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SAM 2
#1
I have been using the original SAM for about 9 months now.  With the new 8.x.x firmware this has become SAM 2.  

It is early days, but I am finding SAM 2 quite different.  With original SAM, I did spend some time tweaking speaker placement etc to optimise, but was more than happy to leave SAM at 100%.

Now with 8.1.2 and the new SAM, I am finding that it sounds best with SAM wound back to some extent.  With SAM at 100% I think there is too much bass, and it can start to sound very slightly flabby.  Reduce SAM a bit, things come back into balance and the bass tightens up as it should, as good as the Devilet at it's best in the good old 7.1.3beta days.  

Anyone else have similar observations?  Or indeed different observations?

For what it's worth, I think the change is a good thing.  Rather being stuck at 100%, I now have some adjustability with SAM 2.  As I stated, it's early days, and I do often find that first impressions change over time, with greater familiarity, together with observations over time with many and varied music choices.
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#2
Well it looks like this was not one of my more interesting posts, as it has received a total of zero responses so far! Anyway, for me SAM V2 has been an interesting journey. I'm a bit late to the 8.x.x party, 8.0 didn't work for the SAM bugs, I missed 8.1 completely, and finally on 8.1.2 it turned out that the SAM 2 profile for the LEF Blade was defective, something Devialet fixed in less than 3 days from me reporting it, they deserve a "well done" on this occasion.

Anyway, this weekend has been the first time that I have been able to do any extensive listening. Yesterday, I found that with many tracks SAM 2 with the Blades sounded utterly dreadful. Now having winged that nobody had responded to this thread, I have noted that this forum's very own Rufus and Guillaume have mentioned over on the 8.1.2 thread that SAM 2 appears to be far more subtle than the original SAM. Well this differs massively from my own experience, where I was running "original" SAM at 100% and now with SAM 2 some music sounds terrible. The issue being extremely over prominent very low bass. And I mean the lowest bass, but stacks and stacks of it. Yesterday I experimented a bit with SAM %, but having been used to being happy at SAM 100%, I was finding some music still sounded quite wrong with SAM reduced to 50%. At this point I got a but grumpy, and sent a fairly long, fairly informative feedback wise, but slightly grumpy query to Devialet asking why SAM 2 was so bad vs SAM 1. (although I was in a bit of a bad mood anyway yesterday, for some reason, a little out of character).

Anyway, having slept on it, and thought about things a little, I decided I would have another go today. After much experimenting with various types of music, SAM %, and even a session with REW, I found that the system appears to sound rather good with SAM wound back to 20%. I will stick with this for a while to see how things work out over more listening time.

I am still a little puzzled why SAM & SAM 2 appears so different with the Blades. I am beginning to think that maybe I have a double whammy of SAM 2 boosting the very lowest frequencies more, combined with a room that is maybe responding to these frequencies. For what it's worth, the Blades have a fairly normal low frequency response at say -3dB, but apparently the roll off rate is unusually small. Perhaps SAM 2 is telling me to buy some bass traps! Although if I'm honest, I don't mind a little room interaction boosting the upper bass a touch, this to me is how music sounds it's most natural and realistic, after all, live musicians play in real rooms. I'm not sure if bass traps can kill this lowest frequency stuff without compromising the bass you like. Anyway, that is a digression that probably needs a bit of research and at least a new thread.

The point being, in my specific case, my room and the SAM 2 Blade profile, it is very clear indeed that SAM 2 is making a very big difference, at the lowest extremes of frequency at least. I would be interested if others have noticed anything, so far it looks like it might just be little me all on my own? Which does make me wonder if is still possible that something is slightly amiss with the Blade 2 SAM profile?, that said, at SAM 20% it's sounding pretty good so far.

Any SAM 2 observations out there?
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#3
Hi there

I had my speakers SAM'ed on Friday and had a chat with the Devialet guys. I mentioned that i had a pair of Atohm GT1's for a little while just to try SAM out as my go-to speakers didn't have a SAM profile. Although SAM really improved the GT1's and massively filled out the bottom end, i felt that the speaker protection kicked in way too early. So as i would wind up the volume the bass would actually roll off as the speaker protection would cut in. The Devialet guys said they were well aware of that happening and that with SAM V2 this was now fixed.

This probably makes no difference to your blades but i found it interesting that V2 supposedly addresses that problem now. If i can get my hands on another pair of GT1's i'll have a listen and see what i can hear.

My profile should be uploaded this coming week so i'm really excited to hear my speakers with SAM. Of course i won't be able to compare to SAM V1 though.
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#4
(12-Jul-2015, 13:03)wikeeboy Wrote: Hi there

I had my speakers SAM'ed on Friday and had a chat with the Devialet guys. I mentioned that i had a pair of Atohm GT1's for a little while just to try SAM out as my go-to speakers didn't have a SAM profile. Although SAM really improved the GT1's and massively filled out the bottom end, i felt that the speaker protection kicked in way too early. So as i would wind up the volume the bass would actually roll off as the speaker protection would cut in. The Devialet guys said they were well aware of that happening and that with SAM V2 this was now fixed.

