FM Acoustics 2011 - how do they sound

[ack]

Steve, as you know, some products are just trophies. I suspect this is the case here...

 

[rockitman]

Steve, as you know, some products are just trophies. I suspect this is the case here...

add Solution and Constellation Audio to that list....

 

[Steve Williams]

add Solution and Constellation Audio to that list....

Soulution and Constellation as expensive as they are are 1/3 the cost of FMA

 

[rockitman]

Soulution and Constellation as expensive as they are are 1/3 the cost of FMA

I had no idea....Wow. Law of diminishing returns must really kick in with FMA then.

 

[djanggo]

+1

To save the dear forum members a trip to Google:
400,000 CHF is $432,000 US Dollars

Where will this stop?
When are we to see the first $1,000,000 amp?
Will we see the $50,000 speaker cable first?

Released last year, the Sltech Emperor Double Crown SC comfortably exceeds the 50k mark.. Close to $100k rrp for their 3m/pair if not mistaken.

 

[RogerD]

"While You Were Sleeping, Central Banks Flooded The World In Liquidity"

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/while-you-were-sleeping-central-banks-flooded-world-liquidity

and the madness......

 

[garylkoh]

Can someone explain to me the high cost of these amps or do they do it just because they can. I also wonder if their owners can pick out their amps in a blind test

They used to be expensive, but I thought worth the money considering the obsessive attention to detail. Since then, the prices have gone through the roof, and I don't know how they could justify CHF400,000 for a pair of amplifiers. But that's from someone who's justifying selling loudspeakers for $300,000 a pair (system).

 

[djanggo]

I don't know if the FM 122 is better than the latest AR Reference Phono 2 SE, but it was better than the original Reference Phono when I compared them about 8 or 9 years ago. I didn't like the Manley Steelhead when I heard it in a customer's system, so I didn't do a direct comparison. I used to bring it around, and I did directly compare to a number of phono stages, but didn't find anything better until the Burmester Ph100 (which was twice the price of the FM 122).

However, having sold it and bought the Ph100, I miss the ability to adjust RIAA curves for some of the older recordings I have. The RIAA curve adjustment also allows a bass cut for some records that are mastered for systems that have insufficient bass and are bass boosted. One of my customers just bought a Ref 2 SE, so I may just take a road trip to his place in Wyoming (when it stops snowing in the passes) and bring my Ph100 for a comparo.

I don't think that the FM 268 and the VRE-1 C are directly comparable. The 268 has a superlative built-in graphic equalizer (FM calls it a linearizer). If I was more of a tweaker, I might have got the 268, but using it to tweak your system is the wrong way to use it. It is intended to tweak recordings that are done less than linear (hence the FM122).

The VRE-1C is more directly comparable to the FM255 because they both have both balanced and single-ended inputs (more flexibility for someone like me). But, I think that the VRE-1C is better sounding and is better value for money.

FWIW. In lengthy group comparisons, while we consider moving from the 255mkII to 266mkII a definite and stepped improvement, we believe their 268 to be playing in a totally different plane altogether, simply the much superior pre-amp. Even with its linearizer function switched 'out' (the preferred setting for most of our panel members), easily outclassed, quite across the board, its own brethren the 266mkII. Difference was more stark than when for eg. we switched out 711mkII for a 1811 (on benign speaker load).

Agree however that the 'linearizer' function should be left to aid inferior recordings and NOT tweak systems nor correct rooms, although it will help.

 

[Peter]

Nobody's slamming you, it's just unbelievable that folks will pay that out of the insecurity that they won't have "the best".

Lee

That makes me laugh...in the end, it might be cheaper and more satisfying for the sufferer to just pay for the enlargement and get on with things.

But imagine having been told you've got the VERY BEST as you dropped 270K CHF on a pair of FMA 1811's to bi-amp your "world-beater" speakers, only to find they've been hatching the new VERY BEST right at the same time !! What a P.O.!! Hmmm, guess there are benefits to being poor after all

 

[andromedaaudio]

I am sure it could be improved by cooling with liquid helium to just above minus 273 celsius.
But there is at least science behind these cables because it makes them superconductors
This would then be signature series
What about cooling the transistor amps with liquid helium , no more aluminium or copper (momentumamps) heatsinks
I ve never heard FM acoustics , these prices dont go so well with the dutch :b

We have already seen this, in prototype form only though in the Genoa model prototype from the colaboration between Allan Shane and Sensory Power. The conductors were superconductors and they were cooled with liqued nitrogen. The cables came with a compressor to circulate the nitrogen and a liquid nitrogen tank.

If I remember correctly it was more than USD $100K