Looking at your room and listening to your voice in that room I conclude that you REALLY need to treat that room. I just did mine in the past couple of days. The improvement is dramatic. I added Primacoustic 4' x 4' panels behind ths spkrs and the listening position and two 2' x 4' Clouds above the listening position. Try a few things first, make sure your ears in your listening position are at the mid-range speaker level, not the tweeter the mids. Isoacoustic isolation feet, they work! Last try placing the speakers on the long wall instead of the short. All those improved my experience with my B&W spkrs.
Thank you. I will for sure be doing some treatment. I have had GIK do a room design with one of there designers. I will check out the Primacoustic panels, I also will have the Dealer I have been working with (Utah Audio) look at it as well when they come to set up the speakers and see what they recommend. Thank you again.
something that is even better than the ISO acoustic Gaia is the Townshend podiums they're on a totally different level better than the Gaia More expensive but well worth it when I put them underneath my speakers the improvement was so good that it sounded like I had upgraded my electronics to much more expensive gear.
Congratulations!! I’m so happy for you Mike! You made the right choice by following your heart. You obviously worked very hard and you deserve to treat yourself👍
Great choice! Many years ago, I also had to choose between Bowers and Wilkins and Wilson Audio. I had started out with Bowers and Wilkins. I want to switching to Wilson and Audio and I couldn't be happier with them. Enjoy!
Wow, congratulations!! welcome to the wilson audio fan club!! Your Wilson's will blow away my little Duettes ! Great choice. I'm so happy you went with what makes you happy!
Merry Christmas to yourself Mike!!!! I'm so happy that you've come to a conclusion about your future listening. I've been captivated by your journey as I've been recovering from a recent knee replacement. I'm not too surprised by your finalists as they have comparable sonic signatures by all accounts (I haven't listened to the Wilson brand). I happen to love Focal but they are revealing and detailed and some find that fatiguing, like my significant other. I can't wait to see a video with some of the tracks you used to evaluate the speakers playing through the new system. With regard to treatments for your room, I'd hold off some. A different amp will change the sonic characteristics of the system and hence the type of room treatment you may want. IMO it would be more difficult to compare amps in your home environment which I strongly recommend as both the source and the speakers will be settled decisions. Can't wait for my invite to the listening party! 😁
Thank you Brian! And it will be a merry christmas for sure! My dealer has recommended the same advice as you. Wait until at least getting the new speakers placed and then start considering treatment. And I agree, amps will have an impact on the sound. And Yes you are invited! Thanks again Brian.
Congrats! Yes, room treatment should be your next priority. The room is more important than the equipment. Just because speakers sound great in one room doesn't mean the same speaker will sound great in another room.
So very true, I am hoping to get some going once the speakers get installed and I have a while to get used to thier sound and get them broke in. Thank you!
Better to step up now than to upgrade later. By all rights you shouldn’t fell compelled to change speakers again- ever. Mike, you are living the dream. Just remember that sometimes the anticipation can be as enjoyable an experience as receiving them. Just savor every step is all I’m saying. I’m excited about sharing the experience and it won’t even cost me anything! Life is good.
Hey Mike, congratulations on the new speakers! Admittedly, I haven’t heard the new watt puppys, but have read that they are amazing. Please enjoy! You mentioned that you were interested in the Focal Sopra 3s, but weren’t able to demo in your area which happen to be my current reference speakers paired with a couple of REL Carbon Special subs in my system. I love mine. I don’t think you can go wrong with the Wilsons from what I’ve read, so again have fun! And you’re right to each his/her own, whatever gives you those goose bumps, you’ve chosen wisely.
I wish I could have listend to the Sopra's. I have heard the Utopia line at audio shows and they are just incredible. I am happy with my decision and it really helps to have purchased them from a local dealer in case of any problems which I don't think there will be but you never know. Thank you!
Great choice! I was also entranced, mesmerized and captivated with the Wilsons "Puppers" back in 94 when I auditioned the original series. Ever since the beginning Wilson introduction and throughout the decades they've evolved with different drivers, cabinet materials and reengineered, but always mostly retained that unmistakable ultra dynamic WOW performance. Not even the Max''s, Alex, Sasha's or other derivative lineup models brought me to my knees as the true (monitor) pups. Sadly never couldn't afford their aspirational boutique asking MSRP so had to source them from a slightly damaged pair across many states.
