Adjust SAM Level?

[daniel.avasilichioaei]

Hello ,

I made some adjustment to the SAM % and it made a HUGE difference to my speaker sound. Used to have it set on 100% and now it is at 50%.
I'm using a Devialet Expert 200 and Focal Diablo Utopia III speakers. When at 100% , the bass was far too heavy with some music.

The Focals actually seemed to be blown up at times when volume was high. Even at reasonable volume levels this was the case... I was very confused about it and thought my speakers were actually damaged.

But now (since today!)  everything is fine and I am really really happy : -)  I can turn up the volume and make the speakers sing.
Would recommend anyone to try out and find the right SAM % for your system. It can make a HUGE difference. Good luck !!

If you are using last firmware (FIRMWARE 13.1.3 DOS 2.2.4), then there are (at least) two bugs in SAM software, relating to sound quality.
This may be the cause why you have trouble with SAM = 100%. If SAM would work fine, such trouble should not occur.

Bug 1 - SAM:
Between ~10 Hz and ~30 Hz, SAM ON is performing a very strong bass sound amplification. This is MUTCH more than a simple sound adjustment to match with speakers (or SAM purpose: "SAM lets your system achieve perfect temporal alignment between the recorded signal and the acoustic pressure generated by your loudspeakers").
Inside the range 12 ÷ 20 Hz, things are getting really out of control: Expert PRO is generating clicks and distortions on medium speaker (maybe treble speaker also). The source sound is not containing such frequencies, but Expert PRO is "generating" such sounds, and they are pretty loud.

Bug 2 - SAM and bass/treble adjustment:
While increasing the TONE \ BASS setting, starting with very low values (a few dB plus), amplifier is clipping bass, and sound is getting very heavy distortions.
Bug occurrence is not depending on SAM profile (I tried multiple profiles).
This bug is only for FIRMWARE 13.1.3 DOS 2.2.4. It is NOT occurring on FIRMWARE 13.0.0 DOS 2.2.2.

It's quite possible these problems only occur with a specific speaker's profile. I remember @Confused had a problem with his KEF Blade SAM profile. The only difference here, which I can't explain, is that it changes with firmware versions. Out of interest, what speakers do you use?

I use the "ELAC FS 409" speakers, but this is not relevant: I reproduced both bugs with several SAM profiles (randomly chosen).
SAM is great in theory, but in practical application there can be many deviations from the theory (and even appear)...
After all, it is about hardware and software processing of the signal. I suspect this is a software problem, because with SAM off none of the bugs are manifesting (regardless of the amplifier settings).