I am new to WBF and this is my first post, although I have posted to a number of other audio forums in the past. I have also followed the Evolution Acoustics MMMicroOne thread and wanted to give my take on these speakers, which I have now owned for a couple of weeks and heard at a recent Newport Beach Show. I agree with others who have said this speaker punches well above its weight and who also say that it is one of the best speakers at any price. Most speakers sound "highfi-ish" to me, i.e. they are weighted around low treble brightness, prominent and often overwhelming, boomy bass, a flat soundstage, and a lean, hyper-detailed, clinical sound that doesn't sound much like music to me. I know this sound when I hear it and it was rampant at the NB Show, often with highly regarded brands like some previously mentioned. I also know when I don't hear it and the MMicroOnes don't have it. Conversely, they sound much more like live music, having a presence, an immediacy, a gorgeous midrange while still presenting a wealth of detail instead of performing as an analytical tool designed to determine what is on a recording. Yes, they are not the last word in bass, but I easily fixed this with my JL Audio sub, although I maintain that once you hear the EA midrange magic, who cares about bass? I think Jonathan Tinn maintains that this sound is independent of price, and I agree, although the relatively few times I have heard it has been with expensive speakers. This is probably due to the fact that audio shows and dealer setups have devolved into high-priced equipment showcases, and yes, I heard it at the show in a few rooms with speakers costing $18K and up. The only other reasonably priced speaker I heard at the NB Show that had some of this midrange magic was with some FritzSpeakers that were in the same price range as the EA speakers. I am old enough to know that not everyone likes what I like, but apparently enough do to make this new EA speaker a hit. I have another well-regarded monitor speaker that has absolutely none, I mean nil, of this midrange magic and will shortly appear for sale on Audiogon. BTW, I am in a small room and sit nearfield, using some expensive solid-state and tube gear with a good analog front end. Oh, and one more thing: although I am trained as an engineer, measurements are important only as a tool to design good sound. After all, I do not call up my friends and say "You have to come over and see my new speakers. You cannot believe how well they measure!"
