For me, the MayFly MF-201A speakers were a bit like that: a…
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If you've ever read Homer's Iliad, you probably remember the Catalog of Ships at the beginning. It's an exhaustive record of the contingents the Achean army deployed against Troy, naming the commanders, their hometowns, the number of ships in each contingent, and more. Not to put too fine a point on it, it's a snoozefest. It makes you dread what's next. But of course, if you come to this point only to abandon the Iliad in frustration, you'll miss the fabulous war epic that follows, chockablock with action, drama, and romance.
When I resumed listening a couple of days later, I focused on what I liked rather than what I didn't, and the picture brightened considerably. The 201s' imaging and soundstaging are impressive. Music filled the room in an enveloping way, 3D-like, instead of hanging in the space between the speakers.
An excellent recording to judge soundstage width is Steely Dan's "Hey Nineteen," from Gaucho (24/96 FLAC, Qobuz). On speakers that image like champs, the guitar will appear two-plus feet outside the far boundary of the left cabinet, and that's where the MayFlys placed it with…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Two-way, stand-mounted bass-reflex loudspeaker with internal skyline diffusers, front-firing slotted bass port. Drive unit: Coaxial, with 26mm treated–fabric-dome tweeter, 180mm clear polypropylene-cone midrange/bass driver with reverse-roll rubber surround and 850gm ceramic magnet. Symmetric two-pole crossover. Crossover frequency: 2.9kHz. Binding posts: gold-plated copper. Frequency range: 40Hz–20kHz. Nominal impedance: 8 ohms. Sensitivity: 88dB/W/m. Recommended amplifier power: 40–100W.
Dimensions: 20.5" (520mm) H × 12" (300mm) W × 10.6" (…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Digital sources: Naim Uniti Atom controlled through iPad Pro. 2021 16" MacBook Pro with M1 Max processor, running Audirvana Studio. PureAudio Lotus DAC5, RME ADI-2 DAC FS, Bluesound Node 2i, Musical Fidelity V90, and Auralic Vega DACs.
Preamplifiers: Naim Uniti Atom. PureAudio Lotus. Apt Holman (overhauled and returned to factory specs 2020).
Power amplifiers: Naim Uniti Atom, Krell FPB 200c (recapped 2020), PrimaLuna DiaLogue Premium HP, Schiit Ragnarok.
Loudspeakers: Tekton Moab, MartinLogan Odyssey, KEF LS50W on IsoAcoustics Aperta aluminum…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
I used DRA Labs' MLSSA system, an Earthworks microphone preamplifier, and a calibrated DPA 4006 microphone to measure the MayFly MF-201's farfield behavior, and an Earthworks QTC-40 mike for its nearfield responses. I used an Outline computer-controlled turntable to examine the off-axis behavior, rotating the loudspeaker under test in 5° increments.
Though MayFly specifies the MF-201's sensitivity as 88dB/W/m, my estimate was significantly lower, at 83dB(B)/2.83V/m. While the MF-201's impedance is specified as 8 ohms, the impedance magnitude (fig.1, solid…
Manufacturer's Comment
Thank you, Stereophile, for this excellent review of my loudspeakers. If there is one thing consistent with all the folks who have tested them, it's that the MF-201s need different placement from a "usual" setup. What is interesting is that different folks achieved good results in completely different ways. Some liked them high. Some liked them low. Some liked them dead-on ear level. Some like a lot of toe-in, some not. Experimentation in the final listening room is required.
Regarding the reviewer's comments on the slightly soft presentation in the upper…
Round Trip: Ornette Coleman on Blue Note is the first boxed set on the label's Tone Poet imprint, and it's a bold move. Audiophiles are not known to be keen on avant-garde music, but Don Was, Blue Note's president, and Joe Harley, the Tone Poet producer, are huge Ornette fans. They've lately been reissuing some other adventurous titles from the catalog—so good on them! Fellow fans should dive into this one, and the hesitant should give it a try, with some caveats.
Ornette's classic LPs are the six he made for Atlantic Records from 1959–61, especially The Shape of Jazz to Come, which…
A month ago, I ran into my Russian neighbor in the hall. As usual, he asked me what I was reviewing. (Vladimir likes to come over and listen, then find fault with everything I play.) When I told Vlad I had Stax's new top-of-the-line earspeaker, the SR-X9000, he lit up and exclaimed, "I need to hear it," adding that he has been a lifelong Stax fanatic and owns at least five different models, "dating way back." He told me he'd recently sold his SR-009 to buy the newer SR-009S, but he still has his ragged, 25-year-old Stax Omega "prototype," which sounds "even better" than the 009S. I told him…
We need audiophile audio and headphones at the SR-X9000's level so that we can savor every blessed second of recordings like Yo Soy La Tradición (16/44.1, Miel Music/Tidal), with Miguel Zenón fronting the Spektral Quartet. Compared to LTA's Z10e, the 3ES powering the Stax produced a terser, tighter, more brilliantly lit view of this jazz, which feels like sorcery. Zenón's composition "Cadenas" sounded smarter and fresher, more avant-garde, through the Woo amplifier; it was more lush and melodic—more about Puerto Rico—through the LTA. Through both amplifiers, the SR-X9000 displayed greater…
Presented by Head-Fi, CanJam promotes headphone and portable audio at shows in New York City, London, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Singapore, Southern California, and Chicago.
I was already planning to visit New York, and NYC COVID levels have now reached a recent new low, with positivity rates in the 1% range following an Omicron-era peak of 23% on 1 January. New York City lifted its general mask mandate in mid-February. CanJam is requiring proof of vaccination for entry, but masks are optional.
This is the first CanJam New York to take place in two years. Attendance appeared…