Jay's Audio Journey

Jay's Audio Lab said:
video is live now. Enjoy!
Click to expand...

Hi Jay,

I watched the entire video. Well done. Discussing the cons of high-end speakers is never an easy task. My question to you is the following, when do the shortcomings in sound quality stop becoming the fault of everything else (components, cabling, listening room, power, etc.) and start becoming the fault of the speakers?

Ken
 
Alpinist said:
Hi Jay,

I watched the entire video. Well done. Discussing the cons of high-end speakers is never an easy task. My question to you is the following, when do the shortcomings in sound quality stop becoming the fault of everything else (components, cabling, listening room, power, etc.) and start becoming the fault of the speakers?

Ken
Click to expand...

thanks for watching my video.
That is a very good question and to be honest there is no easy answer for that. I DO NOT believe there is a perfect speaker PERIOD because our rooms aren't perfect so how can a speaker be perfect sounding when the space where they exist isn't?
I believe that some speakers are much more friendly with a lot of electronics. Some are pickier and sealed cabinets need tremendous control and power in order to fully "open up".
At a high level, i can say that if you own quality electronics such as Gryphon, Constellation, MSB, DCS, Dan Agostino, etc (the usual suspects) then you should always try to shoot for speakers that are known to have synergy with such components. I of course dont do that often times, but that is because i am a "lab" where i try combinations that sometimes are winners and sometimes are not.
I have since then bought a pair of constellation monoblocks which sound magical with magico (best sound so far) so this is yet another example that this speaker needs outstanding amplification.
I was actually commenting to Mike how impressed i am with Constellation this time around and yet i had owned it twice before, but never quite realized the amazing sound this brand produces.
 
Jay's Audio Lab said:
thanks for watching my video.
That is a very good question and to be honest there is no easy answer for that. I DO NOT believe there is a perfect speaker PERIOD because our rooms aren't perfect so how can a speaker be perfect sounding when the space where they exist isn't?
I believe that some speakers are much more friendly with a lot of electronics. Some are pickier and sealed cabinets need tremendous control and power in order to fully "open up".
At a high level, i can say that if you own quality electronics such as Gryphon, Constellation, MSB, DCS, Dan Agostino, etc (the usual suspects) then you should always try to shoot for speakers that are known to have synergy with such components. I of course dont do that often times, but that is because i am a "lab" where i try combinations that sometimes are winners and sometimes are not.
I have since then bought a pair of constellation monoblocks which sound magical with magico (best sound so far) so this is yet another example that this speaker needs outstanding amplification.
I was actually commenting to Mike how impressed i am with Constellation this time around and yet i had owned it twice before, but never quite realized the amazing sound this brand produces.
Click to expand...

Congrats on the Constellation monoblocks! I’ve listened to the new Centaur and Taurus and I love how liquid they sound. They are on my very short list of solid state amps. It will be interesting to hear them on the M6’s and your impressions.

Ken
 
i can not promise you all that i will get to film constellation with magico because i have a ton of boxes in the room (acoustic panels) and a lot of other pending things i need to take care of, but i will try.
That said, i do find it interesting that Youtube just sent me an email stating that this last video i posted is trending to become "viral"... I guess it speaks volumes about what people are ACTUALLY interested in hearing from me...
 
Classic case of audio merry-go-round upgradetitis fueled by obsessive/compulsive desire to "experience" the best of the best. It is a fun game with no logical destination but the journey itself... As long as it lasts of course... There is no end to bigger, better, more expensive and I am personally more than convinced it is a wrong approach to audio hobby and long term enjoyment as eventual burnout and loss of interest is inevitable... but as they say, "it's your money, spend it as you wish". The description "Audio Lab" certainly fits. It is a "LAB". But my views are a bit skewed after 30 years of being in this hobby and simply enjoying music instead of being obsessed over gear and I can certainly understand the passion for the gear itself as a very big component of this hobby.

