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In Reply to: Re: come on bobby... posted by theaudiohobby on May 3, 2007 at 19:28:05:
that is not all he said. here is all of it.
"The Dynaudio Esotar D330A, which is also used in the Rockport Antares, is one of my favorite tweeters. As implemented in the Merlin, it offered airy, ultradetailed, grain-free high frequencies and electrostatic-like resolution. Like the VSM Millennium, the VSM-MX's low-level resolution and microdynamic presentation were positively mesmerizing, resulting in "cascading reverberant trail-offs extend[ing] into seemingly impossible depths of time and space, exposing new layers of ultra-low detail from even the most familiar recordings," as I wrote in the original review."Despite its awesome resolution of detail, the VSM-MX never sounded mechanical or fatiguing."
and in the original review of the millennium he said, "But what drew me into the VSM first was the smooth, airy, graceful top end, delicate yet detailed. It sounded luxurious without being syrupy or unctuous."
"In terms of overall frequency balance, I found the VSM to be just about ideal. I'll bet John Atkinson's measurements will show the very top end to be slightly rolled off at the recommended 10 degrees off-axis firing line, and perhaps flatter directly on-axis."i have spoken to michael fremmer and he never told me they were bright or implied they were bright either. that is your interpretation of what he wrote and that is fair, i suppose. but as i have said a few times in this string, the speakers were not designed to be listened to near field on axis but 10 degress off directly on axis, far field. soft domes do not disperse energy axially as well as harder domes. so in this case, the tweeter was designed hotter on axis to provide greater axial dispersion. the last thing you want to do imho, is to listen to it on axis. if you look at the power response of the speaker which is a combination of on and off axis measurements, the top end actually rolls off. this is evident in figure 9 of the vsm m review. then we select the smoothest most continuous response to listen to. that is toed out, 10 degrees off directly on axis. i suppose if you had the opportunity to hear the speaker properly set up, you would not feel as you do. and the definition michael speaks of comes from the crossover disign and the components used in the networks and not a rising response.
sorry if i offended you, nothing intended. but i have worked very, very hard to make the speakers as continuous and complete sounding as possible and having a rising top end goes against everything i have worked so hard to do.
sorry foor all this but it needed to be said.
have a nice weekend.
bobby at merlin
Follow Ups:
did I say that was all he (Fremer) said? These are my precise words."since the VSM tweeter is balanced about 1-2db higher than the midrange, whereas the Guarneri is flat thru midrange with a slight dip between 5KHz - 10Khz to forestall any treble attack"
where did I say that the speaker was bright? That said, it is pretty clear from the measurements that the VSM-MM is sound more detailed and dare I say brighter (as you raised the issue) than the Guarneri, the dip in the treble btw 3-5kHz is balanced at least 1-2dB higher than the lower midrange and it gradually rises from that dip (probably owing Fletcher-Munson loudness compensation) to peak of 2-3dB peak @~7kHz. Contrast that to the Guarneri, where the narrow peak at @6-7kHz is btw +/-2db of the lowest dip in midrange and dip between 3-5Kz is about -2dB wrt to midrange. At any rate, both speakers use soft domes so their dispersion is broadly similar and as I mentioned in my original post, the balance above 10Khz, even 7kHz for both speakers is similar, the top end starts to roll off for both speakers. The critical difference btw them is in midrange and lower treble. And to reiterate my originals comments the Merlin would sound more detailed, but the Guarneri's mellower sound is definitely more accurate.
As per Bob tongue in cheek comments, no one will confuse a VSM-MM for a SF Guarneri, that's for sure.
Music making the painting, recording it the photograph
to disagree!
i still have no idea what fr plot you are using to make these statements. certainly fletcher-munsons have bearing on the design the more you make it for nearfield aps. the sfs sound great neirfield but the merlins are designed to do something very different and to be listened at 9.5 feet or more away. so, if you did a power response plot of the vsm at 2.5 meters or more away, it would show something quite different than the nearfield ones taken by mr. atkinson. figure 9 just starts to show this.
since what is accurate really depends on personal taste and its intended use, i think, imho should follow "the Merlin would sound more detailed, but the Guarneri's mellower sound is definitely more accurate." you still may not like the merlin sound or the way it is designed to work but do you not think it fairer to pass judgement after you listen to the vsm mme or mxe? will you be in nyc for the stereophile show. if so, come by and say hello and listen for yourself.
regards,
bobby
Yep, we should agree to disagree on this one. I will not be attending Stereophile show as I am not based in the US nor do I intend to visit on account of the show.Well, later
Music making the painting, recording it the photograph
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