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Hi Jim.....

Posted by Winston Smith (A) on December 1, 2014 at 11:59:23

In Reply to: In doing the comparison, what did you listen to... posted by Jim Treanor on December 1, 2014 at 10:37:41:

Thanks for the post and queries. Good questions.

Okay, as for the pieces played that day, Bob Prangnell knows exactly what was played, so he should definitely chime in here, but my recollection was: Patricia Barber, "Modern Cool" (using 'Light My Fire' and four or five others tunes I do not know the names of. Sorry.); from Putumayo records their wonderful "Blues Lounge" with the cut, 'Walk Away' (a great electric bass and synth track for low frequency energy.) No big orchestral that I can recall. Almost all pop and jazzy stuff. The Barber disc was used for its sultry, deep female voicings, which sounded very nice.

But Bob's the guy who knows exactly what was played. I just closed my eyes and listened and was intensely focused on what I was hearing in the comparison. The "Moonlight Serenade" disc was the most memorable, though, by far. That really showed the extreme differences in the footers vis-a-vis bass response, and lower midrange as well.

On the 'how did it sound, exactly' front, let me get into greater details for you.

Spatial cues are a real mainstay of the attractiveness of the Stillpoints, and it's easy to understand why, once you hear the detail that these devices can deliver. They are, as I said, the 'detail king'. So spatial cues in the upper registers were VERY nicely delineated by the Ultra SS, better than the BlackPods. But the BlackPods were no slouches in the detail arena, either. They were very, very good, but the advantage was clearly Stillpoints, and I made that very obvious in the original post.

Yet when we talk about inner voicings in complex passages, spatial relationships and cues, and attack and decay, they are all greatly affected by other factors as well as just detail retrieval. This is where over-all midrange impact is critical, as in a gestalt of the whole listening experience.

With the Stillpoints, it always was a case of TONS of detail, but with lower apparent dynamics, force and flow, i.e., less involving musically. The BlackPods seemed more musically integrated, and thereby, more involving and immersive. When the Stillpoints were in the mix, it was like looking at a picture that is super-finely pixilated, with incredible details, but also with a lack of musical integration, flow, depth and smoothness compared to the BlackPods. So, while there was gobs of air with the Stillpoints (again, made VERY clear in the original post), it seemed a wee bit sterile and not as musically satisfying as the over-all impression left by the BlackPods.

Of course, if your system is already very tubey and smooth, the BlackPods would likely be a bad match. You would want more details and air, which is just what the Stillpoints deliver in spades times five. They are the best I have ever heard at that, and so if that's what your system needs, the big ticket asking price might be worth it to you, if you can swing it.

But if your system is looking for musicality, bass impact, dynamics and a smooth, integrated midrange, those BlackPods deliver very good value for their price. Better than the Stillpoints, at least as to what I heard listening to the MSA reference system.

But it is ALL about system balancing. It always is, as I am sure you well know.

So, to sum up: the Stillpoints offer unparalleled detail retrieval and an over-all sound that is very fine, indeed. Truly a great footer. Its cost is a concern, but based purely on performance, and without considering cost, the Stillpoints deserve the accolades they get. Again, a truly great footer.

But they are not perfect. They have limitations and weaknesses, bass response being one very prominent area where the Stillpoints really fall down, IMHO.

The BlackPods weakness is their HF extension and details, when compared to the Stillpoints. But the BlackPods excel at midrange liquidity, dynamics, tonal balance and integration, and of course, superb bass response.

The Stillpoints seem a little weak ('anemic' is how I originally phrased it) in the mids, but that may simply be a shifting of emphasis into the upper registers to get that incredible detail and upper frequency extension. But the over-all tonal balances of the two footers could not be more stark and contrasting: a little thin in the mids and definitely in the bass, with Stillpoints; not as extended, but much more dynamic, musical, smoother and deeper better bass with the BlackPods.

It's really all just a matter of what your system needs currently.

But NO footer is, or ever will be, "perfect" and suit everyone. If you ever think you've found one, let me know, PLEASE. I want to hear it.

Hope this helped.

Cheers,

WS

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