Master Built-What are Owners Hearing That They Didn't Hear With Other Cables

[Leif S]

Von Schweikerts VR-9 SE MkII with MasterBuilt speaker cables and MB Ultra power cord on the sub woofer plate amp

 

[Violetmachan]

hi leif

a link to the past ultras

http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=131803.0

 

[Violetmachan]

hi leif

a link to my past ultra program

http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=131803.0



It would nice to hear from other vsa active speaker users*vr 55, vr 9se, vr11se, vr101, ultra 11 and of course the vr111 who have been using the mb-vsa power cords especially the ones using ultra power cords

I must confess it was an "absolute shocker!!"....!

I have been on the ultra trail / along with albert as my guide and mentor.....only on music terms!, for about 4 years from its inception days ,*beta tests, prototypes, the actual units *, firstly with the interconnects followed by the speaker cables*and finally the powercords*with the new NCF plugs

I have also been a vsa transducer user for 13 plus years from the vr7se mark1*to the mark2.....finally giving up my *passionate conceptional*idea*of an all passive speaker system to change to an active speaker system ....vr 9se mark2
all this was done to optimise the interaction of my living space and the speakers with the hope of listening to almost pleasurable music eveytime with just a click of a button......I have enjoyed and still enjoying every bit of the ride

I have been using an all out ultra loom for the following connections
1.xlrs for my tenor preamps to tenor 350 M HP ,
2. emmlabs xdsv2 to tenor preamp
3. 4 single runs of ultra speaker cables per monoblock to speaker in a true biwire configuration 4.kubala sosna emotion power cords on all units even the plate amps on the subwoofer of the vr 9se mark 2 speakers......this was like near heaven in music terms in my living space

There was always the desire to take it to the limit of what the ultra loom , especial the addition of the ultra power cords could offer to the sound at home

We ie Albert and i many years ago ,(i presume when jimmys masterplan was hatched )....would have*long conversations of how we could attain the best possible results and for the best outcomes ,
it was deemed the following list would best value......note this most people would say just*power cords !! and what a waste!,....note these PCS are by no means cheap.

1 customised ultra power cords for the tenor 350m HP monoblock power amps
2 ultra power cords for the tenor preamps
3.ultra power cords for the source : emm labs xds v2

Note lastly we felt it would give us least returns if we used this*very expensive ultra power cords , connected to the CI 1000watt class D amp on the plate amps for the vr9se

Here the desire to bring the very long *ultra project to close and finally use the same make, grade and model of cables*.....an entire*Ultra masterbuilt loom*of*cables to roost....all in the name of synergy!

so when I finally collected*the multiples*of ultra power cords customised for all units from Albert ,*last year , I decided to introduce each set in reverse order of importance and benefit

The first pair was introduced*to the plate amps of the subwoofers in the vsa*vr9se mark2 .......this was done only because of the ease to connect....note there was no great plan in this move

1.I ran this format of ultra power cords to only the speakers for more than a week
2.Followed by*the second pair to the preamps and source cd player
3.finally introducing the last pair to the monoblock power amps

Note , This time around Albert promised the entire lot*super cooked ultra power cords from masterbuilt cables

By God!!... the first set connected to the Vr9se mark 2 speaker plate amps to subwoofers ....as I said is an "Absolute Shocker in both ways".....note the initial observations made were ..... at this time the power cords on all other units were kubala sosna emotions

One ,
*I don't know*what the ultra power cord is made of and what it does to a classD *CI 1000watt amps to power the subwoofer...but WOW !! that was delightful to hear, that's pure music for me .
Thats probably for Albert , leif, Damon and masterbuilt to explain....

Two,*
I have never heard the vr 9se mark 2 speakers*with all it's extraspecial trimming at home sound ever so , so good*!

I have heard quite a few vr9se mark 1 and vr 9se mark 2 setups mostly in customised and optimised*sound rooms in different parts of the world.........NONE AS GOOD AS I HEAR*AT HOME!.....I am sure jack and jimmys must an icing on the cake!!

If this was the true potential of the vr9se mark2's fully optimised with the ultra speaker cables and finally with the ultra power cords*

I am sure the ultra 9 and the ultra11 with internal and external*ultra wires and with power cords .......is goin be a very special transducer ......must try to*make that trip to Munich*

would be nice**to hear what jimmy, jack, Steve , Rodney , Robert , joe *and other are hearing and have you all gone the full hog with the ultra cables*

I must say its THE ENTIRE ULTRA LOOM especially the power cords is really worth a listen*

I do hope to finally compile a lively montage on my ultra "cable saga ......the final frontier !"

note : I am purely a private user with NO trade or industry association ......unfortunately addicted to music*.....observations are very subjective

happy listening*

Sam*

 

[Steve williams]

Hi Sam

I understand and share your enthusiasm and also have a full loom of MB Ultra including PC's. the beauty of these cables IMHO is how very neutral they are. Nothing screams out for attention regardless of how high the gain control. The other thing that is so startling for me is the noticeable increase in gain. The clarity is like nothing I've ever heard. As I have said before I am hearing songs and am hearing words as if for the first tine. It's as if a glare has been taken off and everything shines through

Just as you did I bought the PC's last. I am next going to audition the MB Ultra USB cable.

