Mark and Daniels Ruby Loudspeakers

bbchem · « **on:** 27 Apr 2007, 04:47 am »

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Hello Everyone, I am the Peoples Stereo reviewer and hope to provide you with info that will help you get the best bang for your buck. I give unbiased opinions. Today I am giving you my review of the Mark-Daniels Ruby which six moons gave their Blue Moon award to. I am now the proud owner of these amazing ground breaking speakers. Lately, I have been in love with several single driver full range loudspeakers. Well I read the review in 6 moons and found that my new speaker would be a cross between a electrostatic speaker and and a full range. Well I can now tell you that this speaker is like listening to a 6foot tall 3 foot wide three way dynamic speaker. The sounds coming from these are so beyond their size, but more important the quality of sound is as if it was a large pin point floorstanding monitor!! They have Bass that confuses the listener for their size. Their detail is superb. I have had Totem and Proac small monitors that sounded great for their purpose, but these transcend whats possible with today's technology. I had a Carver 1.5T 350wpc power amp that can go to 1500 wpc max. My problem is that due to the 83 sensitivity and my lust for loudness, My 15 AMP house fuse is blowing. I want to point out that the speakers never broke a sweat no matter how much power I put into them, in fact they sounded better the louder they played! This is the only negative. When you get the loud sound you need, these are the best sounding speakers for the price and size on earth. If all audiophiles heard these, MD would sell billions!! I love them and will try to find out how to avoid kicking out my 15 AMP circuit breaker. A++++

guitardave · « **Reply #1 on:** 27 Apr 2007, 05:07 pm »

Yes, they are pretty impressive. I got a pair last week, and must agree that they swing far above their size and price. They really needed a break-in period, but after a coupld of 8 hour sessions they are sounding great. They really do sound like a large speaker.
Unlike the 6moons reviewers, I do not aim them straight at me, as this makes recorded tape noise pretty intrusive. But I am hearing things I never heard before. And they do play pretty loud. I agree they sound great loud, but I am trying to figure out if they really need to be driven hard to sound good or if I am doing it just because they take it so well without distress that I just can't help myself!
For $1600 they are an incredible deal, and a real breakthrough at any price. I am now considering whether my Thiels and Maggies will get any play time...

miklorsmith · « **Reply #2 on:** 27 Apr 2007, 05:49 pm »

bb - is "Peoples Stereo" a publication, or are you declaring yourself "reviewer for the people"? Do you have any relationship with M&D or anything to gain by sales of the speakers? I'm just trying to clear the air.

That's great you found something you love. The reports certainly are glowing. Are there any of these in Seattle I might be able to audition? Anyone?

bbchem · « **Reply #3 on:** 28 Apr 2007, 12:07 am »

I am only a Person who loves Loudspeakers. You can read my other posts under Omega and Horn Shoppe. I have owned 30 pair + now of different loudspeakers from Electrostatic to planar to Single driver. I am always searching for the holy grail. I am very passionate about products that I really love and think have real value. I sold a pair of Single Driver speakers and bought a Demo pair of the the Ruby's based on the two amazing reviews of them in 6 Moons. I try and read between the lines of the reviewer and its easier since they both bought the Rubys and one other pair so they say. I have zero to gain from M&D but would like to help a company that has something special to offer. Never heard of them until I read the reviews

Regards, Bill

P.S. What power amp(s) are you using?? My old carver at very high volume ( set at 12 O'clock) will light up into the clipping region ( 1500wpc) and then my house fuse blows. The sound at high levels are truily awesome though

tyee · « **Reply #4 on:** 28 Apr 2007, 12:42 am »

I've been tempted with this model too! Is tweekgeek.com the only seller of them??

pearsall001 · « **Reply #5 on:** 28 Apr 2007, 02:31 am »

Quote from: tyee on 28 Apr 2007, 12:42 am

I've been tempted with this model too! Is tweekgeek.com the only seller of them??

Stephen Monte is the owner of Quest for Sound in Bensalem, PA. He is a pleasure to deal with, a straight shooter & very highly regarded in the industry. I've dealt with Stephen on numerous occasions & it was always a pleasure. He was so taken back by the M&D speakers that he took on the line. I've heard them at his place & they do sound superb.
http://www.questforsound.com/speakers/spkrs_mark-daniel.htm

PaulFolbrecht · « **Reply #6 on:** 28 Apr 2007, 03:18 am »

Will 2nd the props for Stephen and QfS. Very good operation to deal with.

tyee · « **Reply #7 on:** 28 Apr 2007, 03:20 am »

Just got an email back from a Cdn dealer and they have a special on now for Cdn$ at par!

Tempting!!

lonewolfny42 · « **Reply #8 on:** 28 Apr 2007, 03:24 am »

Link to the 6moons review......

miklorsmith · « **Reply #9 on:** 28 Apr 2007, 06:24 am »

bb - cool. I hope the last post didn't come across as accusatory, I certainly didn't mean it that way. We have had experiences with others pretending to be happy customers with other agendas in the past.

All the best to Mark and Daniel - their designs are groundbreaking and appear to be stellar.

JLM · « **Reply #10 on:** 28 Apr 2007, 09:11 am »

The rest of the line, especially the floorstanders, IMO get pricey. My first question, and I suppose it would take an audition to resolve it for myself, is if (or at what point along the M & D model line) is a sub is needed. It fun finding out about new directions in equipment, and these are intriguing, but even $1600/pair for the Rubies isn't cheap when you consider the need for a high current amp(s) and sub (to match/fill out a full frequency with high quality sound).

