IS there anything more I can do for my VR-7's?

fplanner2000 · « **Reply #20 on:** 2 Jul 2012, 01:22 pm »

450's should be here sometime next week. After talking to Damon and Albert, I've also decided to do the Delphi wiring upgrade to the 7's, but not until I've got some time on the 450's. I want to make sure what to attribute which improvements to.

fplanner2000 · « **Reply #21 on:** 3 Jul 2012, 03:31 am »

Talked to Albert this am. He mentioned the ability to upgrade midrange drivers if I want. OF COURSE I WANT!!! So, I will be upgrading the wiring and midrange drivers at the same time. Also decided not to wait on this until the amps are broken in. I already know how they will sound - FANTASTIC! Therefore will be doing the speakers as soon after the amps arrive as I can coordinate schedules with the Flying Ninja, my go-to VSA mod guy. Thanks Albert - its pretty cool that I will in effect have done most of a Mk2 upgrade when this is finished. SOOOOoooo, to answer my original question on this thread, YES - THERE ARE THINGS TO BE DONE! Albert assures me the result will be like listening to a new, greatly improved pair of Vr-7s.

Apparently Albert, Damon and others will probably be coming over at some point during the Rocky Show to hear the latest version of my system. It promises to be improved over the last time they were here. Its a bunch better already, with the new APL player, VAC preamp and bypass caps in the 7's, as well as various Synergistic cabling improvements. Adding the VAC Statement 450 monos and the Delphi internal wiring and new mid-drivers to the 7's going forward will hopefully result in pretty decent sound, or at least that is the goal. Only time will tell...............

There is also a chance the 450's might lift the 7's off the ground, given the right music, etc.

fplanner2000 · « **Reply #22 on:** 22 Jul 2012, 06:49 pm »

Took us FOREVER to replace all the internal wiring of the 7's as well as the mid-range drivers. To my knowledge none of that wire was "cooked". Initial sound was pretty rough, so I ran the system overnite and again this am - total of about 12 hours so far. Sound seems cleaner with less "grunge" - I can tell there is going to be a bunch more break-in required, especially in the wiring going to the bass drivers. Seems like I have lost a bunch of bass "slam" - hoping that's due to the new, heavier gauge wiring to the bass drivers that has to break in? On strong bass track, bass is tighter, but not quite as energized as before. Since that is one of the characteristics I really like about the 450's, I hope it comes back QUICKLY!!

The midrange driver seems to be a big improvement over what I had, and even though they were broken in a bit by Damon, system breakin will definitely be required. At first the midrange really stood out, but with every passing hour, its blending better with the other drivers. There is more info coming out and better imaging already, as well as soundstage depth, which is encouraging at this early stage, if I understand the break-in process correctly.

Overall, I am pretty pleased with the results so far, with the expectation that as the wires and mids break-in, the hints of greatness I'm occasionally hearing will become a regular occurrence. I'll probably run the system overnite again as the differences I got were pretty substantially for the positive by doing this. Actually, I'll probably do that for the next several days, as long as I continue to get positive results, which it looks like I will.

Any comments or suggestions welcomed..

Holli82 · « **Reply #23 on:** 23 Jul 2012, 01:00 am »

I did the full upgrade on my 9's. It took about 300 hours to break but at 500 hours I couldn't believe my ears. It's slow but worth the wait. Any 7 or 9 owners who haven't upgraded should strongly consider it. Money well spent

fplanner2000 · « **Reply #24 on:** 23 Jul 2012, 03:05 am »

Thank you VERY much for that comment. I'm so excited about the new toys I foolishly expected break-in to be almost immediate.

I obviously know better and appreciate your input. I can already appreciate the improvements by the second day, so I'm looking forward to how things will sound hundreds of hours from now. I'm pretty pleased that my system ALREADY sounds better than it ever has, with almost no break-in on the upgraded components. Nice to know its only going to get substantially better.

Even with my limited experience, I would totally agree on the value of doing the Mk2 speaker upgrades. Albert was right when he said it would be like listening to a new and improved pair of speakers. Thanks again Albert.

es347 · « **Reply #25 on:** 23 Jul 2012, 02:49 pm »

Quote from: Holli82 on 23 Jul 2012, 01:00 am

I did the full upgrade on my 9's. It took about 300 hours to break but at 500 hours I couldn't believe my ears. It's slow but worth the wait. Any 7 or 9 owners who haven't upgraded should strongly consider it. Money well spent

Holli82...

Would love to see pix of your system. Any chance of you posting a few?

Holli82 · « **Reply #26 on:** 24 Jul 2012, 06:13 am »

Will try to do this week

fplanner2000 · « **Reply #27 on:** 25 Jul 2012, 10:16 pm »

About 50 hours on the new 7's - mid harshness is calming down and bass weight is slowly starting to come back. Much more open than before and starting to hear ambient recording sounds, which is pretty cool. Although a lot of that is a function of the new super-amps, I know I wouldn't have heard any of it without doing the speaker upgrades last weekend. As the amps and speakers continue to break in together, each CD is almost like a new discovery. I know Jack in the Philippines knows exactly what I mean.

Will try to update A'gon pics this weekend - they are several years and iterations behind..

JackD201 · « **Reply #28 on:** 26 Jul 2012, 04:25 am »

Indeed I do my friend, indeed I do!

Looking forward to your pictures Rodney!

fplanner2000 · « **Reply #29 on:** 2 Aug 2012, 03:40 am »

135 hours on the amps/speakers, including 60 just using Albert's suggested break-in material, which equals at least another 60 of normal hours. So, about 200 normal hours, give or take. Midrange is opening up nicely and the internal wiring is as well, finally. I'm guessing the amps are probably at about 85-90% of full break-in by now as well.

