One Amigo Visits South East Asia and Hears Some Amazing Systems
- Thread starter Steve Williams
- Start date
so Jerry after having a Reference in your system and exclaiming that you couldn't imagine Ultra to be even better, what sayest you now?
Hi All,
I know I’m tardy with this post, my only excuse is the backlog of work after nearly three weeks out of the office, a make-up wedding anniversary to celebrate and the holidays which backed up even more work I just wanted to take this moment to share my experiences with my visit to Sam’s soundroom when MasterBuilt cables were introduced into his main system.
By the way, I have no interest in posting my thoughts on the performance of the MB cables in Sam’s system as it would be perceived as self-serving and that’s not my intent.
For those that don’t know, Leif and I traveled to Singapore to launch our newest flagship speaker, the ULTRA 11s. So we took advantage of our close proximity to visit our friends in the Philippines before returning home. It was a trip I’ll never forget, filled with amazing audio systems, fantastic food and the most gracious and inviting audiophiles you could hope to meet. Every day was a new adventure that by themselves would be high-points for someone who enjoys this hobby of music. But one of the major highlight of this trip for me was to reconnect with Sam and to experience his system for the first time ever.
And wow, this was a truly unique experience. Not only was Sam an extremely inviting host, he shared with us what is clearly years (I think decades) of his passion for high-end audio made obvious with a most impressive catalog of audio gear. What struck me then was how unique a perspective he must have about gear and system performance to most audiophiles. If we’re lucky, we can travel to a show to hear equipment in systems we don’t know displayed in rooms that are far from ideal. Some of us get to go to shows for a living so our experiences are broader. And reviewers get to audition an ongoing cycle of gear for extended but limited periods of time. Many of us upgrade components but often the previous gear is sold in the process.
But imagine if you had never sold those items you enjoyed so much. What I found is a catalog of resident gear clearly bought with careful consideration of performance that could be readily mixed and matched. For someone who enjoys system integration, this is an amazing playground! It must also give a very unique perspective on these components as well that is beyond most audiophiles. I may be going on a bit but that is what truly struck me.
Now as for his main system, there were a few components I was hearing for the first time; expressly FM Acoustics Reference Series pre-amplifier and Hegel CD player. I found this system extremely musical. What really took me away was the unique listening position. Sam has this great reclining chair placed what I would consider close to near-field position. I got to know one of Sam’s recordings (The E. S. S. Sessions Blue Coast Collection) and as I reclined and closed my eyes, I found myself floating IN the soundstage. This was absolutely surround sound where I was sitting just a tad back from center position. Very cool!
Everything I’ve already mentioned would have made for a memorable visit but Sam had a kind treat for us. In his second system, he had a pair of our VR-1 bookshelf speakers which have been out of production for 12 years now. To say the gear was many times more expensive than the $950 retail of the VR-1 back in 2005 is an understatement. And what killed me was their ability to keep up. Another notable characteristic of this system is the imaging. Those familiar with our designs have come to expect the wide sweet spot our speakers create. It’s something we strive for in our designs and it allows more people to enjoy accurate imaging even when not sitting directly between the speakers. But this system was casting an accurate soundstage from 180 degrees off-axis of the front of the speakers. It was spooky! What a great “second” system to have. I was very moved to hear the VR-1s on that system, it gave me an even deeper appreciation for my father’s life’s work. Thank you for that Sam.
Here are some photos of our visit, enjoy!
I know I’m tardy with this post, my only excuse is the backlog of work after nearly three weeks out of the office, a make-up wedding anniversary to celebrate and the holidays which backed up even more work
I just wanted to take this moment to share my experiences with my visit to Sam’s soundroom when MasterBuilt cables were introduced into his main system.By the way, I have no interest in posting my thoughts on the performance of the MB cables in Sam’s system as it would be perceived as self-serving and that’s not my intent.
For those that don’t know, Leif and I traveled to Singapore to launch our newest flagship speaker, the ULTRA 11s. So we took advantage of our close proximity to visit our friends in the Philippines before returning home. It was a trip I’ll never forget, filled with amazing audio systems, fantastic food and the most gracious and inviting audiophiles you could hope to meet. Every day was a new adventure that by themselves would be high-points for someone who enjoys this hobby of music. But one of the major highlight of this trip for me was to reconnect with Sam and to experience his system for the first time ever.