Right there with you! I remember listening to them at CES back in the late 80's, 90's and 2000's and have always loved the sound of the watt puppies. I remember one year when David Wilson was conducting a demonstration at CES where he had 5 watt puppies in a surround sound configuration. Then demo was amazing. At the end he asked the group what do you think was driving the Watt Puppies? All were thinking Krell or Mark Levinson, Spectral or something along those lines. He then pulled a curtain a side to reveal a Sony ES 5.1 reciever! It was amazing! Thank you!
Hi Mike. Stepped up to the Sasha V. I just couldn’t help myself. Obviously pricey but the components used in both Sasha V and Puppy Anniversary are that of higher end models. Compelling argument for decision Cheers
Man I heard the watt puppies with burmeister electronics at my local dealer Wow What a little speaker Pretty pricey but definitely worth the money Very punchy lows, great midrange and highs! Congrats A speaker for a life time Liked them better than the much bigger Wilson’s they had Can’t remember the model
Room treatment will certainly make a much bigger difference then new electronics. If you have for example a big dip in bass your sound might sound thin and no electronics or speakers will fix that. Well, Dirac might if you go that route. But start with room treatment.
Congratulations on the Wilson’s. Looking forward to reviewing them and upgrades that will improve sound like y mou mentioned, wires, interconnection, etc
By the looks of your room, it is a dedicated listening room or AV room? If so, you are very lucky as it means you can properly treat the room. It does sound very reverberant. 80% of what you’re listening to is the room and not the speakers. I have decent speakers, but unfortunately they are in a living area where I cannot apply much treatment. I am fighting the room to make any real improvements. In fact, I drag in some treatment from the garage just to listen to music and then have to take it out again! You’re fortunate if that is a dedicated room. Without trying to sound like I know better than anyone else and with respect I would treat the room as a massive priority. I think you will be surprised at the result, even if you dragged in more furniture to break up the room into irregular a shape, that would help. all the best. Richy.
Share your passion, Mike. In the end, money is just money and I know what happiness it brings to make a decision and satisfy your heart's desire. Like yours, my wife is also dye-in-the-wool audiophile, so there is no conflict when it comes to buy new gear. The only thing I disagree about is that this would be the end of your audio journey. Sometimes in a distant future you will upgrade your puppies. My wish for you.
Actually this is just the start, Now that speakers are coming, I will be concentrating on room treatment, amp & preamp, phone stage and I would love a new streamer dac. Also speaker cables and interconnect from pre to amp along with power conditioning. I will keep you all posted as this process continues. Thank you so much!
excellent news!!! I had a feeling you'd go the Wilson route - I don't think you'll be disappointed. I'll be interested in seeing the room treatment process as well.
Thank you, That will come soon. Just want to get the new speakers in the space and then evaluate placement of treatment. Super excited. Thanks again Travis.
Hi Mike! Congrats and as I am a current Sabrina X owner, you made a wise choice. I really like the Sabrina X (overall what’a not to like lol). After having them for 1 1/2 years, I just wanted a larger scale sound. Recently, prior to seeing this video, I decided to step up in the Wilson line as well. Wilson has a great dealer sponsored Certified Used program to allow this progression in our audio journey. One piece of advice I might offer, get ASC Tube Traps back in the rear corners. In addition, your first point of reflection to the front sides of each speaker might benefit from ASC panels as well. Not cheap but highly beneficial. Again, Congratulations.
Thank you. Your Sabrina X's are supburb! What did you jump up to? Yes I do need some room treatment and I have seen the ASC traps and they are very nice and look great! Thank you for recommendation Greg!
Acoustic treatments can make an incredible difference, and at the prices you are looking at now, are (relatively speaking) extremely cheap. A few thousand dollars on acoustical panels is nothing once you are looking at things like Watt/Puppy's. I'd highly recommend you go down that path after getting your speakers. When you finally get to looking for an amp...as someone who's owned Wilson speakers for 25 years I can tell you that they *love* current. They really open up when you give them a high current amp. Especially in the bass, where most of them have a big impedence drop combined with a pretty high phase angle in the impedance curve. You should certainly audition your short list but I encourage you to at least listen to a few really high current amps to see how the speakers react. Even if you cannot afford some of them, you will at least have a point of reference to judge the more affordable options against.
