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Speaker Asylum: REVIEW: Michael Green Designs Studio Chameleons Speakers by Jim Bookhard

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REVIEW: Michael Green Designs Studio Chameleons Speakers Review by Jim Bookhard at Audio Asylum

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The Studio Chameleon speakers, by Michael Green Designs, are difficult speakers to review because it's difficult finding the "audiophile" words to describe the outstanding sonic characteristics of these speakers and (not quite as) difficult to describe their design principles. First, I'd like to get the design controversy of these speakers out of the way so that I can devote more time to it's performance. As probably most of you know, all of Michael Green's tunable speakers are designed in a manner which is contrary to every other dynamic speaker (that I know of) on the market today. Dynamic speaker design basically falls into two categories or camps. There are those manufacturers who believe that the way to design the perfect speaker is to reduce the resonance of every part of the speaker enclosure (and crossover board) to a minimum, with the use of dampening materials, rigid enclosures and dampened drivers. Michael Green, on the contrary, believes in using the cabinet enclosure (and crossover board) resonance, in a synergistic way, to compliment the resonance of the drivers. You can agree or disagree with either approach, but it's really the result of the final performance of the speaker which counts and both designs can produce credible results. In a word, the performance of the $15,000 per pair Studio Chameleons is superlative.

As I said, because of the difficulty to find words in today's "audio vocabulary" to describe the sonic characteristics of these speakers, I will first describe some of the design aspects of the speaker which lend to their "indescribable" sonic nature. First the speakers are designed from aged cherry wood and consist of four outer component parts -- the two tower enclosures with the mounted drivers and two outboard crossover racks, one for each of the towers, made of solid cherry hardwood. Speaker connections are made via metal screw terminals on the rear of the outboard crossover boards (no bi-amping nor bi-wiring -- Michael Green feels this is not the way to design a speaker and is an unnecessary cost to consumers). All edges around the speaker consist of hardwood. Umbilical cord solid core wires from the crossover racks then connect to the drivers inside the towers. The speaker consists of two drivers -- a silk soft dome tweeter and a heavily modified Kevlar 8" driver. The overall dimensions of the speaker cabinet towers are 41"H x 17"D x 11 ½"W, resting on all solid hardwood bases which are 13 ½"W x 18 ½"D. On the outer side surfaces of each tower are four "tuning" bolts (two per side) whose functions I will describe later. "Inside" the cabinet there are two additional "tuning" bolts, again, whose functions I will describe when I talk about the speakers performance. Implementation in design of these speakers is consistent in all component parts -- not only do the cabinets have no damping materials, but any damping materials are also removed from the drivers (except for the surrounds). The outboard hardwood crossover racks consist of two boards per rack with four support steel rods -- they look like miniature Michael Green Designs Justaracks (electronics are on the lower board only), but the base hardwood boards are thin and the dimensions on mine are 18 ½ "D x 11 ½"W. The overall height of the crossover racks is approximately 8" off the floor and have brass cone MTD resonance tuning devices for feet, steel rods and brass caps on the top board. The crossover racks can be "tuned" also by the tightening or lossening of the support bolts on the crossover boards, but you do not want them too loose. The electronics are mounted on the lower crossover board and no hot glue (or dampening) is used, just like the design of the tower cabinet enclosures.

The finish on the Studio Chameleons is either Natural Cherry or Heritage (a dark cherry), at the purchaser's discretion. The fine satin finish (on both the cabinets and the crossover boards) is not overdone to the point where the wood is sealed totally from exposure to outside air in order to allow the cabinet to "breathe" and "age" properly. But, the cabinets are finished inside as well as outside. It's an interesting phenomenon to watch your speakers get more beautiful month after month, as the wood ages, and the grain comes through the wood more and more. This aging process adds not only beauty to the wood, but also the harmonics, which the cabinets are capable of producing, increase with the aging process. Therefore the sonic performance capabilities of the speakers increase over time. Initial break-in is about two to three months to the point where the user can begin "tuning" the cabinets with the tuning bolts, but the speakers do not fully come into their own for a period of five years. In other words, this is one speaker which gets better with time. The "claim" to making their speakers like fine musical instruments is not just "words", but fact. I've owned a pair of their Studio 5's now for two years and I can attest to the fact that they sound better today than when I first purchased them -- they sound richer and more musical as time goes by.

