Watt puppy 5's

Bludognz

New Member
Jun 2, 2020
3
0
1
56
Hi all just wondering if anyone can give me some advice. I just bought a second hand pair off the 5's . They are a bit boomy in my room ( as most every speaker is) around the 40 hz point. Are the resistors there to help overcome this ?
 

sbnx

Well-Known Member
Mar 28, 2017
1,180
1,319
290
Hello Bludognz,

The WP5 is quite prodigious in the bass. I am not sure how much time you have spent working on listening position and speaker position but getting these to sound their best will likely take quite a bit of work. Wilson has their own setup method. There are some pretty good walk through articles online. Here is a link to one of them.

https://www.tnt-audio.com/casse/waspe.html

Here is a video: https://www.reddit.com/r/BudgetAudiophile/comments/bm3zxr
How big is your room?

~Todd
 
Last edited:

Kingsrule

VIP/Donor
Feb 3, 2011
1,432
681
1,430
Also spike them if u haven't yet...makes a huge difference
 

Mike Lavigne

Member Sponsor & WBF Founding Member
Apr 25, 2010
12,471
11,366
4,410
i owned WP 5.1's back in the day (1998-1999). previously i owned WP3/2's.

as i recall they were sensitive to (1) distance from the walls, and also (2) height from the floor. even a half inch one way or another seemed to matter. i experimented with footers and longer spikes and was able to tune the boomyness out in my small (12' x 18' x 10.5') room.

to experiment cut some plywood squares and stack them below the speaker to see what height is ideal for bass smoothness, then either buy longer spikes or some sort of footer to reach that height.

a year later i moved on to WP 6.0's which had less tendency to be boomy in the same way.
 
Last edited:

Bludognz

New Member
Jun 2, 2020
3
0
1
56
Hello Bludognz,

The WP5 is quite prodigious in the bass. I am not sure how much time you have spent working on listening position and speaker position but getting these to sound their best will likely take quite a bit of work. Wilson has their own setup method. There are some pretty good walk through articles online. Here is a link to one of them.

https://www.tnt-audio.com/casse/waspe.html

Here is a video: https://www.reddit.com/r/BudgetAudiophile/comments/bm3zxr
How big is your room?

~Todd
Thanks Todd . My room is 4.2m wide 2.4 high and 9m long going off at one side to a kitchen. Thanks for the video I will get a listen to that soon.
 

Bludognz

New Member
Jun 2, 2020
3
0
1
56
i owned WP 5.1's back in the day (1998-1999). previously i owned WP3/2's.

as i recall they were sensitive to (1) distance from the walls, and also (2) height from the floor. even a half inch one way or another seemed to matter. i experimented with footers and longer spikes and was able to tune the boomyness out in my small (12' x 18' x 10.5') room.

to experiment cut some plywood squares and stack them below the speaker to see what height is ideal for bass smoothness, then either buy longer spikes or some sort of footer to reach that height.

a year later i moved on to WP 6.0's which had less tendency to be boomy in the same way.
Unfortunately mine didn't come with the original puppy paws. I'm going to make some as I'm a fitter welder. I just need they dimensions and a photo im still hunting lol
 

sbnx

Well-Known Member
Mar 28, 2017
1,180
1,319
290
That is a good sized room. you should be able to get good sound in it. Also one note on Wilson speakers in general. They typically have very high toe-in pointed almost right at your ears. But adjusting this will be part of your overall setup.
 

microstrip

VIP/Donor
May 30, 2010
20,806
4,698
2,790
Portugal
Unfortunately mine didn't come with the original puppy paws. I'm going to make some as I'm a fitter welder. I just need they dimensions and a photo im still hunting lol

The Puppy paws are mandatory - I used mine with one spacer. You can find a detailed view in the online System V manual : w1.jpg https://www.wilsonaudio.com/support/manuals
 

mullard88

Well-Known Member
Jun 5, 2010
948
62
1,588
I had a pair of Watt/Puppy 5. I remember that adding an aftermarket Brisson puppy tail vastly improved everything. If you can still find one of those Brisson puppy tails, you just might be surprised at the potential of the Watt/Puppy 5.
 

andromedaaudio

VIP/Donor
Jan 23, 2011
8,354
2,731
1,400
Amsterdam holland
Disclaimer : For the correct info its off course much better to ask wilson or a knowledgeable wilson dealer directly regarding the resistors .

Also if all speakers have the same problem in your room , its likely the main culprit .

From what i know wilson has external resistors to control mid and tweeter out put on a lot of models , the situation on the WP 5 i dont know .

If you want to reduce relative bass out put on your wilson speakers the most logical step would be to reduce the resistor value on the mid and tweeter in lets say 0,5 ohm- 1 ohm steps and listen again , turn down the volume first before listening to avoid damage .
Reducing the ohms value will likely let the mid and tweeter play slightly louder and give may be a better bass balance in your situation
If your speaker has a resistor for the bass speaker also you can increase this resistor in value and leave the mid and tw resistor alone.

What kind of resistors (maxx wattage etc ) wilson uses, again i have no idea , but measuring the value of a resistor itself is off course easily done with a multimeter.
 
Last edited:

About us

  • What’s Best Forum is THE forum for high end audio, product reviews, advice and sharing experiences on the best of everything else. This is THE place where audiophiles and audio companies discuss vintage, contemporary and new audio products, music servers, music streamers, computer audio, digital-to-analog converters, turntables, phono stages, cartridges, reel-to-reel tape machines, speakers, headphones and tube and solid-state amplification. Founded in 2010 What’s Best Forum invites intelligent and courteous people of all interests and backgrounds to describe and discuss the best of everything. From beginners to life-long hobbyists to industry professionals, we enjoy learning about new things and meeting new people, and participating in spirited debates.

Quick Navigation

User Menu

Steve Williams
Site Founder | Site Owner | Administrator
Ron Resnick
Site Co-Owner | Administrator
Julian (The Fixer)
Website Build | Marketing Managersing