Why Are Audiophiles Afraid of Powered Speakers By Jerry Del Colliano August 2006 From my days in high-end retail, now more than a decade ago, to today’s current home theater market, I have always been perplexed as to why Americans are hesitant to invest in powered speakers. Seemingly stashing your amp neatly inside of your speakers provides a host of advantages including more rack space, less heat, potentially lower cost and beyond. Literally all you have to do is run interconnects from your receiver or, better yet, your AV preamp directly to your speakers. Simplicity is yet another advantage, but consumers aren’t yet breaking down the doors at retailers to invest in powered speakers.

Introduction Wilson claims that their WATT Puppy loudspeaker system is now the best selling $10,000 plus speaker in audio history. Having sold dozens of pairs myself while working at Christopher Hansen Ltd. in Beverly Hills nearly a decade ago, I wouldn’t argue with Wilson’s claim. At around $22,000, David Wilson’s location monitor has developed into a far more refined loudspeaker system. In adapting to the modern, multi-channel home theater market, WATT Puppies can also be matched with Wilson subwoofers as well as rear and center speakers. To say this transducer has come a long way from the strange little (but very heavy) speakers Dave used to drag along as part of his recording rig is a major understatement. There are a number of changes to the WATT Puppy for Version 7 from Version 6. One of the most significant changes to the speaker is the use of an even more “dead” material, which Wilson ...

AV Education on RHT What Is DVD-Audio? Written by Jerry Del Colliano What Is DVD-Audio? DVD-Audio is one of the two competing pre-recorded audio formats positioned to replace the Compact Disc after the CD’s 20-year reign as the ruler of the world’s music stores. DVD-Audio is derived from the same DVD disc that DVD-Video movies are recorded on. However, with DVD-Audio, the space on the disc is configured to optimize high-resolution audio, surround sound and added value features. On most standard DVD-Audio discs, you will find three different audio playback options: 1) A high-resolution stereo track that is often 24 bit and 96 or even 192 kHz resolution. 2) A default DVD-Video compatible surround sound track that is usually a lossy (AKA compressed) surround sound format like DTS (3:1 compression) or Dolby Digital (12:1 compression). 3) A MLP surround sound mix. MLP stands for Meridian Lossless Packing and it is the highest quality audio for surround ...

Introduction The Wilson WATT Puppy has been the reference standard loudspeaker for high-end consumer use for more than 10 years. David Wilson and his design team have taken a fresh look at their most popular loudspeaker with the version 6.0 release. Priced at $20,000 per pair, the new WATT Puppies are greatly improved over the former version, the 5.1s, in that they utilize new cabinet material and have better cabinet construction and design, as well as improved drivers. Version 6.0 WATT Puppies share a similar look with the previous versions, although the way the WATT now sits inside of the Puppy is different. Originally, the WATT was designed to be a portable monitor for location recording. It had no real bass, so Wilson ultimately developed the Puppy to extend the WATT’s low frequency performance to nearly full-range status. Version 6.0 finally fully physically integrates the WATT and the Puppy. Another difference between versions 5.1 and 6.0 ...

Introduction Are you insane for investing $6,590 for a center speaker and speaker stand? The unenlightened might say "yes," but now more than ever, a timbre-matched center speaker is of the highest importance. You've likely heard that that as much as 80 percent of a movie's dialogue comes from the center speaker. That's great, but does it require a $6,500 investment? It depends on your system and how you use it, of course. If you've got Wilson MAXX or Grand SLAMM loudspeakers and/or a very serious big-gun video system, then the answer could be "yes." Realistically, most Wilson clients, current and potential, are looking at investing in Wilson CUB IIs or WATT Puppies v6.0s for front speakers, which are priced between $10,000 and $20,000 per pair. How can these clients justify building up their system with WATCH peripheral loudspeakers for center and/or rear channels? These are the requirements of DVD-Audio. While Wilson loudspeakers have long ...