[John Casler]

John, did you replay that CD on your system?

If so, surely the quality is not only a testament to the recording techniques, BUT, also your system?

What system did you play it on? Is it a variation of the two channel one on your systems page, with RM40s?

Yes, it was on my system, which is exactly as listed in my systems page, except I am reviewing and comparing the new ONIX DAC25.

And I need to "update" the ROOM category a bit, as my listening seat is "enclosed" in a LISTENING CHAMBER.  That is you sit in an acoustically treated enclosure made of a frame and acoustically damping and isolating materials.

This blocks or reduces ANY already damped reflected sounds from the ceiling, side walls, and rear wall.  It could be compared to the clarity and purity you get with "headphones", but with a remarkable soundstage and imaging.

It basically removes "my room's sound" from the music and lets me hear the "venue's sonic environment".

[Brian Cheney]

Last nite Jim Harger brought over CD's cut from the 24/88.2 Alexis Masterlink recorder, using the large-diaphragm (1") M Audio Sputnik tube condenser mics in MS.  The differences between those CD's and Dave Housteau's from the Korg DSD and AT in XY mic are fascinating, particularly on the Napua Davoy cuts. 

I'll report some specifics when I've listened to all 8 CD's from both sources one after the other.

[Hipper]

Thanks John. I remember your description somewhere of your set up which is an extreme sort of nearfield arrangement.

It yet again highlights that even if you have the most wonderful system, AND you've removed the effects of room and its contents, we still rely on the quality of recording and judgement of engineers. Anyway, that's a subject for another thread.

It also of course highlights the VMPS quality throughout the range.

[Housteau]

Last nite Jim Harger brought over CD's cut from the 24/88.2 Alexis Masterlink recorder, using the large-diaphragm (1") M Audio Sputnik tube condenser mics in MS.  The differences between those CD's and Dave Housteau's from the Korg DSD and AT in XY mic are fascinating, particularly on the Napua Davoy cuts. 

I'll report some specifics when I've listened to all 8 CD's from both sources one after the other.

Jim has sent me his set of CDs as well, but it will be two weeks before I am home to have a chance to listen to them.  So, I am curious on the differences.  Both the 5.6MHz DSD and 24/88.2 WAV will down-convert evenly into 44.1 CD quality, and there should not be any losses there.  However, the DSD did begin at a much higher resolution and also has the ability to be down-converted to high resolution formats, such as SACD, 24/192 and 24/96.  In my system I find the 24/96 conversion sounds very close to the original 5.6MHz DSD.  I have not tried the others and was pleasantly surprised that the CDs came out sounding as good as they did.

At THE Show I thought both methods of recording sounded great.  There were differences, but both set-ups and signal chains were so completely different that I don’t think it was possible to say which component was doing what to influence that sound.  The playback at the show was probably not the best possible either.  This was due to the signal coming directly from the analog outs from both The Alexis Masterlink and the Korg Mr-1000.  They may not be horrible, but they certainly do not have the best internal D/A converters and analog stages available.  Their main function is to record and archive.   The Korg has the edge on playback when recording at its highest resolution.  So, I think listening to these recordings side by side as CDs will equalize things out.

It was different kind of listening at THE Show as well.  What I mean is, I had to get out of the audiophile method of wanting to be in the sweet spot all the time and concentrate on musical cues from the outside paying more attention to tonality and if the weight of each instrument was coming through, etc.  We needed to treat the playback as a live performance.  Jim and I each listened to each others playback and we made adjustments with the mics over those few days to bring each of us closer to what we thought would be an improvement.  Jim has been doing this sort of thing for a while and I enjoyed learning from the experience.

Over those 4 days the impressions from listeners and our own musicians on which recording was preferred compared to the live performance went back and forth enough that we felt we were indeed close.  When in the sweet spot I felt the M/S mics and Masterlink really captured the center image in a very fluid and holographic manner, but the width had suffered a bit at the beginning.  Later that was corrected.  In contrast the X/Y mic and Korg presented an image for the center I though was a bit too wide and lacked some focus.  But, listening at home I do not find that to be the case at all.  I also thought the X/Y presented proper spacial width and balance of tone with the bass coming through with the proper weight.   

[ka7niq]

Thursday night after closing, James Bongiorno was kind and generous to purchase dinner for myself and two other guests including Richard Bley (electrical engineer, ex-Dynaco principal with James) and VMPS THE Show producer George Karawanny.  I can state emphatically his enthusiasm for life is undaunted.  He can walk for short distances.  He quit smoking last year, a good thing as Martha Stewart says.
 
 

God Bless Jim Bongiorno, he has been through a lot, health wise.

I wish Jim the best!

[Brian Cheney]

Final thoughts:

This Show and its aftermath will, I predict, have long lasting positive consequences for VMPS and all the people who participated in our exhibit. 

Once again I must thank everyone, particularly Ralph Karsten, who  again proved that tubes and ribbons are perfect matches.  The MA 1 (140W/ch, $16k) is not cheap, but I'm getting a pair, and you should too if you want complete and utter fidelity to source.  Kudos too to John MacDonald of Audience for his SOTA cabling and Adept Response power conditioner, which gave us clean AC. Next year in the bigger space of Lake Mead I and II (28x62') we will have the MA 2 with 220W plus the SS bass amps (Classe 1000W monoblocks).  Same sound, more headroom.

