..check out the new 9 Ultras from VSA

Violetmachan

Well-Known Member
Feb 25, 2012
87
25
923
hi leif

good to hear that vsa and you are shipping the big black ultra11 arcoss the pond....so is that albert, damon and you with vsa in munich for late may?

would love to make a quick visit to germany...time providing...probably tag along with cor

would be fun to listen to an allout vsa transducer with accuton drivers with both internal and external ultra wires!1
 

Violetmachan

Well-Known Member
Feb 25, 2012
87
25
923
hello jack, we`ve been friends for a very very long time, heard you are a music connoisseur and the master of fine tunning ...only in audio terms!....and most off all ...a very cool dude

I would be fun to meet in person and listen to your stunning room and system.....and if possible meet your bro jimmy and listen to his out off this world musical magic... especially after jimmy being knighted as the "king of ultras"

I did have the good fortune of meeting rodney a few times ( strange same trade and the use of same transducers) and also was priveleged to listen to his wonderful system in 2015 and taste his special brew...ie redwine

I have also been a very satisfied ultra user for a very longtime along with jimmy
 

Leif S

Industry Expert
Feb 13, 2015
770
166
180
California
www.vonschweikert.com
hi leif

good to hear that vsa and you are shipping the big black ultra11 arcoss the pond....so is that albert, damon and you with vsa in munich for late may?

would love to make a quick visit to germany...time providing...probably tag along with cor

would be fun to listen to an allout vsa transducer with accuton drivers with both internal and external ultra wires!1

Just Damon and I are going to Munich. Unfortunately we will not have MasterBuilt with us there:( We will at Axpona and the L.A. Audio Shows though.
 

Leif S

Industry Expert
Feb 13, 2015
770
166
180
California
www.vonschweikert.com
View attachment 31441


well, i finally managed to upload a pic of my vr9se mark 2 with all its trimming!!.....one mighty fine cow i must say!!, sings sweet music with just a push off a button:cool:

very rarely do i use the the midrage attenuator which stays fixed @ mark 4.....and very rarely at times its tuned to mark6 ( only if its a bright recording)

I presume the rear view and schematics for the ultra 9 will be more sleek in looks but will have all the magic of the vr9mark2 and more !!

Very nice picture:) Yes the ULTRA 9 Has a few more bells and whistles for sure lol. So I see you are running MasterBuilt Ultra power cords on the VR-9 plate amps, this I would love to hear what you have experienced in the performance of the system since you installed them.

Leif
 

Violetmachan

Well-Known Member
Feb 25, 2012
87
25
923
hi leif

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 , 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 with xlrs from tenor preamps to tenor 350 M HP , emmlabs xdsv2 to preamp*and 4 single runs of ultra speaker cables per monoblock to speaker in a true biwire configuration and 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 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"

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'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 only a purely*private user with NO trade or industry association ......unfortunately addicted to music*.....observations may be subjective

happy listening*

Sam*
 
Last edited:

Leif S

Industry Expert
Feb 13, 2015
770
166
180
California
www.vonschweikert.com
Somebody is going to want a pair of ULTRA 9's lol
 

SCAudiophile

Well-Known Member
Sep 11, 2010
1,156
435
1,205
Greer South Carolina (USA)
Somebody is going to want a pair of ULTRA 9's lol

Leif

All one needs do is find that winning lottery ticket enough for the 9s or 11s; believe me, I've got my numbers out there!

They are beyond beautiful looking and I dare say, I'd fly a long ways to hear them!
 

