One Amigo Visits South East Asia and Hears Some Amazing Systems

[Leif S]

Thank you Leif! That would be fantastic! I am now in an excited anticipation mode! I will still try the MasterBuilt signature power cords that Jack lent me but I will hold off making a decision until after trying the ultras.

The Signatures IMO are fantastic. But since I will have a bunch of Ultra cables with me from the Singapore show I thought we might as well give them a try I will have Ultra speaker cables as well.

 

[Steve Williams]

The Signatures IMO are fantastic. But since I will have a bunch of Ultra cables with me from the Singapore show I thought we might as well give them a try I will have Ultra speaker cables as well.

You are in for a real treat Sam

Leif already told me he has to pick up the loaner cables I have as they are destined for audio shows and distributors. It's tough to live without these Sam

 

[mullard88]

Yes Steve. I presume Leif will let me try exactly the same cables you tried. My wait is down to about 33 days. It would be enlightening to try them in my system even for a few hours.

 

[dafos]

I'm officially on break..Woohoo!!!!

So I believe Steve asked what the Stacked Metaphor 2s sounded like. Thanks Phil, my turn

I've been itching to write this since last Friday but I knew it would be moderately long and I had a ton of stuff to do. I have to start with the man.

I've known Sam for almost a decade now, albeit I've known his younger brother since I was a kid, not close but we went to the same elementary school and I was just a year senior. If one were to find a matching character for Sam in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, here Sam is thought of as "The Collector". Lover and user of the iconic, the rare and obscure. Who might have a Win cart, yup Sam might and does. Sam's accomplice is Super Mario, banker turned tech. IMO the best darned tech in the country. A shame he will only work on stuff for friends as he does this for fun and does not charge anything at all. Together they do some really fun stuff with out of warranty gear. Their first speaker mod was to take a Maggie 1.6 QR strip it and put them in a custom frame and base made from flow grain acrylic and built up a custom crossover outboard. I had 1.6QRs and boy did the added rigidity make a huge difference in the 1.6's dynamic capabilities. You know, fun projects like that. Sam as a person is quite unique. For one, he's one of the nicest, most pleasant people you could ever meet. Always even keeled, thoughtful, softspoken an if you can believe it, I nor anyone else has ever heard Sam so much as utter a four letter word. Sam knows what he likes and speaks his mind very directly but does so with civility I've seen matched only by the most experience diplomats I know. With Sam it's all play and no work when it comes to Audio. Hence the collection, experimantation, not chasing an absolute sound but rather enjoying the diversity of it.

A condo unit once part listening area and kiddie playroom, Sam reclaimed it when his kids grew out of the playroom phase. As such, Sam was without a listening room for a long stretch as it was being remodeled. That Steve explains the proliferation of Golf sets This is about my second visit to Sam's new music haven. His listening room is quite relaxing. The earth tones, the clouds clad with native weave, the perfect temperature all make one feel instantly at ease. The room is quiet and well balanced. Like other properly spec'd rooms you can whisper to each other from a distance and everything is clear as mountain air. He runs one of the largest local white goods firms so it is but natural that when it's time to take a break from all the travelling and detail oriented work, precious decompression time is what he wants. Helter skelter this place is not. His choice of listening chair singularly embodies this. A wide body Le Corbusier chosen for him by his significant other. This ain't no recliner. You're reclined with knees up like a Formula 1 car.

On deck for the day was an interesting mix. Sam hasn't recommissioned his analog yet so we were all digital. Sam used a 47 Labs Flatfish with Power Dumpty for his transport into a Berkley. That went to an FM Acoustics 268c (crazy good) and then into a pair of Stax monoblocks. These in turn driving the topic du jour, the stacked Metronome 2s. Power cables were Sensory Power and MITs, ICs were from FM Acoustics, SCs were M+B Signatures. When using his Spectral gear Sam uses MIT Oracles and MA-X. Sam also uses Daniel Hertz cables from time to time.

So here I am strapped into the chair, ready for launch. Sam asked what I would like to hear and I said, surprise me buddy Sam proceeds to play selection after selection jumping genres from original cast recordings, jazz, classical, classical crossover, and folk. He even threw in a pop track that really surprised me, I'll get back to that. Through the years I've pretty much keyed in on Sam's tastes but knowing I'd be writing this I sought confirmation. Sam said "I like high resolution but it has to sound natural". The only four letter word he'd use is "fake".

Just a few weeks prior I was with Steve and Phil listening to Sam's stacked Quads. Quads have long been synonymous with natural sounding resolution. Not a shock to have them in the system of somebody where that is a major requisite. So where do these 20 year old dynamic speakers come into the picture? I've heard the un-stacked Metaphors at Sam's place before and I did think they were very good albeit I felt they could be pushed to edginess easily. So what happens when you stack? Propeller beanie on!

