel net(ont)sporingen van. Overigens moet U ook de netsporen -net als alle andere recencies- met de nodige omzichtigheid beoordelen. Veelal nog minder als bij tijdschrift recensies is de persoonlijke en omringende sitiatie bekend! Een sterk punt blijft in de meeste gevallen wel, dat de schrijver het apparaat ook zelf aangeschaft heeft! De "netsporen" zijn overigens alfabetisch per merk gerangschikt en U kunt door klikken de sporen volgen. Als U wilt kunt U zelf ook een "netspoor" achterlaten
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Wilson Cub: I went shopping in search of a smaller speaker that could give me clean, open beautiful music. I found a pair of Wilson Cubs. I have never ever heard speakers like these. It was an epiphany. The system was Theta transport and d/a with a Reff Rowland Concerta Integrated Amp (85W). BTW- very $7600 worth of electronics.
The clarity, the imaging were to die for. However, the most remarkable aspect of these speaker was their ability to reproduce the full range of music at any volume. This may seem trivial, but I can't tell you how often I play music at a volume that is louder then I would prefer because the sweet spot for the speaker requires that extra db. These speakers have no such problem. The full range is on tap from the moment the music begins. Turn the cubs up and look out. The same dynamic range, just one hell of alot more music.
Of course $6000 plus stands is a big pile of money for monitors, but these may be the last pair of speakers I ever buy. I haven't bought them yet, but I plan on doing a load more of listening and I can't wait!
Wilson Watt/Puppy5: I read every review on these speakers because I was Auditioning them. I also read the B&W N 801 reviews and with all the negative reviews here I was shying away from the Watt/Puppy's.
After lots of time with both I bought the Watt/Puppys's. I just loved the sound and did not here any of the criticisms listed. If the upstream equipment was weak you could certanly cause mid base thump. With Krell FPB 250 mono and great CD/Preamp the sound is sweet. The B&W 801N was too "in your face" for me. I've had them now for 2 months and they get sweeter every day!
I recently got to listen to a pair of watt/pupps in the same room as some dunlavy sc-III's. Look, folks, the Wilson's upper-midrange oriented balanceis not revealing, it is terribly colored. No-go. (The dunlavy's, on the other hand, have to be a landmark in lack of tonal coloration.)
While a good speaker, it just can't compare to other high-end speakers--the Duntech Sovereign and the Prince. TheDuntechs will image and provide a better bottom end than the Wilsons, but if you add a subwofer to the Wilson, you have an extremely precise loudspeaker, but you have raised the price well past $25,000(USD). For pure listening enjoymment it is hard to beat the Prince
I MUST BE HONEST, THIS IS A VERY LIMITED EXPOSURE "WANNA-BE" REVIEW. BUT ON TWO DIFFERENT OCCASIONS I HAD A CHANCE TO LISTEN TO THE WILSON 5'S AND AFTER READING SO MUCH POSITIVE REVEIWS IN STEREOPHILE I WAS SORELY DISAPPOINTED. THEY WERE HOOKED UP TO "JUST -SHORT-OF " TOP LINE MARK LEVINSON EQUIPMENT AND A THETA TRANSPORT. THE SOUND WAS HARSH AND I COULD ONLY LISTEN FOR A BRIEF PERIOD OF TIME, THERE WAS NO ENJOYMENT . WHEN THE SALES STAFF WASN'T LOOKING I SWITCHED THE WILSONS OUT AND PUT IN A PAIR OF B&W 803'S. THE SYSTEM SOUNDED MUCH, MUCH BETTER! THE BASS WASN'T AS GOOD BUT, MAN, IT WAS SO MUCH NICER. IN MY LIMITED EXPERIENCE, IT SEEMS TO ME THAT AFTER READING ALL THE HYPE ABOUT WILSON AND LEVINSON STUFF, I FEEL THAT I'M CRYING "THE KING IS NAKED". NEITHER IMPRESS ME, ESPECIALLY CONSIDERING THE PRICE.MY SYSTEM AT PRESENT IS:MERIDIAN 508.24HALCYON PVA-4 PASSIVE PREAMPMCCORMACK DNA 1 DELUXEB&W 802 (NON BIWIREABLE AND NON MATRIX, YEAH OLD)STRAIGHTWIRE EVERYTHING
I was excited to hear these speakers based on Wilson Audio's reputation. I used 2 Krell mono amps and a Krell preamp. I was not impressed. The speakers aren't "horrible," but for the money you could do much better. The speakers are not very musical, and the bass is very "thumpy." Based on the fact that these are a $15,000+ speaker, I have to rate these according to speakers of similar calibre and cost.
