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What beats the Evolution Acoustics MM3 ??

With 500 hours on my MM3s I'm feeling comfortable that they're sufficiently broken in to begin to draw conclusions on their performance. I'm wondering if anyone else has found a speaker with similar characteristics?

The MM3s are unlike any speakers I've ever owned- B&W Silver Signiture, WATT/Puppy 5.1, 6, Dunlavy IV, IVa, V, Kharma Midi Grand, etc.

The MM3s simply stated allow you to enjoy the music. They are so utterly natural in their sound reproduction that you can actually forget about hearing two loudspeakers in the chain and get a closer connection to the music. I know this sound like so much holistic drivel, but I struggle to find a better way to express the sensation. In analytical, terms the following audiophile attributes, when veiwed holistically, help to explain this end result.

- Seamless driver integration.
- Flat frequency response with exceptional extension at the frequency extremes.
- Natural sounding dynamic swings and transparency.
- Truly effortless full scale presentation.
- Rivals Houdini in their ability to completely disappear.

These characteristics, in concert, allows you for once to focus solely on the music- something most audiophiles sorely need. The quality of the components comprising the MM3s must also help to achieve this level of "rightness".

- Linear, smooth, sweet & extended ribbon tweeter.
- Two ultra high-line ceramic midrange drivers- D'Appolito arrayed.
- Two 15" powered woofers in sealed enclosures- D'Appolito arrrayed.
- Super premium crossover parts and internal wiring.
- Computer modelled cabinet structure finished to extraordinarily exquisite standards. Think Sonus Faber meets Magico Mini.

Ultimately, the performance level these speakers achieve must certainly be attributed to their designer- Kevin Malmgren- formerly of Von Schweikert Audio. Kevin designed most of the current VSA line, including the legendary VR-11 and the equally impressive VR-9. While on the subject of the VR-9s- I listened exrensively to the VR-9s driven by the DartZeel pre-amp, DartZeel amp and EMM Labs digital front end at the '05 RMAF and was mightily impressed. Last year- 06' RMAF- is spent many hours listening to the MM3s driven by the EMM labs CDSD and the Dart combo (BTW the Darts and the CDSD are what I'm currently using on the MM3s) and the '06 RMAF MM3 system was significantly better, to my ears, than the VR-9 based system of the prior year.

This brings me around to the great value I belive the MM3s represent. At approximately $40k the MM3s significanly bettered the VR-9 which run $75K. Are the MM3s the equal to the enormous VR-11- I don't know, but perhaps they are- at almost 25% of the $150k price.

The Evolution Acoustics modular design allows you to start with MM1s or MM2s and add woofer modules as your budget allows. I've got my MM3s in a relatively small room of approximately 18x17 dimensions and the speakers perfectly integrate into the room. I was a little suprised by this ease of integration, but needless to say am now delighted. No bass boom or overload- not even close! And as an additional bonus the tweeters, woofers and woofer/midrange crossover points are adjustable. My MM3s are set, essentially, flat and I've felt no need to fiddle with the adjustments.

This leads me back to the opening comment about the MM3s and their ability to let you just enjoy the music. No other speaker in my experience has allowed me to just listen and enjoy- without feeling the need to tweak this or change out that. This is a true revelation for me. I'd like to know if others have discovered other speakers capable of this feat.
fbhifi
bill_powel
2 posts
 
Tboooe,

I think that there is a very clear way to define which loudspeaker is superior and this is not subjective at all. The superior speaker is the one that sounds closer to live music. The closer you get to say capturing the sound of a real piano in your living room the better the speaker. Isn't this what our hobby is all about, capturing live music in the home?

Stereotaipei,

Obviously implementation has the greatest impact, but the Volent speaker uses relatively inexpensive cross-over components and a lower quality cabinet than the Magico which is also part of the reason for its inferior sound. The diamond midrange in the Polymer Logic is also the midrange used in a $250K speaker from Marten Design. THis is saying a lot. I think a lot of people do not take Polymer Logic seriously because of how inexpensive it is. Well, I promise you that all it takes is one listen to these speakers to realize just how they totally create a new standard. I am not talking about incremental improvements here,
tboooe's avatar
tboooe
1,009 posts
 
Bill_powel, the problem is that not everyone wants the recreation of live music nor does everyone agree on what live music sounds like. Once the sound waves hit our ears and is interpreted by our brain, the judgment of what is pleasing to us becomes completely subjective. I have not even mentioned things like hearing acuteness that could greatly impact what is heard. For example, I could have an issue with hearing high frequencies. What some consider to be bright or tipped up in the highs may sound absolutely pleasing to me. I do not mean to be argumentative but the reality is everything in this hobby is subjective because it is interpreted by humans. The only way to make it objective is to remove any interpretation and to get everyone to agree on a set of standards that can be used to judge whether a particular component reproduces the frequency response better than another.
stereotaipei
56 posts
 
I heard Volent at the manufacturing company in HK. Bottom line is it is quite transparent in medium range, rather analytical sound (not surprising given the driver used), good tonal accuracy, but you don't have the same transparency and image as for the Magico Mini. Big problem for me is the ported bass: goes lower than the Mini but the bass is too heavy, too sloow. It is masking the lower mid.
Tweeter is nice if you are sitting in the right position (I always liked ribbon): sweet and transparent. Overall a good speaker but not the Whow factor of the Mini (they cost 4 times less).
I was looking for another pair of small speaker for my second home in Taipei, I am keeping looking as the port is too much of an issue for me and the improvement vs my pair of Usher 718 is not enough to make the jump. Currently listening to the Usher 718 Be (proce is amazing in Taiwan), hope to compare it against the new small JMLabs.
JF
fbhifi OP
108 posts
 
Tboooe:

Great point on hearing acuity. It would seem that a speaker that allows the listener to adjust the tweeter level would greatly help in addressing individual hearing differences- All models in the Evolution Acoustics line have adjustable ribbon tweeters.
bkonig
127 posts
 
Bill_Powel

You say that "there is a very clear way to define which loudspeaker is superior and this is not subjective at all. The superior speaker is the one that sounds closer to live music."

That is much easier said than done.

Comparing a piano recording to a piano in your home is like comparing apples to oranges. First of all, you have the equipment (excluding the speakers) which factors into the sound. Second, the recording of the piano you are hearing is using a different piano as well as a different recording environment. Factor in varied recording techniques, microphones, recording equipment, CD or LP pressings, etc. which results in a very wide variance of sound.

Keep in mind that sitting in different locations in even the finest concert halls will yield very different sonic results. For example, sitting in the boxes in Carnegie Hall sounds like speakers playing with the tweeters turned way down (somewhat dull and lifeless). There is a far better sense of life and a far better sound overall sitting towards the front of the orchestra. Factor in going to a jazz club with less than optimal sound reinforcement. All this can lead to a more pleasing sound generated by your system as compared to live, minus the immediacy and raw power of the live performance.

The bottom line is that it will come down to your PERCEPTION of how you speakers/system performs as compared to the live event.
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