JackD201

WBF Founding Member
Apr 20, 2010
12,308
1,425
1,820
Manila, Philippines
hello jack, we`ve been friends for a very very long time, heard you are a music connoisseur and the master of fine tunning ...only in audio terms!....and most off all ...a very cool dude

I would be fun to meet in person and listen to your stunning room and system.....and if possible meet your bro jimmy and listen to his out off this world musical magic... especially after jimmy being knighted as the "king of ultras"

I did have the good fortune of meeting rodney a few times ( strange same trade and the use of same transducers) and also was priveleged to listen to his wonderful system in 2015 and taste his special brew...ie redwine

I have also been a very satisfied ultra user for a very longtime along with jimmy

Boy, a full getogether with the complete gang of us originals would be totally awesome Cor, Robert, Jim, Jack B, Gavin, Henry, Joe, Patrick, JHsu, you, Keith, Rodney....what a blast I bet we'd have! Crazies from 3 continents!
 

Violetmachan

Well-Known Member
Feb 25, 2012
87
25
923
Boy, a full getogether with the complete gang of us originals would be totally awesome Cor, Robert, Jim, Jack B, Gavin, Henry, Joe, Patrick, JHsu, you, Keith, Rodney....what a blast I bet we'd have! Crazies from 3 continents!

hi jack

that should be fun....weekend in Manila!:cool:
 

es347

VIP/Donor & WBF Founding Member
Apr 20, 2010
1,577
35
970
Midwest fly over state..

mullard88

Well-Known Member
Jun 5, 2010
948
62
1,588
Gavin,

Let me know when you are visiting Manila. If I'm not traveling, I'll invite you over to hear the masterbuilt signature ic I bought from you.
 

harleyguy

VIP/Donor
Mar 6, 2015
134
18
248
that's one blissful state to be in jack.....hearing is believing !
between Rodney and me ....we can fix anything you desire....beware of what you ask for
for your eyes only jack:mad:

....is that a invite for the cool blue !....may take you up on the offer:rolleyes:

They would look great paired with the TENORS
 

es347

VIP/Donor & WBF Founding Member
Apr 20, 2010
1,577
35
970
Midwest fly over state..
Gavin,

Let me know when you are visiting Manila. If I'm not traveling, I'll invite you over to hear the masterbuilt signature ic I bought from you.

..that would be great
 

JackD201

WBF Founding Member
Apr 20, 2010
12,308
1,425
1,820
Manila, Philippines
Come on Leif! You already posted the U9s playing the Royal Ballet on Facebook! Give us a glimpse here! :D
 

Leif S

Industry Expert
Feb 13, 2015
770
166
180
California
www.vonschweikert.com

Mobiusman

Well-Known Member
May 24, 2010
704
560
1,655
Jersey Shore- waterside
i am remiss for not having completed my two posts of recent trips to VSA in Riverside, CA to listen to the Ultra 9 setup in Leif's post above. I first heard the speakers along with Steve Williams when they had less than 24 hours of break in time. As expected it was hard to tell what they would sound like once broken in, but as is frequently the case, there were hints for 10-15 seconds at a time that clearly demonstrated aspects of their potential. I was definitely disappointed that the speakers were so raw, but this brought on an unexpected bonus--the speaker's ability to be adjusted to suit unusually environmental challenges, including as I rapidly learned, new Accuton drivers breaking in. While Leif was able to correct a remarkable amount of the speaker's nonlinearity while breaking in, the sound was a moving target forcing Leif to continually adjust the speaker, which he was able to do surprisingly well.

What I was able to do was get an accurate sense of their physical presence, which is more like art than a speaker. In VSA's front listening room, which is too small for the 9's, it is clear that the speakers can and do easily overload the room with regard to output, and in particular bass output, making it impossible to sense just how good the bass will be when the speakers are broken in and have room to breath.

At Axpona 2018, I heard the Ultra 11's for the first time with an incredible array of VAC Statement electronics bi-amping the 11's. Even though this setup was breaking in with new speakers, new MB Ultra interconnects and speaker wire and was anything but stable, over the next 10+ hours that I listened to digital and incredible vinyl thanks to Greg Weaver, I knew I was hearing something that I had been seeking for years, but could not properly describe and certainly had not heard previously. Leif tried his best to help me understand what I was hearing by explaining that the key factor was the incredibly low distortion from the multiple custom VSA Accuton ceramic drivers, VSA beryllium tweeters and VSA super ribbon tweeters, all connected with MasterBuilt Ultra wire, which further reduces distortion and all connected to each other via a very special and complex crossover that is not my right to elaborate about and constructed with absurdly expensive components and all connected with more MB Ultra speaker wire.

