And already a SAM related problem...

[Confused]

I think there are multiple issue here, which in combination may be causing some confusion. So taking each point one by one. You mention that the 'thump' issue with vinyl is mitigated when you use RIAA 1976 equalisation. This makes perfect sense because selecting RIAA 1976 introduces a high pass / subsonic filter. You mention that you have your turntable perfectly set up and I have absolutely no reason to doubt this. The problem is that even with a perfectly set up TT, on a decent stand with an isolation platform, maybe even with the stand on a concrete floor, you can still get some 'environmental' feedback. Turntables are incredibly sensitive, and this effect in combination with no subsonic filter and SAM working hard at 100% is likely to cause issues in many set-ups. I note that some other responses to this thread have speculated that SAM has some low frequency filtering. This may vary between SAM profiles I guess, but my experience is that there is zero low frequency filtering with SAM. Feed the system a 2Hz signal or something and you can see the bass drivers moving a 2Hz. I also note that your turntable is a suspended sub chassis design, so some minor movement is inevitable. Some background information per these links:

https://devialetchat.com/showthread.php?...light=1976

https://devialetchat.com/showthread.php?...ht=walking

You mention trying a 20Hz test tone. One thing I have noticed with SAM is that some very low frequency test tones can upset SAM a little. It is perhaps worth remembering that 20Hz is pretty much the point at which bass becomes inaudible and can only be felt. So feeding a speaker with relatively small bass drivers a pure 20Hz signal with SAM set to 100% is almost certainly going to yield some strange results. SAM limits not just driver excursion, but can protect against voice coil overheating, as well as the amps digital power supply protecting the amp from overload, so it is not impossible that you are hitting three protection devices when attempting a pure 20Hz tone. To summarise, I really would not worry too much about what happens with a 20Hz tone.

Having said all of that, I would not discount the possibility that there is indeed an issue with your SAM profile. SAM has existed in two versions, V1 & V2. The V2 SAM come out with firmware 8 and any speakers that have been SAM'ed after this time have 'V8' designated SAM profile. Speakers SAM'ed before this have had the SAM profiles converted to be fully compatible with the later firmware versions. I know that there has been some issues with a small number of these V1 to SAM V2/V8 conversion, this was the case with my own speakers which exhibited all kinds of strange behaviour with SAM V2. Thankfully, Devialet found the issue, rectified it, and now SAM works fine for me. It is not inconceivable that there is a similar issue lurking in your SAM profile, I know a lot of the B&W speakers were part of the original V1 SAM ready set.

As a final comment regarding SAM V2, it does seam to come with a very high degree of adjustment. For example, with the original SAM I was quite happy to keep SAM at 100%, but with the Firmware 8+ SAM V2, it is much better to have SAM at 20% to 40%, to go to 100% is too much with a lot of music. I am aware that you are 'stuck' on 100% whilst you await you new remote.

The short version of this post is that I reckon that if you try SAM at a lower percentage setting and stick with RIAA 1976, then you will probably find that your system is fine. If you do continue getting SAM related issues it would then be wise to get Devialet to double check that there is not an issue with your specific speaker SAM profile.