These speakers are very revealing and need to be matched up with GOOD front end components. I use ML 31.5, ML 30.5, ARC VT200, and ARC Ref1. Transparent Ref balanced interconnects and Transparent Ref spkr cables. The room layout is 15 x 25 with my gear setup along the long wall (per Wilson's manual). Normal room treatment (carpeting, drapes, inc.). I have no midbass problems. The soundstage is wide, image placement is precise, the midrange clean and clear, highs extended. Placement is critical though, but if you're serious about your music, the time and effort you give to setup for ANY system will be rewarded.If LucasFilm and other top studios use these, and they do, to master with, why all the bad raps against these? If you're having problems, check out your fron end.
Actually Anddrew, I post as many favorable reviews as unfavorable. I still believe Watt Puppies are at best decent speakers, and ocviuosly extremely poor value. The barely deserve 1 star. I will now give it a 3 as to not unfairly affect the speakers rating by giving it another 1
Yee, what system do you have just about every product reviewed by you sucks! Why even bother with this hobby if everthing sounds like crap to you? Dude, find something else to do with you spare time, I disagree with just about all of your reviews.
The first thing you notice when you listen to Watt Puppies is the Bass thump. There definitely is a bass prominence around 60 htz. The is almost no bass below 30 hz. Dynamics amd transparency were truly excellent, but mids lacked natural warmth. If this were a $6000 pair of speakers, they would be competitive. However at their asking price, they are a absolute joke.
I rate it a ZERO because there are speakers in the under $10000 range that match or outperform it.
They are the second best speakers I have ever heard. Incredible dynamics,incredible detail and transparency, the best soundstage and very,very opensounding. They look, at least to my eyes, very nice, too.A bit too expensive, though.Overall, they were second only to Wilson Grand SLAMM inmy listening experience.I've heard better bass, a slightly more naturalmidrange through the ProAcs driven by tube amps but no better detail, no better transparency and , in other words, nothing came close with itsoverall performance, considering also that the price is high but,unlikethe big Wilsons,it's within the reach of many mortals.
Measured on-axis response for the Watt puppies is about +/-5dB over the range of 400-20K. This is poor for such an expensive speaker with claims to accuracy. Also, one can hear the deviations pretty clearly. If Wilson can't even get response correct, how can the "magic" occur? Throw your money elsewhere.
I join the chorus of those who believe the Watt puppies are too little for far too much. I have never liked them, and would't at 1/4 their price. Amusical, the hump, the lack of air, the in your face quality, that won't go away except by turning them down, in which case they all but disappear. The dynamics are a mess, especially the microdynamics. It is amazing Wilson did them, given the set of ears on him, evidenced by the WAMM. A 4 objectively, a 3 subjectively and a 1 for value.
WILSON SYSTEM 5.1 REPLACED SONUS FABER EXTREMA SPEAKERS, IN MY WADIA / CONRAD JOHNSON HI-END SYSTEM.THE MARRIAGE WAS SHORT LIVED ! IN SHORT I FOUND THE WILSONS A BIT HARSH , WITH A SHALLOW SOUND STAGE. THEY HAVE GIVEN WAY TO TANNOYS MIGHTY D900 , WHO WOULD HAVE THOUGHT YOU COULD GO TWICE AS FAR ( TO HEAVEN ) , ON HALF THE MONEY !!
