Revel versus Wilson versus Legacy

To Doug Schneider, 

I am big fan of SoundStage! and have been reading e-pages of your magazine on your website. I live in India and I am big-time into music, hence I require your input on the system I want to build purely for music listening (i.e., stereo only). Let me give you input on the kind of music I listen to: rock, pop, jazz, Bach and Beethoven, and lot of Bollywood, which involves a lot of vocals, including Hindustani and Carnatic music. 

Coming to the system, I have decided on Lamm M1.2 Reference monoblocks and a Lamm L2 Reference preamp. I am confused between speakers. My choices are: Legacy Audio Whisper XD, Wilson Audio WATT/Puppy 8, and Revel Ultima Salon2. I have read your reviews on the two other speakers, but not on Legacy Audio, so please help in deciding which speaker to pick. Your input will be very valuable to me.

Regards,
Anoop Singh

I like Lamm’s electronics a lot, so I believe you’re making a good, wise choice there. As for the speakers, I’ve only formally reviewed Revel’s Ultima Salon2, although I’ve heard the Wilson Audio WATT/Puppy 8 (and 7 and 6) plenty of times in various setups. The Salon2 is my current reference and, in my opinion, is far and away superior to any of the WATT/Puppy designs I’ve experienced. Legacy Audio is an interesting one. You’re right, I’ve never reviewed the Whisper XD, but I listened to the Whisper HD at length at the Rocky Mountain Audio Fest in 2009 and found it to be an interesting design that I'd like to explore more. Perhaps in the future we’ll review more Legacy speakers. Of the two I know well enough, I’d definitely choose Revel's Salon2. . . . Doug Schneider