quiet hiss in backround?

I can understand your reluctance. It is a pain. The Salons are great. I also think you should have a quiet amp. That kind of thing drives me nuts!

As for limited retail outlets I've all but quit looking at stuff in stores anyway. You lose 50% from retail to used so just buy used smartly, try it for a while, and move it on. It's funny but I wish I'd had $100,000 (or more for that matter) in used audio gear in 2008. Then it wouldn't have lost 40% of it value.

BTW if you ever want a non biased opinion on something you're thinking of trying feel free to email. I've not heard as much as some, but I have heard a lot.

i agree re used stuff. most of mine was purchased on here but i did know the guys really well at one shop so we used to play around with stuff quite a bit.

so what would you do to maximize what i have (value) and get some better sound...don't include the hiss in your assessment! one thing i have considered is selling the watch center and surrounds as i think i could pull some $ to use for improvement and replace with something that would fill nicely for less. i know some updates, change would improve but i suppose i am a bit scared to start playing with it...

wish i would have used this forum years ago. it is amazing how good people like yourself are so quick to help. gives me hope for the human race!

Well for starters I think 2 channel is the place to focus your attention if you are looking for great music reproduction. I keep my 2 channel and home theater separate. For HT I have a nice system comprised of Denon and B&W for home theater. Probably totaling about the cost of just your center channel speaker.

The WP7's are terrific speakers. If you like the Wilson sound then there's no need to change that but I know you are tempted by Revel. The Salon 2's would be a stright across move for you cost wise. Since I know you like the Krell sound I think you'll like the Salons better than the WP7's. More refined and detailed, less balance and overall smoothness.

As for combination if you keep the WP7's, which is what I recommend, I definitely think you should consider other options. The Krell is not the first amp I'd suggest for WP7's. The nice thing is the WP7's work well with lots of components. I figure your Krell is worth $5000-$6000 or so used.

I personally think the WP7's would mate the best with tubes. Lamm is supposed to be an out of this world match, and I suspect BAT would be great too. There is an interesting snippet from the latest CES about a BAT VK55se amp and WP8's that Dave Wilson thought was as good as anything else he's heard http://blog.stereophile.com/ces2009/ . I also think Wilson uses Audio Research to voice their speakers so that's an obvious choice. Depending on the $ you spent you could get a Wilson sub or keep the Thiel to augment any drop off in bass response you suffer.

Figuring you prefer SS over tubes the WP7's just don't need that big burly amplifier you've got. In fact I suspect you're over-driving them. Pass would be my best suggestion. You could get a 250.5 for less $, 350.5 for the same, or a 600.5 monos for $9-$10k or so. As for Rowland I prefer the 300 series stuff. The 201 monos and 501 monos are good and rediculously small but can seem a bit dry. I'd look for a 312 or 302 but they'll both run $8000-$9500. They won't break your back though. Mine is like 65 lbs.

Also there is another member Dave_b: http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr_memb.pl?vevol&1169177163&memb&zzDave_b that is a frequent forum contributor. He has a Krell 400 amp and Sophias. He might be a good person to search out to ask about your background hiss.

I contacted a close friend who used to have the WP7's (I've only listened to WP8's in person). He said the Audio Research Ref 210 was head and shoulders the best combination he ever found for his WP7's. And he is someone who has literally tried everything.