A new classic is born
So today was my turn to listen to Ian's M-Projects, driven by his Pass, Kronos Pro/XP-25/XVt1, and the Lampizator Big7 DAC. I also had the great pleasure of meeting Ian's wife and fellow member Al M. Ian is switching his cabling to Viero, and some of the interconnects had not arrived yet, so the system was not complete; one of those critical missing interconnects was the phono, the other was the pre-to-amps.
Visually, the M-Project are as I had expected - imposing, solid, extra-ordinarily impressive-looking and still manageable in size. The program was all-analog and one CD, and I intentionally brought with me torture material. Going in, I had no doubt I would just love this system; PeterA had forewarned me a couple of times, and coming out I understood why.
Let's cut to the chase, before the details. So here's why Peter thought I would love this system: I don't care for bloated bass or overall presentations, dark or lush systems, or anything with any amount of overhang, be it in the bass, midrange or elsewhere. I prefer a literal rendition where resolution and timbre are king, as is of course the case in a real concert hall, and that to me is a big part of "accurate" reproduction, with a flat tonal balance. I also care a lot for top-to-bottom coherence and continuity, as is the case with my panels, and the Magicos absolutely knocked that out of the park, and unlike my speakers, that included the bass region. The driver integration is unlike anything I have ever heard before with dynamic speakers, and I just could not get my ears to focus on any one of the M-Project's drivers. This is contrary to any of the Mark I Q-series, on which, for example, I can easily distinguish the tweeter from all other drivers (that doesn't mean those tweeters are offensive, rather they don't disappear; though I find the Q1's tweeter a little timbraly objectionable). Taking the Q7 as an example, cymbal crashes are easily located to one area of the speaker's baffle. But here, we have a speaker where the treble integrates into the soundstage and disappears as a driver, exactly like my panels.
Dark? Nope, not here; my system has extra-ordinary treble energy when the program calls for it (hair-raising, perhaps), and I was hoping to hear the same from Ian's. Sure enough, I heard all the treble energy I was looking for, rendered with ease and naturalness - again, matching my panels. Lush? Nope; very literal, in fact. I was actually stunned by the the tonal balance resemblance between my and Ian's speakers, in the operating range of my panel. In other words, dead flat.
A clear picture was beginning to emerge within the first 10 minutes or so: these Magicos are the mirror image of a well-executed electrostatic panel [e.g. my heavily modified crossover using the same Mundorf parts as the top Magicos], in its operating range. Seriously??? Yes, seriously. And then some... that additional dynamic headroom and body. But there were some issues emerging as well; microdynamics especially with strings were a little flattened with what I am used to. I don't think the speakers are to blame, and it could be anything else, from the cartridge to the phono cable, to the phono itself, or something else (again, my XP-25 is also modified, as posted before on WBF). This is an area that I think the system will evolve.
Overhang? I could not detect any, especially in the critical bass, but more on bass later on.
Timbre? Here things got a little interesting... as everyone else, I have my own biases, and with that caveat emptor out of the way, I find the Spectral Reference Standard amplifiers to be extra-ordinarily clean and pure, with breathtaking truth of timbre (as long as the sources can provide the same). For the most part, timbre was rendered exactly the same way I am used to - and I made plenty of comments to the others to that effect; in some cases I felt instruments sounded more real in Ian's system and others in mine (again, string microdynamics, as an example). But let's not get carried away... when it came to the bass region, the Magicos hit the nail in the head... except... [there is always a 'but', isn't there] more on this below.
Resolution? On par again with my panels, and that to me is an extra-ordinary achievement, for me
So let me now get into the details...
First up, Respighi's War Dance on Reference Recordings LP - excellent power, a little recessed midrange with what I am used to, but thin and dry timpani; the suspicion was that the speakers were not in their optimal position. Otherwise, great tone color and transparency, though I find my Spectrals overall a little more transparent and with more authority and drama, but I could be wrong.
Next up, my Carmina Burana on Telarc - an LP I have yet to find a system that can do it justice. Ian's current system got a lot of it right, but the bass drum was very dry and the chorus a little congested and grainy. By constrast, I have a more refined and fuller bass drum and smoother chorus, otherwise the presentations had so much in common... very interesting start, I thought.
Time for Saint-Saens' Symphony #3 on Telarc LP - oh my, those organ pedals; I mean OH MY... but... it apparently took a little delay (a second or two) for the bass to come to life. Interesting, we all thought. We are still not sure what to make of all this (the dry bass drums that is, when the organ pedals sounded just perfect, albeit delayed in arrival). This is another area I think the system will evolve. We suspect speaker placement issues, but time will tell. Let me make sure I get this right: pedal notes to die for, no sub was present and none is required. Not earth-shaking, in-your-face notes, just real pedal notes. Very impressive! Well, the overall control was equally impressive!
