Doctor's Orders-Part Two-The New Listening Room Of Steve Williams

[steve williams]

I don't have the RT60 curve except to say that it was 0.42

Most acousticians I had talked to would suggest minimum absorption / maximum diffusion approach for room this size, and yet, you did something opposite.

Her comments to me about this was "the trick is to 'fool' my speakers into thinking the room was twice as large

 

[rbbert]

Steve, are your speakers toed-in so the intersection of the speaker axes is behind, at or in front of the listener? The reason I ask is because with my new speakers, as with my last, the imaging seems dramatically larger (and more lifelike) with the intersection somewhat behind the listener. I'm sure it's somewhat speaker dependent

 

[steve williams]

Hi Robert
The toe in is based exactly on Wilson guidelines where at the listening position you should just be able to see the inner side wall of the speaker. Essentially each speaker is aimed at each ear

 

[rbbert]

Although from your description it sounds like the tweeter axis lines probably intersect 1-2 feet behind your head, as opposed to right at or in front of the listening position, pretty much in accord with what I've been finding.

 

[DavidinSF]

Yesterday, I flew down from SF and finally experienced Steve’s special room. He was the most gracious host and even gave me one k2 disc to boot. I have the Alexandrias X-2s and a Lamm amp so this audition was special in terms of familiarity and what my system can be (ML2.1 vs ML3)
My takeaways were the following:
The best noise floor of any demo/room I have been to. It could be the new Tryphon and Triton stuff but amazing addition to an all ready dynamic speaker.
The subwoofer blending was well done and it really brought the male vocals come alive. Steve played a Bozz Scaggs live version of Lowdown recorded at a radio station studio and his voice was amazing with the subwoofers on – no human voices at 20hz but it made the worlds difference in rounding the voice and adds the 3-D size that the voice is right in from of you. I think I am going to get the fathoms he has…
He played tapes on the Studer. Why we accepted Cds ever….beautiful sounding violins and vocals. One saxophone portion sounded so real and smooth…
The orchestral soundstage was the best I have heard. Expansive and the soloist is set apart. Ironically Steve and I don’t hear orchestral music too much but absolutely the best orchestral staging and balance. I think the curtain like acoustics on the wall makes the room feel bigger than it was and adds the expansive stage.
I love female vocal and on his system it sounded good. If I have to add a comment – I think the room for female voicing needs a little more echo on the higher frequency. The best female vocal replayed I heard in a wood floored studio so I think while for every other genre Steve’s room was perfect – I would have loved to hear more sparkle that a reflective wall can give you. Its that home theater room vs Audio room effect. But pls do realize this is not a complaint – its darn near perfect but I think if he lessened the absorption between his speakers – some female voice music may come across more lively.
Steve has these light fixtures that detracts the listener from the glowing amps – it was cool.
Steve told me to experiment rolling the 12ax tubes – I did when I got home with switching sovteks with the Mullards and he was right!
Over all – phenomenal room with great weight and soundstage. Just a fantastic host and room and sound. I was a luck guy yesterday.

 

[MadFloyd]

Yesterday, I flew down from SF and finally experienced Steve’s special room. He was the most gracious host and even gave me one k2 disc to boot. I have the Alexandrias X-2s and a Lamm amp so this audition was special in terms of familiarity and what my system can be (ML2.1 vs ML3)
My takeaways were the following:
The best noise floor of any demo/room I have been to. It could be the new Tryphon and Triton stuff but amazing addition to an all ready dynamic speaker.
The subwoofer blending was well done and it really brought the male vocals come alive. Steve played a Bozz Scaggs live version of Lowdown recorded at a radio station studio and his voice was amazing with the subwoofers on – no human voices at 20hz but it made the worlds difference in rounding the voice and adds the 3-D size that the voice is right in from of you. I think I am going to get the fathoms he has…
He played tapes on the Studer. Why we accepted Cds ever….beautiful sounding violins and vocals. One saxophone portion sounded so real and smooth…
The orchestral soundstage was the best I have heard. Expansive and the soloist is set apart. Ironically Steve and I don’t hear orchestral music too much but absolutely the best orchestral staging and balance. I think the curtain like acoustics on the wall makes the room feel bigger than it was and adds the expansive stage.
I love female vocal and on his system it sounded good. If I have to add a comment – I think the room for female voicing needs a little more echo on the higher frequency. The best female vocal replayed I heard in a wood floored studio so I think while for every other genre Steve’s room was perfect – I would have loved to hear more sparkle that a reflective wall can give you. Its that home theater room vs Audio room effect. But pls do realize this is not a complaint – its darn near perfect but I think if he lessened the absorption between his speakers – some female voice music may come across more lively.
Steve has these light fixtures that detracts the listener from the glowing amps – it was cool.
Steve told me to experiment rolling the 12ax tubes – I did when I got home with switching sovteks with the Mullards and he was right!
Over all – phenomenal room with great weight and soundstage. Just a fantastic host and room and sound. I was a luck guy yesterday.

Wow, sounds like it was a real treat!

 

[RBFC]

Sounds like an excellent time! Steve has continually gone out of his way to be a great host and ambassador for audio. Hopefully, I get my turn soon.

Lee

 

[Bruce B]

There are only 2 sites in CA that you must see, Disneyland and Steve's place!

 

[steve williams]

There are only 2 sites in CA that you must see, Disneyland and Steve's place!