Having said that, I must also add:

Jay, keep it up, love the idea of course and it will be fun to follow along and get to see and hear all the discoveries made along the way in your "lab". Thanks for letting the viewers ride along on this journey. That is the true beauty of youtube. the content from creators that can be enjoyed by like minded hobbyists and the monetization of the platform, when that is feasible, certainly helps the content creator in the end. If people can make $ millions reviewing children's toys, the "big boy toys" should be just as profitable given enough of audiophile audience. Audiophiles are a relatively small segment of the society but Youtube has a worldwide audience... Good luck with your project and all the future LAB experiments. Looking forward to seeing more content.
 
Jay's Audio Lab said:
i can not promise you all that i will get to film constellation with magico because i have a ton of boxes in the room (acoustic panels) and a lot of other pending things i need to take care of, but i will try.
That said, i do find it interesting that Youtube just sent me an email stating that this last video i posted is trending to become "viral"... I guess it speaks volumes about what people are ACTUALLY interested in hearing from me...
Click to expand...

Hi Jay,

I think you will find, as in life, people are more interested in hearing about the negatives than the positives. No one else I know has titled a video, “M6 Cons”!

Ken
 
By now you all have watched the video of constellation audio with room treatment behind my listening chair. To me, this is the best the M6 have sounded since they arrived.
It is a about compromises and trade-offs and although Constellation does not have the monstrous explosiveness and grip of Gryphon, it does add an immense amount of clarity, detail and imaging. Right now, i am preferring Constellation audio over Gryphon and you all know that i am a HUGE Gryphon fan boy.
 
Jay, with an 8' ceiling a D'appolito array speaker will probably work best as the design excels in controlling vertical dispersion. Otherwise, you need to treat the ceiling with a combination of absorption/diffusion as you've discovered. I had a similar issue in my last condo and when I created custom ceiling clouds, the sound was transformed vs. any other treatment I tried. I hope that resolves your issue.

That all said, if you're having to correct the tweeter with power conditioning, cables, amps, etc. it sounds more like you are trying to squeeze a square peg into a round hole. Basically you are using tone controls.
 
Alpinist said:
Congrats on the Constellation monoblocks! I’ve listened to the new Centaur and Taurus and I love how liquid they sound. They are on my very short list of solid state amps. It will be interesting to hear them on the M6’s and your impressions.

Ken
Click to expand...

Interesting Ken... you use the term “liquid” describing the Constellation pieces and that is different than my own take. Constellation no doubt is exceptional gear, but I’ve found it a bit ‘dry’ particularly compared to Pilium which seemed to me to have a most liquid sound and made the M9s just disappear and nothing but sound, sweet sweet sound, filled the room. I don’t have enough reference points—would make a great shootout. Jay?
 
Bobvin said:
Interesting Ken... you use the term “liquid” describing the Constellation pieces and that is different than my own take. Constellation no doubt is exceptional gear, but I’ve found it a bit ‘dry’ particularly compared to Pilium which seemed to me to have a most liquid sound and made the M9s just disappear and nothing but sound, sweet sweet sound, filled the room. I don’t have enough reference points—would make a great shootout. Jay?
Click to expand...

Hi Bob,

I haven’t ever listened to the Pillium amps but I certainly would like to hear them sometime. There is certainly a lot of buzz about them lately.

Ken
 
Jay's Audio Lab said:
By now you all have watched the video of constellation audio with room treatment behind my listening chair. To me, this is the best the M6 have sounded since they arrived.
It is a about compromises and trade-offs and although Constellation does not have the monstrous explosiveness and grip of Gryphon, it does add an immense amount of clarity, detail and imaging. Right now, i am preferring Constellation audio over Gryphon and you all know that i am a HUGE Gryphon fan boy.
Click to expand...


Try adding MIT 2C3D Level 1 speaker cables + interconnects.

MIT and Magico is a great combo. Regardless of your choice of solid state electronics.

