B&W MM-1 Multimedia Speakers Review

MM-1 Build Quality, Features, Setup and Remote

B&W sells speakers. And I don't mean for that to sound trite. I mean, they sell speakers. Lots of them. They are known for both high-end studio monitors as well as audiophile home audio. What more and more people are also finding out, however, is that B&W can make a mean small speaker as well. "Small" as in a multimedia, PC speaker. In 2007 we reviewed the B&W Zeppelin and found out that big things can come in small packages. Well, when we cracked open the MM-1s we were less skeptical. That's good for us, but for B&W it just meant that they needed to maintain their rapidly-rising reputation among our staff of listeners. Did they? Hey, I'm not going to spoil a perfectly good review... keep reading.

The MM-1 speakers in particular are designed for people who want an advanced listening experience in a small package that exceeds the quality found in most multimedia speakers. The speakers allow you to connect just about any analogue audio source component, like a TV, CD or DVD player, but also give you the advanced ability to directly connect them to a Mac or PC laptop or desktop computer. You can even bypass the drivers and listen to your headphones with the built-in headphone amplifier - and it's a very nice one at that. On top of that, the system comes with a handheld "egg" remote that gives you adjustment of Volume/Mute, Pause/Play/Skip track control (when connected to a PC or Mac), and Power.

Build Quality & Features

The B&W MM-1 Multimedia Speakers are beautiful to look at. They are a great match for almost any computer, be it laptop or desktop, but if you look closely, it's the absolutely dead ringer match for the new iPad. Silver sides and a brushed aluminum trim - Apple couldn't have done it better. What you find when you open the box up is the two speakers - well-protected by foam inserts, an external power supply, USB & stereo mini cables, the "egg" remote, and the documentation. The speakers are set up in such a way that the right speaker carries the volume control, USB and analogue audio connections (both input and headphone) as well as all the DSP and amplification circuitry.

Both speakers are visually separated into a Bowers & Wilkins-branded top and bottom section, with a brushed aluminum band bisecting both. The same brushed band drives down the rear sides of each speaker. The top of each speaker has a flat brushed aluminum inset cap and the bottoms are made of a unique rubber platform that is around 1/4-inch thick and 3/8-inch tall. It serves as a vibration reducer and also functions to prevent the marring of any surface you choose to place the speakers upon.

There is a blue LED light on the right speaker that serves as a multi-purpose indicator for status and power. It functions as follows:

• Red - Standby
  
• Blue - On
  
• Slow flashing Blue - Muted
  
• Fast flashing Blue - Volume adjustment
  
• Fast flashing Red - Volume at min or max setting
  
• Continually flashing Red - system fault
  
• White - Software update underway
  

While the USB port allows for software updates, we aren't aware of any at present and there doesn't seem to be anything on the horizon that would require it, especially since the required drivers for the speaker seemed to load quickly and as-needed on our testing PCs (a 2009 MacBook Pro, 2007 Mac Mini, and a Gateway EC1437u Netbook). On the bottom of the right (active) speaker there are three connections. One is for power, one for the slave (passive) speaker, and the third for USB connectivity to a PC or Mac. On the rear side of the right speaker you'll find the headphone output and 1/8-inch mini-jack line input.

Setup and Remote Control

We set up the speakers next to our Mac Mini system and proceeded to form an equilateral triangle between our head and the speakers. This was actually facilitated quite nicely by the fact that our desk had an elevated shelf, placing the obscured tweeters of the speakers even with our ears. Plugging everything in was quite simple, and about the only hiccup we had involved a restart of the Mac Mini to get it to recognize and load the drivers for the B&W MM-1 speakers via USB. We didn't have this issue on any of our other testing systems, so it was likely an issue limited to our system. In either case, it didn't take long to get up and running. The remote seemed to be a bit fickle at times, and we couldn't determine whether this was due to a battery issue or something else. Shaking the remote seemed to help, though eventually the fix seemed to lie in prying up the small negative lead at the bottom of the battery compartment.

