New speakers SAM ready

[AlexS]

Well the effect of SAM is to correct the cone movement from 200Hz
...
The effect will be very small on speakers which are very accurate and full range already, and are more likely to reveal room problems.

I can concede that the "bass echo/resonance" problem I'd observed could possibly be room related, even though my ears (and the brain) told me otherwise: the bass itself did not sound any deeper, so why would it elicit such a nasty resonance from something in the room?
But more importantly, if it's limited to 200Hz and below, why would SAM bereave the mids and highs from air (not to be confused with AIR) and transparency, as a few people here observed?
And then the rather skeptical response from Sonus Faber. They should be glad their speakers (3 models) were SAM'ed one of the first - a welcome marketing boost (for the models still in production). I think their concern with SAM was sincere. But it's not even their response that made me change my mind - it was careful listening. And, frankly, I wanted to like SAM...
Again, I'm not drawing any generalizations as to SAM - I can only speak for my speakers and ears.

[f1eng]

Well all the festivities over our 40th wedding anniversary are over and small people have gone home so I dragged my KEF LS50s downstairs, did a SAM config for my 800s and am listening for the first time.

The improvement in the bass for such tiny speakers is vast, both in quality and quantity.
I have tried switching back and forth between SAM on and off and haven't noticed anything untoward in mid or treble yet - but I am still on the first disc I have tried...

[Ekmanc]

For those of you who dislike SAM have you tried different placement of your speakers? a different bass output will most likely mean that you need to position them again.

[GuillaumeB]

For those of you who dislike SAM have you tried different placement of your speakers? a different bass output will most likely mean that you need to position them again.

I think you're absolutely right, and I plan to do exactly that. SAM adds a lot more low frequency energy in the room and as a result things will need to be adjusted. Even more so with large full range speakers like the Sasha 2.

Having said that at lower to normal listening volumes I am mostly still preferring the presentation of non-SAM (sorry don't know what else to call it!). But I like to switch between the two since I enjoy both. It's nice to have the choice! I'd be happy if Devialet added more DSP filters too.

I can't help but think that at the moment SAM almost feels like a bit of a loudness button or one of those bass boost buttons on walkmans of yesteryear. I know it's doing a whole lot more but it does sound a bit like that no doubt egged on by my room resonance modes. (Which I still haven't measured I might add!).

Guillaume

[Confused]

I have this issue in my kitchen. (There is a point here, I have not lost my mind) Sometimes on a lazy weekend morning, I'll stick on some music, and wander 'round, tidying up the house, perhaps sticking last night’s plates in the dishwasher. (a new man)

Now pre SAM, my system actually sounded quite good when I was in the kitchen. Not the ideal spot for stereo imagery I would agree, that is being in an adjacent room, but it did sound ok. With SAM I have no issues with boom or similar when in the same room as the speakers, quite the reverse, with SAM it sounds superb. Wander into the kitchen, a separate but adjacent room, the boom is terrible. So it's SAM on if I'm in the same room, SAM off if I'm in the kitchen. (perhaps I have gone mad)

So there is a point here, I am a happy large speaker SAM user, no boom, lots of improvements, love it. However, my trips to the kitchen indicate that there is probably a lot more going on than is at first apparent. I have little idea about the subtleties of sound waves in the above scenario, but it does lead me to think that optimum speaker placement with SAM may need to be different than without. In short, SAM changes things. There are also some spot in my room where there are some kind of bass "nulls", sweet spots, and similar, I am quite familiar with these vs my current speaker positioning, the thing is, that with SAM these nulls / locations are changed. It still sounds good in the actual seating / listening position, but with SAM everything is a little different. For those experiencing issues with SAM and boom etc., a few happy hours playing with speaker positioning would be well worth while, I would have thought. Nothing to lose, why not?

[pete86]

A few more speakers have recently been added: Martin Logan Motion 15, Sonus Faber Toy Monitor, Tannoy Definition DC8, Magico V2, Kiso Acoustic HB-1.

It looks like they're beginning to process some speakers regardless of the number of votes they've received for them (the Martin Logans have 10 votes, the Kiso has 3 views, the Sonus Faber has 24 votes). I'm betting that these speakers were just more readily available to them. This makes me more hopeful that they'll eventually get to most of the speakers with a substantial # of votes, assuming they are able to get their hands on them.

[f1eng]

Well, I've taken my LS50s back upstairs so no more SAM for me. I only heard gains from SAM on them, deeper cleaner bass, no loss in MF or HF just better.
OTOH nowhere near my bigger speakers in my main room, with or without SAM, as one would hope.

I have had 3 experiences with SAM, 2 at OAC open day and one at home.
The first was 800s into Sascha 2 which was first class, but SAM wasn't switched off whilst I was there.
The second was the Devialet/Atohm system, where SAM was a marked improvement.
The third was longer and at home with my own kit, 800s into KEF LS50 and again no down side, though my room is about 5m x 10m and they were well away from walls (2m behind 1.5m each side), so unlikely to create negative room interactions

[Vivialet]

I'm using the Vivid G3 profile with my G2 which works pretty good. Also no downsides, the sound is on a higher level in all aspects. Hope they release a G2 profile soon...

[colonel66]

Hope they release a G2 profile soon...

See post#43

[seeseerider]

I'm using the Vivid G3 profile with my G2 which works pretty good. Also no downsides, the sound is on a higher level in all aspects. Hope they release a G2 profile soon...

Hi Vivialet !! can you elaborate on the sound you got on your G2 with SAM?
thanks!

Guy;-)