I truly find it hilarious when people are discussing a decade old model and relating it to the current day version which is completely different other than the name and general arrangement. When/how were comparisons made here, guys? What was the equipment? Give us a little background/detail to help us understand how you came to your conclusions.
It's been said already, but don't think it can't be overstated enough. I've heard WP7 with many different amps, both solid state and tube, and have to say they can sound like the traditional exposure most people have with Wilson: solid state hi powered amps, which would leave one impression that they can be very good or even awesome in certain areas like dynamics, bass extension, imaging, transparency blah blah blah.
With a truly world class tube amp they will bring out the best that ANY equipment is capable of, and drop your jaw with stunningly musical, realistically portrayed MUSIC.
For God's sake, if you've heard these in an audio "salon" you've not heard them. They cannot sound even close to what they're capable of within a casual sales environment and setup. They take a lot of care and as mentioned, time to find how they work in an individual room. No sales jockey in his right mind would take the time to set these up optimally-it's not worth it to them. They can sell speaker z which sound great when just thrown in the room, oh and it's a lot less money. Great.
Also, any small change and I mean small can totally alter them. They are truly chameleons: perhaps more forgiving than other Watt/Puppies but incredibly more involving-and it's not even close to the other models. The only way possibly to know what these can do is to try and search out an enthusiast who knows what he/she's doing and cares enough to take the time and spend the money to show 'em what's real on the battlefield and go visit their setups!
It's been said already, but don't think it can't be overstated enough. I've heard WP7 with many different amps, both solid state and tube, and have to say they can sound like the traditional exposure most people have with Wilson: solid state hi powered amps, which would leave one impression that they can be very good or even awesome in certain areas like dynamics, bass extension, imaging, transparency blah blah blah.
With a truly world class tube amp they will bring out the best that ANY equipment is capable of, and drop your jaw with stunningly musical, realistically portrayed MUSIC.
For God's sake, if you've heard these in an audio "salon" you've not heard them. They cannot sound even close to what they're capable of within a casual sales environment and setup. They take a lot of care and as mentioned, time to find how they work in an individual room. No sales jockey in his right mind would take the time to set these up optimally-it's not worth it to them. They can sell speaker z which sound great when just thrown in the room, oh and it's a lot less money. Great.
Also, any small change and I mean small can totally alter them. They are truly chameleons: perhaps more forgiving than other Watt/Puppies but incredibly more involving-and it's not even close to the other models. The only way possibly to know what these can do is to try and search out an enthusiast who knows what he/she's doing and cares enough to take the time and spend the money to show 'em what's real on the battlefield and go visit their setups!