It's not often I get a chance to have Dave Wilson himself conduct a demonstration of his latest creation. In this case, it's the Wilson Watt Puppy VIII. That's more incarnations than a Rocky movie, but after 14,000 pairs sold, the Watt Puppy is an icon that some love and some don't. I found the pair I heard many generations ago (I want to say 1998) too incisive and too insistent. The new VIII are much more inviting without losing a bit of the detail I remember as that speaker's forte. Dave himself seems to have mellowed. With top of the line Audio Research electronics, he kept the music down to realistic – not bombastic – levels. New are the tweeter, taken from their much larger Maxx speakers, new M3 cabinet material (a carefully prepared laminate product more than 10 times the cost of more typical MDF) and a 20 lb weight reduction (which of course translates to better gas mileage). A five song demo, starting with the a cappella group Ladysmith Black Mambazo and culminating in Art Garfunkle syrupy version of the song made famous by Johnny Mathis, "I've only got eyes for you," left me wishing we could practically review the speakers in a home theater environment. Better yet, seek them out and have a listen for yourself. They were simply wonderful.