The Wilson WATT/Puppy combo is one of the industry's cornerstone products and defines hifi, versus music lover enthusiasts. ALA Theil and Dunlavy, the presentation is clinical and etched. Musical, they are not, over-priced they are. Compare the sublime ESP Concert Grands at a similar price, and you will clearly discern the difference between hifi and music.
Recently replaced my Theta Data Basic II transport with Theta's new Jade. This feeds my Theta DS Pro Basic IIIa. More space. More air. Less congestion.Anything massed or chorded becomes simultaneously the sum of its parts andmore distinctively shows its parts. For example, three backup singers are more easily identified in the mix at the same time the overall blend is more whole.
Drum skins are more skin-like. Snares more metalic. Drum sticks more obviously wood.
My (cone, dynamic) speakers sound more like electrostatics!
I auditioned several highly regarded units and this combo is awesome in comparison!
Heard the Wilson Watt Puppies through Mark Levinson/Sonic Frontiers digitalfront end, Cello amplification and Transparent Reference cables. It's transparent;has excellent soundstaging, midrange and treble; and an adequate but solid bass. However, it is highly susceptible to placement, room dynamics and too expensive for what it is - at that price, it should be completely full range in every sense of the word.
I have recently spent months selecting my new speakers. I checked out the Andras at Singer and was truly disappointed. They had a hardness in the mid-range that was unlistenable. I also listened to the JMLab, the big Maggies, and Thiel. I ultimately chose the WattV/Puppy V.I based on their soundstage and , particularly, their dynamics. I have given only 4 of 5 stars as the Watt/Puppys lack that last bit of bass. I have not noticed the mid-bass hump others have noted, but will attest that location is critical. Break-in is equally important as they are bright and lean out of the box (crate, actually). People are appalled by their cost, however they presented the best sound for me.
Auditioned the WATT/Puppies at Audio Perfection (near Minneapolis) through Wadia front end and a pair of exquisite Italian tube amps (brand?). At the time I hadn't yet heard of Wilson (hence "enthusiast", not "audiophile") but I trust my ears from years of trumpet playing in the orchestra and late night Pat Metheny listening sessions. Source was a delicate piece by Lee Ritenour. Summary: almost made me cry in the middle of the store! This system had provoked a greater love for well recorded music than a Levinson/B&W Silver Signature 30 setup I heard on another occasion. However, at under $3000/pair used, I'll be looking to buy some B&W 801's and will start saving for the right amp, unless my near-cry experience has made someone out there want to donate a cheap pair my way? Any takers?
These speakers are the best i ever heard, if they have a midbass blump listen to them whith krell FPB 300 and KPS 20 i/lthan you hear what good they are.
okokokokokokok, i have purchased the Wilson system VI, traded in Dunlavy IV's for them, and use an all Levinson system to drive these, i belive, attractive little speakers; Levinson 332, 380S, 36S, 37, with Transparent Reference speaker cable, and Discovety Plus 4 balanced interconnects. Yes, its quite true that good placement is mandatory, and should your listening room have echo or reflection problems, this speaker system will hightlight them, BUT.........if you really work on your listening room, and with the appropiate software (music), the depth and soundstanging is absolutely wonderful. True, we are not going to be able to create the impression of musicians playing in our homes, but we can, when the system is configured quite well, definately recreate the complete recording of the music, as the producer of that music had invisioned.
I HAVE LISTENED TO THESE SUPPOSSEDLY GREAT SPEAKER. THEY ARE VERY TRANSPARENT TO THE SOURCE I HAVE TO AGREE TO THAT, BUT VERY BRIGHT NO DOUBT ABOUT THAT; LISTENER FATIGUE IS APPARENT. MY SYSTEM WAS ALL MARK LEVENSION SYSTEM ( LATEST)DIGITAL IS OUT WITH THIS SPEAKER FOR SURE, BUT ANALOGUE IS STORY. FOR SAME MONEY PROac RESPONSE 4 IS MUCH BETTER, OR DUNLEVY'S AND ALSO VR4 OR AERIEL OR ARTEMIEST FOR MUCH LESS GET BETTER OR EQUAL SOUND FOR SURE. I HAVE LISTENED PERSONALY
First, count me more in the music lover category.