Three things happen when you stack speakers. First is that you change dispersion as you go from a point source to a concentric array. Counterintuitively this does not affect image focus or specificity negatively for as long as the design is time aligned from the get go. Somehow lobing is dealt with and having two tweeters per side is not an issue either as seen in for example Dynaudio Masters et al. The second thing that happens is a jump in sensitivity. Stacking adds 3dB per side. Third since they are wired in parallel you halve your impedance so it helps to start of at 8 ohms or higher or have amps designed to deal with impedance swings. The second thing is I think is most telling here.

These speakers are now almost 8 feet tall, the equilateral triangle between listener and speakers is at my estimate 7ft max. We are at the border between near and midfield listening. This is not a forgiving listening distance as air's elasticity will not filter any harshness out even at the lowest listening levels. I think this added 3dB of sensitivity was the key in keeping the Metaphors from ever getting pushed into any edginess. All the while, I was simply enjoying myself as Sam played track after track. It was the surprise Pop song that made me realize what was key in the transformation. When Dont cha' came on my mouth dropped open. You got me Sam. It surprised me on so many levels primarily "Pussycat Dolls? Sam?!!!". I soon saw the logic however. The bass line is propulsive as hell and it turns out the song was very well recorded. Vocally there is male spoken word, harmonies and solos. There's a lot in there. Also noteworthy is that you can't help but see Nicole at the pinnacle of her hotness in your head. In any case, sailed through it with no strain at all. For the entire afternoon I was just awash with pristine sound but sound that was not in any way cold or sterile. To say the sound was quad-like in many respects would not be hyperbole. The best of cones do approach stats. In the end I am just so impressed with the entire endeavor. I'm really glad the experiment paid of and did so handsomely.

Sorry I ate half of the Strawberry shortcake Sam. I hope you'll still invite me over next time Hahahaha. Thanks for always being a great host!

I together with two other audio buddies were hosted by Sam yesterday afternoon. The first thing that strikes you is how close the listening position as Jack D had earlier reported. Source was an ARC cd 6 player, into the FM Acoustics preamp and to the circa 1980's Stax 80w mono bloc amps. Speaker cables and power cords feeding the amp were Masterbuilt.

First impression to knock me off my seat where the density of images, full bodied, living, breathing performers right in front of you. Katherine Jenkins, Josh Groban, Celtic Thunder, Pussycat Dolls and a host of other male and female vocalists all sounded so natural and live. The midrange response of this speaker was excellent, grain free and very pure in tone and despite cranking the volume to really loud levels, the system never lost its composure. Upper bass all the way down to what i would opine was below 30z was powerful and well defined. If there is any one world to describe the sound of this system, its one of scale and weight providing the foundation for the aforementioned romantic midrange. Classical music was handled with equal aplomb, strings were sweet and silky, with the bass providing the foundation for the music. One of the toughest tests that I always use is the album Cantata Domino, specifically the Oh Holy Night cut. I measured peaks of 103db when the choir hits a full crescendo and the system never flinched or lost its composure, which is something I cannot say about countless systems I've heard.

Any shortcomings? Sam's preferred near field listening position is truly the sweet spot. Back up and the soundstage collapses in between the speakers the farther back you go, though the clarity and overall tonal balance never changes. Neither is the system what I would characterize as hyper detailed and some may find it a bit rolled of on top. I would consider the overall tonal balance of the system on the warm side and somewhat forgiving, which may explain that despite the nearfield positioning for such a huge multiway speaker, in a narrow room, the sound never gets aggressive.

On the technical side, and Jack please correct me if I'm wrong, Sam has the two speakers, I believe, wired in series, with the masterbuilt directly driving the lower speaker which is then connected to the upper speaker via a Daniel Hertz cable. Is this a parallel or series connection? Given the 4 ohm impedance, if the speakers are wired in series doesn't this present the amplifier with an easier 8 ohm load?

Again Sam, thank you for a wonderful afternoon and congratulations in pursuing a hunch that stacking 2 pairs of metaphors create a sound thats more than the sum of the 4 physical speakers.

 

[JackD201]

Actually I'mnot sure Jerry. Since the posts arent grounded I'm assuming Series but I'm thinking in terms of DC. I must have skipped class that day LOL.

 

[dafos]

Just to add to my impressions, I did a google search of the metaphor 2. Well executed design, completely isolated crossover in its own chamber, drivers operating in their own isolated chambers, heavy bracing and for the big surprise, it uses a titanium coated inverted dome tweeter. Sounds like the much maligned focal tweeter for its tendency to brashness but in sams setup, if I were made to guess what tweeter it uses, at the bottom of my list would be a titanium tweeter.