 

[Leif S]

Hi Sam,

I look forward to reading more about this

*I don't know*what the ultra power cord is made of and what it does to a classD *CI 1000watt amps to power the subwoofer...but WOW !! that's pure music for me ...Thats probably for Albert , leif, Damon and masterbuilt to explain....

I wish I knew lol. We have speculation of what we think is happening. Damon and I experienced this when we took the ULTRA 11's to Singapore. When we did the audio show there we just used the MasterBuilt Reference power cords on the plate amps and the system sounded fantastic. The thought never onced crossed my mind to put Ultra pc's on the plate amps. It wasn't until the ULTRA 11's went to their home after the show that we tried the Ultra power cords and Damon and I just sat there thinking WTF??? Well I was, I won't speak for Damon. I have never heard deep bass with so much musical information. I'm not even going to try and describe what I heard, but when you have a whole room full of people and they all yell WHooooooooooa at the same time because the speakers just threw the bass 14 feet below the floor we were standing on, something miraculous is happening.

One thing I have learned over the years is that all the I/C's, speaker cables, and even the power cords all interact with one another more than I have ever imagined.

In the case of the VR-9's,11's, ULTRA 9's,11's, and even Jimmy's ULTRA VR 111's......

The sub woofer plate amp inputs are linked to the inputs to the mid-bass drivers crossover, so I strongly believe that the Ultra pc has not only improved the performance of the sub woofer, but has also improved the performance of the mid bass drivers as well. And although I can't prove it, I seriously think it even affected the midrange and treble. Maybe it's just because the bass is so much better controlled it is allowing the mid/treble to shine even more. We all know if you can't get control of the bass, the mid and treble can't perfectly fall into place. I even believe that it may be possible that even if your bi-amping, that it just may be possible for the mid/treble to be affected by the Ultra pc's on the subwoofer plate amps since the main amps are connected to the preamp via the I/C's. The difference was just too far out there to just be improved performance of the sub woofer. Maybe you can explain in more detail of what you experience with the Ultra pc's on the plate amps.

I have heard quite a few vr9se mark 1 and vr 9se mark 2 setups mostly in customised and optimised*sound rooms in different parts of the world.........NONE AS GOOD AS I HEAR*AT HOME!.....I am sure jack and jimmys must an icing on the cake!!

I don't really want to talk about Jimmy's system lol. All I can say is Dam!!!! And it's about to go beyond Dam. And as for Jack, I can't wait to see the look on his face when we fire off the first tune on his new system. I'm actually more worried about the look on Jimmy's face when we do that Just kidding Jimmy, your's is the best lol.

I am sure the ultra 9 and the ultra11 with internal and external*ultra wires and with power cords .......is goin be a very special transducer ......must try to*make that trip to Munich*

I hope you are at Munich. It will be great to meet you in person and listen to some music together.

I look forward to hearing more about this Sam. Thanks for sharing.

Leif

 

[JackD201]

Leif, remember when we'd do live sound? Usually we fired up the highs and the mids first and tune them with the active XOs. 10 out of 10 times the settings changed when the subs came online. 10 out of 10 times the highs and mids were trimmed. I think the presence of the bass and the quality influence the perception of the whole spectrum. My theory is that our brains are continuously referencing the range against itself the way our eyes reference light and shadow to determine how bright the situation is. Robert has been talking me into doing MBs on my bass but the cost always had me backing down. I'm at this rebuilding phase now and my mindset is different, more an all in mindset. Let's see where this goes.

 

[Leif S]

Leif, remember when we'd do live sound? Usually we fired up the highs and the mids first and tune them with the active XOs. 10 out of 10 times the settings changed when the subs came online. 10 out of 10 times the highs and mids were trimmed. I think the presence of the bass and the quality influence the perception of the whole spectrum. My theory is that our brains are continuously referencing the range against itself the way our eyes reference light and shadow to determine how bright the situation is. Robert has been talking me into doing MBs on my bass but the cost always had me backing down. I'm at this rebuilding phase now and my mindset is different, more an all in mindset. Let's see where this goes.

