ST-10M

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RafaPolit

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ST-10M
« on: 21 Mar 2018, 06:38 am »
Looking forward to people's experiences with the new Mono block ST-10M.

According to reports, there are already a few out there.  What are your thoughts? How would you describe the sound vs the stereo ST-10? Pictures? Setup?

Thanks for sharing your experiences!

Best regards,
Rafa.

rustydoglim

Re: ST-10M
« Reply #1 on: 24 Mar 2018, 08:31 am »
On March 26, we will have an internal audition to compare Ref Evolution, ST-10M and ST-10/Ref 20.

Wwp347

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Re: ST-10M
« Reply #2 on: 24 Mar 2018, 01:33 pm »
 Is the ST–10 M balanced ?

RafaPolit

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Re: ST-10M
« Reply #3 on: 24 Mar 2018, 07:35 pm »
On March 26, we will have an internal audition to compare Ref Evolution, ST-10M and ST-10/Ref 20.
Looking forward to your findings! Being an in-house test this will be a great feedback for you.

I'd still love to hear from owners enjoying the product at a home environment.

Best regards,
Rafa.

Spenav

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Re: ST-10M
« Reply #4 on: 24 Mar 2018, 08:41 pm »
That will be interesting but an independent review would probably be even better.  :D

RafaPolit

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Re: ST-10M
« Reply #5 on: 27 Mar 2018, 01:57 am »
On March 26, we will have an internal audition to compare Ref Evolution, ST-10M and ST-10/Ref 20.
So? What are the impressions drawn from the audition? Eagerly awaiting the in-house veredict!

Jye

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Re: ST-10M
« Reply #6 on: 29 Mar 2018, 06:25 am »
For the Ref Evo, which has been renamed to Evolution One, I've posted the listening impression in the new thread started by Jason. The Evo 1 is just on another level that we will not draw any reference to the ST-10 or Ref 20.

Now the ST-10M. I've updated the website with more info so hopefully there's enough there to get a better picture. And here, I hope I can do the ST-10M more justice. The ST-10M IS NOT just a mono version of the ST-10 on steroids. People who are expecting the ST-10M to be just a more powerful ST-10 will be surprised!

Kudos to the engineering team for taking the effort to not just 'bridge' the ST-10 circuitry with the ST-10M. The whole power supply has been improved, which the ST-10M gains an effortlessness in the musical presentation with everything else up a notch. The layout of the circuitry has been revised for the ST-10M with additional slight tweaks. The overall presentation remains as neutral as the ST-10, while gaining a more full-bodied and richer sound. There's an added smoothness in the ST-10M that is the easiest to spot when comparing against the ST-10. This is not to be mistaken for the warmth of the STA-9 which is based on a different design.

Listeners who prefer a more forthright sound may still prefer the ST-10. My impression was that the ST-10M achieved the right balance between the STA-9 mono and ST-10 which makes it a great upgrade path from both.

sresener

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Re: ST-10M
« Reply #7 on: 17 May 2018, 12:41 am »
Do you know how the ST-10m would compare to a Bridged MCH-K38?

Jye

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Re: ST-10M
« Reply #8 on: 18 May 2018, 04:35 am »
Besides what I've described previously on the significant improvements in certain areas, the ST-10M has retained the sonic characteristics of the ST-10. If you refer to the amp comparison chart on the website, the ST-10 (and therefore the ST-10M) still have better resolution, wider and more defined soundstage, and high frequency extension compared to the K38.

The K38 still has the edge on power and bass extension when bridged.

giordy60

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Re: ST-10M
« Reply #9 on: 28 Feb 2019, 07:04 pm »
a question on the ST10M:
is it true that the finals are to be connected in a counter-phase?
someone says that is specified in the manual but I have not found it
thank you.

RafaPolit

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Re: ST-10M
« Reply #10 on: 1 Mar 2019, 02:47 am »
It's in the web page: yes, the ST10 and st10M are both phase inverting, so it is suggested that to preserve absolute phase, you want to connect the speakers reversed.

giordy60

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Re: ST-10M
« Reply #11 on: 2 Mar 2019, 12:33 pm »
thanks RafaPolit   Wink2

Tan Raymond

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Re: ST-10M
« Reply #12 on: 23 Jun 2019, 01:56 am »
Hi All,
After reading this thread, I switched the speaker cables around, and found there are some differences. Don't know if it's phychological effect, but the mids seems different. Any one with the same experience and any explanation for it? Thanks in advance.

RafaPolit

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Re: ST-10M
« Reply #13 on: 24 Jun 2019, 04:56 am »
Absolute phase, if music was all tone fundamentals, would not be detectable if switched.

But Nelson Pass has made some interesting studies where the phase of harmonics switches if you invert absolute phase.  It's easy to show in a graph, but the principle is that if you have a second order harmonic in which a positive  "peak" of music coincides with the positive "peak" of the second harmonic, if you revert the absolute phase, that positive peak (which now is a negative one) would still coincide with a positive second harmonic.

I'm on my iPad now, I could provide a nice graph that explain this perfectly tomorrow, but essentially, if you invert absolute phase, you are displacing the second harmonics valley to peak relationships.  This changes your perception. 

Nelson Pass' research shows that coinciding peaks yield a more forward sound, while peak-to-valley second harmonics produces a more recessed sound but wider soundstage.

So, it turns out that, for amps that have predominant second order harmonics, absolute phase IS actually important.

The interesting thing is that you could play with both, depending on how you would like your sound.

Hope this makes any sense, best regards,
Rafa.

Tan Raymond

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Re: ST-10M
« Reply #14 on: 24 Jun 2019, 08:54 am »
Hi Rafa,
Thanks for your explanation, after the switch, I do get a somewhat "hollow" or you call recessed sound. I'm glad that I'm not imagining things.
Enjoy the music.

rustydoglim

Re: ST-10M
« Reply #15 on: 26 Jun 2019, 08:11 pm »
The issue with phase is that many people don't even know about the phase of their upstream components so unless you are very knowledgeable and have a good ear, you can't tell the difference.  We can't simply tell user to switch phase, because we really don't know if it will turns out being correct or not.

Spenav

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Re: ST-10M
« Reply #16 on: 26 Jun 2019, 10:29 pm »
Although most set up software such as Audyssey or Dirac will flag this. A lot of people are just afraid of reversing the wires because they think they might cause harm to their equipment. This is perfectly safe.  Mine has been playing with the wires swapped for years.

Tan Raymond

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Re: ST-10M
« Reply #17 on: 27 Jun 2019, 02:30 am »
I had been listening to my system without the correction, and now with the lead reversed. Not sure which one I like better. Don't have time to really give it a detailed listen but felt the corrected connection a little too recessed. It's as though the singer had moved to the rear of the musicians. As mentioned, did not give it enough analysis, just an impression. Again it's my room, my system and my ears,  YMMV. Enjoy your music.

Spenav

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Re: ST-10M
« Reply #18 on: 27 Jun 2019, 03:19 pm »
Hi Tan

It’s totally safe to stay with the setting that pleases you the most. If you ever upgrade to the Evo One, just make sure to reverse the wires because that one is wired correctly from the factory. Take care.

Tan Raymond

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Re: ST-10M
« Reply #19 on: 28 Jun 2019, 03:21 am »
Hi Spenav
Thanks for the heads up. Will keep that in mind.