 

[Steve Williams]

I would love to get everyone's thoughts on a second session at Sams house but to do an A/B test with and without the MB cables. I wonder if so much of the "density of image" is related to the MB cables as that is exactly my thoughts listening to my system with and without the MB cables. I agree with Jack about the virtues of this cable.

 

[dafos]

Mmm, Jack, any extra masterbuilt speaker cables just lying around that I can audition? Sam has a pending order for masterbuilt cables to link the stacked metaphors, so it seems we haven't heard it's full potential yet.

 

[Steve Williams]

Mmm, Jack, any extra masterbuilt speaker cables just lying around that I can audition? Sam has a pending order for masterbuilt cables to link the stacked metaphors, so it seems we haven't heard it's full potential yet.

I found that when Leif took back my loaner MB cables and re installed my old cables I lost all of that density of image that Jerry talked about. I am looking forward to finally getting the MB cables that I have on order. IMHO they are the real deal

 

[JackD201]

Mmm, Jack, any extra masterbuilt speaker cables just lying around that I can audition? Sam has a pending order for masterbuilt cables to link the stacked metaphors, so it seems we haven't heard it's full potential yet.

My HT amp is in for servicing so I have a bi-wire pair of sig SCs you can borrow. I'm in Osaka now however and will be back this weekend.

 

[Steve Williams]

You're a lucky man JackD and Jerry get ready to be startled

 

[JackD201]

I spoke to Leif yesterday Steve. OMG there is a way to get U11s down my stairs that I never thought about. Gasp. Good thing I don't have the scratch right now. LOL!

Oh, another antti Apple rant. Remember they killed iPhoto and replaced it with some lame'o Photos app? Turns out I now have to buy Aperture because the freebie is problematic with RAW. Aaargh!!!!

 

[Steve Williams]

There was never any doubt Jack that they would go down your stairs

 

[Leif S]

My HT amp is in for servicing so I have a bi-wire pair of sig SCs you can borrow. I'm in Osaka now however and will be back this weekend.

Please tell me your amps will be done before we get there

 

[Leif S]

There was never any doubt Jack that they would go down your stairs

I could always bring a chainsaw, some bondo, and some spray paint. They'll look great lol

 

[JackD201]

Please tell me your amps will be done before we get there

Nope. Hehehehe. Don't worry what will be here will still be great

 

[mullard88]

Hi Jerry,

Thank you for post #304. I hope the observations and/impressions from Phil, Jack and yourself have given Steve a good sonic picture of how the stacked Metaphors sounds like in my place.

On post #308, I expect the sound to improve further when the MasterBuilt signature speaker jumper cables are installed. I hope my expectations will come true. My feel though is that the best that the system may be capable of will be revealed when Leif will demo the system with the ultras.

Still on post #308, it will be my pleasure to invite you again to compare the system with and without the MasterBuilt SC and PC. The Aircon leak has been fixed. Hazel will have the curtains fixed next Tuesday. Once that is done, I will put things back into position and schedule a time with you.

As usual, it is always a pleasure to be in your company.

Sam

 

[mullard88]

Hi Steve,

On your post #307, I agree with you 100% the "density of image" is related to the MasterBuilt cables. It would be interesting to have our belief validated experimenting with and without MasterBuilts in the system. I will try to arrange with our friends.

Sam

 

[jadis]

Visited Sam this early afternoon to listen to his new Masterbuilt cables with our old friend Dafos and what a revealing session. The amps Sam is using now is a pair of Croft 70 watts monos, with powercords by MB as well, 2 pairs of MB Ultra speakers cables drove the stacked Metaphors in series.

We have enjoyed Sam's sound in the past when Steve was here, and enjoyment is the word here. When music played, music is enjoyed. And now there is more clarity, open-ness, incredible detail in sound stage spacing and info, tremendous bass definition. To make the long story short, all extremes I've heard about the MB cables were not exaggerations, they're the real deal. As Steve said somewhere, you've got to try it our yourself and hear them, and there will be the feeling of amazement re the performance of these cables. To sum it up, to hear is to believe.

Thanks again Sam for the kind invite. Your sound gets better and better.

 

[Steve Williams]

Congratulations Sam on the Ultra cable and PC's.

It is vindicating for me that other people are hearing the same things with the MB Ultra that I have been hearing. I can only imagine the level to which Sam's system has risen as well as the look of amazement on Jerry's face when he heard the Ultra in Sam's system

People need to compare the cable against whatever they have in their system but be prepared for that gut feeling when you know that you can't part with that cable and that you have to buy them.