It was really a dream come true for me. I have listened to the Watt Puppies since they came out in the 80's mostly at trade shows and loved the sound. They were never anything i could consider at that time. But later in life it has become possible so I am supper excited and very greatful. Thank you
New subscriber. Are you looking for a neutral speaker??? I had the Wilson Sasha W/P and felt after a few months that they weren’t very neutral. I found several speakers that are noted as being very neutral, after extensive listening, I found and bought the Revel Salon2. Since they were discontinuing them, I was able to get them for much less than their original price. If you haven’t checked out the successor Revel Be328, you should. I guess the prerequisite is that you’re seeking a neutral speaker… If not, then don’t bother.
My first recommendation would be do NOT buy new. 😂 Bit late for that. And you should have your room treated first. If the speakers don't agree with your space/equipment you know it isn't the room. And you could return the speakers and try something else. Also always audition soeakers in your own space. That is where they have to sound good, right?
Good point. My decision for waiting until new speakers are in place in the room is to evaluate the room once they are set up so I can make sure first reflections are as acurate as possible, even though I can't imagine the new speakers being to different in placement than my current speakers. I spent countless hours a few months ago moving them around to get the sound the way I liked it. Moving the equipment from between the speakers to the side was a huge improvement so I know treatment will be a big improvement. I have had GIK do a room design based on the current set up and I am sure that would yield a huge difference. Thank you for your suggestions!
@@MikesVinylExperience I get what you are saying, but sound and placement might be wildly different after room treatment. That is why I start with the thing that most of us can optimize but not exchange, aka the listening room 😎 Looking forward to your journey.
Haha remember when I told you a while back on one of your videos? I said ( I bet you go with Wilson audio) you commented on that response. I think at that point you had a pretty good notion those were the ones you wanted.
The Sabrina's have always been on my mind and I think had the Watt Puppies not been introduced this past summer that would be the speaker that I would have went with long before now. And yes I do remmember your comment! Thank you so much!!
Congratulations. Great that you had the budget to buy very expensive speakers and equipment. Wilson always is well reviewed but I just don’t like the look. Equipment has to sound great and look cool for me to be happy. Rock on!
I have got pretty used to the look of them and I will agree with you, when you compare looks to say a Focal Sopra, Utopia or Sonus Faber they are not as attractive. But man they sound good! Thank you.
obviously you didn't listen to the monitor audio platinum series they are far better than the B&W or the Wilson, they are much more three-dimensional airy and spacious than those two speakers and very neutral sounding.
I have only listened to Monitor Audio speakers like the 300 gold and silver but that has been a few years ago and that was at audio shows, they sounded great and liked there sound. No one close to me has these let alone the platinum series. I am sure they sound wonderful. Thank you.
Looking at your room and listening to your voice in that room I conclude that you REALLY need to treat that room. I just did mine in the past couple of days. The improvement is dramatic. I added Primacoustic 4' x 4' panels behind ths spkrs and the listening position and two 2' x 4' Clouds above the listening position. Try a few things first, make sure your ears in your listening position are at the mid-range speaker level, not the tweeter the mids. Isoacoustic isolation feet, they work! Last try placing the speakers on the long wall instead of the short. All those improved my experience with my B&W spkrs.
Thank you. I will for sure be doing some treatment. I have had GIK do a room design with one of there designers. I will check out the Primacoustic panels, I also will have the Dealer I have been working with (Utah Audio) look at it as well when they come to set up the speakers and see what they recommend. Thank you again.
something that is even better than the ISO acoustic Gaia is the Townshend podiums they're on a totally different level better than the Gaia More expensive but well worth it when I put them underneath my speakers the improvement was so good that it sounded like I had upgraded my electronics to much more expensive gear.
@@chrisrichards2827 I got the same impression on the Gaia's, it was a wow moment.
This is the first of your content I have seen. By far, you are the most gracious and approachable content creators I've seen. Good luck and enjoy!
Thank you. It is been super fun. I have been doing this for one year now and it has been great! Thank you Again!
Congratulations!! I’m so happy for you Mike! You made the right choice by following your heart. You obviously worked very hard and you deserve to treat yourself👍
Thank you so much! This little journey has actually been super fun. Thanks again.
