I got GASsed good!

DeadFish · « **Reply #20 on:** 31 Mar 2004, 05:38 am »

Absolutely, Daniel.
I'm still high and I quit drinking early! ;-D

And rightie right you are Bill. Its Dean Peer. Got to hear a small slice of "Solo Bass (something or other. cant read writing) " and it was most excellent. I hear you on the bass players. Thanks for the tip on Jonas Hellborg.
(I'm gonna go broke on this hobby even not buying gear!)
It's worth it though.

Regards,
DeadFish

Marbles · « **Reply #21 on:** 31 Mar 2004, 01:34 pm »

I might be blind, but I didn't really see any comparison of the speakers.

Would you guys post your thoughts on the speakers?

Thanks

steve k · « **Reply #22 on:** 31 Mar 2004, 05:33 pm »

I'll venture a summary. Guys jump in if you disagree. My take was the Dynaudios were more detailed and fast sounding while the Ushers were more relaxed sounding with deeper bass. The Odysseys were somewhere in between the two. We never got to hear the Jungsons.

Matthew's VMPS were a crowd pleaser. We were all shocked to hear that Scott was getting 30 Hz out of them on his analyzer. They put out some bass for speakers their size. Overall they were very involving, musical speakers. I may have heard a bit of a spike in the upper midrange. Not sure if anyone else did??

steve k

DeadFish · « **Reply #23 on:** 31 Mar 2004, 08:18 pm »

What Steve said...

DF

Mathew_M · « **Reply #24 on:** 31 Mar 2004, 08:42 pm »

I might be a bit biased

To be honest the only 2 speakers that stood out for me were the Dyns and VMPS. The Dyns had an almost ribbon like speed and sound that I clearly remember. They were a bit forward for my tastes though. Those Epiphanys (or which ever ones Scott had taped together

) were really nice sounding the most relaxed of the ones I heard. Regarding the VMPS: I had no idea that they got down to 30 Hz! And I thought they sounded a bit bass shy in Scott's basement. To be honest I was a little dissapointed in their performance. I think they needed some more re-tuning for the room. There just were not as coherent as they are in my room which is pretty heavily dampened. Overall they were bit bright and thin. This is maybe because the Radii still needed some breaking in. Ribbons are relentless of the components driving them. I noticed this a little with the Dyns too. Hmm...is it possible to have weight and speed to the music? With that said I still want some tubes driving them. That certain sound is just so much more musical than SS or even digital.

steve k · « **Reply #25 on:** 31 Mar 2004, 10:45 pm »

I hear what you're saying, Matthew and fully agree about the ribbons being very unforgiving. I think your hunch is right about the room being brighter than what you're used to hearing if your room is well damped. There was a lot of concrete behind them Sunday. Perhaps locating them closer to the corners might have produced more bass reinforcement too. How do you have them placed at home?

You're more than welcome to bring them over to my place for a spin with the VTL's. I've faced a lot of the same issues of brightness with the maggies and my room and damped with foam and a fabric wallhanging behind my them. I've managed to relax the sound as much as possible to a point that I don't find them fatiguing anymore (although I'm certainly open to more suggestions, guys.)

steve

Bostekrisco · « **Reply #26 on:** 31 Mar 2004, 10:58 pm »

With mucho disclaimering, I would have to give the nod to the Ushers, followed by the little Dyns. Keep in mind I own bigger Dyns, so I'm biased. I like, and am used to, the Dyn sound. I felt like the Odysseys cast a bigger soundstage and were more "laid back" while the Dyns were faster, punchier and maybe more articulate. In that environment I felt like the Ushers took the best qualities of each of those two and did it better as a package than either.
Another day, in another setup, or more time in the saddle comparing them critically in the same setup, might very well lead to a different conclusion. Hows that for conviction?

Bill Baker · « **Reply #27 on:** 31 Mar 2004, 11:00 pm »

Curious, anybody in the Upstate New york area have any of the VMPS speakers thaey would like to bring over to the store for a listen. This is probably not the best place to ask?

I would love to hear these speakers being pushed by our modified Ming-Da MC34-B at 20 watts using 6NP3 tubes, same as the Jolida JD707.

I am doing a comparison beteen the Ming-Da and Jolida now using various Usher and Audio Note speakers.

Next in line is the Modified Ming-Da MC805-AA integrated using a single 805 driven by a 6L6 per side for 40 watts.

If anybody in my area would like to stop by to help "evaluate" these amplifiers, feel free to give me a buzz. Maybe I will send one along for your next gathering.

Mathew_M · « **Reply #28 on:** 31 Mar 2004, 11:49 pm »

I was upstairs eating during the Usher audition so I can't comment on their sound.

The only other negative of the Dyns (besides the forwardness) is the small soundstaging compared to the others. One thing that really impressed me was how big the Radii's made my VMPS seem (though they are much bigger physically than the other speakers in comparison).

Regarding my room: I have my speakers pulled out about 3 feet from the walls. My room is heavily drapped and carpeted so that helps a lot. Now that I've heard the ribbons in a concrete basement and before in a large room with hardwood floors I can safely say that in my room they sound their best (how do you like that for an un-biased opinion

) . I would even go as far to advise people to avoid ribbon speakers if their room is not heavily damped.

Steve, I'll probably take you up on your offer. The VTL monoblocks have been high on my list.

bmed · « **Reply #29 on:** 1 Apr 2004, 01:32 am »

I'll weigh in here.

I'll have to agree with Bostekrisco, I thought the Ushers were the best, followed by the Odyssey's, then the Dyn's. The Ushers were very esthetically pleasing as well. The Ushers seemed to be the all-rounder's. They seemed to meld the wide soundstage of the Odyssey's with the punch and articulation of the Dyn's.

I remember a very distinct narrowing, almost compression of the sound stage when going from the O's to the D's. The Dyn's were much more forward in their presentation. They had a pronounced midrange bump in my opinion. I do have to admit to being a midrange junkie, single driver's and SET's and all.

The Radii's---It was hard to get a guage on them as they were the only amps used, except for the 2A3 in the "big system".

Just my thoughts,

Brad

Bill Baker · « **Reply #30 on:** 1 Apr 2004, 02:51 am »

Ya know, I hat not being able to attend these gatherings. Nothing to do with a dealers point of view but rather the chance to hang out and do what I enjoy most...... listen to music, audition lots of cool tube gear, and most importantly hang out with what appears to be a great bunch of dudes. Maybe someday I will sneek into one of these gatherings and use a fake name. That way I can be just one of the guys and have fun with nobody looking at me funny.

I feel so left out.

Marbles · « **Reply #31 on:** 1 Apr 2004, 03:31 am »

Well I'm glad to see you all agree on what speakers were best

drummerwill · « **Reply #32 on:** 1 Apr 2004, 09:13 pm »

Hi Guy's
Sorry it took so long to report in, a lot of family stuff.
To Scott and Family
Thanks to all of you for letting us/me come over and hang out with
this great group of guys, a truly enjoyable afternoon.

My pick of speakers would go with the Ushers first then the VMPS's.
I would have liked to try the Ushers with the " Locomotive ". I'm not
sure of their sensitivity , but what the heck the Locomotive was hitched
to Steve's Maggies and did OK.

Deadfish
When the cannons went of at the end of 1812, Did I jump first or
was it you. That was amasing!

Have fun
Willie