...pretty good movie. Loved the cinematography.
Someone else will have to give a better detailed account of the amps auditioned. I can say this; the amps Steve and I got to hear are the ones listed in the last post. There were a few others I think but I don't know what they were. For me, the amps that impressed me were Eric's Dodd mono blocks and the amp that Gregg brought by Stan Warren. Valve and Solid State. The Stan Warren amp had a clarity and speed that simply allowed one to enjoy the music rather than gush at the amp. The Dodd mono amps revealed tonal colors and nuances beautifully and again, I felt very connected to the music...not to the amp.
To my ears, neither amp was appreciably different than the other in terms of speed. The Dodd lacked the clarity of the Warren but man...the tonality kept you riveted in your venue side seat. The Warren lacked the tonality of the Dodd but man...the clarity just left you with an open window and the weather was very nice! I was talking with Gregg and we both agreed that you couldn't really say one was better than the other. It was simply a matter of preference. I couldn't imagine anyone not being enamored or not being able to live with either. Sorry if this seems like sort of a cop out. The music was good enough to enjoy thoroughly with either amp. I think if I had to sit there and completely nit pick everything apart, I would have missed some good music.
One other piece of gear that needs to be mentioned is Stan Warren's Active/Passive pre amp that Gregg brought. We heard a Spectral unit, as well as Dodd and Audible Illusions. I suppose that was the bane of those units...we heard them. With the Warren pre amp in the chain, it just wasn't heard. Imagine that...spending somewhere around a $1000.00 (I think) for a piece of audio gear you can't hear. I would!
On to loudspeakers. We did do a comparison between the GR-Research modified VMPS 626's and the stock VMPS 626's that were there and I got to be a part of that comparison. I preferred the modified over the stock version. Comparatively, the stock version sounded a bit sterile. The modified version had more weight and bloom without sacrificing the delineation of the stock version. The stock version also was a bit more "closed in" where the modified version gave a better sense of expanse.
The other two speakers that Steve and I spent appreciable time with was the Epiphany 20-21s and the Ridge Street Audio Designs Sason Ltd. Hopefully others will give their impressions but mine are this; The Epiphany's will impress anyone with their dynamic ease, cleanliness, and the immensity of their sound field. They are musical and are a good tool to be able to tell differences between how upstream components partner with each other as well as reveal good or bad sonic virtues of individual components. They are not as transparent as I would like but the things they do well allow one to forgive that. I'll say for having a total of 82 mechanical drivers between the pair they do a nice job at not calling attention to themselves. Over all I believe the Epiphany 20-21s are a great speaker if....you don't do what I see some folks do; put them in a small room. I imagine anything smaller than 18' x 30' would be kind of dumb if you want what these things are capable of.
The Sason Ltd...what Steve and I, understandably, had the most interest in and I have the most to say about. Hope you'll indulge me.
Our concerns were primarily two things; Eric's listening environment is a dedicated 30' x 45' listening room. That's a big room for a two way to sound balanced in! Secondly, would the 7.5' tall $27,000.00 Epiphany's performance render anything the Sasons did well meaningless by comparison?
When we first put them in for duty they sounded pretty good until you started driving them. They sounded so bad that I really thought they were broke! Steve kept assuring me it was a break in issue. It sounded so bad I couldn't believe him but...he was right. By Saturday they were sounding quite fine. After hearing the Epiphany's, here's what I didn't expect; As I told Eric, while the presentations were somewhat different, the Epiphany's had nothing on the Sasons in terms of being completely engaging with the music! I don't think Eric disagreed much with me if at all. For me personally, I preferred the Sasons. I really thought the Epiphany's would serve as a reference for the Sasons to somewhat attain to. Not so. I think they both can successfully serve as references for just about anything out there.
I said I preferred the Sasons. Let me tell you how I judged that lest I find myself caught and stuck in an ego that can only acknowledge a Ridge Street Audio product. I find that with the performance of certain audio gear or audio systems, they go beyond what can be described or experienced intellectually. The intellect is a pretty safe animal. Facts are facts and you can take them or leave them...they're pretty controllable as to what you want to do with them. On the other hand, emotions are not so safe. They show up for whatever reason and are what they are whether you like it or not...pretty uncontrollable. Notice how the things you tend to remember the easiest in your life are things that impacted you emotionally? Ever try and tell someone who is experiencing fear to just stop being afraid...it doesn't work. I could certainly communicate all kinds of facts about what I liked about the Sasons but so what? I could spout that anytime, anywhere. What I can't do is conjure up on demand what something makes me feel, in this case the Sasons. It's either there or it isn't. I find myself with a remembrance that
won't go away of how the Sason's presented music. They have left an emotional impact instead of just an intellectual stimulation that I could brag about. Good thing because Steve, the engineer behind these has them in Ohio for who knows how long. But still, almost like with my wife...I want them! Because I can't forget, I want that experience again and again.
One other thing I noted. During the music of Kenny Rankin's "Because of you" CD all of us were in our own little circles chatting about this or that. The sound of spirited conversation and the music of Kenny Rankin filled the room. Into the next cut, fairly abruptly, all became almost uncomfortably silent as everyone stopped talking and we were left with Kenny having won our attention as he intimately sang to us. It was pretty cool!
Pic's...Eric's room is awesome to enjoy music in but pictures...forget about it. Steve was the only one that was able to take pictures. They aren't very good I don't think so forgive us.
Some of the gang on Saturday. Don't remember the gent in front there. Couch left to right: me and Eric. Right behind Eric is Gregg. The gent futher back I can't remember his name. All the way in the back is Andrew.
Steve and I in front of the big Epiph's
Pat Choy, Gregg Straley, Eric Hider, Andrew and Steve Rothermel
behind the big Epiph's
Respectively, the Stan Warren amp and other gear awaiting their turn.
Eric's Legacy Whispers and the two pair of VMPS 626's in the foreground.
The Sason Ltd loudspeakers...135 lbs each! Stands were the best we could do for this event. Compliments of Home Depot Garden Center!
Somebody's Vandys that we weren't allowed to get near.