This probably makes no difference to your blades but i found it interesting that V2 supposedly addresses that problem now. If i can get my hands on another pair of GT1's i'll have a listen and see what i can hear.

My profile should be uploaded this coming week so i'm really excited to hear my speakers with SAM. Of course i won't be able to compare to SAM V1 though.
Actually, I think the roll off issue might be a part of what I'm experiencing, that is, SAM 2 is now generating loads of very low bass, bass that SAM 1 was restricting, or at least not boosting to the same degree.  At normal / upper bass frequencies, SAM was / is probably doing very little with the Blades, other than phase correction, but what SAM 2 is now doing with the lowest bass is fairly epic!
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#5
What I don't understand is when looking at the configurator: some speakers have a "V8" icon still most of them don't. Does this mean that without the speaker has SAM V1 and with V2, I'm so confused...
Stereo: Sonus Faber Amati Futura - Graphite -> Yter Loudspeaker Cable -> Devialet D250 - Chrome -> LessLoss DFPC Orginal Powercord
Source: Mac Mini -> Devialet Air Ethernet
Control: iPad Air / iPhone 5S -> Apple Remote
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#6
If your speakers have V8 next to them it means that you must be running version 8.x.x firmware for the SAM profile to work.
Project Eperience X Pack with Ortofon Rondo Red MC, Oppo BDP 105D, 2 x Sonos Connect, QNAP HS251+ NAS with 2 X 6TB Western Digital Red, Mac 5K 32GB running Lifetime Roon, iPad Pro 12.9" for remote control.  Etalon Ethernet Isolator, Devialet 440 Pro CI, Sonus faber Olympica ll with Isoacoustics Gaia ll feet, Auralic Taurus Mkll headphone amp.Denon AH-D5000, Sennheiser HD600 and HD800 with Cardas cable,  Van Den Hul The First Ultimate and Crystal interconnects, Furutech power cables, GSP Audio Spatia speaker cable.
South Coast England
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#7
We now have a number of reports on the 8.1.2 thread with people who find SAM 2 has little or no effect in comparison to the old SAM. By contrast, I appear to be the only one experiencing the extreme mega sub bass issue. What I'm wondering if anyone that routinely used and what happy with the old SAM, has now switched to 8.x.x and SAM 2 and finds that it's just as good or maybe even an improvement?
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#8
(13-Jul-2015, 22:27)Confused Wrote: We now have a number of reports on the 8.1.2 thread with people who find SAM 2 has little or no effect in comparison to the old SAM. By contrast, I appear to be the only one experiencing the extreme mega sub bass issue. What I'm wondering if anyone that routinely used and what happy with the old SAM, has now switched to 8.x.x and SAM 2 and funds it's just as good or maybe even an improvement?

Yes it SAM V2 is better
UK kit - Technics SP10 - Technics EPA-501  - AT33SA - NUC5i3 - W10 - Roonserver - Roon AIR - Devialet 1000 Pro CI - Blue Jeans Speaker Cable (0.5 metre each side) - Magico S5

Spain kit - NUC7i5 - W10  - Roonserver - Roon AIR - Devialet D250 Pro CI - Blue Jeans Speaker Cable - Ergo IX speakers
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#9
At least in my case (D120 and LS50) it seems to be working fine. Had to tweak a bit (in my case, add a bit of Sam to 70 or 75%) but there's definitely something going on, and good, with Sam on.

If other LS50 users could confirm or deny, it would be great!

Thanks, best!

L


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
MBPro 2008 > Dev 120 > KEF LS50. Location: Buenos Aires, Argentina.
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#10
(14-Jul-2015, 00:15)LBameule Wrote: At least in my case (D120 and LS50) it seems to be working fine. Had to tweak a bit (in my case, add a bit of Sam to 70 or 75%) but there's definitely something going on, and good, with Sam on.

If other LS50 users could confirm or deny, it would be great!

Thanks, best!

L


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
MBPro 2008 > Dev 120 > KEF LS50. Location: Buenos Aires, Argentina.

I use SAM with my 200 and LS50s and SAM does not appear to work at all since the first version 8. (Haven't tried the very latest version as I am away)

It used to work with version 7. The bass control in version 8 DOES have an obvious effect but not SAM.

Mac Mini -> USB -> D200.     Configuration file created on an iMac.
mac mini (2018, Latest MacOS, plain old iTunes) > no name USB cable or AIR3 over ethernet -> Devialet 200 -> Kimber 8TC -> KEF LS50
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