And wow, this was a truly unique experience. Not only was Sam an extremely inviting host, he shared with us what is clearly years (I think decades) of his passion for high-end audio made obvious with a most impressive catalog of audio gear. What struck me then was how unique a perspective he must have about gear and system performance to most audiophiles. If we’re lucky, we can travel to a show to hear equipment in systems we don’t know displayed in rooms that are far from ideal. Some of us get to go to shows for a living so our experiences are broader. And reviewers get to audition an ongoing cycle of gear for extended but limited periods of time. Many of us upgrade components but often the previous gear is sold in the process.
But imagine if you had never sold those items you enjoyed so much. What I found is a catalog of resident gear clearly bought with careful consideration of performance that could be readily mixed and matched. For someone who enjoys system integration, this is an amazing playground! It must also give a very unique perspective on these components as well that is beyond most audiophiles. I may be going on a bit but that is what truly struck me.
Now as for his main system, there were a few components I was hearing for the first time; expressly FM Acoustics Reference Series pre-amplifier and Hegel CD player. I found this system extremely musical. What really took me away was the unique listening position. Sam has this great reclining chair placed what I would consider close to near-field position. I got to know one of Sam’s recordings (The E. S. S. Sessions Blue Coast Collection) and as I reclined and closed my eyes, I found myself floating IN the soundstage. This was absolutely surround sound where I was sitting just a tad back from center position. Very cool!
Everything I’ve already mentioned would have made for a memorable visit but Sam had a kind treat for us. In his second system, he had a pair of our VR-1 bookshelf speakers which have been out of production for 12 years now. To say the gear was many times more expensive than the $950 retail of the VR-1 back in 2005 is an understatement. And what killed me was their ability to keep up. Another notable characteristic of this system is the imaging. Those familiar with our designs have come to expect the wide sweet spot our speakers create. It’s something we strive for in our designs and it allows more people to enjoy accurate imaging even when not sitting directly between the speakers. But this system was casting an accurate soundstage from 180 degrees off-axis of the front of the speakers. It was spooky! What a great “second” system to have. I was very moved to hear the VR-1s on that system, it gave me an even deeper appreciation for my father’s life’s work. Thank you for that Sam.
Here are some photos of our visit, enjoy!
Oh man...........
That cake was so good. And the juice that I can't seem to remember the name of lol. I really had a great time at Sam's. The audio gear storage room was awesome. So...when do we go back
That cake was so good. And the juice that I can't seem to remember the name of lol. I really had a great time at Sam's. The audio gear storage room was awesome. So...when do we go back
Thank you Philipi, Steve, Jerry, Damon and Leif for your kind words.
Philip, the Croft amps were delivered last month and I am breaking them in in anticipation of reinstalling the stacked Quad 57s.
Steve, you and kernelbob, violetmachan, gammajo and mountainjoe are all vindicated. Even though I do not have a full loom of ultra cables I am very content with my combination of MB ultra and FMA cables.
Jerry, good luck on tweaking your system. I hope your visit had shed some light on your thoughts about how the ultra is better than the signature. You don't need a full loom to enjoy what the ultra contributes to the sound. Perhaps you can start wherever it is least expensive to introduce an ultra into your system.
Damon, I thought of inserting the VR-1 so that there would be a familiar piece for you in my bedroom system. I first realized the imaging you experienced when I inserted an ultra ic between the Berkeley dac and the Spectral amp. It seems that this imaging can also be created by a signature sc. The cable combination you heard was MIT ic between Berkeley dac and Spectral amp, then MB sc from Spectral amp to VR-1 bookshelf speaker. Before your arrival, Steve expressed skepticism that MB and MIT would be synergistic. He also hinted that Leif shared his skepticism. So I told Steve that I will combine MB and MIT for Leif to hear and judge.
Leif, you are welcome anytime. On your next visit, I will buy the cake a day earlier to freeze. Then you can have the cake toasted so it is warm on the outer parts but frozen in the center. The juice is calamansi juice.
Philip, the Croft amps were delivered last month and I am breaking them in in anticipation of reinstalling the stacked Quad 57s.
