I would consider myself a very lucky guy because my father and I both share the passion for clean audio sound and he serves as my experienced consultant. You see, I started enjoying Blue Note recording long ago as a child on various high-end family equipment so now that I m older (a U.S. Army civil engineer officer) you can't beat the sound of vacuum tubes which to me is still the only way to enjoy warm clean sound!
So, in order for me to truly enjoy the real absolute clean notes from John Coltranes tenor sax, or Jimmy Garrisons upright Kay bass or even "that great Gretsch sound" from Elvin Jones 1966 18x12x14 drum set, I needed to seek-out the very best high-end equipment my life and money can buy. That's why I selected older top-of-the-line audio gear and this is why all of my audio gear is circa late 1980's to mid 1990's give or take a few years. My system is a 2 channel Analog /CD system which sits in my tiny 12x13 spare living room. Yes, the room is small but you work with what you got and it is what it is. Nonetheless most true jazz audiophiles like me will typically enjoy vintage LPs at a moderate level that is bearable... so I guess for now my room size is not a major issue.
However, I will say this, the size/shape and the wonderful piano black lacquer finish of my Wilson Audio combo gives my green walls, hardwood floors and black leather sofa that complete style and grace only known to man. And with the addition of the super size 450lbs mkII WHOW subwoofer the sound is now perfect, trust me! Mixed with the WATTs famous high signals and the WHOW's low tones those two have found there match made in heaven. My enormous mkII subwoofer normally goes unnoticed now that I have placed the sub on its sideboard with the driver facing the wall, which does not detract from low tones it so easily produces. A item worthy of a special note; because I enjoy trying to get the lowest tones possible from my sub on occasion I change out my Wilson crossover amplifier to the good ole vintage trusty Janis interphase Electronic Crossover amp to either my 100 watt A-1 or to my super rare 50 watt 3-A crossover amp. According to various magazines reviews David Wilson designed the WHOW subwoofer to perfectly integrate with the WATT/Puppy speaker system so trust me guys David Wilson did a perfect job and Im almost 99.9% sure the newer Wilson sub and WATT /Puppy 8 are superb, but I will never be totally convinced that they are that much better then my old vintage Wilson 3/2 set-up. The only improvements I can think of are speaker cables and RCA audio interconnects which will come with time. Oh, ask me if I missed my Manleys amps while I was deployed (OEF VI 05-06) for 15 months and the answer is YES!!!
Below is my description of my equipment:
Wilson Audio WATT 3/Puppy 2
Wilson Audio WHOW mkII subwoofer
Wilson Audio crossover w/ external power box
Janis Interphase A-1 Electronic Crossover amp or the 3-A version
Oh crazy me, I totally forgot to mention that the WHOW subwoofer is now back on its original four Wilson legs with the driver now firing downwards at the hardwood floor.
Wow, thank you all for caring and supporting us troops as it was my true pleasure to serve and I would do it again if required! By chance are there any former 11th Special Forces Group (ABN) members out here in Audiogon world? I'm always looking for my ole 2ndSFBN friends. Oh, by-the-way can anybody help me to select a affordable speaker cable or interconnects that would improve my Wilson sound? I would like to hear from other WATT 3 owners who changed out Puppy tails to something better? Right now I have MIT tails. Also before I forget to mention this yesterday, I moved my over-kill 450lbs WHOW subwoofer to the other side of the room where my trusty upright bass was located and I find that the bass deepness is still about the same oh well!
Great setup.Your particular speaker arrangement is what started me really liking Wilsons. I'll tell you the same thing I told my son when he returned from his stint in Iraq and that is thanks for stepping up and it's good to have you home!
Thanks Chadnliz, it's just what the Doctor ordered music therapy if you take in a daily dose of almost live sounding music jazz (or whatever) recording and you are sitting right smack dab in your very own living room, you cant ask for a better relaxing treatment.
Thanks Dgarretson, you are so right, not much has changed in recent years! My take on this is; why spend all your hard earned money on new when pre-owned Class "A" audio gear is just as good. It took me awhile to locate most of my current equipment because for one it had to be in top condition with the original manual & box, etc. Maybe in the year 2015, I'll seek out a really clean pair of Mercedes silver WATT/Puppy 8's to replace my 3's???
The W3/P2s I bought in 1994 have gravitated with other "old school" equipment from my earlier systems, into a second system in my house where the Wilsons are happy on 3W SET amps with Autoformers. They sound warm & inviting & when listening to them I'm reminded how much this hobby is ultimately about taste & emotion more than The Absolute Sound. Bottom line, with the exception of digital front ends, there hasn't really been any great leap forward in Class "A" components over the last decade or so. You're wise to purchase fine vintage gear & let more fickle audiophiles take the depreciation hit on extravagantly priced new equipment.
Bravo! Extremely well decorated and well thought out, not to mention a perfect old school combo of sounds! Manely +VTL and Wilsons... precision plus liquidity!
Wilson's in a small room still work perfectly because of their monitor style design. I had my WP7's in a 10x12 room for a while! Try that with another full range speaker!
