watt puppy 7 / sophia?

Macrojack, I'm not going to hit this point too hard, but now that you are a Zu Audio dealer you really are obligated to mention your role in any threads in which you write about Zu Audio loudspeakers.

Tvad - I think you are probably right and I just did so.This is rather a different situation however. I am not a dealer per se but I do stand to receive a commission if anyone who listens to the speakers in my home buys a pair from the factory. I have no inventory other than my own pair of speakers and no investment to protect. I do not negotiate price and I live in a fairly remote location. All in all, I'm not likely to benefit directly from my comments.
But just as the matter of whether or not Zu uses a crossover evolved into a vast controversy, I fear that this one could as well. So I'll take your advice.

I have owned the wp7 and the sophias. I had the original sophias and not the sophias 2. I can tell you that no one can honestly say that the original sophias sound even nearly as good as the wp7. I would agree that the sophias are sweet speakers but please its like comparing a Porsche Boxer to a Porsche 911.

I currently have the wp7 and was debating moving up the food chain to the wilson maxx2. I heard the maxx2 in two different listening rooms. One time they were driven by expensive vtl siegfried tube amps and once by less expensive but real powerful krell 750 mcx ss monoblocks. It was apparent to me that the maxx2 were a better speaker but I was shocked that even with incredibly expensive vtl state of the art amplifier, I thought the difference was modest not substantial. Since it would have cost me roughly $20,000 to upgrade the speakers, I have pretty much decided to quash the idea.

The wp7 are a bargain at $15,000 used. I had posted an ad to sell my wp7 for $14,000 on audiogon last month in anticipation that I would be floored by the maxx2. I was surprised that the wp7 were not bought within a few days at that price. I am pretty happy though that they were not. I am not sure if its the economy or the wilson bashers out there that are cooling the demand for wilson but its a pretty sweet speaker.

Cheers

Mike

08-17-06: Macrojack
I am not a dealer per se but I do stand to receive a commission if anyone who listens to the speakers in my home buys a pair from the factory.

Gotcha. A Zu Audio Listening Post. So, while you're not a dealer, you do have a business relationship with Zu Audio, and that was the point of my post...disclosure of this relationship. I understand your love of the product, and I have absolutely no issue with you posting any thoughts about the Zu Audio loudspeakers as long as people know you have a business relationship with the company. The same applies to others who man Zu Audio Listening Posts.

At least that's how I see it. Others undoubtedly have differing viewpoints.

No big deal.

I find myself in a similar position as Karmapolice. I recently listened to the WP8s and Maxx2. I own the WP 7s and Watchdog II. The Maxx2 is a better speaker, but as with all things, one has to justify the cost. The WP8s are better sounding than the 7s, but not as different as they would like you to believe.

The fact is, there really aren't that many people spending over 10K for speakers. Karmapolice, I have found in the past that it is very difficult to sell WP speakers even when the price is lowered. I have always had to have my Wilson dealer handle the sale for me. It appears that when people are spending this much money, they are not willing to take a chance with a private party unless you give them away. Check out the prices on other expensive speakers being offered on Audiogon.

Steve