Now I have listened to Watt/Puupies several times, reverse-engineered the Series III Units and build myself a pretty good set of copys. Id say closer to the System V (if very narrowly) as the WITT or CUBB. First all the critisim is extremly valid. The price is an insult to common sense. Positioning is extremly critical.
Beyound that, having hear both decent setups (including mine) and bad ones, sort these Speakers out and you forget about Speakers. They got an wafull lot of the Quad effect. You forget about fiddeling about and enjoy the music. Getting there is a torterous road however. Given that I'm moving next week I dread having to sort out the positioning again.
Beyound the initial critisms, this is a Speaker with which can live indefinitly. Yup, I think that this is the last pair of Speakers I ever build.
18k or so is a lot of money for any piece of Audio Equipment, but if you have it and some patience it is money well spend as soon as you sorted worldwide Starvation, injustice and all the other little problems out first.
I rate 5 Stars for the Product and a very very low zero Stars for a world in which such a product can exist while over halve the people in this world starve.
Mea Culpa of course too for copying them.
The is little in quality between the a number of speakers in the price range of the Wilson WATT/Puppy 5.1; having auditioned most, including the new Totems, the Wilsons remain conststently superior.
Have a used pair of these speakers, paid about 8 grands for them. They sound , I don't know how others say but for me, a wee bit too harsh ,and the bass is too dark and punchy but the midrange is excellent, especially female vocal. I bought I thought I had a good deal on these speakers( who am I kidding 8 grands for used speakers) and few days later I had a chance to audition Avalon Avatar driven by the same amp I use( Levinson 333), just one thing to say here Avalon kills my babies in any aspect. I'm dying to sell them to buy Avalon now( there're lots of way to throw away money until you get the speakers you looking for). Some say that it may results from my room since these babies need a extremely thourough placement but hey I just spent 8 grands, what do I have to loose more a new house! to get these speakers sound right. But after all, it comes down to my stupidity because I bought them before I even listened to them( saving nearly half of new pair blinded me from any conventional audio shopping precaution). I didn't say these speakers were all bad but financially speaking I could have spent a lot less with same performance.
I have seen from your comments about this speakers and the things against this speaker is PRICE and mid base, yet the rating given is not bad at all to reflect the bad things said about it. I will describe my experience.I had the pair on loan to me for a month - I use Krell MDA300 to drive it. Very nice and sweet sound, though not as natural as my Apogee. But as you said, base is boomy, so I spend lots of time to get place the speakers.Conclusion:1. The speaker needs real good amplifier, especially good amp. to control the base units.2. Very placement critical, need to spent time to get best result ( a bit like my Apogee panel speaker).3. Is it over priced - it is like benz cars, isn't it, but it is a good sound speaker comes with status quo. I think it is over priced, thats way I settle for a used pair.
The Wilson audio 5.1 is a tremendous speaker. However, like all high performance products, most dealers and consumers have no concept of proper set up. Given the time and energy in settting them up correctly, nothing in the price range comes c. Submitted by extremely serious audiophile who has owned three pairs of various iterations, two pairs Avalon Ascents, one pair Avalon Radians, Dunlavy 6s, MG-20s, Genesis, Sound Lab A-1s and so on and so on.
Just briefly heard Totem Shamens compared to Watt/Puppy, no contest !!!Transparency, imaging, bass extension, power and detail of the Totems were MUCH better than Watt/Puppy's.
The Watt/Puppy's had too much mid bass, and lacked the last octave of deep bass. The soundstage was large and deep. Dynamics were very good. I rate them a "2" because to my ears, they were bettered by the lower priced Totem Shamen's in all areas of performance.
I am not a Totem dealer nor am I affiliated with Totem. Though I do own a pair of Mani 2's.
Excessive bass. Bright metallic sound. Very dynamic. Can play loud. Good imaging if set up correctly. In my opinion they are a corvette speaker at a porche price. Much better speakers are available at the retail price.
