Doctor's Orders/The Listening Room And Home Theater Of Steve Williams

[JackD201]

Oh Phil. We've found not one but TWO technicians. Hehehehehehe.

Somebody has got an ATR with custom Aria electronics being built. Somebody else is eyeing a Studer in perfect working condition AND it is local.

I wish I had been able to visit Steve again last month but Stevie was vacationing. I hope I'll get the chance to hear his system and enjoy his and Ron's great company again soon.

Are you back home buddy? I'm leaving again tomorrow, this time to HI for some house renovation work over there.

 

[jadis]

Well if you ever get to NY, I will play you some tapes that redefine dimensionality There's just more of everything on the tape.

Thanks for the invite, Myles. That may be possible in the near future as my wife's 2 sisters live there. As for the R2R sound, "I Believe", as Macy's slogan would say.

 

[jadis]

Oh Phil. We've found not one but TWO technicians. Hehehehehehe.

Somebody has got an ATR with custom Aria electronics being built. Somebody else is eyeing a Studer in perfect working condition AND it is local.

I wish I had been able to visit Steve again last month but Stevie was vacationing. I hope I'll get the chance to hear his system and enjoy his and Ron's great company again soon.

Are you back home buddy? I'm leaving again tomorrow, this time to HI for some house renovation work over there.

I'm back home, buddy. Arrived yesterday noon and getting the brunt of jet lag, which always happens on the return trip home and not on the departure part. Guess the adventure perks me up. Good to know there are 2 tech people here, so that you and Jim can get the ball rolling on the Tape Project. Hope to see you soon when you get back. Read good things happened on your room demo at our local hifi show. Good work.

 

[Mike]

and I thought that my Sophia II's were big! Very impressive. I bet the system sounds wonderful.

 

[JackD201]

It does!

 

[Mike]

Jack,

A while back, I heard the Maxx 1 speakers in Chicago. They were the most impressive speakers that I'd heard. There seems to be quite a bit of similarity, at least visually, with that of the Alexandrias. I can only imagine how they sound. I'm really happy with Sophia IIs

Mike

 

[steve williams]

Jack,

A while back, I heard the Maxx 1 speakers in Chicago. They were the most impressive speakers that I'd heard. There seems to be quite a bit of similarity, at least visually, with that of the Alexandrias. I can only imagine how they sound. I'm really happy with Sophia IIs

Mike

Thanks Mike and Jack

I owned Maxx l's and let me tell you they aren't even in the same league as the Alexandria.

 

[Mike]

Hi Steve,

I have no doubt that you are correct; it's just my limited experience. Heck, I'm content with my Sophia IIs. I just have to get a replacemeent CD player soon...

Mike

 

[steve williams]

Of all the Wilson speakers I owned Mike and there have been many (5.1,6,MAXX L,X-1 series lll,x-2 l and now X-2 series 2) the Maxx l was the least performer

 

[Mike]

Of all the Wilson speakers I owned Mike and there have been many (5.1,6,MAXX L,X-1 series lll,x-2 l and now X-2 series 2) the Maxx l was the least performer

Steve,

I do, indeed, need to learn a lot. It will be a fun adventure.

Mike

 

[andromedaaudio]

I have no doubt you have a top notch and exiting system .
I have a question though , as i am gonna build another loudspeakermodel, "possibly" a real big model
You have gone through the whole wilson series , what would you say are the main advantages the big models have over the smaller versions .
I have heard almost all the wilsons myself incl alexandria ,i cant remember which version .
the ones i can name are :
sheer impact exitement /more membrane surface
bass extension
bigger soundstage

This is roughly what springs to my mind .
I dont necessarily mean the better driver integration or refinement(different mid? ) which has
occured over the years

 

[Wasatch]

WOW WOW! Again another awesome looking HT setup.

 

[dafos]

Thanks for hosting me, Steve. As you mentioned, I may be the last visitor to listen to your SOA system in that SOA room before everything gets moved to your new home. A truly wonderful system, easily one of the the best, most naturally dynamic system I've had the privilege of hearing with midrange and 3d imaging to die for! Congratulations Steve and I'm sure with your attention to detail you should have no problem replicating the sound you've been enjoying at your new place but you do have your work cut out for you. But heck, that's part of the fun.....

 

[steve williams]

Jerry

Thanks for the kind comments. Although your visit was a brief one it was a fun time to be had. I now have met 4 of you illustrious Philippino audiophiles (Jack, Jim, Phil and now you)

 

[jadis]

After Jerry (dafos) posted his visit to Steve here, it occurred to me that I had some pictures taken in my visit to Steve late last year which I had not posted. It was a great experience to visit Steve after traveling 5,000 miles to the Bay Area and I posted my visit in our local forum.

A year or so ago, I struck an online friendship in another audio forum with its founder Steve Williams. Aside from the audio threads, we hang out in another off-topic thread that focused on the NBA. After countless exchanges on the season that concluded with Dallas winning the title, Steve invited me to watch a live NBA game in the Golden State Warriors arena at the Bay Area. Unfortunately, the lockout (which just ended a few days ago) deprived my schedule of watching any NBA games in November, when I visited the SF Bay Area. That was the second agenda actually, as the first was to visit his home in Danville, CA and listen to his amazing system composed of these:

Wilson Audio X-2 Alexandria Series ll
Lamm Industries ML 3 Signature
Lamm Industries LL1 Signature Dual Mono Line Level
JL Audio Gotham/g213 (pair)
Playback Designs System MS5 CD Player
Studer Reel To Reel A-810
Nordost Valhalla speaker cable, interconnects and power cords


My excitement in visiting Steve was due to the fact that I would be hearing what I have been reading about R2R players as a superior playback source in an audio system. Today. Circa 2011. Yes. If the younger folks were wondering why people still play the old fashioned vinyl, these same people might be thinking that those who have R2R today have completely flipped out. I was one of those skeptics, and I was wondering about the degradation of the tapes, the wear and tear, the tedious insertion of the tape to the blank reel, and the lack of original source material (master tapes) to play them on. On the other hand, I have read from rave reviews from other forums on the superiority of the R2R compared even to vinyl.