Steve, you and kernelbob, violetmachan, gammajo and mountainjoe are all vindicated. Even though I do not have a full loom of ultra cables I am very content with my combination of MB ultra and FMA cables.
Jerry, good luck on tweaking your system. I hope your visit had shed some light on your thoughts about how the ultra is better than the signature. You don't need a full loom to enjoy what the ultra contributes to the sound. Perhaps you can start wherever it is least expensive to introduce an ultra into your system.
Damon, I thought of inserting the VR-1 so that there would be a familiar piece for you in my bedroom system. I first realized the imaging you experienced when I inserted an ultra ic between the Berkeley dac and the Spectral amp. It seems that this imaging can also be created by a signature sc. The cable combination you heard was MIT ic between Berkeley dac and Spectral amp, then MB sc from Spectral amp to VR-1 bookshelf speaker. Before your arrival, Steve expressed skepticism that MB and MIT would be synergistic. He also hinted that Leif shared his skepticism. So I told Steve that I will combine MB and MIT for Leif to hear and judge.
Leif, you are welcome anytime. On your next visit, I will buy the cake a day earlier to freeze. Then you can have the cake toasted so it is warm on the outer parts but frozen in the center. The juice is calamansi juice.
Dafos is one of my long time amigos and I had the pleasure of being invited once again to listen to his system after a long long time. He had been telling me and in another thread, that his system had undergone a 'transformation', with his latest procurement of Master-Built speaker cable and power cords. This plus his recent acquisition of an ARC Ref 6 preamp and some speaker re-positioning did wonders to his overall sound. In my own description, it is MAGIC. The transformation of the sound I last remembered to this day is phenomenal in terms of levels of improvements. The mid is very fleshed out and round, rarely a shrill or gritty moment, almost none in most recordings rendering the musical experience very non-fatiguing. We played Jane Morgan's Fascination and the strings were one of the best and a sound to die for. On Cantate Domino's O Holy Night - that's where the Fantasmic sound came in - at the most shouty point, there is absolutely no glare or brightness to drive you out of the room, and the soundstage has become wall to wall with incredible height. It was like watching a panoramic movie in wide screen. The bass is also well defined and now coming out with meaty weight, bass lines are easily heard even at moderate levels. Jerry told me he is so happy with this sound that he has achieved and rightly so, I would too. Our listening biases are quite similar, even to type of music so I can relate to most of the music we played in there. Am very glad that you have achieved this level of sound that is so musically satisfying after your prolonged tweaking and system matching, Jerry. And many thanks for the invite.
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All these years and it took Steve to get Dafos to try LOL! Well, never too late right? Welcome to the family Jerry!
Had another visit to Sam's place yesterday afternoon with Dafos. The stacked Quad 57s were set up again, with the Masterbuilt Ultra cables, and the amps were the Croft 70watts monoblocks. We heard a different CD player this, the ARC Ref CD 9, and the music was vivid, clear and well balanced. Thanks again to Sam for the invite and the wonderful afternoon of music, snacks and chit chat.
Visited Sam yesterday to listen to the same system I heard last May, but with CS footers under the CD Player, FM Acoustics preamp, and the Croft mono amps. Sam let me hear a couple of tracks from the Elvis Presley CD he had been using during his CS burn in period and I must say that although I have no Elvis LPs or CDs in the past, the 2 tracts I listened to were very musical, articulate, and enjoyable. The lateral imaging is very precise and orderly, and very defined and delineated. Hard to miss a beat here. Then we played my own reference cut from the Brothers Four Beatles Songbook - If I Fell, and I found the tone even sweeter than what I remembered the system to be. Smooth, no grain, and very relaxed. Perfect antidote for insomnia. As we went on another B4 song - Try to Remember, from the HK Show CD of 2016, I thought this is not just going to lull me to bed but make me dream. The sound is very tender and mellow, as musical as it gets without blurring and veiling. Had to snap out of this 'brain massage' as it was only late afternoon so we put on a track from the CD Best Audiophile Female voices - Corrine May's 'Fly Away' and it was like Corrine and the piano are in the room with us, and right in front of me, live! The stacked Quad 57s are really something else when it comes to vocal renditions. Hard not to fall in love with them. Thanks for a wonderful afternoon of music, chatting and cakes, Sam.