After a couple of "softies" (guitar, upright bass), it was time for piano. PeterA's favorite Appasionata LP (which we all now have) was placed on the platter... yeap, now that's a piano alright in all its glory, for the most part. The low registers were a little thin, and they are thin in my system too; perhaps the LP isn't as perfect as we think. No worries, the acid test was to come next, to bring the proceedings to an end.
Lastly, it was time to put the CD on, the Mahler 2nd with the BSO lead by Ozawa, a 1986 digital Philips recording that I have mentioned a couple of times here, and have used as a reference for 25 years. The drop in perceived resolution was immediate, but it didn't seem to bother anyone. The sheer scale, impact and drama were off the charts; extra-ordinary resolution down to the soft bass drum hits, which I can't render correctly in my system because I can't move as much air. All four of us were pinned to our seats staring at the stage like deer at headlights; the experience was just humbling, to say the least. OK let's be frank; at home, when I am really into it, I am very animated; I tried very hard not to show emotion in Ian's place, and only the fear of knocking others' wine glasses over did indeed hold me back. This was one impressive rendition of a symphonic piece, and to this day I still cannot believe how wonderful this recording is, and how representative of the BSO's sound (under Ozawa) and Symphony Hall's by extension, though Ozawa's interpretation isn't the best.
I need to wrap this up and go back to my Chateau Talbot, but I think these M-Projects are going to be a classic, too bad they only made a few, and even worse I don't have the money to buy a pair. That tweeter is just so natural, the driver integration so uniform, the balance so close what I perceive to be accurate, and I hope Ian can improve on the overall-excellent timbre plus that dry bass drum we heard. I think you ought to bring in the top Spectrals, CH Precision and Pass XS-300, if you care to stay with solid state.
Naturally, we all made comparative comments about other speakers we've heard and/or owned, and for now, I'll let you guess.
Ian, thanks for the chance to be part of this; Al, really great to meet you; and what a beautiful thing to have a spouse share in and enjoy all of this! Glad to see you on your way to sonic bliss!
So today was my turn to listen to Ian's M-Projects, driven by his Pass, Kronos Pro/XP-25/XVt1, and the Lampizator Big7 DAC. I also had the great pleasure of meeting Ian's wife and fellow member Al M. Ian is switching his cabling to Viero, and some of the interconnects had not arrived yet, so the system was not complete; one of those critical missing interconnects was the phono, the other was the pre-to-amps.
Visually, the M-Project are as I had expected - imposing, solid, extra-ordinarily impressive-looking and still manageable in size. The program was all-analog and one CD, and I intentionally brought with me torture material. Going in, I had no doubt I would just love this system; PeterA had forewarned me a couple of times, and coming out I understood why.
Let's cut to the chase, before the details. So here's why Peter thought I would love this system: I don't care for bloated bass or overall presentations, dark or lush systems, or anything with any amount of overhang, be it in the bass, midrange or elsewhere. I prefer a literal rendition where resolution and timbre are king, as is of course the case in a real concert hall, and that to me is a big part of "accurate" reproduction, with a flat tonal balance. I also care a lot for top-to-bottom coherence and continuity, as is the case with my panels, and the Magicos absolutely knocked that out of the park, and unlike my speakers, that included the bass region. The driver integration is unlike anything I have ever heard before with dynamic speakers, and I just could not get my ears to focus on any one of the M-Project's drivers. This is contrary to any of the Mark I Q-series, on which, for example, I can easily distinguish the tweeter from all other drivers (that doesn't mean those tweeters are offensive, rather they don't disappear; though I find the Q1's tweeter a little timbraly objectionable). Taking the Q7 as an example, cymbal crashes are easily located to one area of the speaker's baffle. But here, we have a speaker where the treble integrates into the soundstage and disappears as a driver, exactly like my panels.
Dark? Nope, not here; my system has extra-ordinary treble energy when the program calls for it (hair-raising, perhaps), and I was hoping to hear the same from Ian's. Sure enough, I heard all the treble energy I was looking for, rendered with ease and naturalness - again, matching my panels. Lush? Nope; very literal, in fact. I was actually stunned by the the tonal balance resemblance between my and Ian's speakers, in the operating range of my panel. In other words, dead flat.
