Below is what I wrote to Bobby regarding my jumpers/PC/batteries mod experience.
-------
Overall, without isolating any specific element, my modified MX sounds even more musical and linear (i.e. continuous in your parlance). Upon receipt of the new jumpers/powercord/battery, I behaved well by resisting the temptation of immediately listening to my system as I wanted the batteries to be fully charged; further, during the ensuing days, I would let my system play, with only cursory listening sessions, in order to let the new components settle-in as much as possible. Of course, my hectic work schedule certainly helped me emphasize the "cursory" part of it.
In the past two weeks, mostly weekends, I logged in approximately 10 hours of listening time. I pulled out the usual, personal favorite CDs and a few other I had not listened in a while, to seriously test my "new" system. While I am not certain that I can adequately ascribe my favorable impression of the modified MX to concrete factors, I did identify a few listening elements that I particularly enjoyed.
Again, my initial impression was speakers' linear expression, a sound that was smooth and "uninterrupted." To my ears, the top-end, or the higher frequency was not hot or shrilled, but blended in with the rest of the spectrum. As an example, the trumpet and female vocals were so very pleasing, smooth, and yet still palpable and lively. The bass -- yes I mean bass -- has ever asserted itself. While the bass is not the 15-inch-woofer-pounding-your-chest kind of impact, it is so much more tuneful. The upper bass frequencies are more musical and delineated. The string bass comes across so clearly and with a full body.
Let's move on to sound stage and imaging. To me, and a few friends of mine, VSM's ability to provide a good sound stage and imaging was always there. And yet, the subject components made further improvement to this facet of my VSM. When I speak of sound stage, I think of it in two halves, the front-half and the back-half. I'll first comment on the back-half. To my ears, the back-half of the sound stage has widened. How do I mean? Well, think of the letter "V" for a moment -- the apex, or bottom, of the letter as the back-half and the top as the front-half. In short, the "V" is now more of a "U" in the overall presentation. As you can see, the back-half of the sound stage has expanded in that when the musical content is there, the placement of various instruments are no longer confined to the center of the speakers, but are now more behind and even beyond the speakers set-up width. The front-half of the sound stage is as wide as before, but the presentation seems more off-the-speakers in that the sound does not appear to be emanating from the drivers, unless it's called for by the music.
Last, but not least, is the overall imaging height. I've always thought the height of the musical imaging, more specifically vocal, could be -- not necessarily should be -- higher. Now, I feel as though the imaging of vocals has been lifted by another 8 to 12 inches, which is a pleasant surprise.
Well, Bobby, I want to thank you for recommending the subject modification. In summary, I believe my modified MX, or an MXe wanna-be, now has a more musical, tuneful, and impactful presentation. Bravo.
-------------
Toward the end of my listening session with jumpers/pc/batteries mod, I inserted a pair of pure gold interconnects from KCI. While the jury is still out, thus far, these interconnects have added additional bass and smoothness to the VSM.
In short, I may have to spring for the full MX-e mod, as well.
Ken
-------
Overall, without isolating any specific element, my modified MX sounds even more musical and linear (i.e. continuous in your parlance). Upon receipt of the new jumpers/powercord/battery, I behaved well by resisting the temptation of immediately listening to my system as I wanted the batteries to be fully charged; further, during the ensuing days, I would let my system play, with only cursory listening sessions, in order to let the new components settle-in as much as possible. Of course, my hectic work schedule certainly helped me emphasize the "cursory" part of it.
In the past two weeks, mostly weekends, I logged in approximately 10 hours of listening time. I pulled out the usual, personal favorite CDs and a few other I had not listened in a while, to seriously test my "new" system. While I am not certain that I can adequately ascribe my favorable impression of the modified MX to concrete factors, I did identify a few listening elements that I particularly enjoyed.
Again, my initial impression was speakers' linear expression, a sound that was smooth and "uninterrupted." To my ears, the top-end, or the higher frequency was not hot or shrilled, but blended in with the rest of the spectrum. As an example, the trumpet and female vocals were so very pleasing, smooth, and yet still palpable and lively. The bass -- yes I mean bass -- has ever asserted itself. While the bass is not the 15-inch-woofer-pounding-your-chest kind of impact, it is so much more tuneful. The upper bass frequencies are more musical and delineated. The string bass comes across so clearly and with a full body.
Let's move on to sound stage and imaging. To me, and a few friends of mine, VSM's ability to provide a good sound stage and imaging was always there. And yet, the subject components made further improvement to this facet of my VSM. When I speak of sound stage, I think of it in two halves, the front-half and the back-half. I'll first comment on the back-half. To my ears, the back-half of the sound stage has widened. How do I mean? Well, think of the letter "V" for a moment -- the apex, or bottom, of the letter as the back-half and the top as the front-half. In short, the "V" is now more of a "U" in the overall presentation. As you can see, the back-half of the sound stage has expanded in that when the musical content is there, the placement of various instruments are no longer confined to the center of the speakers, but are now more behind and even beyond the speakers set-up width. The front-half of the sound stage is as wide as before, but the presentation seems more off-the-speakers in that the sound does not appear to be emanating from the drivers, unless it's called for by the music.
Last, but not least, is the overall imaging height. I've always thought the height of the musical imaging, more specifically vocal, could be -- not necessarily should be -- higher. Now, I feel as though the imaging of vocals has been lifted by another 8 to 12 inches, which is a pleasant surprise.
Well, Bobby, I want to thank you for recommending the subject modification. In summary, I believe my modified MX, or an MXe wanna-be, now has a more musical, tuneful, and impactful presentation. Bravo.
-------------
Toward the end of my listening session with jumpers/pc/batteries mod, I inserted a pair of pure gold interconnects from KCI. While the jury is still out, thus far, these interconnects have added additional bass and smoothness to the VSM.
In short, I may have to spring for the full MX-e mod, as well.
Ken