Great choice! Many years ago, I also had to choose between Bowers and Wilkins and Wilson Audio. I had started out with Bowers and Wilkins. I want to switching to Wilson and Audio and I couldn't be happier with them. Enjoy!
Thank you. Bowers and Wilkins have been great and I am looking forward to the Wilson's. Really its a dream come true for me.
Wow, congratulations!! welcome to the wilson audio fan club!! Your Wilson's will blow away my little Duettes ! Great choice. I'm so happy you went with what makes you happy!
Thank you Robert! Excited to hear them in my room. Thanks again.
I Hope you enjoy your New speakers when they arrive, what a wonderfull Christmas present. Congrats
Very excited to hear what they do in my room. Thank you!
Congratulations, great choice. Enjoy them
Thank you so much!
Merry Christmas to yourself Mike!!!! I'm so happy that you've come to a conclusion about your future listening. I've been captivated by your journey as I've been recovering from a recent knee replacement. I'm not too surprised by your finalists as they have comparable sonic signatures by all accounts (I haven't listened to the Wilson brand). I happen to love Focal but they are revealing and detailed and some find that fatiguing, like my significant other. I can't wait to see a video with some of the tracks you used to evaluate the speakers playing through the new system. With regard to treatments for your room, I'd hold off some. A different amp will change the sonic characteristics of the system and hence the type of room treatment you may want. IMO it would be more difficult to compare amps in your home environment which I strongly recommend as both the source and the speakers will be settled decisions.
Can't wait for my invite to the listening party! 😁
Thank you Brian! And it will be a merry christmas for sure! My dealer has recommended the same advice as you. Wait until at least getting the new speakers placed and then start considering treatment. And I agree, amps will have an impact on the sound. And Yes you are invited! Thanks again Brian.
Congrats! Yes, room treatment should be your next priority. The room is more important than the equipment. Just because speakers sound great in one room doesn't mean the same speaker will sound great in another room.
So very true, I am hoping to get some going once the speakers get installed and I have a while to get used to thier sound and get them broke in. Thank you!
Congratulations, that is a great choice and I'm sure you will be super happy with them!
I have got pretty acquainted with them for sure. Thank you!
Congrat´s Mke that you finally nailed it, you will love every alben even more now and I guess you will want to listen to everything you love AGAIN
Looking forward to doing just that! Thank you.
Better to step up now than to upgrade later. By all rights you shouldn’t fell compelled to change speakers again- ever. Mike, you are living the dream. Just remember that sometimes the anticipation can be as enjoyable an experience as receiving them. Just savor every step is all I’m saying. I’m excited about sharing the experience and it won’t even cost me anything! Life is good.
Thank you so much Ron! What great advise! So far it has been super fun! Thank you again.
Thanks very much Mike✌️🤘
Thank you
Im stoked for you sir. Enjoy with all your heart.
Thank you Robert, It has been a lot of fun for sure.
Hey Mike, congratulations on the new speakers! Admittedly, I haven’t heard the new watt puppys, but have read that they are amazing. Please enjoy! You mentioned that you were interested in the Focal Sopra 3s, but weren’t able to demo in your area which happen to be my current reference speakers paired with a couple of REL Carbon Special subs in my system. I love mine. I don’t think you can go wrong with the Wilsons from what I’ve read, so again have fun! And you’re right to each his/her own, whatever gives you those goose bumps, you’ve chosen wisely.
I wish I could have listend to the Sopra's. I have heard the Utopia line at audio shows and they are just incredible. I am happy with my decision and it really helps to have purchased them from a local dealer in case of any problems which I don't think there will be but you never know. Thank you!
Great choice! I was also entranced, mesmerized and captivated with the Wilsons "Puppers" back in 94 when I auditioned the original series. Ever since the beginning Wilson introduction and throughout the decades they've evolved with different drivers, cabinet materials and reengineered, but always mostly retained that unmistakable ultra dynamic WOW performance. Not even the Max''s, Alex, Sasha's or other derivative lineup models brought me to my knees as the true (monitor) pups. Sadly never couldn't afford their aspirational boutique asking MSRP so had to source them from a slightly damaged pair across many states.