The sound is very tender and mellow, as musical as it gets without blurring and veiling. Had to snap out of this 'brain massage' as it was only late afternoon so we put on a track from the CD Best Audiophile Female voices - Corrine May's 'Fly Away' and it was like Corrine and the piano are in the room with us, and right in front of me, live! The stacked Quad 57s are really something else when it comes to vocal renditions. Hard not to fall in love with them. Thanks for a wonderful afternoon of music, chatting and cakes, Sam.
CS-fied and Ultrafied
Jack,
If there is a new 'fied', I'm going to start believing in Elon Musk sending man to Mars.
LOL
But seriously, Sam's systems are so well put together it is always an experience. That FM pre at the heart of things is just oh so beguiling to boot. We're lucky we get to enjoy the fruits of the "synergizing" without the work put into it.
But seriously, Sam's systems are so well put together it is always an experience. That FM pre at the heart of things is just oh so beguiling to boot. We're lucky we get to enjoy the fruits of the "synergizing" without the work put into it.
Indeed. Sam has always believed in synergy with his collection of components. He has lots of pairings and this one is just lovely.
Cool system, but we could improve the isolation for sure Esp. for the monos sitting on the floor
Esp. for the monos sitting on the floorHi All,
I know I’m tardy with this post, my only excuse is the backlog of work after nearly three weeks out of the office, a make-up wedding anniversary to celebrate and the holidays which backed up even more work
By the way, I have no interest in posting my thoughts on the performance of the MB cables in Sam’s system as it would be perceived as self-serving and that’s not my intent.
For those that don’t know, Leif and I traveled to Singapore to launch our newest flagship speaker, the ULTRA 11s. So we took advantage of our close proximity to visit our friends in the Philippines before returning home. It was a trip I’ll never forget, filled with amazing audio systems, fantastic food and the most gracious and inviting audiophiles you could hope to meet. Every day was a new adventure that by themselves would be high-points for someone who enjoys this hobby of music. But one of the major highlight of this trip for me was to reconnect with Sam and to experience his system for the first time ever.
And wow, this was a truly unique experience. Not only was Sam an extremely inviting host, he shared with us what is clearly years (I think decades) of his passion for high-end audio made obvious with a most impressive catalog of audio gear. What struck me then was how unique a perspective he must have about gear and system performance to most audiophiles. If we’re lucky, we can travel to a show to hear equipment in systems we don’t know displayed in rooms that are far from ideal. Some of us get to go to shows for a living so our experiences are broader. And reviewers get to audition an ongoing cycle of gear for extended but limited periods of time. Many of us upgrade components but often the previous gear is sold in the process.
But imagine if you had never sold those items you enjoyed so much. What I found is a catalog of resident gear clearly bought with careful consideration of performance that could be readily mixed and matched. For someone who enjoys system integration, this is an amazing playground! It must also give a very unique perspective on these components as well that is beyond most audiophiles. I may be going on a bit but that is what truly struck me.
Now as for his main system, there were a few components I was hearing for the first time; expressly FM Acoustics Reference Series pre-amplifier and Hegel CD player. I found this system extremely musical. What really took me away was the unique listening position. Sam has this great reclining chair placed what I would consider close to near-field position. I got to know one of Sam’s recordings (The E. S. S. Sessions Blue Coast Collection) and as I reclined and closed my eyes, I found myself floating IN the soundstage. This was absolutely surround sound where I was sitting just a tad back from center position. Very cool!
Everything I’ve already mentioned would have made for a memorable visit but Sam had a kind treat for us. In his second system, he had a pair of our VR-1 bookshelf speakers which have been out of production for 12 years now. To say the gear was many times more expensive than the $950 retail of the VR-1 back in 2005 is an understatement. And what killed me was their ability to keep up. Another notable characteristic of this system is the imaging. Those familiar with our designs have come to expect the wide sweet spot our speakers create. It’s something we strive for in our designs and it allows more people to enjoy accurate imaging even when not sitting directly between the speakers. But this system was casting an accurate soundstage from 180 degrees off-axis of the front of the speakers. It was spooky! What a great “second” system to have. I was very moved to hear the VR-1s on that system, it gave me an even deeper appreciation for my father’s life’s work. Thank you for that Sam.
Here are some photos of our visit, enjoy!
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