Wilson Watt/Puppy is now $18.5K. This is a good speaker with very good dynamicsand good resolution. The problem of this speaker are
1. It's way overpriced. 2. Way too much Mid Bass. Lack of true deep base.3. Slow
Compare to Avalon Radian HC ($12.5K). The Radian is 1/3 cheaper and sound muchmore quicker and clearer. Radian also has deeper low bass and huge soundstage.For the price I will give Watt/Puppy 3 stars.
I recently auditioned the WATT/Puppy 5.1's with a complete Mark Levinsonsetup: 31.5, 38S, 36S, 33H monoblocks ($22,000!), Transparent Referencecables. The sound was mediocre at best. The speakers has a PRONOUNCEDmidbass hump which blurred imaging and ovrepowered the sound. It did notsound neutral or musical at all. We changed to Magnepan 3.5's (same electronics)and the sound was much improved. Also, Platinum Solo monitors sounded excellent. I believe the WATT/Puppy's might sound decent in the perfectroom and properly setup, however they're overpriced for the performance. Genesis V's are superior for the money. A friend has owned WATT/Puppy2, 3 and 5.1's, and believes each subsequent iteration was worse than thepreceeding model.
I recently reviewed the Wilson Watt Puppys with a Mark Levinson No. 333 Amp and No. 39 CD player, and using Transparant Reference cables. The sound in the mid and upper range was absolutely the best I have ever heard. Soundstaging and musical transparancy were excellent. This was about the most realistic and neutral sound ever. Base was adequate, but very bloated in the midbase area. It was not crystal clear and precise like the Theil CS7s or ESP Concert Grands. One possible problem was their placement, which were too far apart and way too close to the back and side walls. I definately noticed feedback which distorted the lower frequencies.
I spoke with a person who recently purchased these units, and later added a subwoofer to enhance the base output. Incedentaly, Wilson Audio's sub sells for between $10-13k, extremely overpriced, which brings the ideal Watt Puppy setup to between $26-29k. Ouch!!! For this price, I would say they are almost not worth it, and are likely over rated by a hungry audience of music enthusiast such as myself. Further, they are not particularly attractive, which makes the purchase that much harder to sell to your spousal unit.
The Watt/Puppies were set up with Levinson electronics at Audio Advice in Raleigh to demonstrate analog and digital front ends. I thought the whole system was better than any I'd ever heard, from LP or CD, except for the bass. At this price, in my opinion, there is no excuse for compromising deep bass at normal listening levels.
I have but two quarrels with the Puppies. (1) In each room (three) in which I have heard them they have exhibited the bass hump referred to by others. (2) The totally RIDICULOUS manner in which many dealers ( I assume on the advice of Wilson) insist on demonstrating the speaker. That is: so wide apart as to be laughable. In one demo there was NO center at all because the speakers were so far apart. Once brought into a rule of 1/4's configuration, they sounded excellent with the exception of the bass hump. Frankly, it was this bass anomaly that kept me from purchasing them. Fix that, and set them up "normally", I would give them 5 speakers. As presently constituted.....
Incredible precision and soundstage. AWESOME. I went into audioning these knowing I would come out laughing at anyone who would waste that much money on a set of speakers, especially speakers and unimpressive looking as these. They look like they should cost $1500/pr maximum.On symphony music, the whole symphony was spread across the room. Incredibly, the tympanis sounded like they were behind the wall and about 6 feet up. I could point to the area where the violins were, etc. Every instrument sounded real and in the soundstage, which was at least as wide as the room.On rock, I could hear the drummer on center stage and raised above the singers and guitars.Bells, cymbals, and snare drums were truly life like.Didn't not listen to any real low bass (20-30Hz), but what I heard was all dead on.Incredible speakers. They just can not sound that good, but they do.
When I pulled up this page, the other two reviewers were less than impressed with the WILSON WATT/PUPPY 5.1 speakers. A few months ago I bought a pair and feel at least semi-qualified to both agree and disagree with these gents.
