Evolution Acoustics Maestoso Loudspeaker -- Los Angeles Audio Show 2017

[Al M.]

"Playing loud is not the same as having dynamics."

Spot on, Amir. There is far too much confusion in the high end, and this remark is useful to clear up one bit of it.

_____________

(Note: I have nothing to comment on that particular sound, I am just pointing out that this is a generally true observation.)

 

[SCAudiophile]

That is one serious looking crossover; never seen anything like it as well!

 

[PeterA]

I wouldn't be able to close my eyes enough for that to happen Mike.

These are gorgeous little speakers. Their market would be for luxury buyers. I don't think they should be the target of any audiophiles in that price range. They are super inefficient and require tons and tons of power. Other than looks, I don't think they had any of the qualities of your speakers. Or other MM3s I have heard at the show. You just can't create scale and dynamics in a little tower speaker. Playing loud as they did is not the same as having dynamics.

To that end, I think it is a mistake to put that big and expensive crossover box behind them. That would deter luxury buyers and potentially create a noman's land.

I also thought at this show they should also brought their larger speakers. Putting 100% focus behind this was not wise.

BTW, i went there twice and my impression did not change.

Interesting comment. I was not there so I can't comment on the sound of these particular speakers. However, I have heard unbelievable scale and dynamics from Al M.'s very small two way monitor speakers. They may be different from "a little tower speaker" but you seem to imply that one needs a larger speaker for scale and dynamics. That has not been my experience. I agree that the ability to play loud is not the same as having dynamics. I've heard small speakers do both though, and to a highly convincing degree.

 

[Mike Lavigne]

as far as cabinet size and reproducing scale, I cannot speak to the physics involved. I only have my ears and intuition to connect the dots of cause and effect.

however; a small cabinet has the potential of much less of a 'box' sound simply since it's easier to reduce box structural resonance. it might play more like a baffle-less design.

how low in distortion are the drivers? I know what Kevin told me regarding the linearity of those bass drivers....and that they can be used as a full frequency drivers to 20k hz.....they are that low in distortion.

so looking at a cabinet size and assuming things is wrong.

 

[wisnon]

I find that hard to believe looking at it. If it does hit that price mark, it will be one heck of a speaker for the money. I assume the final product won't have external crossovers, but given that the MMMicroOne is $4500, my expectations would be around the $15k mark. It's all speculation though.

I do hope they are able to get it under the five figure mark. If they do, it will be one might speaker to contend with.


My one complaint aesthetically, which could be due to the light shining up, is the way the lower, long-throw woofers throw off the look of the top two woofers. That's being nitpicky with a gorgeous speaker.

THE MICRO ONE WAS originally 2.5k and raised to 4k.

If this is priced much above 10k it will be suicidal.

 

[wisnon]

for one side of the crossover?

The speaker is unequally yoked with that Xover.
Commercial product will be more sane.

 

[wisnon]

with your eyes closed this speaker performs with the MM2/MM3 even 'Exact' versions.....for whatever that is worth.

Mike such a product make little commercial sense and destroys the logic of their model range. This was like a concept car showing at a motor show.

 

[amirm]

Interesting comment. I was not there so I can't comment on the sound of these particular speakers. However, I have heard unbelievable scale and dynamics from Al M.'s very small two way monitor speakers. They may be different from "a little tower speaker" but you seem to imply that one needs a larger speaker for scale and dynamics. That has not been my experience. I agree that the ability to play loud is not the same as having dynamics. I've heard small speakers do both though, and to a highly convincing degree.

I am conveying what I heard Peter. They were blasting these speakers with the Dartzeel amp routinely showing > 200 watts on its display. At MikeL's house I would only see them go up to 25 or so. The result was loud. But at no time did I forget that the loud sound was emanating from two narrow and rather short speakers. A speaker retailing for over $50,000 cannot leave such an impression to listeners.

I did hear small bookshelf speakers that had less localized sound and were more expansive. And importantly were priced at 10% of what we are talking about. That is a different situation.

Ultimately what I heard was loud, and good sound. I did not hear impressive, reference quality, highly dynamic speakers that should retail at prices we are talking about. And in no way do these approximate Mike's speakers.

BTW, direct competitor to these speakers is Raidho and their narrow towers. They have better detail and dynamics and come in taller configurations. They are not as pretty though.

 

[PeterA]

I am conveying what I heard Peter. They were blasting these speakers with the Dartzeel amp routinely showing > 200 watts on its display. At MikeL's house I would only see them go up to 25 or so. The result was loud. But at no time did I forget that the loud sound was emanating from two narrow and rather short speakers. A speaker retailing for over $50,000 cannot leave such an impression to listeners.

I did hear small bookshelf speakers that had less localized sound and were more expansive. And importantly were priced at 10% of what we are talking about. That is a different situation.

Ultimately what I heard was loud, and good sound. I did not hear impressive, reference quality, highly dynamic speakers that should retail at prices we are talking about. And in no way do these approximate Mike's speakers.

BTW, direct competitor to these speakers is Raidho and their narrow towers. They have better detail and dynamics and come in taller configurations. They are not as pretty though.

Hi Amir,

As I wrote, I can't comment on the sound as I was not there. I responded to your earlier post which implied to me that you don't think small, thin speakers can sound dynamic. You wrote this:

Other than looks, I don't think they had any of the qualities of your speakers. Or other MM3s I have heard at the show. You just can't create scale and dynamics in a little tower speaker. Playing loud as they did is not the same as having dynamics.