Of course I assumed that I truly knew what Leif was talking about by much lower "distortion", but I now realize that I did not and probably still do not fully understand the true impact of the tremendous distortion reduction. What I did know is that I wanted a pair of Ultra 9's which Leif assured me sounded the same as the 11's with a slightly smaller sound stage and would actually fit in my listening room. So I put a deposit down on the first pair of production Ultra 9's, which also meant I was committing to sell all of my MIT SHD IC's, my reference Spectral electronics, my Vivid G3 speakers, JL F113 subs and replace them with MB cables and speaker wire, and likely VAC electronics.

While this would be my single biggest cash outlay ever, including buying houses, I was so excited there was an overall positive mood shift that would not go away, until I became the innocent victim of a medical witch-hunt trying to make me a prime cause of NJ's drug problem, which of course is absurd. I mention this terrible scenario, which has now gone quiet for the time being because it showed me just how much I wanted these speakers. Everytime it sounded like shutting my psychiatry/addiction medicine practice might be imminent , forcing me into premature retirement, and thus altering my financial planning which included the necessary budget for this audio shift. It is probably not something I should not be proud of, but my reactions to each of these seemingly likely threats always factored in whether or not I would be able to move forward on the audio front.

Although with the incredible help of Damon and Leif, we decided that I should put my order for the Ultra 9's on hold and save my money and use it to retire prematurely. Ah, but that would be too rational for an audiophile who had historically repeatedly sold himself on the necessity of various audio purchases. While you would think the instability of these newly birthed speakers still in the neonatal nursery would have made me more resolute about having to cancel my order, each day I remained in practice, I became more convinced that these speakers would provide me with sufficient pleasure that a premature retirement would be offset by this massive audio gain.

I knew that I was selling myself on something foolish, because everyone I knew repeatedly told me so, including Damon and Leif, not to mention Steve and Marty. Then I talked to Lefi and learned that the Ultra 9 prototypes were going to be shipped at last to their owner and decided to make an unexpected trip to Riverside to hear the now somewhat broken-in speakers. What a difference a month can make when a speaker is being broken in 24/7. While I would not say that all was well with regard to break in and the room was still too small, I knew that it was my "duty" as a person to trying to take the high road during a time of great unfairness, that I had to move forward and put my final speaker order back into active mode.

Now my biggest decision is black or white? I am leaning towards white because I think that it might make the speaker appear less massive and more like works of sculpted art. I am open to color thoughts, but would prefer that mental status thoughts be put on hold.
 

Leif S

Industry Expert
Feb 13, 2015
770
166
180
California
www.vonschweikert.com
Damon and I really had a great time with both visits. I wanted to post a couple of pics from the visit with you and Steve. I'm also glad that when you and Steve visited my house to hear my system, Steve was able to hear it for the second time, but this time with the CMS footers in. Those footers are really something special. I have never heard a footer do what the CMS footers do. I'm sure I'm pretty biased lol, but I do believe the system at my house is pretty unique in it's performance vs. it's price point. And I'm glad you were able to hear the E-3mkII's as well next to the E-5's.
20180317_121830 - Copy.jpg
It's a lot of fun to show people that you don't always have to have super expensive gear to achieve this. I need to take another visit to Steve's since he has the upgraded footers in now and all the new 1.5's in.
20180623_122352.jpg
20180623_144819.jpg
I'm really glad we were able to really show just how adjustable the ULTRA speakers are even though you heard them for the first time completely raw. The ULTRA internal wire is brutal completely raw. But on your second visit is when I think we really were able to show the full capability of the adjust ability. Everybody has their own listening preferences and we all hear things different. We all have different rooms with sonic characteristics except where someone has the funds to really address this. We all don't have the same electronics. Even the shape of our ears are different which causes us to hear things differently.
73638820-different-human-ear-shapes-all-types-of-ears-.jpg
The shapes really do cause us all to not hear the same. The different shapes cause us to hear higher frequencies different from one another as well as other frequencies. We just had another visitor who's listening preferences were completely opposite of mine. We were able to change the speaker to his taste and he is also getting ULTRA 9's. This is why we designed speakers that can be tailored to just about anyone as well as just about any room. This all started over a decade ago when Albert introduced the dB99 and progressed over the years with the VR-11's and VR-9's. Damon and I continued with this on the ULTRA 9 and ULTRA 11. Then there is the removal of distortion which we all have been accustom too. I never realized it until I experienced the VR-111's which changed our whole design approach. It makes it difficult for me to listen to other speakers after hearing what the removal of all this distortion can reveal. This is what I'm looking for in a speaker but hey, we all hear things different lol. For me, once I've heard this, I can't go back.
 