Before I bought them (but after I had been knocked out unexpectedly - since I was auditioning other speakers at the time) I searched for other owners and tried to learn all I could. What I didn't realize was the IMPORTANCE of what they told me - that these speakers are so revealing you've got to have a great synergistic system upstream or you'll be sorry. Also that (cue horror music from 1950 sci-fi film) THE ROOM might getcha!
I'll condense a longer story. I had to replace my amp, my interconnects, and speaker wire before I got back to the sound that had initially blown me away. Frankly, until I did, although I enjoyed a big improvement in sound, it did lack magic. Flat, lifeless, bass bloat, no proper sense of rhythm or groove... no coherence! (A similar and additive degradation took place as the tube amp broke in.)
I work with a guy who has ears. He's savvy, experienced; an engineer who will replace chips and caps, build mods from theory... when I told him about these speakers (before my purchase) and the price, he laughed and laughed, shaking his head. So we dropped into the store and HE listened. Without knowing any specifics, he broke into laughter at every same (CD) point I had, a few weeks earlier, as he heard detail, nuance, and that groove, in a way he never had. His reaction: I GOTTA HAVE THESE!
And so I say, wiser now, what those owners said (and actually what the manual says too, but I tend to be a rebel when told something): fed properly, the WATT/PUPPIES can materialize performers in the room. I wonder how many people actually get to hear them at their best?
The best speaker I have heard. Period. Everything is astoundingly good. The soundstage is H U G E. Imaging is precise and completely clear. There is no midrange or HF coloration that I could detect. And dynamics, well dynamics are simply stupendous. How they get that much drive and LF power out of those reltively small boxes is beyonf me.
I have only auditioned them once and at over $18,000/pair, they're out of my price range, but I still want to hear them again, with any type of music. These are an absolute must audtion. I can only hope that one day I can get them.
Wilson Benesch Act One: I'm not sure what sort of reception the ACT ONE's have had in the states, but they have become a fairly popular high-end choice in Japan as well as Europe. At around 10,000$ for the pair, they are not a light purchase, and the most expensive audio component I have yet owned. But I must rave that in my many years of listening experience I have never been so totally captivated by an audio product.My previous speakers have run through Martin Logans, Quad's, Ensemble, ProAc response 3.5 most recently and finally on to the Newcomer Benesch. Where all these speakers have shined in particular areas, only the ProAc's came close to the ACT ONE's integrity, but lacked that little extra magic that makes the Benesch so complete. And the ProAc's speed and dynamics are far behind the ACT ONE's, as one one expect with the ACT ONE's total Carbon Fibre design. The newer ProAc response 2.5 with the carbon fibre bass/mid is better in this are than its 3.5 big brother, but 3.5 makes that up in granduer and integrity of sound. The Benesch has the best of both worlds and the result is stunning. Nothing can quite explode with sudden power like carbon fibre drivers. The scene in The John Eliot Gardiner version of Don Giovanni on Archiv where the Don is dragged down to hell burst forth with such ferocity and clarity on the ACT ONE's compared to my old Pro Ac faves that I seriously wondered if I wasn't witnessing the birth of a new era of loudspeakers! Well, I came back to my senses later and realized there are much higher price ranges of speakers which no doubt excell the ACT ONE's, but in my long listening experience I safely repeat that nothing has touched these gems. Again, integrity is the word that comes to my lips. A deep rarely achieved integrity that allows a unique naturalness to the sound. Enough said for interested parties to inquire further on their own.As a side note, I've used various ancilliary equipment with them. Strangely enough, my Krell 300i amp which sounded so good with the proAC's sounded distinctly NARROW with the ACT ONE's and after several auditions I was surprised to go with a dealer's recommendation of the Macintosh MA-6800 integrated amp. A surprisingly good match, though I'm still looking for a further upgrade when I get the cash. Front end was Pink Triangle Cardinal/Da Capo and my favorite Audio Research CD1. All in all then, a gem of a product and wonder of wonders, a speaker that looks almost as good as it sounds. For further info, check out the Wilson Benesch web site
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