I really appreciate that Bruce because my wife's favorite place on earth is Disneyland

Now to the interesting stuff. Bruce, I trust your ear and you had some great thoughts about my room and similarity and differences between the X2 and the Alexia as to bass. Now that I have close to 300 hour on my new Shunyata gear I can say that truly this has caused such an amazing change for the better to my system,so much so that I would love to have you listen again (or anyone for that matter who has heard should come back for a second listen. I hate to dabble in hyperbole but I can say that this has been truly like the grunge has been wiped from the window and I can see so clearly into the music that it is spooky real. When my door closes and with everything on there is dead silence. I will have more to say in the future after I've lived with it for a while and become accustomed to what I am hearing because to say anything now would be filled with all the usual. Suffice it to say, the change to my system has been so remarkable that I am living long hours in my room. I am loving what I hear. Sounds emerge from blackness. Everything is so well defined it is almost 3D. I truly feel that this is about as close to real as I have ever heard short of "real"

 

[amirm]

There are only two versions of truth here:

1. Steve pays off everyone to say good things about his room.

2. His room is really this fantastic.

I hate to say it but I am starting to think it is #2.

 

[doshiaudio]

Steve's room is a revelation and in the top echelon of listening spaces i have had the pleasure of visiting. One of the benefits of doing what i do is the opportunities to hear some truly state of the art systems.I think the lesson here is to try to maximise our listening spaces so that we can best appreciate the gear that is in the system.
besides - i have it on good authority that now that Steve has managed to have "sounds appear from blackness" he is working on a system where "food appears from a slot in the door"

I really appreciate that Bruce because my wife's favorite place on earth is Disneyland

Now to the interesting stuff. Bruce, I trust your ear and you had some great thoughts about my room and similarity and differences between the X2 and the Alexia as to bass. Now that I have close to 300 hour on my new Shunyata gear I can say that truly this has caused such an amazing change for the better to my system,so much so that I would love to have you listen again (or anyone for that matter who has heard should come back for a second listen. I hate to dabble in hyperbole but I can say that this has been truly like the grunge has been wiped from the window and I can see so clearly into the music that it is spooky real. When my door closes and with everything on there is dead silence. I will have more to say in the future after I've lived with it for a while and become accustomed to what I am hearing because to say anything now would be filled with all the usual. Suffice it to say, the change to my system has been so remarkable that I am living long hours in my room. I am loving what I hear. Sounds emerge from blackness. Everything is so well defined it is almost 3D. I truly feel that this is about as close to real as I have ever heard short of "real"

 

[steve williams]

too funny Nick......

I am enjoying my system all over again. Since the addition of the Triton/Typhon/Anacondaa PC and umbilical for front end and twin Typhons with Anaconda umbilicals for the AC duplex of each corresponding amplifier it is as if I am listening to a different system. And yes Nick the sound floor is virtually non existent with this new gear

 

[edorr]

too funny Nick......

I am enjoying my system all over again. Since the addition of the Triton/Typhon/Anacondaa PC and umbilical for front end and twin Typhons with Anaconda umbilicals for the AC duplex of each corresponding amplifier it is as if I am listening to a different system. And yes Nick the sound floor is virtually non existent with this new gear

My order is going in today (2 x typhon, 1 x triton, 3 x umbilical, 3 x alpha digital). You have set expectations so sky high, I have it won't disappoint.... I won't make the mistake again of judging before putting 200-300 hours on the new kit first.

 

[steve williams]

well I suppose as the cliche goes "YMMV" but for my ears and my system there has been such a startling change in the sound that unfortunately the only colloquialism I can think of is that the grunge is gone......totally gone. The most obvious is the clarity of the music and how well defined it is. It is as close to the real event as this gets without being there

What I found quite descriptive of what I am hearing is the way it is described on the Shunyata website, to wit, "the plasma of the music"......it brings music to life

As I said, once I have a few more weeks of listening with these units I will collect my thoughts and write about my experience. Suffice it to say, it is really that good and I couldn't imagine listening to music again without these products

 

[edorr]

well I suppose as the cliche goes "YMMV"

I had to Google that one.....

 

[rbbert]

too funny Nick......

I am enjoying my system all over again. Since the addition of the Triton/Typhon/Anacondaa PC and umbilical for front end and twin Typhons with Anaconda umbilicals for the AC duplex of each corresponding amplifier it is as if I am listening to a different system. And yes Nick the sound floor is virtually non existent with this new gear

I don't remember your posting about the specifics of this upgrade before! I don't quite understand the front end though; how do the Triton and Typhon work together, or do you have each in front of a different component?

 

[edorr]

I don't remember your posting about the specifics of this upgrade before! I don't quite understand the front end though; how do the Triton and Typhon work together, or do you have each in front of a different component?

You plug the Typhon into the Triton for addional filtering, and all your front end components go into the Triton. This is the recommended setup in a cost no object application for non-high current components.

 

[rbbert]

Where are the details of your system, Ed?

 

[edorr]

Where are the details of your system, Ed?

CAPS 3.0 server with battery power (I have only digital sources). MSB Signature Plus DAC IV with diamond powerbase, Arc Ref 5SE Preamp, Jungson JA-200 class A monoblocks and Evolution Acoustics MM3 speakers. PS Audio P5 regenerators (soon to be replaced with all the Shunyata stuff - if indeed it sounds better). All transparent reference signal cables, and Shunyata anaconda PCs.

People in the know tell me the Jungsons are comparable to Pass XA 160.5 performance level, but I have no way of knowing. After the Typhon / Triton experiment, my next (and hopefully final) major project is trying a different poweramp - I am on the lookout for a used Spectral 260 or set of 360s.

 

[rbbert]

How did happen to end up with your current amps?