[mgalusha]

Mike, I meant to ask... what were you using for a digital cable?

A Stereovox XV2.

[brj]

Jerry doing his best Lonewolfe impersonation.

Good form, but... no beer??   Lonewolfe would be so disappointed!

[mr_bill]

Any comments on the Usher Tiny Dancer vs the VMPS 626?
That's a comparison that I would like to hear.

[mgalusha]

Mr Bill,

If you read the above some folks like the Usher/Spectron combo while Wayne and Tyson like the VMPS/Levinson clone combo.

I much prefer the Ushers but that said I don't care for the VMPS house sound and for the most part stayed out of the room when they were hooked up though they were much better with the Synergistic speaker cables.

Like most things audio, preference has nearly as much to do with the end result as the gear used. At the end of the day we hooked my system back up using the Meadowlark BH2's with the EE amps on the woofers and my OTL (big red amp in the photos) on top. Wayne found the top end a little bright for his taste while I find it extended. Oddly enough I find the upper mids/top end of the 626 painful and hence my exit from the room.

mike

[mr_bill]

Thanks Mike,
All things equal, I'm wondering how the VMPS 626 and tiny dancer compare in soundstaging, transparency, tonal balance - you know the regular audiophile stuff.  I've never heard either of these two and have always been curious.

[Tyson]

Well, I'm not Mike but I'll give you my thoughts, if that's OK  

The Tiny Dancer was a very good speaker.  Full stop.  Bass out of those suckers was impressive.  But my general sense of them is that they need a very stout amp indeed to really shine.  The EE's were not up to the task.  Bass was simply too boomy (for my taste).  On the other hand, the EE's really sounded warm, and inviting on the Ushers.  With an amp like the Spectrons the Tiny Dancer's really shined.  Great combo, great music.  The Tiny Dancers were a little softer sounding than the 626's, which mated very well with the uber transparency and bass control of the spectrons. 

On the other hand, I thought the 626's were more transparent and had faster/tighter bass.  Which meant the EE's and the 334 clone sounded better with them.  But hey, I like SS over tubes, and digital over vinyl, so clearly I've already lost all of my audiophile cred

Soundstaging is another area I can speak to.  The 626R's were more precise in their placement of instruments and vocals, but the Tiny Dancers had a more expansive (but less precise) soundstage.  At least that was my impression.

[mgalusha]

But hey, I like SS over tubes, and digital over vinyl, so clearly I've already lost all of my audiophile cred

Ha. Somehow I doubt that.

Hell, I'm running my vinyl through a digital crossover most of the time, so what does that say besides we're all nuts.

[Tyson]

Like a bridge mix.

[Bill O'Connell]

"But hey, I like SS over tubes, and digital over vinyl, so clearly I've already lost all of my audiophile cred "

 Are you trying to disprove that two wrongs don't make a right?

[lonewolfny42]

Jerry doing his best Lonewolfe impersonation.

Good form, but... no beer??   Lonewolfe would be so disappointed!

Might Jerry have beer in that mug ? Maybe.....

Thanks for the photo's and comments....

[sunshinedawg]

sorry I never got around to labeling the pics, as I was taking this picture, Jerry said, "this is after I swallowed lonewolfny42," I think that might be a better caption for this pic! 

[brj]

I haven't seen it mentioned yet, but take any comments on the 626 with a grain of salt, as it appeared that the left tweeter had a ribbon that was behaving badly.  You could clearly see it vibrating from the listening position at a amplitude far greater than I've ever seen before in a properly functioning ribbon tweeter.

It looks like Sean got most of the important pictures, so I'll just add one of Mike's personal setup: