hi Jason,

thanks, i'm excited about the MM7's.

the ability to locate the main towers independant of the bass towers does present possibilities for more ideal soundstageing. soundstaging is a significant attribute of my room already with all the space beside and behind my speakers. i do expect gains, but we'll just have to see how it goes once they are here.

hopefully i can get Kevin up here after i have some hours on them to really nail the set-up.

mikelavigne April 08, 2012 16:03

Hi Mike, curious what price Evolution Acoustics charge for the MM7s?

spiritofmusic April 08, 2012 10:07

Greetings, Mike,

Sonny and I might be up over the summer -- I may be obtaining some test gear in Seattle -- and if so, we'll give you a ring.

It'd be SO CooL to meet Ki and others from the wonderful PNW. Mikel's not too far away in B.C.

Are you coming to T.H.E. Show in SoCal?

Congrats!

Sam

c1ferrari April 08, 2012 09:51

Congratulations Mike and Jonathan on your new speakers, this will be a very interesting project to see how the new MM7 speakers match into your music room in place of the MM3.
I will be very interested to hear how the soundstage imaging compares between the two models in your room.
I am looking forward to your updates.

jasonparmenter April 07, 2012 20:30

hi Peter,

thanks, i agree that a 90 minute listen to the MM7's does give me cause for considerable promise.

i'm loving the Anna. it's probably fully broken in, but honestly it has not changed much since i've had it. it was used as a demo at CES so it likely came to me with some hours on it. Ortofon may have even broken it in prior to CES for all i know.

since mine has been the only one around so far, it's not like normally when my comments about it might be compared to other's. i figured i would not speak much more about it until there were a few more out there.

my previous comments still apply; it takes the best parts of the A90 and improves them. it's got that naturalness and top to bottom balance, only even more of an organic rightness, it has more body and tonal color, but no coloration. it is soooo dynamically alive. and it's the ease at which it expresses the energy of music which takes it to the master tape plateau. it is an ultra solid tracker, and groove noise seems to be rejected pretty much.

it's equally adept at rock, jazz, or classical.....i can throw anything on and know it will be excellent. obviously the Telos and NVS are doing their considerable part in the equation.

2 weeks ago Bruce Brown came over and did a high rez dsd recording for one of his clients off the NVS-Telos-Anna-darTZeel. he was pretty taken with it and said it was easily the best vinyl he had yet heard. he has been exposed to lots of pretty high level stuff.

i do look forward to more Anna's getting out there and direct comparisons being done with other cartridges. i think the Anna is in a class of it's own based on what i've heard, but only time and wider exposure will reveal the truth of that.

there is, of course, lots of great gear out there that i have not heard. so speaking in absolutes is not realistic.

mikelavigne April 07, 2012 15:50

Congratulations Mike. The MM7s seem very promising.

I'm curious about your current analog set up. How are you still liking the Ortofon Anna? Could you describe a bit about how it differs from the A90? Is it fully broken it yet? Thanks.

peterayer April 07, 2012 10:52

Agear,

the MM3's excell at what i call micro and macro dynamics. in my experience, a ribbon tweeter is very energetic, and a ceramic mid-range has what i call 'life' in it's ability to sound alive and have the ability to stop and start very fast. then you have a pair of sealed box 1000 watt powered 15" woofers which give you dyanmic headroom in the deep bass which gives that life, tonality, slam and articulation in bass. that's superlitive ambient energy of the MM3.

the MM7 is a multiple better at 'life' and ambient energy than the MM3. you have the addition 4 11" ceramic matrix woofers and an additional 2 15" subs and 1000 watt amp per side.

Kevin's room is not ideal. it's 2 stories and kind of a square box. almost an 'anti-room' relative to the ideal. yet; the MM7's were alive and fast. we did play a number of different types of music and the explosiveness was astonishing. it was terrific. however; i expected that from this speaker, and it was everything i could have hoped for. i made a big deal about the increased clarity because it was somewhat unexpected. i had been living with that tweeter, mid-range and cabinet for 5 years, and now it went to a completely different level.

understand that i've already owned 2 speakers Kevin designed (VR9SE and MM3) and had another he designed for 6 months (VR7SE), so i know that he will get all the dynamics and life a design might promise. i spent lots of time at one CES with the VR11 too.

you are welcome to visit and listen once the MM7's are here. but even in Kevin's room they were terrific. i'm not familiar with any speaker which is so room adjustable. if you have the space for the 4 towers no doubt they can be made to sing.

mikelavigne April 07, 2012 02:08

Mike,

thanks.

i'll let you know when they are sorted out. they are not due until late July, and that's not set in stone. hopefully sooner than later.

cheers,

mikelavigne April 07, 2012 01:44

Dynamic or "ambient energy" is one of my main system objectives. Without it, things don't sound real. Do the MM7s have more of that (even without a state of the art room)?

