Mark and Daniel Maximus Monitor
Speakers
Roy Harris
The Mark
and Daniel Monitor speakers are based upon a revision of the Heil Air
Motion tweeter. My first encounter with this driver was more than 35 years
ago, when I heard the ESS Heil speaker. It had an unconventional appearance
at the time and still seems to be arresting to the eye in its current
version.
Hybrid speakers are probably less of
a novelty in 2008 than they might have been in 1969. In addition to Mark
and Daniel, there are several companies manufacturing stand-mounted speakers
using ribbon technology, including, Dali, Sonist, Aurum Cantus, Selah,
Wasatch, VMPS , Wisdom Audio and Carver. The challenge of combining dissimilar
driver materials cannot be under estimated.
Technical Considerations
The bass driver is a 6.5 inch reinforced
coated paper cone. It is a proprietary driver designed by Daniel Lee,
patented during 1999 and manufactured in Shanghai. The excursion rate
is three times that of comparative drivers and moves three times as much
air. The piston is always under 100 percent magnetic control. The driver
does not distort at full excursion. The Dreams driver (tweeter) is a modified
Heil driver, larger in size, and its frame structure and curvature are
different. As a result, a lower cross-over point (800 Hz) can be achieved
as well as greater dispersion. The Dreams driver is a folded ribbon and
has the radiant equivalent (surface area) of 40 one inch dome tweeters.
According to the manufacturer, it has 5.1 times the speed of a conventional
cone. Compared to a flat rectangular ribbon, it has about 8 times the
radiant area. The bass driver has significantly greater dispersion than
the Dreams driver. The manufacturer’s stated frequency response
is 38 Hz to 20 KHz, + or – 3db, and the woofer is flat to 50 KHz.
A design goal of this speaker system is the minimization of frequency modulation distortion effects. Essentially, this means minimizing distortion accruing from the presence of two or more fundamental frequencies. When listening to an ensemble or orchestra, one may notice congestion and lack of separation of instruments. The speaker has been designed to achieve a level of transparency enabling a listener to experience a natural and realistic presentation of complex musical information. The cabinet is composed of mdf, to which a 3/8 inch thick artificial marble frame is attached. The cabinet is lined with acoustic foam and drivers are mounted to the cabinet with 4 screws. Twenty man hours of labor, at $1.50/hour is required to fabricate each cabinet. Since the speaker is assembled in China, the retail price is $2980 per pair. If constructed in the US, production cost would raise the price to more than $9000. The stands provided by the company are priced at $700 per pair. They match the color and finish of the speaker. Speaker weighs 33 pounds and is rated at 83 db.
Listening Results
My initial intent was to uncover faults
in the design. I expected to encounter the following flaws: 1) Driver
colorations. 2) Cabinet colorations. 3) Driver integration colorations.
I selected the following recordings to test for the above-mentioned hypothesized
defects: Bob James, Earl Klugh, TWO OF A KIND, “Sandstorm”,
Manhattan D102533 (BMG ); JS Bach, French Suite #1, Christopher Hogwood,
harpsichord, L’Oiseau Lyre 411811; Holly Cole Trio, DON’T
SMOKE IN BED, “I Can See Clearly Now”, Alert ZZ 81020; Bach,
“St Anne” Prelude and Fugue in E-flat Major, Michael Murray,organ,
Telarc CD 80286; Andy Narrell, SLOW MOTION, “Natty Stick”,
Hip Pocket HD 105; Steely Dan, AJA, “Deacon Blues”, MCAD 37214;
Chopin, Piano Sonata #3,Murray Perahia, piano, Columbia MK 32780; Miles
Davis, KIND OF BLUE”, “So What”, Columbia CK 64935.
Break-in was not necessary, as I was
advised by Lauren Charles, Director of Mark and Daniel Audio Labs North
America that this pair had sufficient time on it to justify critical judgments
of its performance.
I first positioned the speakers parallel
to the rear wall. After some experimentation, it became necessary to toe-out
the speakers, about 30 degrees. This unusual arrangement was devised to
reduce errors in the frequency response. Speakers were placed five feet
from the rear wall, six feet from center to center, thirty three inches
from the side walls, and twelve feet from the listening chair, in an isosceles
triangle configuration.
TWO OF A KIND is one of several reference
sources used to evaluate timbre in the upper midrange/lower treble (cymbal)
and lower midrange (acoustic guitar strings). At the beginning of the
track, a cymbal is struck about 6 times. If one listens carefully, one
will notice the points of contact moving towards and away from the center
of the cymbal. The fundamental frequency of the cymbal seemed elevated,
i.e., it sounded “sharp”, creating the effect of thinness.When
the nylon strings of an acoustic guitar were plucked, they sounded lighter
in texture and density than a typical nylon string.