es347

VIP/Donor & WBF Founding Member
Apr 20, 2010
1,577
35
970
Midwest fly over state..
i am remiss for not having completed my two posts of recent trips to VSA in Riverside, CA to listen to the Ultra 9 setup in Leif's post above. I first heard the speakers along with Steve Williams when they had less than 24 hours of break in time. As expected it was hard to tell what they would sound like once broken in, but as is frequently the case, there were hints for 10-15 seconds at a time that clearly demonstrated aspects of their potential. I was definitely disappointed that the speakers were so raw, but this brought on an unexpected bonus--the speaker's ability to be adjusted to suit unusually environmental challenges, including as I rapidly learned, new Accuton drivers breaking in. While Leif was able to correct a remarkable amount of the speaker's nonlinearity while breaking in, the sound was a moving target forcing Leif to continually adjust the speaker, which he was able to do surprisingly well.

What I was able to do was get an accurate sense of their physical presence, which is more like art than a speaker. In VSA's front listening room, which is too small for the 9's, it is clear that the speakers can and do easily overload the room with regard to output, and in particular bass output, making it impossible to sense just how good the bass will be when the speakers are broken in and have room to breath.

At Axpona 2018, I heard the Ultra 11's for the first time with an incredible array of VAC Statement electronics bi-amping the 11's. Even though this setup was breaking in with new speakers, new MB Ultra interconnects and speaker wire and was anything but stable, over the next 10+ hours that I listened to digital and incredible vinyl thanks to Greg Weaver, I knew I was hearing something that I had been seeking for years, but could not properly describe and certainly had not heard previously. Leif tried his best to help me understand what I was hearing by explaining that the key factor was the incredibly low distortion from the multiple custom VSA Accuton ceramic drivers, VSA beryllium tweeters and VSA super ribbon tweeters, all connected with MasterBuilt Ultra wire, which further reduces distortion and all connected to each other via a very special and complex crossover that is not my right to elaborate about and constructed with absurdly expensive components and all connected with more MB Ultra speaker wire.

Of course I assumed that I truly knew what Leif was talking about by much lower "distortion", but I now realize that I did not and probably still do not fully understand the true impact of the tremendous distortion reduction. What I did know is that I wanted a pair of Ultra 9's which Leif assured me sounded the same as the 11's with a slightly smaller sound stage and would actually fit in my listening room. So I put a deposit down on the first pair of production Ultra 9's, which also meant I was committing to sell all of my MIT SHD IC's, my reference Spectral electronics, my Vivid G3 speakers, JL F113 subs and replace them with MB cables and speaker wire, and likely VAC electronics.