We will also feature a drummer and a trumpet player, and do more ambitious arrangements.  Hopefully we can entice Napua,  Lesley, Austin, JimR and the same band to return.  We will offer our new self-produced SACD with Napua, a 9ft 1919 restored Steinway grand, the splendid acoustics of the United Pres Church of Walnut Creek, and a guitarist to be named later on the album, in front of an audience of invited guests.  If you want to attend, we have room for about 100 listeners. Schedule is for April or May of this year.

As a designer I would want to build a full-range speaker that can reproduce a big ensemble of players and singers in a large space for a substantial audience without strain or distortion.  Ideally it would have high output levels, no colorations whatsoever, properly reproduce the width and depth of the live soundstage, be perfectly flat from 20Hz to 40kHz, and adjust to its environment and associated equipment via easy to use controls.  It should be large, sturdy, handle gobs of power, have high sensitivity, and be a stable, inert platform for its transducers.  Price should be within reach of most audiophiles, and it should look good.

The RM50 is all this.  I encourage all AC'ers, if they can, to consider it, even if they have a smallish or untreated room (the controller can compensate for that).  The system accommodates all musical tastes, from headbanging heavy metal rock to classical ensemble and everything inbetween.  Given the right sources and program material, the RM50 should please just about every music lover on the planet.

[Housteau]

I too would like to know the difference between the moded and unmoded Behringer. It is a Behringer right? (if not sorry )

I feel compelled to chime in on this one, because I think I understand the heart of the question.  I have the same modified Behringer DCX that Brian has and have wondered about the same question myself.  Once you own one it does become the heart of your system with everything running through it.  The modified version can even replace your preamp.  My fear has been, now what do I do if something happens to it?  If the good sound in my room is dependent upon it, will I loose all that I love if this nearly one of a kind unit decides to smoke?

It looks like that answer is no.  Before THE Show I suggested a stock unit to a friend that used it to add a sub to his highly resolving Martin Logan speakers.  Even being used in a less than optimum way for it to sound its best, we could not tell the difference with it being in or out of his circuit going analog in.  At THE Show there was some concern at first, but that soon went away.  Although we did not do a direct comparrison between the stock and modded units, that standard Behringer acquated itself quite well.  I sure couldn't tell that there was anything being taken away, or not as transparent as it should have been.  Would it have been even better with the modded unit?  Probably so.

So, why have a modified unit if the standard unit works so well?  My modded unit allows me to control the balance between amplifiers in the analog domain instead of digital, which also adds in the functionality of a remote controlled preamp at the same time.  Adjusting this balance in the digital domain can hurt the sound since you are basically tossing bits away to do it.  The modded unit also has upgraded digital chips, clocks, wiring, and other upgraded parts that improve things even further to make a good component great.

How does that lowly stock Behringer do it?  I mean they are cheaper than dirt and no self-respecting audiophile would have one in their system, especially running full range frequency through it, right?  I guess if the name was Lyngdorf on it we wouldn't even question it. 

[John Casler]

Here is a small report from my old friend Clement Stone of Stereo Times who visits us each year.

Our Fearless Leader


Our Fearless Audience of Listeners


Napua Devoy a new performer to our demo


Napua's Album Cover


And also the One and ONLY HP!!





The write up is posted here:

http://www.stereotimes.com/images/CES2010Ma.shtml

[John Casler]

And Myles B. Astor of Positive Feedback Online, while complaining of the ills of digital recording technology, said this:

"But Brian did prove that his speakers are more than capable—and of course a guitar recording should show off his ribbon drivers to their utmost—of resolving all the issues with digital recordings!"





His write up can be found here:

http://www.positive-feedback.com/Issue47/cesma.htm

[Brian Cheney]

I agree that of all the performers we recorded, the solo six string guitar suffered the most.  However, its overtones were extremely delicate and extended, almost ghostly.  It was a privilege hearing such instruments side by side.

However, I will say you could hear differences between the instruments, mics, and storage media on playback through the RM50's, and quite clearly.  So, I'll blame the mics and storage media for the losses. 

That's my story, I'm sticking to it.

[John Casler]

Here is a group of photos that ran in the Audiogon THE Show Report of the VMPS room:

http://live.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/ces.pl?vmps&&ManuView&&&&&&&THE10

Some of Brian's toys:





Atmaspheres:



And of course the RM50

[Darac]

VMPS RM50 like a news in popular Croatian magazine sat-multimedia...
http://www.sat-multimedia.hr/hifi-a-v/vmps-rm-50/
...author of this news is me....(I am audio editor in this magazine)

http://www.sat-multimedia.hr/u-razgovoru-sa-poznatima/7-pitanja-za-dizajnera-i-utemeljitelja-vmps-a-briana-cheneya/

[Brian Cheney]

I'm bumping this topic up to page 1 in order to make it easier for Certain People We're Trying to Impress to find the pages!

[Construct]

It's incredibly impressive!  I can name a boatload of $20-$60K speakers that don't sound "live"  to me.  I'd love to see a certain pair of corian-covered $22K speakers take this challenge side by side.