Million Dollar Audiophile System - Music Clips - Part 1 - Best in the World for Classical Music?

[@danieljones8587]

My cell phone was vibrating! That big sound works so well in that huge room even thru a cellphone ❤

[@shanestephenson8423]

Wow Jason it scales beautifully the transient response is stunning. It really feels to me even through KZbin like you're at live performance. And the strings are just stunning especially the violins. Classical isn't really my genre of music either, but at 51 I'm starting to listen to more of it and appreciate it more and more as well.

[@AudiophileJunkie]

Yes...it's hard to pickup all the dynamics and realism, but you can sense it from the recording...like you did. It's a piece that really separates what a system like this can do that 99% of others can't. Even many mega dollar speakers I've heard can't reproduce this scale and dynamics...plus the room is actually an advantage overall and allows the speakers to flex their abilities. The room isn't perfect yet, but it's ideally suited to this type of music and had me enthralled which is tough to do with classical. I even started a separate playlist with classical in Roon to explore more... much like you're doing. Thanks for the comment.

[@pf5658]

Fantastic! I hope this gives you the urge to listen to some classical music every now and then. You just may end up liking it.

[@skip1835]

Beside all of the accolades that I was thinking as I listened to these million dollar behemoths - - I also thought it was extremely special to hear an entire movement, I don't ever recall having that experience over You Tube - - and yes - - I enjoyed this entire series and all of the cost no object systems ultimately leading up to the climax of this EXTREME system and experience. Thanks for putting all of it together and taking us along on this dream like journey that Jim so graciously invited you to take throughout his home, unbelievable is obviously an understatement.

[@AudiophileJunkie]

Glad you enjoyed and thanks for the feedback

[@julian73de]

Thank you very much for playing the whole piece as well...loved every second

[@user-od9iz9cv1w]

I think big horns are great for this type of music. Thanks to the owner for sharing this experience. I think the shape of the room is also beneficial. No square corners and very high ceilings. Of the mega $ systems I have heard sound clips from, I enjoy the Aries Cerat big horns the most. The cheap horn systems like the klipsh and JBL seem pretty crappy. But when well done, a horn seems pretty nice. Needs a big space.

[@AudiophileJunkie]

You hit the nail on the head with virtually your entire comment.

[@ericschultz9925]

Plasma tweeters are incredible. I listened to an Acapella speaker that the guy had modded the crap out of the power supply/crossover. Really nice. However, he had the tweeter way away from the midrange horn.....so no diffraction problem. The Sphaerons have the plasma tweeter located so a lot of its output is hitting on the back of the other horns. This is a big no no.....this has to color the sound. Check out the big OMA horns for time alignment done correctly with somewhat better diffraction control although they could add felt to the speaker struts and back of the bigger horns as well.....but at least it is better than the above. EVERYTHING matters. On the Sphaerons I would mount the tweeter at least 6 inches farther away from the horns and also felt the back of the horns so they wont let the sound bounce and diffract.....pretty simple, I would also felt the entire face the the plasma box....right up to its waveguide. Happy tweaking!

[@AudiophileJunkie]

The plasma tweeter is adjustable from what I recall looking at the back.

[@Vu.c]

❤ lovely enjoy

[@realhi-fihelplarry8047]

Sounds lovely

[@jlo8775]

Hard to wrap my head around the cost of those speakers….I could buy a condo with an end game system in it and a G-wagon parked outside and still have money left over in the bank! 🤯😱

[@AudiophileJunkie]

No doubt this purchase is for the .00001% that have the money, room and desire as an audiophile to spend whatever it takes to achieve a certain goal. I'm glad he's spending it on this versus a private jet which could garner equal analysis/comparisons. You also have to remember...many of us probably spend more of a percentage of our net worth on our audio systems than him, so it's relative. Lots of our friends probably look at us with the same lens you are looking at him and saying WTF...why is Jason spending so much money on a stereo?

[@jlo8775]

Relative it is! My ass is always broke but my rig is coming along nicely. 😂🤷🏼‍♂️

[@AudiophileJunkie]

The journey is often more fun than the destination

[@samuelsalins8309]

I feel like I'm in side the church ⛪. But this speakers need a dedicated listing room to enjoy the music 🎶.

