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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

Showing 3 responses by bkonig

bkonig
127 posts
 
fbhifi-
Hi Franz. This is Barry K. We met at Rocky Mountain last year. As you know, I have the MM2's. I can't agree with you more. I also have them set very close to the factory settings. I played with the settings alot while they were breaking in. After a few hundred hours, the sound transformed and I have no desire right now to play with the controls. They are the most perfect component I have ever experienced. It is so rare and refreshing when there are no performance parameters that I feel needs to be improved. The only limitations to the sound are the limitations of the recordings. Being so transparent and neutral, the sound obviously varies from recording to recording. Mediocre recordings sound OK, good recordings sound FANTASTIC and great recordings sound UNBELIEVABLE. I now just sit back and feel transported to each and every recording venue.
Enjoy Franz

Disclaimer - I'm also a dealer for EA
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.
bkonig
127 posts
 
MrTennis - You state:
"Any decent panel will provide a more realistic representation of timbre and no box colorations."

I couldn't agree less.

I have heard and owned many different types of speakers over the years (Planars, ribbons, stats, etc). In the 80's, I believed the hype that cones were too slow and cabinet colorations were unavoidable. That was in my logan, Quad, Apogee, Magnepan decade. I learned to listen to my own ears and came to the conclusion that top notch dynamic speakers sound more real in every way. Non-box speakers have their own set of problems that I obviously find to color the music more than great dynamic designs.
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