agear April 07, 2012 01:16

agree that on paper the MM7's look like they should be amazing. especially for a room like yours, or mine, that are big enough to allow all that driver surface to breathe and put to use all that energy.

but actually A/B'ing it with the MM3's still was an over-the-top experience. what was surprising is that it was not the dynamic ease and energy that was the big thing, it was the increased clarity by such a large margin. and how much more real and involving it made the music. and the top to bottom balance without exception suspended disbelief. it stopped me dead in my tracks. just music. our ears always seem to gravitate toward the less veiled sound. more information. more linear.

after that you become aware of all the other stuff....and the better bass, more ease, greater foundation, etc, etc.

coming back to my room a few days later to my MM3's they did not sound at all veiled or distorted. they sound super. i'm not feeling deflated or anything. it's a credit to really how great the MM3's are. only in direct comparison was the difference so compelling. in the back of my mind i do ask myself; how might this sound on those big bad boys?

i do very much look forward to getting the MM7's in room and seeing what truths extended time listening might reveal....and how my analog sources sound with this great speaker system.

mikelavigne April 06, 2012 22:53

I love the way those new Evolution speakers look. I spoke with Kevin at CES about them and the things he told me were fascinating.

I don't know if my room would support them but they absolutely would have to be top performers. There simply is no way they would not be great with that driver configuration.

albertporter April 06, 2012 20:54

Thanks Albert.

it would be fun to get you back up here. let's do it.

mikelavigne April 06, 2012 19:49

The new speakers read to be an awesome upgrade Mike. Maybe once they get some hours on them I can come listen again.

albertporter April 06, 2012 19:31

Congrats on the new speaker.
No more excuses, now I will have make a trip your way.
Let me know once they are set up and have some hours on em.
See you soon,

rugyboogie April 06, 2012 18:32

the MM7's use the same drivers as the MM3 for the tweeter, mid-range, and sub. and the same basic cabinet for the tweeter-mid and the sub. but otherwise they are completely different.

MM7 is a three-way with 4 woofers per side added to the mid-tweeter in the main tower; with a totally different crossover. the sub towers now cross over to the 3-way main tower around 35hz to 50hz. the woofers are a new purpose built ceramic matrix driver and now the ceramic mid-range only has to go down to around 500 hz instead of the 120hz-80hz it does in the MM3.

the result of all this is considerable increase in clarity compared to the already highly resolving MM3's. (i heard them side by side). also, the increase in driver surface brings an overall level of linearity, micro and macro dynamic life, and effortlessness that simply needs to be heard to be appreciated.

Kevin showed me the graph of the top to bottom frequency response. it's + or - 2db from top to bottom. and it sounds like it. it sounds real. i can't get 'Keith Don't Go' out of my head from that day. it's like i never heard it before. i was floored!!!

each sub tower contains 2 1000 watt amplifiers for separate adjustment of the 2 top and 2 bottom sub drivers for the ultimate in bass-room integration. also; the separate bass towers allow for optimal location for bass performance and for imaging independant of each other. my room was made for these bad boys to strut their stuff.

when i walked into the room at Kevin's i was immediately taken with the physical scale of the MM7's; and then the way 1200 pounds of speaker (per side) completely disappears so easily and naturally. the extra effieciency loves the NHB-108 amp. hard to imagine how one could use more power.

mikelavigne April 06, 2012 14:02

i've known about the concept of building the Evolution Acoustics MM7's for a few years, and knew that the production version was nearing completion. the cabinets had been built, the drivers had been ordered. a new woofer was concieved and built just for this speaker by Accuton.

Kevin Malmgren has been designing the crossover in San Diego; i just happened to have a business trip to Newport Beach a couple of weeks ago exactly when Kevin had pretty much completed the crossover design and so i drove down one afternoon and heard it.

i only listened to the MM7's for about 90 minutes. there was a set of MM3's there too which i listened to. Kevin was using the same dart amp and preamp and the same cables i use, so it was quite familiar although a completely different room and the source was redbook from a server thru an unfamiliar dac. the 'final' crossover for the MM7 was spread across the floor in front of the speaker; although the final production crossover will have upgraded parts and be more solidly installed. so if anything the production MM7 will sound better.

the MM3's are overall really as good a speaker as i have heard. i've been living with them for 5+ years.

it's just mostly that the MM7's take what the MM3's do and take everything to another level. until i heard the MM7 i would have never associated the sound of the MM3 with the word distortion. no different than how the Telos tonearm exposes other tonearms as distorted. or how master tape reveals distortion in other media. until you hear the musical message through a transducer with less distortion, you cannot assign distortion to your current reference. it's a humbling experience having one's reference blown up.

and it's like that on every sonic item on the list.

better, much more involved crossover. more clarity, more naturalness. more musical involvement.

mid range driver only needs to go down to 500hz instead of 100hz. 4 woofers added per side. more linearity. mid-bass deep bass transition is more seamless, more dynamic and complete. more driver surface area reduces distortion.