The articulation of the notes of a harpsichord,
played by Christopher Hogwood, were clear and focused, providing an opportunity
to hear the attack and release of the keys. However, the scale and size
of the harpsichord seemed reduced in comparison to its reproduction on
larger speakers. Thus, there was a slight unnatural metallic quality to
the performance and a somewhat analytical presentation.
Holly Cole’s voice is obviously
close-miked on the track “I Can See Clearly Now”. A consequence
is audible sibilance. Fortunately the sibilance did not seem exaggerated.
The sound of the acoustic bass maintained a balance between the body of
the instruments and the plucking of the strings Neither were obscured.
Unfortunately it seemed that the bass response was attenuated, in comparison
to what I have heard on other stereo systems.
Michael Murray’s interpretation
of the Bach “St. Anne” Prelude also illustrated the limits
of the bass driver with respect to frequency extension. Within its range,
the timbre was realistic, the organ sounded full-bodied and was positioned
behind the speaker, at the center of the rear wall.
At the beginning of the track “Natty
Stick”, the decay of the bell was audible for 6 seconds, during
which time other instruments were heard. The wood block was located behind
and to the left of the left speaker.
Donald Fagen’s voice exhibited an absence of hardness and natural timbre. However, the cymbal was noticeably clearer and more focused than the voice. There was a sax solo, which in its lower register, sounded like a tenor, In fact, it was a tenor. When the sound of the instrument was produced by the Dreams driver, an alto-like quality emerged.
The piano is a difficult instrument to
record. Murray Perahia’s interpretation of Chopin’s Piano
Sonata number 3, is my favorite. I bought the LP and when the CD became
available, I purchased it as well. There was not much to criticize about
the sound of the piano and the transition between drivers was not audible.
Miles Davis' recording of “So What”
frequently appears on a list of recommended jazz recordings. It was immediately
obvious that the background tape noise was louder than usual. I have auditioned
this disk in a variety of settings and found that in this instance, the
noise level was greater than I ever experienced. Miles Davis trumpet solo
had a rounded quality, lacking an excess of treble harmonics.
Conclusion
My reference CD player, interconnect
cable and speaker cable, were Vincent, Ear to Ear and Element Cable, respectively.
In addition, I substituted another CD player, interconnect cable and speaker
cable. Each time I replaced one of the aforementioned component types,
the speakers were responsive to the change. I found that the speakers
were efficient at delineating contrasts between components. Differences
were observed very quickly and easily. Thus, The Maximus speaker can be
expected to unambiguously expose the affect of the sound of a component
upon the sound of a stereo system. At times, the tweeter and woofer seemed
out of balance, in that there was a noticeable difference in the SPL,
clarity and focus between upper mids/treble and midrange/bass. It was
not a problem of integration of dissimilar drivers, but rather, an imbalance
in frequency response. This phenomenon can occur independent of driver
materials and types. I would suggest adding a tweeter attenuator to the
design to reduce the output of the Dreams driver up to 6 db. No audible
cabinet colorations were heard. The woofer, while representing a balance
between weight and articulation seemed to be attenuated when listening
to organ, electric bass and kick drum.
The speaker had a tendency to reduce
the scale of instruments, expecially in the upper mid range and treble
regions. Since the Dreams driver is a monopole, there were instances,
when instruments appeared in the foreground rather than the background,
relative to my reference dipole speaker. On other occasions, depth of
field was comparable to that of the Magnepan 1.6.
Finally, I am confident that the tweeter
is capable of greater clarity and focus than the woofer. In order to enhance
the integration of the two drivers, I suggest increasing the dispersion
of the tweeter and increasing the slope of the crossover to 96 db/octave.
Associated Equipment
CD Player(s): Vincent CD S6 and Audionote CD2
Preamp: Bent TVC
Amplifier: VTL Deluxe 120s
Speaker: Magnepan 1.6
Interconnects : Ear to Ear, Audience AU 24, Soundstring
Speaker Cable: Element Cable and Voodoo Cable
Power Cords: Ear to Ear, Element Cable, Soundstring, VooDoo Cable
Clarity Audio and Distech
Line Conditioning: Audience Adept Response AU 6,PS Audio Noise Harvester
Chang Iso 6400, Nirvana Audio isolation transformer
PS Audio P 300, Alan Meyer Power Enhancer, Enacom AC
Filter, Quantum filters
Accessories Sound Fusion Sound Busters, Room Tunes, egg crate
Mattresses, one and one half inch maple bases, Enacom
Speaker filters
Manufactured by Mark & Daniel Audio Labs of North America
5151 E. Broadway Blvd., Suite 1600
Tucson, AZ 85711, U.S.A.
Tel: 1-520-5125488 Fax: 1-520-7494992
Toll Free1-800-781-6843
Price: $2980.00
Source of review sample: Manufacturer loan
E-mail: daniel@mark-daniel.com