A clear picture was beginning to emerge within the first 10 minutes or so: these Magicos are the mirror image of a well-executed electrostatic panel [e.g. my heavily modified crossover using the same Mundorf parts as the top Magicos], in its operating range. Seriously??? Yes, seriously. And then some... that additional dynamic headroom and body. But there were some issues emerging as well; microdynamics especially with strings were a little flattened with what I am used to. I don't think the speakers are to blame, and it could be anything else, from the cartridge to the phono cable, to the phono itself, or something else (again, my XP-25 is also modified, as posted before on WBF). This is an area that I think the system will evolve.
Overhang? I could not detect any, especially in the critical bass, but more on bass later on.
Timbre? Here things got a little interesting... as everyone else, I have my own biases, and with that caveat emptor out of the way, I find the Spectral Reference Standard amplifiers to be extra-ordinarily clean and pure, with breathtaking truth of timbre (as long as the sources can provide the same). For the most part, timbre was rendered exactly the same way I am used to - and I made plenty of comments to the others to that effect; in some cases I felt instruments sounded more real in Ian's system and others in mine (again, string microdynamics, as an example). But let's not get carried away... when it came to the bass region, the Magicos hit the nail in the head... except... [there is always a 'but', isn't there] more on this below.
Resolution? On par again with my panels, and that to me is an extra-ordinary achievement, for me
So let me now get into the details...
First up, Respighi's War Dance on Reference Recordings LP - excellent power, a little recessed midrange with what I am used to, but thin and dry timpani; the suspicion was that the speakers were not in their optimal position. Otherwise, great tone color and transparency, though I find my Spectrals overall a little more transparent and with more authority and drama, but I could be wrong.
Next up, my Carmina Burana on Telarc - an LP I have yet to find a system that can do it justice. Ian's current system got a lot of it right, but the bass drum was very dry and the chorus a little congested and grainy. By constrast, I have a more refined and fuller bass drum and smoother chorus, otherwise the presentations had so much in common... very interesting start, I thought.
Time for Saint-Saens' Symphony #3 on Telarc LP - oh my, those organ pedals; I mean OH MY... but... it apparently took a little delay (a second or two) for the bass to come to life. Interesting, we all thought. We are still not sure what to make of all this (the dry bass drums that is, when the organ pedals sounded just perfect, albeit delayed in arrival). This is another area I think the system will evolve. We suspect speaker placement issues, but time will tell. Let me make sure I get this right: pedal notes to die for, no sub was present and none is required. Not earth-shaking, in-your-face notes, just real pedal notes. Very impressive! Well, the overall control was equally impressive!
After a couple of "softies" (guitar, upright bass), it was time for piano. PeterA's favorite Appasionata LP (which we all now have) was placed on the platter... yeap, now that's a piano alright in all its glory, for the most part. The low registers were a little thin, and they are thin in my system too; perhaps the LP isn't as perfect as we think. No worries, the acid test was to come next, to bring the proceedings to an end.
Lastly, it was time to put the CD on, the Mahler 2nd with the BSO lead by Ozawa, a 1986 digital Philips recording that I have mentioned a couple of times here, and have used as a reference for 25 years. The drop in perceived resolution was immediate, but it didn't seem to bother anyone. The sheer scale, impact and drama were off the charts; extra-ordinary resolution down to the soft bass drum hits, which I can't render correctly in my system because I can't move as much air. All four of us were pinned to our seats staring at the stage like deer at headlights; the experience was just humbling, to say the least. OK let's be frank; at home, when I am really into it, I am very animated; I tried very hard not to show emotion in Ian's place, and only the fear of knocking others' wine glasses over did indeed hold me back. This was one impressive rendition of a symphonic piece, and to this day I still cannot believe how wonderful this recording is, and how representative of the BSO's sound (under Ozawa) and Symphony Hall's by extension, though Ozawa's interpretation isn't the best.
I need to wrap this up and go back to my Chateau Talbot, but I think these M-Projects are going to be a classic, too bad they only made a few, and even worse I don't have the money to buy a pair. That tweeter is just so natural, the driver integration so uniform, the balance so close what I perceive to be accurate, and I hope Ian can improve on the overall-excellent timbre plus that dry bass drum we heard. I think you ought to bring in the top Spectrals, CH Precision and Pass XS-300, if you care to stay with solid state.
Naturally, we all made comparative comments about other speakers we've heard and/or owned, and for now, I'll let you guess.
Ian, thanks for the chance to be part of this; Al, really great to meet you; and what a beautiful thing to have a spouse share in and enjoy all of this! Glad to see you on your way to sonic bliss!
