18-Jan-2019, 21:52
When I got my 130 I had Dynaudio Contour 1.3SEs and I liked what SAM did but I ended up with SAM set to around 25% because I didn't like the sound of the result at higher settings. I replaced the Dynaudios with my current Focal Sopra 2s some months later and I've found that I prefer the Sopras without SAM. I think a lot depends on the speaker and its setup in the room. You might find a different result if you took your 220 to your friend's home than you got when he brought his speakers to your home because room factors play a big part in speaker response in the bass frequencies.
I think another factor may well relate to how the designer voiced the speaker. Extending the bass will change the balance between the bass and the upper bass/midrange where SAM doesn't change things.. With a lot of music, especially music with singers, I find the shift in balance I hear with SAM and the Sopras makes voices sound less pleasant to me but there's other music where I like the sense of a bit more detail and extension I get in the bass with SAM but I don't like going above 15% with SAM and the Sopras and most of the time I leave it turned off.
I think how you end up feeling about SAM depends on your speakers, your room and how the speakers are set up in the room, and a fair dose of personal taste. It can be great for some people and/or with some speakers in some rooms, and others prefer their speakers without it.
I think another factor may well relate to how the designer voiced the speaker. Extending the bass will change the balance between the bass and the upper bass/midrange where SAM doesn't change things.. With a lot of music, especially music with singers, I find the shift in balance I hear with SAM and the Sopras makes voices sound less pleasant to me but there's other music where I like the sense of a bit more detail and extension I get in the bass with SAM but I don't like going above 15% with SAM and the Sopras and most of the time I leave it turned off.
I think how you end up feeling about SAM depends on your speakers, your room and how the speakers are set up in the room, and a fair dose of personal taste. It can be great for some people and/or with some speakers in some rooms, and others prefer their speakers without it.
Roon Nucleus+, Devilalet Expert 140 Pro CI, Focal Sopra 2, PS Audio P12, Keces P8 LPS, Uptone Audio EtherREGEN with optical fibre link to my router, Shunyata Alpha NR and Sigma NR power cables, Shunyata Sigma ethernet cables, Shunyata Alpha V2 speaker cables, Grand Prix Audio Monaco rack, RealTRAPS acoustic treatment.
Brisbane, Qld, Australia
