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Original Message

RE: The "problem" with Jon Valin's reviews

Posted by Grant on February 24, 2010 at 07:23:44:


>>>"His listening room set ups are crap!"<<<

I don't want to diminish your strong opinions with any real context but.... :o)

I've been to his place twice for some informal listening. The room is angular with a sloped ceiling from left to right, lots of media storage on the side walls, some Shakti Hallographs near the corners and a comfortable couch a reasonable distance from the speakers. Full racks of electronics sit a foot or two behind the amps on 3' stands. Although the room itself has a unique shape he has room treatment placed in specific areas and the room is plenty big enough to support a full range system.

I heard both the M5 Magicos and Mini's there on separate occasions with either ARC or Japanese Be Labo electronics. I found the sound to be exceptional, even extraordinary with the M5's --with great center imaging and lots of natural detail. On several tracks, the system produced some of the most three dimensional sound I've heard--very memorable. Obviously, with almost no exceptions nits could be picked with any set up and room no matter how well they are prepared.

Maybe the stage was not as wide as my own and certainly every room has its own "sound" but I thoroughly enjoyed the system and believe it is a great room for listening critically to and differentiating speakers, electronics and other system changes. Like other busy reviewers I am sure he has a lot of electronics and speakers coming and going but the times I was there the floor was relatively clear and the room next door held all the extra gear.

The same held true when visiting Michael Fremer, unique room set up in a natural manner--like the basements in many homes. The system sounded great but different each time I visited and sure there was some electronics waiting to the side but nothing that would get in the way of the system's performance. What was great about both systems is they were real-world set ups in existing spaces that sounded extremely detailed and were obviously fine tuned for resolution. They were also wholly different, like most all the systems in homes that I have heard. Since most folks don't have dedicated spaces with specialized rooms I think that both systems were representative of where a lot of great high-end gear might find itself.

Just a few observations.

Grant