The price/performance ratio is rated as poor. I think that this loudspeaker should have the price around 3-4 Grands only (For the value of the dynaudio and focal drivers). The mid sound is so laid back well beyond the wall giving the feeling of the singer sing behind the band. The high sound feels cold but well disperse. Bass quality is o.k for the bass-reflex design but can't conpare to horn loaded design. Absolutely not for single ended amps.

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.

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 508.24
HALCYON PVA-4 PASSIVE PREAMP
MCCORMACK DNA 1 DELUXE
B&W 802 (NON BIWIREABLE AND NON MATRIX, YEAH OLD)
STRAIGHTWIRE EVERYTHING

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.

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.

They play loud and the midrange is slightly warm.

They are not brittle, but they are very harsh and un-pleasing to the ear. The bass is very "weak" and bottomed out several times.

The midrange was "ok". Smartly they chose a paper midrange. The nasty tweeter took away from the tone though. The bass made you feel like you were listening to a $300 subwoofer. Not very good for a $20,000 speaker :-)

The soundstage was 2D also. Nothing special at all. Very "dead" sounding at any price.

Is there any truth at all that the midrange driver in this speaker only cost $20?
Those poly bass drivers looked cheap also.

Anyway,
Overall, i would avoid this overpriced ear attacking speaker.

Happy Listening!

Similar Products Used:

I heard these speakers with the top of the line Levinson equipment and top of the line transparent cables.

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?

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.