We liked the remote. It felt good in the hand and it beat the pants off those credit card-style jobs you find on most systems these days (assuming you even get a remote). The Volume and Track buttons (Play/Pause, Skip Back/Forward) buttons worked flawlessly with iTunes, as did the Mute function, however the Power control wouldn't place the speakers into Standby when connected via USB. This didn't exactly bother us much, but it's something to be aware of when using the system. The external power supply that comes with the MM-1s isn't as elegant as the speakers themselves, but I guess we can forgive that since it will most likely be hidden away once installed (as it was in our system).

MM-1 Listening Tests and Conclusion

In cranking up these speakers we quickly found ourselves flying through both newer and older content to test out the system. Following is a brief summary of our time spent listening to these surprisingly powerful speakers.

CD: Dishwalla - Pet Your Friends
"Haze" is the first Dishwalla track we spun up on the MM-1s. I wish I could tell you that there is a specific reason for this, but honestly I just wanted to hear that funky guitar and strolling bass on these little speakers. The guitars have a funky delay that has them originate in the center and then work out to stereo. It's a phenomenal effect and sounded very impressive, though the exact imaging was a bit vague in that the speakers had an almost omnidirectional sense to them. What this meant was that they were interacting with the room a bit more than I was used to, but it wasn't at all unpleasant - just the opposite. The bass, as it slid and walked around during this track simply blew me away. The lower extension of these little drivers was nothing short of amazing and when I actually felt the kick drum, toms, and bass physically impact my chest I couldn't help but look underneath the desk for a small subwoofer. A pair of 3-inch drivers aren't supposed to be able to do this - not while preserving the midrange. B&W has some very capable engineers working in their design department. Seriously, these speakers are way off the traditional path.

The next track was "Give" and it too impressed us with its bassy portrayal of the song's intro. As it went on we noted that the male vocals were clear and sibilance was compression-free. The upper bass frequencies could come across a bit fuller than we'd like, but considering all that these little speakers were pumping out, and the continued clarity of the upper midrange, we found it hard to not be very impressed. The consistent 1/8th note hi-hat during the verse was clear and clean as was the top end of the snappy snare. Distortion was nowhere to be seen. In fact, we found that cranking up this system to its highest levels rendered a transparent, powerful sound. Bowers & Wilkins clearly tested out these speakers to render them able to be played at high volume audible-distortion-free. In general we found that music played at around 90dB or below sounded natural and clean, while anything above that (we were able to coax 97dB peaks without difficulty) tended to boom out and show signs of compression.

CD: Natalie Merchant - Tigerlily
This is such a great album, full of all the things we love about Natalie Merchant. "Wonder" started off our listening for this CD and we loved the simple instrumentation and the upper-mid texture presented by Natalie's edgy voice. The perky guitar sounded great, but the bass was definitely right smack dab in the middle of what we would call the 'mid-bloat' range of the woofers. This is the place where they get a bit muddy overall, though above and below this frequency they do great. You could tell there was just a tad bit of conflict between the tuning frequency of the speakers and the intended sound of the bass guitar. What was nice was that the speakers still presented so much great upper-mid finesse that the song remained very enjoyable overall. We next jumped over to "Carnival" where a mix of percussion and guitar greeted us in a way that made us want to just sit back and enjoy ourselves for a bit. Natalie's vocals cut right overtop of this background rhythm and the choral effect placed on her during the choruses came out sounding beautiful alongside the backing tracks.

CD: Dave Matthews Band - Crash
This is such a great album, we just wanted to hear some great music on the B&W MM-1s and Crash seemed to fit the bill. Of course, we started with "Tripping Billies" and sat back while Dave Matthews' vocals poured out liquid delight from the speakers and the varied instruments, including horns and violins, filled the room with a myriad of midrange-heavy material that belied what a normal pair of speakers this size should have any ability to reproduce. What we're used to hearing is breakup distortion at higher volumes when that much is going on - what we got was a symphony of instrumentation that just worked well together.