My patience, limited though it is, is finally being richly rewarded. The sound is starting to become occasionally jaw-dropping. I discovered that raising the system volume on my overnite break-in music a bit from low to medium has a profoundly more positive effect on the break-in process. I'm pretty sure this will further accelerate it.

My 7's already sound better than any VSA speakers I have ever heard, and I know they will just improve with more hours. I realize that they just reflect what is behind them and the new amps also play a huge part. I knew I had to upgrade or replace my old 7's with the introduction of the VAC Statements to my system - Fortunately Damon and Albert came through with this Mk 2 upgrade which totally transformed my 7's. The sonic changes are pretty profound and we're not done yet! I was not looking forward to replacing my 7s - now I don't have to!! They have replaced themselves!! Who knew? Well, now you do too.

Holli82 · « **Reply #30 on:** 2 Aug 2012, 05:56 am »

I knew you would like it!

fplanner2000 · « **Reply #31 on:** 18 Aug 2012, 03:55 am »

Finally put the Black Treasures into the front 5 slots of each amp. I should have done this weeks ago, as I had used them in my 300.1s with excellent results. Up until now, I couldn't put my finger on what was missing in the presentation, but I knew that something was. It was the Black Treasures!! Their insertion tonight resulted in a dramatic change for the better - more bass extension, sweeter mid-range and more extended highs. Very noticeably better - so much so that I will probably stop the overnight break-in after tonite. So far I've got about 350 hours on the new amps/speakers.

The Statements drive the Treasures to much higher performance levels than my 300.1s did - another way of putting it is that the Treasures really let me hear and appreciate how much better the Statements and the newly-modified VR-7s are than their predecessors.

I realize there is probably a bunch more break-in to go - still hard to believe things will continue to improve.

fplanner2000 · « **Reply #32 on:** 26 Aug 2012, 03:28 am »

400 hrs, including 250 of McBride break-in track. I've pretty much stopped using the sub in 2-channel for medium volume and above, as the VACs are driving the woofers just fine. At lower volumes, its harder to energize the woofers, which is when I will augment slightly with the sub. Midrange drivers are now integrated nicely and no longer as pronounced as before, resulting in a much better balanced presentation of all music.

At mid to higher volumes, the dynamics are much-improved as the VAC Statements are really starting to perform as I hoped they would. I can tell the internal speaker wiring is also mostly broken in at this point, or the system wouldn't sound so outrageously good. About 4 days ago, what I was hearing approached jaw-dropping. The bad news is that I'm getting used to it; the good news is that there's probably another 15-20% of improvement yet to come over the next 300 hours or so, I'm guessing.

One of the things that I've noticed lately, in addition to the re-emergence of incredible bass, is that the imaging has also been steadily improving. I know great imaging is a characteristic of the Statements and it is still improving as the speaker wiring and the midranges continue to break in. I look forward to my music every morning even more so than before, as it just keeps getting better

Holli82 · « **Reply #33 on:** 26 Aug 2012, 05:21 am »

I told you

fplanner2000 · « **Reply #34 on:** 3 Sep 2012, 11:58 pm »

Inserted Rick S's High Fidelity CT-1 rca cables in place of SR CTS demo's(in my system for several months) between my APL NWO-M and VAC preamp. Immediately got much more resolution in mids and highs and the 7's are now up for it. Speed has increased as well, most noticeable in the bass, which is much faster and tighter. Some of the bass heaviness is gone, but most of that was back-end decay, which should slowly come back as the cables break in. Sound is more open and the images more realistic both deep and wide. There is no sign of harshness or etchiness as some higher resolution cables might exhibit, especially pure silver. The increased speed and resolution are a welcome addition, as I am once again hearing background micro-details that were covered up before. Plus, these cables are extremely easy to listen to. I believe they are a carbon alloy with gold and silver in them, as well as a number of different technologies. Anyway, after a few days, I changed them out for the SR CTS demos and there was a noticeable drop in detail, extension, imaging and openness. In a word, they sounded worse. Back in went the CT-1s and the SR CTS will be on their way back to the Cable Company tomorrow.

The 7's are now able to keep up with the speed of the CT-1s and the rest of my system, which is definitely a fun listen.

es347 · « **Reply #35 on:** 2 Oct 2012, 11:24 pm »

Quote from: Holli82 on 24 Jul 2012, 06:13 am

Will try to do this week

Cue cricket sounds...

JackD201 · « **Reply #36 on:** 3 Oct 2012, 01:59 pm »

Hey Gavin. Lets skip the pics and crash Rodney's digs.

es347 · « **Reply #37 on:** 3 Oct 2012, 05:05 pm »

Quote from: JackD201 on 3 Oct 2012, 01:59 pm

Hey Gavin. Lets skip the pics and crash Rodney's digs.

..and Rodney would be Holli82...or Dangerfield?

Holli82 · « **Reply #38 on:** 7 Oct 2012, 10:30 pm »

Not gonna hijack Herve's thread so I started a new one so Jack and Gavin will stop picking on me

fplanner2000 · « **Reply #39 on:** 29 Dec 2012, 05:32 am »

Finally, FINALLY my 7 upgrades must have broken in. It took every bit of 600 REAL Playing hours. My speakers just seemed to REALLY open up, pretty literally over a 3-day period la few weeks ago. The sound got noticeably better - actually jaw-dropping better. It was really like a few veils had magically lifted and one of my VSA buddies heard the same thing. Ive been making some cabling changes to my system as well, but this seemed to be 95% speakers. I really hadn't expected such a big improvement at this point, but I know the Delphi wiring and new midrange drivers are now playing as they were meant to. I couldn't be happier with the Mark 2 upgrade investment.