The Studio Chameleons, just like all of the MGD speakers, are voiced by ear ONLY from recorded music and are manufactured on a custom basis for each customer. As a matter of fact, if you supply details about your room (building materials like wood, sheet rock, gypsum, concrete, etc.) and system, the speakers can be custom built to the sonic preferences that you describe to MGD. And at this price, I would recommend anyone interested in a pair of Studio Chameleons to spend the time with their hotline discussing your listening preferences and providing details of your room/system. My Studio Chameleons were also custom installed by MGD. Although I happen to have a fully tunable (racks, components, acoustical products and speakers) system designed by MGD, it is not necessary for anyone to also have a fully tunable system to appreciate these speakers or think that they may not perform well in a system which is not fully tunable -- quite the contrary, because of their "tunabilty" which is built in. The speakers are very efficient and are easily be driven by my 100 wpc Monarchy Audio SE-100 Delux monoblock amps with ease.

During the initial break-in period, it is always best to break in any of the MGD speakers with the tuning bolts in the "open" (fully counterclockwise) position. This will allow the cabinet walls to "flex" and break in faster (and properly). You will know when it's time for fine tuning with the tuning bolts. Basically, the top most tuning bolts adjust the mid and upper frequencies and the lower tuning bolts adjust the lower bass frequencies. The two tuning bolts "inside" the cabinet actually reside inside a mass loading chamber, which may be mass loaded with five to eight pounds of lead shot or sand (I prefer lead shot because I think lead shot sounds better when used for mass loading, but that is a personal preference on my part and I am using NO mass loading to date). By adjusting these two bolts "inside" the cabinet, it allows you to adjust the mid bass (you can actually change the "pitch" like you would by tightening the skins on a drum) without adversely affecting the lower bass or the midrange. Even after break-in, if it is necessary to adjust any of the tuning bolts, the tightening should be more on the "snug" side, at the most, versus "tight". Severely over tightening the tuning bolts can yield a "deadening" (shortening of the decay time on notes) of the sound because you would be restricting the cabinet from resonating, which is one of the necessary principles of operation which make for this speaker's outstanding performance.

I truly am at a loss for words in describing these speakers performance because they do not develop harmonic structures like any other speaker that I've ever heard. I hate to use terms like "perfect" (I know there is no "perfect" speaker), but that's what imaging, soundstaging, harmonic structures and overall coherence of sound appear to be. The sound of these speakers is as close to live as I have ever heard from a home reproduction system.

Recently, I was in the high end piano department of a music store and although the sign said "Ask the salesman for assistance", I was tempted to strike a few notes. Upon striking a few notes on a $40,000 piano, what I noticed was the same quality of "sparkle", richness of harmonics, proper decay of notes, development of the individual note that I was hearing on my Studio Chameleons. I also tried this same test on as many instruments as possible -- same result. This is why I said it's difficult to come up with words to describe these speakers. Since the age of 5 where I first learned to play the piano and had my first solo concert at the age of 6, I have been formally trained in four musical instruments, played in the orchestra throughout my youth only (regrettably today) to give it up because I wanted to play baseball, basketball and football more. But, every instrument in recordings (including commercial ones for the most part) is reproduced by the Studio Chameleons in the same way that notes develop when you hear them live (or as close as can be reproduced today in a home system environment). The harmonic structures are all in tact, the layering of instruments (as well as their individual ability to construct their different note structures) during complex musical passages is unsurpassed by anything I've heard in a speaker to date. But, let me add that I am not in the music nor audio industry, so I have not heard all the conventional speakers out there and I know there are many fine conventional speakers on the market and fine conventional playback systems. I think testimonies, in forums like this and others on the Internet, from everyday users can attest to just how far speaker technology has come and that there are many fine conventional speakers from many different manufacturers on the market. Whether the Studio Chameleons are for you will be a personal choice. But, in order to give them a fair listen, I would suggest a trip to Michael Green's facility in Ohio and take a listen in one of his tunable rooms at his "Tune Villa" which is a state of the art facility which will have a live amphitheater, a "variably tunable" recording studio, tunable listening rooms and manufacturing facilities for the speakers. I have not been there, but I am planning a trip later this month to gain more knowledge on system tuning, first hand. The Studio Chameleon speakers will reproduce cymbals, bells or other high frequency notes, that will send chills through you, with the sparkling harmonics that are reproduced. The midrange (voices and other instruments) is reproduced with naturalness and no mid bass influence. The deep bass, especially plucked or using a bow, is rich (and tight at the same time), sonorous and so easy to follow. The speaker is capable of going down into the mid to low 20 Hz region. All I can say is that if you get an opportunity, have the funds ($15,000) and are looking for a top notch speaker that you will not have to "trade-up" for many years to come (if at all), I'd consider the Studio Chameleons as a solid choice for the best of audio systems available, regardless of price. This speaker has my highest recommendation and, if anything, I've probably shortchanged it on any praise I've given it.


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Topic - REVIEW: Michael Green Designs Studio Chameleons Speakers Review by Jim Bookhard at Audio Asylum - Jim Bookhard 01:31:31 09/4/99 ( 9)