Right there with you! I remember listening to them at CES back in the late 80's, 90's and 2000's and have always loved the sound of the watt puppies. I remember one year when David Wilson was conducting a demonstration at CES where he had 5 watt puppies in a surround sound configuration. Then demo was amazing. At the end he asked the group what do you think was driving the Watt Puppies? All were thinking Krell or Mark Levinson, Spectral or something along those lines. He then pulled a curtain a side to reveal a Sony ES 5.1 reciever! It was amazing! Thank you!
Hi Mike. Stepped up to the Sasha V. I just couldn’t help myself. Obviously pricey but the components used in both Sasha V and Puppy Anniversary are that of higher end models. Compelling argument for decision Cheers
Man I heard the watt puppies with burmeister electronics at my local dealer
Wow
What a little speaker
Pretty pricey but definitely worth the money
Very punchy lows, great midrange and highs!
Congrats
A speaker for a life time
Liked them better than the much bigger Wilson’s they had
Can’t remember the model
I tried really hard to stay away from the other upper speakers in the Wilson line. I am super excited to get these things here. Thank you.
Congratulations! I'm entertaining a speaker upgrade next and your journey is very helpful!
Good luck, and it is super fun, I have loved it! There are so many great choices out there and that is what makes the journey so fun! Thank you.
Room treatment will certainly make a much bigger difference then new electronics. If you have for example a big dip in bass your sound might sound thin and no electronics or speakers will fix that. Well, Dirac might if you go that route. But start with room treatment.
Completely agree. And that is the plan. Thank you!
Congratulations on the Wilson’s. Looking forward to reviewing them and upgrades that will improve sound like y mou mentioned, wires, interconnection, etc
Thank you, I am excited for the joruney! Thanks again.
By the looks of your room, it is a dedicated listening room or AV room? If so, you are very lucky as it means you can properly treat the room. It does sound very reverberant. 80% of what you’re listening to is the room and not the speakers. I have decent speakers, but unfortunately they are in a living area where I cannot apply much treatment. I am fighting the room to make any real improvements. In fact, I drag in some treatment from the garage just to listen to music and then have to take it out again! You’re fortunate if that is a dedicated room. Without trying to sound like I know better than anyone else and with respect I would treat the room as a massive priority. I think you will be surprised at the result, even if you dragged in more furniture to break up the room into irregular a shape, that would help. all the best. Richy.
Share your passion, Mike. In the end, money is just money and I know what happiness it brings to make a decision and satisfy your heart's desire. Like yours, my wife is also dye-in-the-wool audiophile, so there is no conflict when it comes to buy new gear.
The only thing I disagree about is that this would be the end of your audio journey. Sometimes in a distant future you will upgrade your puppies. My wish for you.
Actually this is just the start, Now that speakers are coming, I will be concentrating on room treatment, amp & preamp, phone stage and I would love a new streamer dac. Also speaker cables and interconnect from pre to amp along with power conditioning. I will keep you all posted as this process continues. Thank you so much!
Huge congrats !!! So happy for you!!!
Thank you!!
Congratulations!!🎉
Thank you.
Happy for you!
Thank you David!
Congratulations man. You deserve it. 👍
Thank you.
excellent news!!! I had a feeling you'd go the Wilson route - I don't think you'll be disappointed. I'll be interested in seeing the room treatment process as well.
Thank you, That will come soon. Just want to get the new speakers in the space and then evaluate placement of treatment. Super excited. Thanks again Travis.
A great choice and I'm very happy for you. I would love to have the Watt Puppy speakers but selling both kidneys isn't logical for me, lol.
Yeah that is the only draw back but I figured this would likely be my last set I will ever purchase. Thank you Chris!
@@MikesVinylExperience
Go for the gusto, you only live once and it's only money. Now if I could just convince my wife of that philosophy.
Hi Mike! Congrats and as I am a current Sabrina X owner, you made a wise choice. I really like the Sabrina X (overall what’a not to like lol). After having them for 1 1/2 years, I just wanted a larger scale sound. Recently, prior to seeing this video, I decided to step up in the Wilson line as well. Wilson has a great dealer sponsored Certified Used program to allow this progression in our audio journey. One piece of advice I might offer, get ASC Tube Traps back in the rear corners. In addition, your first point of reflection to the front sides of each speaker might benefit from ASC panels as well. Not cheap but highly beneficial. Again, Congratulations.