double the subwoofer drivers, double the power, more adjustability, subs only cover below 50hz. must hear to appreciate dynamic effortlessness and deep bass linerarity.

awesome speaker......which does not change how great the MM3 is.

so now i need to sell my MM3's along with some of my RTR decks to keep the wife happy with this new addition.

mikelavigne April 06, 2012 13:48

you mean these?

yes....i have ordered new loudspeakers. twin tower, 86 inch tall, 1200 pound per side, wonderful, loudspeakers.

suppose to arrive in late July.

mikelavigne April 06, 2012 13:36

I am hearing a rumor that you are getting new loudspeakers :)

jtinn April 06, 2012 02:19

Go Dawgs!

jazdoc March 27, 2012 21:57

Marc,

i stand by my past comments as far as the NVS and my other previous tt's. in fact, the more i listen to the NVS-Telos-Anna and then compare it to master tape, even 1/2" master tape, the more my opinions (and that is all they are) are confirmed.

i respect Albert and his approach to the hobby and his method of developing his viewpoints. but Albert hears things his way and in his particular system. i owned a pretty darn good Dobbins SP-10 Mk3 myself. it was a fine tt. i heard Albert's SP-10 Mk3 in his system a couple of years ago. it's a fine tt.

as far as the SP-10 Mk3 beating the NVS in the bass; i really cannot say what Albert hears in his system.....other than Albert also prefers the SME 312s to the Talea 2 in the bass. i've heard the 312s, and if that is 'better bass' than the Talea 2, then Albert and i simply hear differently. which is just fine and the way this hobby goes sometime.

does my NVS have better bass than my Dobbins SP-10 Mk3? well' it's more like the bass on my master tape. it's quicker, more articulate, has more complex texture, and more dynamic...it's real. so, yes. OTOH my Garrard had this 'rounded' sort of emphasis to the bass. was it real? no. did i like it? yes. could i understand someone preferring it to master tape bass? yes. so really....what exactly is better bass? beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

i have no opinion about the Timeline and all 'that'. i'm more interested in how my tt sounds compared to my master tape. that is the consistent standard i've compared my tt's to, besides each other.

after some years of investigation of tt's/arm's/cartridges i could not be happier with where i've ended up. if Albert is too, then great.

mikelavigne March 27, 2012 21:41

Charles1dad,

i'm guilty of not seeing enough live Jazz in Seattle, and need to put more energy into it. it's just so easy to walk on out to the barn.....

but for dynamic energy 'live' has got it over even the best reproduction.

mikelavigne March 27, 2012 20:52

hi Whart,

thankyou for the thoughtful rec, it does sound really good.....however.....

tonight is the NIT game i came here to see, and there are actually 2 games, so it will likely go till Midnight. and then Wed nite we are planning a Broadway show (Book of Mormon?) and thurs hopefuly another game if UW wins tuesday. then back to the left coast on Friday morning.

so no more live Jazz this visit.... :(

mikelavigne March 27, 2012 20:48

If you are free on Tues nite, March 27, an interesting group of musicians will be at BB Kings on 42 St. While it is ostensibly a celebration of the Million Dollar Quartet, Rob't Gordon has put a band together that should be killer- Rob Stoner, Dylan's bass player from the Rolling Thunder revue will be playing- Rob is one of the most musical bass players in the business and an absolute joy to listen to.
And, it ain't a bad room, but it's apt to be crowded.
Enjoy.

whart March 27, 2012 14:09

"There is nothing like live acoustic music"
Agree completely, I go often to local jazz venues. Nothing is a better template for trying to voice a system`s sound IMO.Won`t match the dynamic energy and scale but can come very close to the 'natural' tonality I`ve found.

charles1dad March 27, 2012 12:44

Hi Mike, can you give me your take on an NVS matter. You've progressed from Rockport to NVS, and in parallel had been running modded/replinthed Garrard 301s and Technics SP10 Mk3s, as well as the Dobbins Beat. from all of this you feel the NVS surpasses by some margin your previous standard, and the vintage newcomers (slight contradiction in terms I know since they are from the '50s to the '80s). Obviously you are a major DD (and to a lesser extent, idler) fan.
What I can't figure out is that Albert Porter, who has his own modded SP10 Mk3 and the new NVS, has checked speed stability via his Sutherland Timeline on both, the SP10 runs rock solid speed perfectly, but the NVS shows up second place in this comparison. He also still feels the SP10 beats the NVS in the bass.
I can only assume this is due to the fact that the SP10 motor still beats all newcomers incl. the NVS, as it has always done in comparison to all other tt's before it.
How can a state of the art, rel. cost no object new millennium design still fall technically behind an item from 40 years ago, and since speed stability is the ultimate holy grail for DD afficionados, doesn't a heavily modded SP10 represent the final journey, not the NVS?

spiritofmusic March 27, 2012 08:18