Cheaper with SAM vs. more expensive without?

[ozthepoz]

I have auditioned the Devialet Ensemble (D120 + ATOHM GT1 SPECIAL EDITION) and the sound was awesome with clear and relaxed base. it was in a small room though. so i guess that would be a safe bet to go with decent bookshelf SAM ready for smaller rooms

i also auditioned the D800 with Wilson Audio Duette and that was in a way bigger room and again it was mind blowing. in the same room with the same D800 i also tried the Sophia 3 and surprisingly did not sound as nice on the low frequencies (but this was a new pair not fully run in).

Earlier i auditioned Vivid Audio Giya G3 and G4 and i liked the sound more with SAM off!

in my System (currently D200 + ML ESL) SAM helped the speaker to play with ease, confidence and control on the low frequencies ... oh you should listen to Jonas Helborg - The Silent Life on my system with SAM on

So i guess this is in line with many posts we saw here that some like sam on and other like it off. Also other speaker that are not sam ready and dons't look they ever will (e.g. ML Montis) they still sound great with Devialet.

this is surely a very subjective thing and depends on your system, room, taste, genres you play, and preference. so bottom line aim for an audition in your own room, while this is not always possible nor practical, but it is the best way for you to judge

Cheers

Good point about the ML Montis. I have ML Vantage speakers and would only ever consider going for another pair of MLs - SAM or no SAM.

The speed and imaging properties of electrostatics are more important to me than SAM.