At one point, even Suncoast was an MIT dealer and I remember reading some of Mike's old posts how he loved the cables with Magico.

MIT cables are also used (among others) at the Magico Factory listening room.

At a low level, MIT's tech release current to the speaker driver for better control and refinement.

On sealed cabinet speakers like Magico, the effect is quite positive.
 
Bobvin,
i was told you are a Pillium dealer. I am all ears if you can put a few Pillium pieces at my door for me to review?
If Pillium is as good as it is said to be, (i have no clue), then it should easily keep up with the gear i generally display on my channel.
Can you facilitate this?

I am in the process of aligning more gear for my channel:

Block Audio
Audionet
Dartzeel
Synergistic Research SRX cable loom
Nordost Odin 2 full loom
and other items i can't disclose at this time.


If you or Bob at Rhapsody can join the fun then i would gladly put Pillium in front of 5,000 people right away. Feel free to take this privately if you wish.
 
Jay's Audio Lab said:
Bobvin,
i was told you are a Pillium dealer. I am all ears if you can put a few Pillium pieces at my door for me to review?
If Pillium is as good as it is said to be, (i have no clue), then it should easily keep up with the gear i generally display on my channel.
Can you facilitate this?

I am in the process of aligning more gear for my channel:

Block Audio
Audionet
Dartzeel
Synergistic Research SRX cable loom
Nordost Odin 2 full loom
and other items i can't disclose at this time.


If you or Bob at Rhapsody can join the fun then i would gladly put Pillium in front of 5,000 people right away. Feel free to take this privately if you wish.
Click to expand...

Jay,

Sounds like exciting times to come and I enjoy watching your videos.

However, I was under the impression, that you purchase every item out of your own pocket?

Rather than review samples as you just described.

Going forward, will you disclose what you own as compared to what you have on loan?

Similar to how (some) of the major print magazine reviewers disclose to their readers.
 
i have owned 98% of what you have seen on my channel. I believe maybe the audiomica cables and a few other small things were not mine which i disclosed. That said, due to the fact that my channel continues to grow and it is gaining far more traction than i expected, it appears that i am being more recognized which means i might be able to get things on loan for me to give my input on, but that is yet to happen.
 
Hi Jay, I'm not really a "dealer" but a remote showroom instead. If someone hears something they like they'll deal with Bob @ Rhapsody, I'm not involved in selling anything. For the brands I'll be having in my new "showroom" they are all build to order, so there isn't inventory that could be made available. However, there will be Rhapsody Listening Rooms in the Miami area where you could visit to hear the Pilium.

My first exposure was my trip to Magico to hear the Pilium with the M9s. Obviously Alon thinks they have something special going on. He's had the other top labels in-house too (Constellation, Solution, etc.), and I bet they all perform magically with the M9s as well as his other models. At these lofty levels it comes down to personal preference, the top SS labels are all pretty damn good these days. Pros & Cons, Pluses & Minuses.

I know personally, once I've gotten things broken in, my own curiosity will have me wondering how different electronics are going to play with the speakers I'll have on hand. Boulder? Dag? DartZeel?
 
I thought dealer involvement of any kind need to be listed in signatures , BTW cant wait for Publix to pick up a few lines ...!

:)
 
Jay's Audio Lab said:
i have owned 98% of what you have seen on my channel. I believe maybe the audiomica cables and a few other small things were not mine which i disclosed. That said, due to the fact that my channel continues to grow and it is gaining far more traction than i expected, it appears that i am being more recognized which means i might be able to get things on loan for me to give my input on, but that is yet to happen.
Click to expand...

I think many of your subscribers follow your channel is because you’re just like them, buying your own gears out of your own pocket and just being an audiophile wondering through the journey with no direction whatsoever.
 
kzhtoo said:
I think many of your subscribers follow your channel is because you’re just like them, buying your own gears out of your own pocket and just being an audiophile wondering through the journey with no direction whatsoever.
Click to expand...

Was that harsh, or was I just imagining it?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top