While this would be my single biggest cash outlay ever, including buying houses, I was so excited there was an overall positive mood shift that would not go away, until I became the innocent victim of a medical witch-hunt trying to make me a prime cause of NJ's drug problem, which of course is absurd. I mention this terrible scenario, which has now gone quiet for the time being because it showed me just how much I wanted these speakers. Everytime it sounded like shutting my psychiatry/addiction medicine practice might be imminent , forcing me into premature retirement, and thus altering my financial planning which included the necessary budget for this audio shift. It is probably not something I should not be proud of, but my reactions to each of these seemingly likely threats always factored in whether or not I would be able to move forward on the audio front.

Although with the incredible help of Damon and Leif, we decided that I should put my order for the Ultra 9's on hold and save my money and use it to retire prematurely. Ah, but that would be too rational for an audiophile who had historically repeatedly sold himself on the necessity of various audio purchases. While you would think the instability of these newly birthed speakers still in the neonatal nursery would have made me more resolute about having to cancel my order, each day I remained in practice, I became more convinced that these speakers would provide me with sufficient pleasure that a premature retirement would be offset by this massive audio gain.

I knew that I was selling myself on something foolish, because everyone I knew repeatedly told me so, including Damon and Leif, not to mention Steve and Marty. Then I talked to Lefi and learned that the Ultra 9 prototypes were going to be shipped at last to their owner and decided to make an unexpected trip to Riverside to hear the now somewhat broken-in speakers. What a difference a month can make when a speaker is being broken in 24/7. While I would not say that all was well with regard to break in and the room was still too small, I knew that it was my "duty" as a person to trying to take the high road during a time of great unfairness, that I had to move forward and put my final speaker order back into active mode.

Now my biggest decision is black or white? I am leaning towards white because I think that it might make the speaker appear less massive and more like works of sculpted art. I am open to color thoughts, but would prefer that mental status thoughts be put on hold.

..you will not be disappointed...lucky man!
 

es347

VIP/Donor & WBF Founding Member
Apr 20, 2010
1,577
35
970
Midwest fly over state..
Damon and I really had a great time with both visits. I wanted to post a couple of pics from the visit with you and Steve. I'm also glad that when you and Steve visited my house to hear my system, Steve was able to hear it for the second time, but this time with the CMS footers in. Those footers are really something special. I have never heard a footer do what the CMS footers do. I'm sure I'm pretty biased lol, but I do believe the system at my house is pretty unique in it's performance vs. it's price point. And I'm glad you were able to hear the E-3mkII's as well next to the E-5's.
View attachment 43321
It's a lot of fun to show people that you don't always have to have super expensive gear to achieve this. I need to take another visit to Steve's since he has the upgraded footers in now and all the new 1.5's in.
View attachment 43318
View attachment 43319
I'm really glad we were able to really show just how adjustable the ULTRA speakers are even though you heard them for the first time completely raw. The ULTRA internal wire is brutal completely raw. But on your second visit is when I think we really were able to show the full capability of the adjust ability. Everybody has their own listening preferences and we all hear things different. We all have different rooms with sonic characteristics except where someone has the funds to really address this. We all don't have the same electronics. Even the shape of our ears are different which causes us to hear things differently.
View attachment 43320
The shapes really do cause us all to not hear the same. The different shapes cause us to hear higher frequencies different from one another as well as other frequencies. We just had another visitor who's listening preferences were completely opposite of mine. We were able to change the speaker to his taste and he is also getting ULTRA 9's. This is why we designed speakers that can be tailored to just about anyone as well as just about any room. This all started over a decade ago when Albert introduced the dB99 and progressed over the years with the VR-11's and VR-9's. Damon and I continued with this on the ULTRA 9 and ULTRA 11. Then there is the removal of distortion which we all have been accustom too. I never realized it until I experienced the VR-111's which changed our whole design approach. It makes it difficult for me to listen to other speakers after hearing what the removal of all this distortion can reveal. This is what I'm looking for in a speaker but hey, we all hear things different lol. For me, once I've heard this, I can't go back.

..hey Leif are you talking about the CMS Rize Footers? I’ve got them on my VR5s and the improvement was not subtle..
 

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