This seems in stark contrast to what Ron heard. He wrote this:

If you covered my eyes and sat me down to listen I never would have suspected that so much transparent, dynamic, believable sound was coming from such thin, medium-height, floor-standing speakers. The stunning-looking crossovers must be contributing to the purity and naturalness of the sound. This speaker is one to watch.

It seems he did not "hear" the speaker, just the music, while you "heard" the speaker. And you two seem to have perceived dynamics very differently. Perhaps you were there on different days and listened to different music which can surely influence subjective impressions.

You make reference to the "prices we are talking about" and "10% of what we are talking about" when discussing this new speaker. What price are we talking about? I missed that.

 

[rbbert]

IIRC, the ExACT towers (crossovers) added about $40 - $45 K to the price of the MM2 or MM#?

 

[amirm]

This seems in stark contrast to what Ron heard. He wrote this:

You should go by what Ron says. I just work here.

You make reference to the "prices we are talking about" and "10% of what we are talking about" when discussing this new speaker. What price are we talking about? I missed that.

Our collective guess is over $50,000.

 

[Al M.]

And you two seem to have perceived dynamics very differently.

Well, people obviously perceive all kinds of things audio very differently, and can't even agree on a common meaning of terms. But when Amir says that "playing loud is not the same as having dynamics" I understand what he means. I'd be curious as to how both Ron and Amir define dynamics.

 

[Al M.]

Our collective guess is over $50,000.

Yup, sounds about right. Given the outrageous price structures in high end audio these days, I'd rather err on the upside when I'm being cautious in my estimates

 

[PeterA]

Well, people obviously perceive all kinds of things audio very differently, and can't even agree on a common meaning of terms. But when Amir says that "playing loud is not the same as having dynamics" I understand what he means. I'd be curious as to how both Ron and Amir define dynamics.

Al, I understand what Amir means also and I agreed with him. Ability to play loud is not the same as sounding dynamic. I suppose it is possible that Ron and Amir define dynamics differently. I can't say. But what is interesting about their divergent observations is that one thought the sound produced by the speaker did not reflect the size and shape of the speaker, while the other could not seem to separate the two. The ability of a speaker to "disappear" is an audio concept on which I think most people would agree. I have found that this is somewhat dependent on the quality of the recording and perhaps how well the system is dialed in on a particular day. That is why I mentioned that it is possible their impressions differ because they may not have heard the system at the same time.

 

[microstrip]

Al, I understand what Amir means also and I agreed with him. Ability to play loud is not the same as sounding dynamic. I suppose it is possible that Ron and Amir define dynamics differently. I can't say. But what is interesting about their divergent observations is that one thought the sound produced by the speaker did not reflect the size and shape of the speaker, while the other could not seem to separate the two. The ability of a speaker to "disappear" is an audio concept on which I think most people would agree. I have found that this is somewhat dependent on the quality of the recording and perhaps how well the system is dialed in on a particular day. That is why I mentioned that it is possible their impressions differ because they may not have heard the system at the same time.

Peter,

This happens every time in shows and elsewhere. People report completely different, antagonistic opinions on sound qualities and attributes of systems. Preference, recording, even time as you say.

BTW, IMHO you said most of it when you used the word "unbelievable" a few posts back - usually we unconsciously scale performance to our expectations, that are based on our audiophile experience.

 

[Steve williams]

Hi Amir,

As I wrote, I can't comment on the sound as I was not there. I responded to your earlier post which implied to me that you don't think small, thin speakers can sound dynamic. You wrote this:



This seems in stark contrast to what Ron heard. He wrote this:



It seems he did not "hear" the speaker, just the music, while you "heard" the speaker. And you two seem to have perceived dynamics very differently. Perhaps you were there on different days and listened to different music which can surely influence subjective impressions.

You make reference to the "prices we are talking about" and "10% of what we are talking about" when discussing this new speaker. What price are we talking about? I missed that.

I was there and heard what Ron heard. Fabulous speakers.

 

[amirm]

BTW, IMHO you said most of it when you used the word "unbelievable" a few posts back - usually we unconsciously scale performance to our expectations, that are based on our audiophile experience.

Don't forget sales technique. It is common to overdrive smaller speakers -- especially bookshelves -- to say that they play like big speakers. With today's drivers, and lots of power behind them, you can indeed make them loud. But pull out that speaker and replace it with a larger one from the same manufacturer as I have done countless time and you see that the little speaker did not do what the big one does. You get a large integrated wall of sound with larger speakers that the smaller ones don't do.

In this case I have heard Mike's speakers and other larger speakers from EA. There was no mistaking of this speaker with those larger brothers. Yes, they both play loud enough to threshold of pain. But there were not the same experience.

 

[microstrip]

(...) On Friday morning, when I returned to the room with my wife, Leslie played his tape of Simon & Garfunkel Live in Central Park. Leslie told us that this tape was the exact physical tape sent by the recording company to Paul Simon. It never reached Paul Simon’s hands, and, somehow, Leslie “Tape Sherlock” Brooks acquired possession of it. It is, indeed, a fantastic live recording! Anyone who is participating in the resurgence of reel-to-reel tape should get to know Leslie and his fantastic library of low-generation master tape copies available for purchase.

Are you saying that such great master tapes are available for sale?

 

[Mike Lavigne]

Are you saying that such great master tapes are available for sale?

yes; but you need to know the secret handshake.....

 

[microstrip]

yes; but you need to know the secret handshake.....

Nice to words to say Unobtainium