Steve played for me an album from the Tape Project. I forgot the title and I was not familiar with the artist. He felt this would demonstrate the the sonic capabilities of the R2R tape. There was a guy singing and playing the guitar, with bass and a few other instruments. It was 'blues' music. At the first few seconds of the guitar playing, I knew I was hearing something out of this world and outside my audio experiences from the past. It was on another level. The instruments and players have redefined 'definition' in the audio glossary, I told myself. There was no noise, no hiss (my silly mind was even expecting to hear this), no compression, no veiling, in fact, all the reverse of these were present - on the contrary. The rhythm is like no other source that I have ever heard before, and the images made the 3D sound of vinyl very ordinary, and the tape became 'extraordinary'. The tonality, decay, top-to-bottom balance and dynamics were of of the best I've heard too, and actually I struggle to think of something that could better it. He played another classical piece and by then I was convinced of the consistency and superiority of the medium. The Tape Project says their tapes were made from the 'original masters'. Same thing as MoFi vinyl releases would claim. I didn't have the chance to hear an A/B comparison of the tape against its analog counterpart so I am not basing my comments on this kind of comparison but on what my memory tells me about the sonic traits of the vinyl vs. the R2R tapes. Its a great format though there are still a few sticking points that will keep it from landing into the audio hobbyist lair - sourcing the deck and finding proper servicing would be one, and the next, would be the eye popping price of each tape - a few hundred dollars a piece.

Steve's CD player sounds very good. I was not familiar with the brand but it played good music. He played a variety of genres, from Cat Steven's Tea for the Tillerman on QRP to a Winston Ma remastering of The Eagles 'Hell Freezes Over' on XRCD to another Ma' work of Cantate Domino. The differences in recordings were evident from disc to disc, proving the system is one without its own colorations. The sound was surprisingly dynamic coming out from a pair of tube amps with 32 watts, but these are the statement product of Vladimir Lamm and boy did they sound great. They matched the Wilson Alexandria 2 quite well and there were moments that Steve turned off the JL subs just to show me what these amps are capable of doing. Impressive indeed. But in the end, the subs are needed to provide the extra extension down there and he played me a CD track that literally shook the wooden floor of his room and actually vibrated my chair like those massage chairs being sold in the malls here locally. :lol: After that, I have no doubt in my mind that those subs could flap the bottom of my pants when called to perform such 'entertaining tasks'. He also has a tremendous array of Home Theatre gears set up in the same room, with Wilson Center and Rear channels to boot. But alas, I run out of time as I had to head back to my base in downtown SF before the night struck.

Thanks again, Steve, for the memorable experience, and for showing me around Danville.

 

[MylesBAstor]

Dan [Schmalle] should post your experience with R2R over at the Tape Project.

 

[jadis]

And later on, Steve would tell me the title of the Tape Project album he played for me is Dave Alvin's 'Blackjack Dave', after which I would buy an LP of it pressed by MoFi.

 

[JackD201]

Oh boy Phil. It just occurred to me that after our visit to Stevie, I had written something about as long. I remember standing up to attend to something then I came back to continue. After I hit post, I was greeted by an alert that said "token expired". I was never able to retrieve everything I wrote. In frustration I just said I'd get around to doing it again but looking through the pages, I guess I didn't. Bummer. Anyway, you pretty much summed up my experience at Steve's. Jim and I had a blast and I still have ML3 and tape envy.

 

[jadis]

Anyway, you pretty much summed up my experience at Steve's. Jim and I had a blast and I still have ML3 and tape envy.

Glad to hear we both are on the same wavelength there, Jack. It's hard not to feel the 'envy'.

 

[Andre Marc]

Steve, this is sublime. Simply stunning. Beyond belief..your dedication is.

My Uncle and all my cousins live in Danville.

Wilson Audio X-2 Alexandria Series ll,
Lamm Industries ML 3 Signature,
Lamm Industries LL1 Signature Dual Mono Line Level,
JL Audio Gotham/g213 (pair),
Playback Designs System MS5,
Studer Reel To Reel A-810,
Krell Theater Amplifier Standard,
Wilson Audio WATCH Center Channel,
Wilson Audio WATCH Surround (left, right and rear),
Nordost Valhalla speaker cable, interconnects and power cords,
Sim2 Triple Chip DLP Projector C3X 1080, Isco 2.35 Anamorphic Lens Model lll,
Cineslide, Stewart Filmscreen Firehawk G3 CineV 130,
Sony BDP-S2000ES,
Lexicon MC12B-HD v 1.2,
Tara Labs RSC Gen 2,
Tara Labs RSC Air One,
Tara Labs The One Power cords,
Absolute Power Line Purifier,
Aurios Pro MIb,
Acoustic Sciences Corporation Tube Traps and sound planks,
Billy Bags AV Pro,
Billy Bags CD/DVD Stand,
Zoethecus component stands Z.2/R (2 in all),
Zoethecus amp stands (3 in all) Z.block/1d,
Musical Fidelity Tube Output Buffer X-10v3,
Musical Fidelity Tube Output Buffer Power Supply,
Transparent Reference (RSE) Interconnect

My prior setup before all Lamm gear