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(More customer reviews)Oooh my Goodness are these speakers are spectacular. Once upon a time I wrote the longest review on Amazon ever comparing the Bose Companion 5's with Klipsch THX and a set of Logitechs - all 2.1 speaker sets. The Bose Companion 5's won out for their bright clarity, surround effect, rich bass etc. They pleased me immensely... for about a year. What I started noticing, across every set that I have since then tried, was that I just got tired of listening. Silence prevailed. Music that doesn't sound amazing can only be tolerated for so long, especially if you're not nuts about the song and I found that I could only take it in small bursts. I have now listened to probably 20 different ipod docks and self powered speaker solutions, have taken home 10, (and returned 7) and truly there is no sound quite as clear and perfect as these speakers.
I wanted to step it up from those first three units I tried and brought home three of what I thought would be the next top of the line contenders: AudioEngine's A5bookshelf speakers, Focal's 2.1 system with subwoofer, and the B&W MM-1s. I had them all connected for a week at the same time to my iMac via USB and stereo mini plug. Song by song, hour by hour I listened, and felt the music sitting, standing, dancing, working out. Sometimes I changed between the speakers several times within one song, back and forth, listening, feeling the following: Jazz like Diana Krall and Ray Charles, Rap like Fabolous and Missy Elliot, Oldies like Four Seasons and Elvis, R&B like Chris Brown and Christina Aguilera, tribal, dub, lounge like Thievery Corporation, Fiona Apple, Tori Amos, soundtracks, musicals, classical, rock, Spanish Guitar like Ottmar Liebert, Spa music, a tiny tiny hint of country or Ozzy Osborn and even Disney soundtracks. I covered the spectrum I'd say. Nothing came close to the sound of the B&Ws.
Here's what I found:
The AudioEngine A5's are powerful. They deliver hard hitting bass and seem to be very clear - until you hear something better. Their application is more for a party if you ask me. Zero tolerance for low volumes and very boomy sounding compared to the rest... but I'd keep them if I had a different application- like maybe a pool party. The Focal's - a $600 speaker system on the Apple site (much less on amazon) were also powerful and had a really really clean amazing sound... until you play the MM-1s and it sounds like someone is holding their hand up to the mouth of the artist as they try to push their voice through the other sounds. That and I realized I had other systems to do what this does.
Adjectives for the MM-1s: Brilliant, clear, perfection, balanced, desirable, delicious, pleasurable, shocking, powerful, harmonious...
I simply cannot get enough of these speakers.
A few fun facts:
- If you live in an apartment they have the added bonus of not disturbing your neighbors at loud volumes because there is no subwoofer yet the bass still cranks. You can listen louder and longer.
- I thought I had rediscovered music a year ago but this is not the case. Every other system to date, while it may have been able to go a little louder, or handle deeper bass, or give me that up-in-the-club-feeling, simply cannot give the detail, clarity of sound, spaciousness and all out deliciousness to listen to as these speakers do.
- I wanted to clear even more clutter from my desk and floor and lose the subwoofer from the Bose. This setup allows you to have 2 s m a l l, elegant, sexy speakers on your desk without any other clutter or unnecessary wires.
- They're tuned specifically for up close listening and do sound best as such, but quality is not lost when filling the room with sound or standing 20 feet away
- The remote is a nice bonus and the volume control interacts with your full system volume so you're not constantly adjusting speaker volume against computer volume- there is just one.
- This system has a built in DAC to make your sound soar
- Love that the remote is wireless! Why are wired remotes even made anymore.
- They do not distort at full volume- unless you have a poorly recorded piece of music
Bowers and Wilkins.
It's important to remember who these people are (something I didn't know when I bought the MM-1s) B&W are one of THE definitive heavy hitters. $2000 bookshelf speakers, $15,000 (and up) for floor standing speakers. Most of what we listen to is recorded on B&W equipment and so forth. This company knows sound and they deliver it masterfully - their goal being to deliver exactly what the artist intended without any adjustments.
They decimate the competition.
If you looooove rap and hip-hop, R&B and pop as I do you will *think* you want the other set that pumps more deep bass and maybe goes a little louder. You will convince yourself that you need a subwoofer. Trust me you do not. It will win out for your two minute eargasm but it will not win out in the long run. You'll just wind up turning it down and then off because it will start to sound like white noise. These MM-1s are about falling in love with music, and smiling often. Did you hear that! Whoa! What was that sound! WOW! They go plenty loud, and don't distort. These speakers are suitable across every single genre of music I have heard to date.
There is one things these speakers cannot do on *some songs,* and that is heavy hard hitting Deep Subwoofer Bass. But I kid you not I am listening to some of the deepest bass right now on them and it's just melting over my ears. It's really only on side by side comparisons you'll notice it.Subwoofer bass is just a different animal... it forces itself to resonate in your chest- which I love. But remember these speakers application - right in front of you sitting down. You want this sounding good across super low volumes as well as high and very few speakers can do that. Plus many of us have other systems for different applications. I've got a SoundDock in my bedroom because at low volumes it's amazing to wake up to. In my living room I've got my surround system with subwoofer and such for bigger parties and movies when I'm 15 feet away.
I'll close with a little trick: I happen to have a Bose Sounddock 10 (the really large one), hooked up to an AirPort express in my hallway. Guess what that thing shines at giving? Heavy hard hitting bass. So if you really want that boomy undercurrent, play it at the same time as another bass driven item you have in your house and that 808 boom will round out perfectly with the MM-1s when you just have to get up and dance.
That said these speakers are not lacking in any way. They're the size of two Starbucks cups and the sound that comes out of them, minute by minute, song after song, day after day is without a doubt MIND BENDING. I thought I had a low tolerance to my music and the truth is my ears just can't stand mediocre sound anymore. I even purchased a year subscription on Pandora One because I have rediscovered music and want to take it all in all over again. I walk into the room and every time my eyes widen at the sound that pours out of these mythic pieces of art. Such is my faith in this company I am selling the Bose and getting the Zeppelin for the hallway so that I can have true hi-fi everywhere. I've heard it's a bit 'bassier' than the MM-1s which is what I want anyhow. Give these things a chance... really listen to your music you will see what a breathtaking delight these things are. As always if you have any questions you can email me and I'll answer what I can. My name is Tari and you can reach me at buy@epica.com
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Bowers & Wilkins MM-1 Multimedia/computer speaker pair
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