Evolution Acoustics MMMicroOne loudspeakers

Steve Williams

Site Founder, Site Owner, Administrator
The only other caveat for my position here is that I love the MMMicroOne speaker and I am NOT a fan whatsoever of Magico. Having said that I still think comparing the two speakers is as I said, comparing apples to oranges. Two good speakers but not in the same league IMHO
 

TheAudioAssociation

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Jul 10, 2010
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Heard the MMMicroOnes yesterday with Hovland Sapphire amps, HP100 pre, Oracle TT w/TriPlanar @ Benz LPS. Cardas Golden Ref interconnects and speaker wires.

Sounded fantastic. The owner had just received them that morning. Was great seeing him pull all of his familiar music and shake his head while listening. Couldn't believe what these little speakers were doing.
 

Jeff Fritz

[Industry Expert]
Jun 7, 2010
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No other speaker that I can think of competes at that price point

The MicroOne might be a terrific loudspeaker (would love to hear it in my room and measure it at NRC), but when I see comments like this I wonder just how many current $2500 speakers from the leading companies the folks here have heard. The SOTA at that price might be the new KEF R-series speakers. Have a look at the R500 review here:

http://www.soundstagehifi.com/index...peakers&catid=55:full-length-reviews&Itemid=4

If you look at the measurements link, you'll see some of the best measurements of any speaker at any price. From the midbass up, this speaker will clean the clock of most of the $50k-plus speakers often talked about on these boards. From 200Hz up, almost no distortion, an incredibly flat FR, great off-axis dispersion . . . and it obviously does translate to the listening experience.
 

DaveyF

Well-Known Member
Jul 31, 2010
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The MicroOne might be a terrific loudspeaker (would love to hear it in my room and measure it at NRC), but when I see comments like this I wonder just how many current $2500 speakers from the leading companies the folks here have heard. The SOTA at that price might be the new KEF R-series speakers. Have a look at the R500 review here:

http://www.soundstagehifi.com/index...peakers&catid=55:full-length-reviews&Itemid=4

If you look at the measurements link, you'll see some of the best measurements of any speaker at any price. From the midbass up, this speaker will clean the clock of most of the $50k-plus speakers often talked about on these boards. From 200Hz up, almost no distortion, an incredibly flat FR, great off-axis dispersion . . . and it obviously does translate to the listening experience.

Well Jeff, I've heard quite a few of the speakers that are contending in this price range, albeit not your vaunted KEF-R series. However, a fellow a'phile friend has and he seemed to think that this speaker had cabinet resonance that was audible, you didn't hear that? I certainly didn't hear that issue with the MM1's. BTW, just so we're clear, I have no pony in this one either.:D
 

Jeff Fritz

[Industry Expert]
Jun 7, 2010
435
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Well Jeff, I've heard quite a few of the speakers that are contending in this price range, albeit not your vaunted KEF-R series. However, a fellow a'phile friend has and he seemed to think that this speaker had cabinet resonance that was audible, you didn't hear that? I certainly didn't hear that issue with the MM1's. BTW, just so we're clear, I have no pony in this one either.:D

Doug did not hear it. But there certainly is nothing to complain about in the measurements. And frankly, some of the companies that put so much effort into eliminating cabinet resonance can't even engineer their drivers and crossovers to get linear response and good dispersion. This speaker is SOTA in terms of engineering at the price, trust me. Performance wise, it's a ridiculous bargain.
 

Jeff Fritz

[Industry Expert]
Jun 7, 2010
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Would you care to elaborate as to which companies you are talking about:confused:

Not really. Don't need that thread war right now.

The Magicos, Vivids, and Rockports of the world have very non-resonant cabinets and are very linear, however -- in other words, engineered thoroughly.
 

Andre Marc

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Mar 14, 2012
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Not really. Don't need that thread war right now.

The Magicos, Vivids, and Rockports of the world have very non-resonant cabinets and are very linear, however -- in other words, engineered thoroughly.

Hi Jeff. I agree with most positive things said about Magico's....resolution,
elimination of cabinet resonances etc...but for me the DRIVERS absolutely and definitively have a metallic after ring....very, very subtle, but there. I heard it on a minimum of 6 long listening sessions, across 3 models. I did not hear it however in the S5.

I did not hear any derived ringing with the Vivids either.
 

puroagave

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Sep 29, 2011
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in all likelyhood the next shipment of MMM1 will go to $4000 as ive read elsewhere. in an email from jon he himself said to me 3500. at the current list price the margin has gotta be real slim for 6 high performance drivers in high-end cabinents w/ stands included - i say buy them while you can at 2500 thats if they're not already sold out!

at $4k you now have stiffer competition from stand mount mfrs in the Uk, from real engineering cos like ProAc, Spendor, Harbeth, kef, etc.
 

das

Industry Expert
Nov 15, 2010
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The spec sheet says that the q1 is flat to 32Hz and the micro is flat to 35hz. So, you are correct. However, the room setup last year in Denver was much more bass favorable for Jonathan's room. I didn't measure with a mic, but I would bet that the micros were flat to a lower frequency in room.

You have to be really careful with these specs that manufacturers toss around. It's quite one thing to claim a certain frequency extension, quite another to meet it under proper test conditions.

Also, there was a post about looking at the woofer and predicting bass response. The nature of bass extension is largely a function of woofer size, cabinet size, and whether it it's sealed or ported. These things all have to be optimized properly and, when you do, you get a certain response that's quite easy to predict.

I'd be VERY surprised if either of those speakers could reach those extremes with any real output capability, or without distortion that's through the roof. On the other hand, I'm willing to have that claim challenged -- we have the facilities to test it. Neither manufacturer has submitted their speakers for these tests.

