I listened to a video where Mark talks about having to send the amplifier back to be recalibrated if one moves on to a new speaker. Perhaps that’s for the 800 model that allows you to bi-amp your speakers and by-pass the internal passive crossover and use the amplifiers internal chip as the crossover.
My amp has reverb too - its made by the audiophile company “Fender” - but I think I’m going to need a whole new set of cables to get my streamer hooked up to it.
Hmmm, maybe I can patent those cables.
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First,
Smiley EQ or not very smiley - isn’t that the same thing that each and every manufacturer does, largely known as voicing ?? That’s the reason different camps of devotees exist.
Paul McGowan already clarified that patenting doesn’t mean anything but sufficiency of minimal element of novelty. This is more of a case when someone patented something to eyewash and manipulate consumers.
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Second,
One chip doing-it-all has both advantages and disadvantages that everyone knows and is being discussed for decades.
These types of devices - looks pretty similar to a stereo-receiver - could be better or worse compared to each other. But there was always a concensus that they don’t come close to good separates.
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Oh, and third,
Class D. It seriously improved during the last decade. Though, I still prefer class A, or good class AB amp for the balanced natural sound signature.
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So, is it worth the discussion?..
Though, it doesn’t mean it’s not worth the listening.
In the end, it’s just a question of personal taste.
Just found out after talking with the U.S. dealer, if you purchase the Master Class software, you can fine tune the integrate to your speakers, so yes you can turn it to neutral, or fine tune it however you like. Not only that, you remaster any of your downloaded digital files.
Given C Wave tecnology depends on precise EQ processing would not this effectively disable the claimed benefits of C Wave?
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Not entirely sure how it all meshes together as of yet. Perhaps the fine tunning for the speakers is separate from the digital processing end of things.
Looks like it was designed by Breville. So much like my toaster oven . . .
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Good point.
Mark says the “CWave” stands for “Constant Wave” so as I understand it the chip upsamples PCM to a very high rate to make the playback a “constant wave” similar to what DSD does from the start.
Interesting but I am going to watch from the sidelines for a while. The amps are both remotely EQ adjustable and that is part of the sales pitch.
Mark (or the dealer) can remotely tune the EQ curve of the amp’s output to improve speaker performance in your room or change it more to your liking. Much like the BACCH system does hands off or other systems (REW, Acourate, etc.) do hands on.
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From what I can gather you can also tune the amp to your speakers yourself if you purchase the Master Class software.
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Thanks! I did not know the software was going to be available to the end user.
This review left me a little less than thrilled about the Maria integrate.
Ron did an excellent job reviewing this system, that either revealed some possible short comings, or the speakers weren’t properly set up in his room. The review is also somewhat in sharp contrast to most other reviews on this product, which were absolutely glowing.
Seems some of the short comings in the sound could be due to colorations in the Maria.
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C Wave discussion and review.
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No can do, Elk.
Archimago is on the same very short list I keep Amir on, for most of the same reasons.
Life is too short to benefit such personalities in any way, no matter how small.
I already regret clicking on the link you provided, for fear the hit will profit Archimago in some way.
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Thanks for the heads up.
I am unfamliar with the author and just started reading the article myself. It is helpful to be forewarned.
Did not read the article…my opinion is based upon past “exposures”…
Thanks.
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Sounds like some heavy equalization going on with the Maria to smooth out the sound. But you lose liveness and resolution in the process. With analog or vinyl, you get the smoothness and body, and you also get more natural liveness and resolution. I can get the same effect of the Maria with just putting in zip cords in my system to dull the sound, at lest that’s what I heard in that video.
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When I first heard about his new line, I started to watch one of Mark’s videos.
When he described his speakers as “the first speakers designed to move air. Other speakers don’t really move air”, I turned him off and went back to listening to music.
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His top of the line speaker is close to 100 db and using an 18" and 12 " driver, and can handle 4000 watts, so it’s definitely going to move way more air than a lot of speakers out there.
The M1 18” woofer of the M1 is a high efficiency design (98dB/1W/1m) that can take up to 4000W of power and generate over 132dB SPL. With a resonant frequency of 20Hz, it has flat frequency response to 20Hz. The crossover point is 80Hz.
The M1 12” woofer of the M1 is 100dB efficient and reproduces signals from 80Hz to 2kHz. It is driven directly from the Maria 800 via the active crossovers enabled in the Mighty Cat software suite. A passive crossover is used between the 12” woofer and the high performance compression driver tweeter, which reproduces signals from 2kHz to 20kHz.
If other speakers do not move air, how exactly do they work?
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