"So Much to Say" was another song where the kick drum pounded into your chest - which we never really got used to. Now realize, we've heard a much harder punch and greater definition, but these things each had only a three inch woofer! It simply defied logic and we found ourselves backing up the tracks again and again and cranking the volume up, bring people in to hear it... it was that surprising. The snare in this track was awesome and the crisp, woody hits punctuated the midrange while Matthews' vocals poured in around it. Right after this, the guitars in "Two Step" gave us a nice listen to a solidly stereo image and rendered a really nice multitrack effect that spread out and filled in across the entire front of the soundstage. Because of the nature of these nearfields, the soundstage was rather narrow, being limited to the proximity of the speakers. That is to say, they weren't throwing an image wider than themselves, nor was there any mystery as to where the instrumentation was coming from.

CD: Stacy Clark - White Lies
We checked out a newer, more compressed track - Stacy Clark's "White Lies" title track. It is a great song, and the B&W MM-1s seemed to really handle the highly compressed track with no difficulties. In fact, it seemed that the speakers actually thrived with the limited dynamics, as if they were simply blowing off steam and laughed at my meager attempt to trip them up. Stacy's vocals are well into the upper midrange and the tweeters played them back cleanly and without any hint of audible distortion or added compression in the critical sibilance frequencies (~6-8kHz). Cymbal crashes were clean and the overall mix was really well put together and easy to discern throughout the soundstage. Bass was clean and the keys presented themselves with much fanfare behind the overall track, widening the mix and pouring the music into the room.

Conclusion

It's not often that I get to write nearly an entire review while actually evaluating the product I am reviewing non-stop. With the MM-1's that's exactly what I did - and loved every minute of it. Overall, it was obvious that B&W engineers listened to a lot of material when tuning these speakers and found the best possible solution for a majority of music. Female vocals and midrange performance seemed to get the most attention, but man can these things slam on the low end! We've heard a lot of "multimedia" speakers, but the B&W MM-1s have got to be some of the more enjoyable products we've heard. In addition, they offer the absolute best bass performance we've ever experienced from a 2.0 system. They also have the aesthetics to hold up to even the most discerning of consumers - you know the type. So if you plan on docking your iPad between a pair of beautiful speakers, these are probably the ones you should pick up... especially if you loathe the thought of having a large subwoofer anywhere near your desk or workstation. As an added bonus, the brushed aluminum and black will match perfectly and the sound will be just as good, or better, than its looks.

MSRP: $499.95
Bowers & Wilkins
http://www.bowers-wilkins.com

About Bowers & Wilkins
Bowers & Wilkins is Britain’s leading exporter of loudspeakers and the number one imported brand in North America. Since 1966, Bowers & Wilkins’ "Quest for Perfection" has resulted in a succession of technical loudspeaker innovations that have satisfied the world’s most demanding listeners. Its products’ rave reviews and universal acceptance as monitors for professional music recording have helped Bowers & Wilkins become the dominant premium loudspeaker company throughout the world.  To learn more about Zeppelin, Bowers & Wilkins iPod speaker system, and B&W’s home theater and hi-fi models, visit www.bowers-wilkins.com/iPodspeakers.

The Score Card

The scoring below is based on each piece of equipment doing the duty it is designed for. The numbers are weighed heavily with respect to the individual cost of each unit, thus giving a rating roughly equal to:

Performance × Price Factor/Value = Rating

Audioholics.com note: The ratings indicated below are based on subjective listening and objective testing of the product in question. The rating scale is based on performance/value ratio. If you notice better performing products in future reviews that have lower numbers in certain areas, be aware that the value factor is most likely the culprit. Other Audioholics reviewers may rate products solely based on performance, and each reviewer has his/her own system for ratings.

Audioholics Rating Scale

• — Excellent
• — Very Good
• — Good
• — Fair
• — Poor

Metric	Rating
Build Quality
Appearance
Treble Extension
Treble Smoothness
Midrange Accuracy
Bass Extension
Bass Accuracy
Imaging
Soundstage
Dynamic Range
Fit and Finish
Performance
Value