[@iampuzzleman282]

Not sure grand acoustically designed venues are being well replicated by this room. Seems room could accommodate 3 to 4 dozen chairs and with humans sitting in them maybe that would be closer to what a live performance would sound like. Seems the sound diffusing impact of a full room of humans is a pretty important part of a live listening experience. The pressure amplitudes herein are going nuts my guess. It is a really lovely room though. Thanks for doing this, amazing.

[@AudiophileJunkie]

It's being replicated much more than your typical low ceiling room with drywall. The size allows bass of frequency lengths to propagate in a manner similar to a huge venue, plus the ceiling height and less parallel walls give a venue style dispersion and "feel". Nothing can exactly replicate a venue, but each live venue is different too. I would take this room over virtually any other room I've heard if I listened to lots of classical music.

[@fredsanke4070]

In your ears Giant Tubas!! All I can afford is Herbert's album....

[@jcvr18]

awesome

[@badgermike1231]

Somebody somewhere is surely thinking to themselves "my Bose 901's sound at least that good." 🤣🤣🤣

[@AudiophileJunkie]

I suspect people wearing Beats headphones too

[@daveycrockett5738]

What size are those woofers?? I must know 18”??? Wow dream more than a dream a word that eludes me. Awesome stuff thank you

[@stevenoconnor5693]

Cool

[@Gersberms]

You're absolutely right that those details and the effortlessness don't translate in the recording - that's OK. I am curious about the increased 1.3-1.6 kHz I'm hearing. Is that an artifact of the recording or did it really sound that way?

[@AudiophileJunkie]

Yes... This catch and I heard it too. It's partly due to 4 factors. One is the volume slightly overloading the mic. I had to edit the gain in the recording because the volume we played the song was near clipping. In some cases it did, so I edited the gain which still left a bit of that tilt. Second, it's a factor of the reverb in the room. As I played more songs, I moved closer to the speakers which actually helped mitigate it to my ears, but I'm not sure how much translates to the recording. As they mentioned, a few room treatments are coming to address this area. Another factor is whatever playback mechanism you're using. I was using headphones that had a slight tilt up in that area and made it more noticeable. When I played this same video back on my main speakers instead of headphones, it was less aggressive in those spots where I think you're hearing the same as me. A fourth factor is the recording itself. If you play this track directly on your main system, there is a similar emphasis based on I suppose the way the orchestra was mic'd/mastered. It's not an easy track to play very loud on most systems at certain parts. I didn't have the LP and they were using a new cartridge, so I'm not sure how much that played into it, but I mention it as a possible factor I can't confirm. This room and type of music really requires an array of mics and professional recording equipment. I'll actually have a video on this topic soon with an example from another speaker I heard recently and how much better it makes the speaker sound via KZbin.

[@pedrocols]

Do you have oscilloscope for ears? How can you identify those frequencies from a KZbin clip?

[@TheDanEdwards]

At $1M this gentleman is not longer a customer. He is a patron. Also, phones are designed to work with voice and unless you have software that turns off the auto-gain, auto-compression, and voice equalization then the phone will try to pic up the smallest sounds (because humans can whisper a lot), which is not good in a such a live room. Still, pretty impressive.

[@AudiophileJunkie]

There are definitely limitations, but stay tuned to my next video where I feature one company that is recording incredible audio from shows. It's far too complex and costly for me to do, but it's my new benchmark for comparison. The fact that they recorded the same speakers I did in a different video gives me a good reference.

[@jazzman642]

I say, do you have any grey poupon?

[@stephenstevens6573]

As mentioned in the notes, irregardless of the quality of the electronics, the system was at or near clipping in much of the piece. I feel that with the volume level, and dynamics of the piece, a bit more wattage could have solved some of the issues that you guys are talking about. Just IMHO ...