Doug Schneider
www.SoundStageNetwork.com
 

das

Industry Expert
Nov 15, 2010
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I actually reviewed this speaker, not Jeff.

A cabinet resonance that was audible? Not in my review pair -- not in my room or in the chamber when we measured it. What's more, a severe resonance that's audible would no doubt manifest itself in the frequency response and/or in the distortion charts. It doesn't. Are you sure the speakers he heard weren't damaged? Or perhaps there was a wire touching somewhere? Maybe loose binding posts?

Doug Schneider
www.SoundStageNetwork.com
 

dallasjustice

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Apr 12, 2011
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You are correct about real measurements. One thing I noticed about the micros when I saw them is that the mid-woofers are long excursion custom drivers. Maybe the magico goes lower, but the amount of bass heard was greater with the micros.

You have to be really careful with these specs that manufacturers toss around. It's quite one thing to claim a certain frequency extension, quite another to meet it under proper test conditions.

Also, there was a post about looking at the woofer and predicting bass response. The nature of bass extension is largely a function of woofer size, cabinet size, and whether it it's sealed or ported. These things all have to be optimized properly and, when you do, you get a certain response that's quite easy to predict.

I'd be VERY surprised if either of those speakers could reach those extremes with any real output capability, or without distortion that's through the roof. On the other hand, I'm willing to have that claim challenged -- we have the facilities to test it. Neither manufacturer has submitted their speakers for these tests.

Doug Schneider
www.SoundStageNetwork.com
 

das

Industry Expert
Nov 15, 2010
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www.soundstagenetwork.com
With long excursion, one has to worry about linearity and distortion.

Subjective impressions of bass are tricky. There are many speakers on the market that reproduce very little truly deep bass; instead, they often have a lot of energy around 100Hz which makes it "seem" like there's tremendous bass, when really there's not.

Measurements are obviously very good at weeding these things out. As I said, I'd be surprised to see bass extension like the claims say -- at least if they're maintaining high-enough sensitivity, decent output capability, and low distortion. Claims are easy -- backing them up is hard.

Doug Schneider
www.SoundStageNetwork.com
 

mep

Member Sponsor & WBF Founding Member
Apr 20, 2010
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I actually reviewed this speaker, not Jeff.

A cabinet resonance that was audible? Not in my review pair -- not in my room or in the chamber when we measured it. What's more, a severe resonance that's audible would no doubt manifest itself in the frequency response and/or in the distortion charts. It doesn't. Are you sure the speakers he heard weren't damaged? Or perhaps there was a wire touching somewhere? Maybe loose binding posts?

Doug Schneider
www.SoundStageNetwork.com

Doug-You have to put the statement from Davey about the KEFs in context. Personally, I took that statement with a grain of salt. Davey never heard the KEF speaker so he has no idea what they sound like. Here is what Davey said:

Well Jeff, I've heard quite a few of the speakers that are contending in this price range, albeit not your vaunted KEF-R series. However, a fellow a'phile friend has and he seemed to think that this speaker had cabinet resonance that was audible, you didn't hear that? I certainly didn't hear that issue with the MM1's. BTW, just so we're clear, I have no pony in this one either.:D

So Davy’s friend “seemed to think” that the KEF had a cabinet resonance that was audible. Big deal. I would put more stock in someone who has spent time listening to them in their house and actually had them measured and knows personally how they sound and measure vice someone who wants to talk about something their friend “seemed to think…”

What really bothers me about Davey’s post was the attitude and the “you didn’t hear that?” question which would now take what his friend “seemed to think” into the realm of being a factual statement that the KEFs definitely do have an audible cabinet resonance that you should have heard.
 
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jtinn

Industry Expert
Apr 20, 2010
503
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The only other caveat for my position here is that I love the MMMicroOne speaker and I am NOT a fan whatsoever of Magico. Having said that I still think comparing the two speakers is as I said, comparing apples to oranges. Two good speakers but not in the same league IMHO

Thank you Steve.

I am making an assumption that you are saying that because of price, but I really don't think the price should have anything to do with it.

We could have easily put a 25k price on this speaker. Certainly that is not how we do business, but I do not think its apples to oranges.

We offer a two-way bookshelf on a stand as do they. We use 2 4" mids, they use 1 7" mid. I would not be surprised if our drivers cost as much or more than theirs. As a matter of fact, the tweeter we manufacture for use in our MMMicroOne is more expensive than the one we use in our MMSeven. I acknowledge the cabinet they make is very expensive, but that does not make it better than ours.

I am more than happy to compare them side by side anytime. I realize it certainly would not be in Magico's best interest to do so, but I have no doubt that 9 out of 10 people would prefer the MMMicroOne. The one exception would be DaveyF :) (This is not a personal attack on Davey - notice smiley face!)
 
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DaveyF

Well-Known Member
Jul 31, 2010
6,129
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La Jolla, Calif USA
We could have easily put a 25k price on this speaker. Certainly that is not how we do business, but I do not think its apples to oranges.
As a matter of fact, the tweeter we manufacture for use in our MMMicroOne is more expensive than the one we use in our MMSeven.

Wow, I wouldn't have thought you would want to make that public!!


I acknowledge the cabinet they make is very expensive, but that does not make it better than ours.

I am more than happy to compare them side by side anytime. I realize it certainly would not be in Magico's best interest to do so, but I have no doubt that 9 out of 10 people would prefer the MMMicroOne.



JTinn PLEEEASE...:p Q1 vs MM MicroOne and you think that 9 out of 10 would prefer the MMOne:eek::eek: I hope that Alon isn't on this forum, LOL.
I'm no Magico fanboy either but come on!!
 
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