Thank you. Your Sabrina X's are supburb! What did you jump up to? Yes I do need some room treatment and I have seen the ASC traps and they are very nice and look great! Thank you for recommendation Greg!
Do you get any reverb on your system. I mention it because your video is quite echoing. Try the clap test
At that point in the room it does have an echo. Treatment is a must. Thank you.
Acoustic treatments can make an incredible difference, and at the prices you are looking at now, are (relatively speaking) extremely cheap. A few thousand dollars on acoustical panels is nothing once you are looking at things like Watt/Puppy's. I'd highly recommend you go down that path after getting your speakers.
When you finally get to looking for an amp...as someone who's owned Wilson speakers for 25 years I can tell you that they *love* current. They really open up when you give them a high current amp. Especially in the bass, where most of them have a big impedence drop combined with a pretty high phase angle in the impedance curve. You should certainly audition your short list but I encourage you to at least listen to a few really high current amps to see how the speakers react. Even if you cannot afford some of them, you will at least have a point of reference to judge the more affordable options against.
That is the plan. I do have a plan from GIK that looks very nice but I do want to look at some other options before ordering. Thank you Mark.
Congrats!!! I was watching this thinking please say you bought the new Watt puppy haha.
It was really a dream come true for me. I have listened to the Watt Puppies since they came out in the 80's mostly at trade shows and loved the sound. They were never anything i could consider at that time. But later in life it has become possible so I am supper excited and very greatful. Thank you
New subscriber. Are you looking for a neutral speaker??? I had the Wilson Sasha W/P and felt after a few months that they weren’t very neutral. I found several speakers that are noted as being very neutral, after extensive listening, I found and bought the Revel Salon2. Since they were discontinuing them, I was able to get them for much less than their original price. If you haven’t checked out the successor Revel Be328, you should. I guess the prerequisite is that you’re seeking a neutral speaker… If not, then don’t bother.
My first recommendation would be do NOT buy new. 😂 Bit late for that.
And you should have your room treated first. If the speakers don't agree with your space/equipment you know it isn't the room. And you could return the speakers and try something else. Also always audition soeakers in your own space. That is where they have to sound good, right?
Good point. My decision for waiting until new speakers are in place in the room is to evaluate the room once they are set up so I can make sure first reflections are as acurate as possible, even though I can't imagine the new speakers being to different in placement than my current speakers. I spent countless hours a few months ago moving them around to get the sound the way I liked it. Moving the equipment from between the speakers to the side was a huge improvement so I know treatment will be a big improvement. I have had GIK do a room design based on the current set up and I am sure that would yield a huge difference. Thank you for your suggestions!
@@MikesVinylExperience I get what you are saying, but sound and placement might be wildly different after room treatment. That is why I start with the thing that most of us can optimize but not exchange, aka the listening room 😎
Looking forward to your journey.
Your wearing a mic, but it doesn't sound like it's on. I enjoy your channel, keep it up.
I need a new mic. Thank you!
If that's your listening room, listening to all that echo... you're going to want some room treatment above anything else!
Agreed, Once the speakers get here that will be the very next step before electronics. Thank you.
Haha remember when I told you a while back on one of your videos? I said ( I bet you go with Wilson audio) you commented on that response. I think at that point you had a pretty good notion those were the ones you wanted.
The Sabrina's have always been on my mind and I think had the Watt Puppies not been introduced this past summer that would be the speaker that I would have went with long before now. And yes I do remmember your comment! Thank you so much!!
Congratulations. Great that you had the budget to buy very expensive speakers and equipment. Wilson always is well reviewed but I just don’t like the look. Equipment has to sound great and look cool for me to be happy. Rock on!
I do not like their look either. Not my style. I’m sure they sound great.
I have got pretty used to the look of them and I will agree with you, when you compare looks to say a Focal Sopra, Utopia or Sonus Faber they are not as attractive. But man they sound good! Thank you.
obviously you didn't listen to the monitor audio platinum series they are far better than the B&W or the Wilson, they are much more three-dimensional airy and spacious than those two speakers and very neutral sounding.
I have only listened to Monitor Audio speakers like the 300 gold and silver but that has been a few years ago and that was at audio shows,
they sounded great and liked there sound. No one close to me has these let alone the platinum series. I am sure they sound wonderful. Thank you.