[@AudiophileJunkie]

It didn't seem that way live, but the crazy thing is that the amps were driving the bass towers too...which is rare to get those dynamics with 20 watts. You could argue that separate amplification for the bass towers would enhance things more, and I would be inclined to agree in theory. However, he actually tried it. The bass towers do have their own amps, but he preferred it with the single 20 watt Berning doing everything. Thus, at the end of the day, you have to go with what you like over theory... even if it's counterintuitive to what you expect. He could easily choose either option, so it's not due to any other factors.

[@itsjim2875]

Probably fantastic in person, but after KZbin and my desktop Bose seakers get hold of it, some of the magic seems to have disappeared.... 🙂

[@iraeich]

Why did he play thefinal movement of the Eroica instead of from the beginning?

[@AudiophileJunkie]

His choice to highlight certain things. We also had limited time.

[@outboardfun3353]

What make or the woofers?

[@iliascharis5668]

Looks fantastic .......but I bet the system has some nasty picks between 70 and 110 hz .....can't u hear them???

[@AudiophileJunkie]

You won't likely be able to hear issues in that narrow range via a cell phone recording. When you're live in a room that isn't an anechoic chamber, there will be certain peaks and nulls, but that also varies with your listening position. This room is big enough such that most bass wavelengths can get created fully in the room. What makes you pick out that narrow range based on what you see? It seems virtually impossible.

[@DrBroncanuus]

I bet Danny, from GR Research, could improve them.....

[@AudiophileJunkie]

I already sent him a pair. The first pair fell off the flat Earth, so this is the second try.

[@DrBroncanuus]

I'm going to look for those that fell....

[@AudiophileJunkie]

You might be able to hear it instead of look for it.

[@pedrocols]

He improved my maggies 1.7!!

[@daveycrockett5738]

🤦

[@GavinHodgson]

I think what this tells me is that I’m not keen on the sound of vinyl…. Music streaming or CD’s any day for me

[@AudiophileJunkie]

If you noticed in the prior video with the owner, he wasn't a huge fan of vinyl either for various reasons.

[@IamtheLordofDoom]

Well, it's safe to say my JBL bluetooth speaker bar doesn't do the sound any justice =)

[@amirkessner8184]

That's a wrong and misleading comment: "Here's a chance to hear a one million dollar speaker". If people who watch this video do not do it thru such speakers, they're NOT hearing THEM. They're hearing YOUR RECORDING of them -- not sure at what quality (via a smartphone? Doesn't matter) -- thru their own smartphone or computer speakers, or even their own system, but NOT THESE speakers.

[@AudiophileJunkie]

Lol...I bet you're one of those "Karen's" IRL that complains to the manager about every sign you read, every description and every verbal exchange that isn't literal. Here's a newsflash. All your music is a "recording". Using your logic...you aren't listening to the band on your own system either. You are listening to a recording of them through whatever quality playback. In many cases, it could be a car radio, headphones, or speaker stuck in the ceiling of an elevator. Even if you go see a band live, you are probably listening way off axis... With a high noise floor... And someone mixing the raw sound and choosing to mic them a certain way. Do you think every live concert is "wrong and misleading"? Do you think every album cover is misleading since the band doesn't actually come to your home after buying it? If you were somehow confused that pressing play on a KZbin video was going to transport you to this guy's house so you could listen live, I'd see someone about that delusion. I guess you could be one of those litigious lawyers IRL... Those are the only people who think this way and run to their keyboard to spout such nonsense.

[@amirkessner8184]

@@AudiophileJunkie -- Don't you see the difference between hearing: #1. $1M loudspeakers directly and #2. Recording the speakers on video, storing it on KZbin, which is limited to mp3 quality, downloading it to a smatphone and using the smartphone DAC and speaker(s)? Or, at most your $20K speakers? I'm sad for you if you don't. And you're presenting the second as if it had been the first.

[@eyeshezzy]

Thank God its not a million dollar system in a 50,000 dollar home 😅

[@AudiophileJunkie]

You're right about that although I don't sweat people putting more money in their hobby than their home. Everyone has their own priorities and how they want to spend their money.

[@merakrut]

A pity, someone in the vicinity is frying some food.