Loudspeakers

When one realises that The WATT’s 25mm doped-silk dome tweeter and 178mm ‘QuadraMag’ pulp midrange – and the Puppy’s 203mm stiffened-pulp, reflex-loaded woofers – are the same as those in the Sasha V, albeit in smaller enclosures, the question must be asked: is it simply a Sasha V ‘Mini-Me’? First, we need to examine Wilson Audio’s design evolution since the WATT/Puppy System 8 ceased production in 2011.

Among the developments that led from the System 8 to Sashas W/P, DAW and ultimately V, is the Convergent Synergy Carbon (CSC) tweeter, with its carbon-fibre rear-wave chamber, introduced in the Alexx V. Integrating the CSC tweeter with the midrange and woofers was key in transforming the Sasha DAW into today’s Sasha V.

In both the Sasha V and The Watt/Puppy, this CSC tweeter is married to the AlNiCo/QuadraMag midrange driver previously available only in the Chronosonic XVX, Alexx V and the Alexia V. Also in common, The WATT/Puppy is constructed with the latest versions of X-Material for the enclosures and bracing, S-Material for the midrange baffle, and V-Material for the top of the Puppy, serving as the ‘vibration-sink interface’ for the WATT.

It’s worth comparing the dimensions of the Sasha V with The WATT/Puppy so we can picture the difference in scale. Without spikes, the Sasha V occupies 1145x368x 608mm (hwd) while The WATT/Puppy pulls back to 1050x305x 474mm (hwd). Also, a Sasha V weighs 111kg while each WATT/Puppy tips the scales at a svelte 73kg.

Having established that the drivers in The WATT/Puppy are exactly the same as those in the Sasha V, the bass drivers, in particular, are working into a reduced cabinet volume and are reflex-loaded via a smaller, rear-firing port. This has necessitated an adjustment to the bass/mid crossover and to the tuning of the port.

Also, the first Wilson Audio product to use its custom-made copper capacitor, wound in-house by its ‘RelCap’ division, was the Sasha V. The WATT/Puppy uses a version of this copper cap in the tweeter section of the crossover that is even more refined – all because the capacitor’s development coincided with that of The WATT/Puppy.

By way of confirmation, CEO Daryl Wilson describes The WATT/Puppy as ‘a distilled and more compact version of a Sasha V’. So it’s official!