Totally agree and relate to the live sound aspect, but in this case the networks are passive and no level control for the mid bass drivers and mids, but the difference in switching the pc's to me was on a level not expected at all. I'm friggin convinced that the Ultra pc's are removing something from the signal path that was getting through with the other cables lol. Going to wrap my mind around this further and I'm going to do some test before we go to Axpona and see what I can learn from this. Maybe it is just the improved performance in the sub that is allowing all the other drivers to shine more.

Robert? Kernel Bob? He was just telling me he had switched the pc's on his Shockwave XS12's to the Signatures and it was a pretty substantial difference. Everything has gone crazy lol. Seems as if the last 2 years has been constant little steps of improvements.

 

[Leif S]

Hey Jack.....

Do you know if Sam ever set his stacked Quads back up? I'm really curious to know what Sam's impressions are now vs. before the MB cables. I never got to hear Quads with Ultra before.

 

[JackD201]

Hi Leif

Yes Kernelbob. I haven't seen Sam for a while now since we've both been in and out of town a lot. I'm not sure what he's rotated lately.

 

[Gregadd]

I am not a cable guy. Nor do I own these cables. I did however think that Amirm gave these cables ( intentional or unintentional) the ultimate complent when he said they contributed nothing to the sound of a system. Is that not we want from each component in our system?
If we liken our system to a window we want to start with a clear piece of glass and scrub it as clean as possible. We understand there are those who believe obtaining "clear and clean" is easily obtainable. And those who continue to push the law of diminishing return.

 

[Leif S]

I am not a cable guy. Nor do I own these cables. I did however think that Amirm gave these cables ( intentional or unintentional) the ultimate complent when he said they contributed nothing to the sound of a system. Is that not we want from each component in our system?
If we liken our system to a window we want to start with a clear piece of glass and scrub it as clean as possible. We understand there are those who believe obtaining "clear and clean" is easily obtainable. And those who continue to push the law of diminishing return.

Amir said very nice things about our rooms at the shows. He will also be at Axpona and we will have time to sit and listen to some music.

 

[MadFloyd]

I am also going to Axpona and look forward to meeting you, Leif (as well as hearing the cables of course).

 

[Leif S]

I am also going to Axpona and look forward to meeting you, Leif (as well as hearing the cables of course).

That's awesome!!! It will be nice to meet you

 

[es347]

I am also going to Axpona and look forward to meeting you, Leif (as well as hearing the cables of course).

..cables for sure but you might even find the 11 Ultras somewhat interesting

 

[Leif S]

MasterBuilt's new Signature power cord with Schuko plug

 

[kernelbob]

I am not a cable guy. Nor do I own these cables. I did however think that Amirm gave these cables ( intentional or unintentional) the ultimate complent when he said they contributed nothing to the sound of a system. Is that not we want from each component in our system?
If we liken our system to a window we want to start with a clear piece of glass and scrub it as clean as possible. We understand there are those who believe obtaining "clear and clean" is easily obtainable. And those who continue to push the law of diminishing return.

The interesting thing to me is that the returns are not diminishing. My experience with Ultra ICs, SCs, and the internal wiring of my VR100's is that Ultra moves the asymptote of maximum realism to a higher level. It is a difference more "in kind" than "in degree".

So far, I haven't even heard the Ultra powercords. Yes, I could have auditioned a set, but so far, my experience with adding Ultra to my system is that "once heard, it can't be unheard". I'll be at Axpona 2017 and will have to come face to face with a system full of Ultra power cords, so my self imposed innocence is soon to pass.

 

[Steve williams]

Yes, I could have auditioned a set, but so far, my experience with adding Ultra to my system is that "once heard, it can't be unheard".

I feel your pain. I know exactly what you mean. Better come with your check book or credit card.

 

[mullard88]

I concur with Steve. It's a shame that you don't have an ultra PC yet since you were one of the lucky early ones to hear and experience the ultra. You've suffered and denied yourself enough. You know what you have been missing all these time. Don't wait till the show. The enjoyment goes on long after the wrenching guilt of spending for it has passed.

 

[Leif S]

I concur with Steve. It's a shame that you don't have an ultra PC yet since you were one of the lucky early ones to hear and experience the ultra. You've suffered and denied yourself enough. You know what you have been missing all these time. Don't wait till the show. The enjoyment goes on long after the wrenching guilt of spending for it has passed.

Hi Sam

Do you still have the Metaphors set up or did you put the stacked Quads back in?

 

[mullard88]

Hi Leif,

The Metaphors are still in the system. I intend to rotate the stacked Quads in one of these weekends when super mario's boys and I are all available. I would like to hear the stacked Quads with the Croft amplifiers.