2. speakers
  3. 1196194918

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
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.
emailists
607 posts
 
In the 90's I too used to only feel that panel speakers could give me what I was looking for soundwise. I had Crosby'd Quad 63's and within their limits, I always felt coming home from a Hi-fi show or audition that the Quads (or even better yet Soundlabs) offered something with a particular frequency and dynamic window that few others could.

With my current dynamic speakers am getting (even when I was using the same amps as I was back then) a level of fidelity that I could have only dreamed about at that time. I believe computer modeling and materials science have moved dynamic speakers well beyond their previous levels of quality. But 'stats have come a long way as well. I have to hear my friends latest Soundlabs with the PX technology - they are supposedly a big improvement in dynamics. I was also recently very impressed with the Quad 2905. That being said, I have recently read about at least 2 different soundlab owners that have gone for dynamic speakers and have gotten better sound quality. I dont think that would have happened 10-15 years ago.
elberoth2's avatar
elberoth2
1,219 posts
 
12-22-07: Fbhifi
Elberoth2- The prices you quoted on both the BAT and the Dartzeel equipment is incorrect

Fbhifi - you are correct. I mixed the 52SE price with the price of the REX and gave you the incorrect price for the 600SE.

But even then, 12k for the BAT 600SE vs 18k for the Dart (in the EU the price difference is even smaller) is not a HUGE difference. Besides, we all know that price not always corresponds with sound quality. I have replaced my $22k Lamm M1.2 Reference monos with $10k ARC Ref 110 and IMO it sounds SUPERIOR to the Lamms. Maybe he thought the same about BAT gear ?
viper_z
95 posts
 

12-23-07: Aponter4
Viper z

Those are very strong words you are using. Remember that it is also possible that those that you quote as not wanting the MM3 for free may very well have equipment that those that like the MM3 may also not want for free. The perception of the quality in the playback of recorded music is no different than our perception of the quality of fine wine and art... completely subjective! Anybody that claims that any one piece of gear is the absolute best or has no equal or better match is been naive and ignorant of this.

There's no disagreement here, you just used more words to say exactly the same thing that I was saying :)

The MM3 is an excellent speakers ( I listened to it at RMAF06), so are Kharma, Marten, Wilson, JM-Lab, MBL. I don't have problem with people preferring one way or another. But it disturbed me a little when I read people raving about their speakers while thrashing others.

I don't care how many speakers you've auditioned before you bought your current one, there's a difference between saying:

(1)"I like my speaker better than the rest"

vs

(2)"My speaker is better than the rest".


Please understand, buying speakers is like finding a wife, different people are looking for different qualities. Once you've found your dream wife, you do not go out and say that all other wives are worse than yours! :)

Peace.

VZ
mrtennis
3,295 posts
 
buying speakers is nothing like finding a wife. buying a speaker is more like looking for a good meal, a good book, a good movie, or any other artistic product.

i would not consider a wife an artistic product.

i will say for my purposes that panels are better than cones, or that cones are poor designs.

people can say whatever they want. it is just opinions..
they are not right or wrong and they are not subject to proof.
More to discover