Again perhaps an audition would put them in better perspective for me: Are the Rubies really up to being the heart of a $4,500 - 6,700 speaker/amp combination? I'm envisioning amps like an AVA Omegastar 440EXH (220 wpc, rated down to 1 ohm, $1700) or CIA D100/D200 pairs for bi-amping (175/325 watts into 4 ohms, $3900) with a ACI Titan XL sub ($1200).

I've enjoyed small 2-way standmounts, but keep coming back to the cost and complexity needed for additional power and sub.

ooheadsoo · « **Reply #11 on:** 28 Apr 2007, 09:19 am »

Maybe the maximus would be the better deal, then. The 6moons reviewer, Kan, stated that he thought it essentially did not need a sub, since it extended down to the low 30s/upper 20s. You also gain efficiency, which would really help, and make the AVA amp more attractive. Interestingly enough, the maximus is roughly the price of the sp tech timepiece, another speaker with jackhammer like dynamics, to quote the tweekgeek site, and superb detail. I've heard the nuforce s-9, which also shocked me with its enormous dynamics and lifelike reproduction in a reasonably svelte package. I'd kill to audition them side by side.

JLM · « **Reply #12 on:** 28 Apr 2007, 10:56 am »

Interesting isn't it, how both the SP Tech, NuForce, and M & D designs have the following in common:

A tweeter that can reach an octave lower than typical

Power hungry

Very good macro-dynamics

I looked exactly for bass/efficiency extention in the larger M & Ds, but the extra couple of Hz bass reach and dB of efficiency don't really "excite" me much, especially for the price increase. Just thinking "out loud".

bbchem · « **Reply #13 on:** 28 Apr 2007, 12:07 pm »

No problem Miklorsmith, I purchased them From Quest for sound and it was an amazingly perfect transaction.

As for needing a Sub, I am using a sub, but before I added it, I thought the tightness, depth and the quality of the bass was very very good. But, my mind keeps telling me to add the sub because I can and it hopefully can't hurt. I think for the $1600 dollar price point, these are a great value. I could not afford at present any of the more expensive models. It seems from the reviews that the sonic signature of the entire line is the same. I received an email from someone stating that The two best rooms from the Canadian show were the >>MBL and MArk and Daniels rooms, thats pretty good to be compared with MBLs if you have heard them.

Comment: Asked what room most stood out, two audio enthusiasts from Ontario said, “The white room”!
“The white room”, I queried?
“Yes. The room with all the white speakers”, they both nodded. The taller one pulled out a brochure. “Here, these!”, he smiled.
It was the Mark & Daniel catalogue.
I had just left the room for the third time in 4 days. Picking a particular product as best in show is one thing, picking a whole room and system is another. In the end, it came down to this room and the MBL room that featured the MBL 121 stand mounted monitor. Those honeys cost $12,300 per pair in a piano lacquered finish. The Mark & Daniel Maximus Ruby (the smaller speaker) comes with a marble compound enclosure and cost $1600

Double Ugly · « **Reply #14 on:** 28 Apr 2007, 12:10 pm »

Quote from: JLM on 28 Apr 2007, 10:56 am

Interesting isn't it, how both the SP Tech, NuForce, and M & D designs have the following in common:

A tweeter that can reach an octave lower than typical

Power hungry

Very good macro-dynamics

Bob Smith designed the first two, and the latter is from none other than Danny Richie (Mark Shifter and Daniel Richie). I suspect they're manufactured at Mark's plant in China, which would explain how they're able to offer their wares at such reasonable prices.

-Jim

Bemopti123 · « **Reply #15 on:** 28 Apr 2007, 12:15 pm »

bbchem, if you think the speakers are capable of insane reproduction or volumes, you should trying to switch out into more robust amplification. The Carver Transfer function amp, I used to own a pair, are overrated in their wattage specs. My present DNA 225 is more honest in the assessment of power at 200 watts per channel, have far more authority of the watts that the Carver ever put at 8 ohms.

bbchem · « **Reply #16 on:** 28 Apr 2007, 12:20 pm »

Thanks Bemopt123, I also have a PRoceed AMP2 from Mark Levinson that I thought about selling, it is rated at 150WPC maybe I should try it?

Bemopti123 · « **Reply #17 on:** 28 Apr 2007, 12:48 pm »

I have not heard any Proceed offerings, but I am sure it will outdo the Carver any day. I still regret falling into the marketing trap of Bob Carver and Inc. back in the days when this Transfer Function thing was popular. Well, I was just 16 years old then, but I have learned that marketing is what was all about. I am pretty sure the Proceed would do much better than the Carver. When I tried other more powerful amps later in life, I began to realize how false the Carver claims were in terms of wattage, actually, they can be dangerous to equipment because you might actually be under powering them while those lights flicker up and down.

JLM · « **Reply #18 on:** 28 Apr 2007, 01:10 pm »

Bob Smith I knew about. But thanks for the heads up regarding Shifter and Richie DU!

guitardave · « **Reply #19 on:** 28 Apr 2007, 01:48 pm »

I got mine from Quest for Sound, and the service was great. As an FYI, I was told that which model to buy is more of a function of your room size, as they sound the same given a proportionate room. I was very concerned that I should be getting the Maximus instead of the Ruby, and Stephen more or less told me to relax, that the Ruby's would probably be fine, and not much would be gained for the extra cash. Well, it did not hurt to hear that! My room overall is fairly large, but I am very satisfied, impressed really, with how well the Ruby's fill the room.
Their imaging is not as good as the Thiels, at least for now, but still quite good. And I have NEVER found a speaker to image like the Thiels. But the images are rounded and fuller than than most great imaging speakers.
I am driving them with either a VT-200 or a DNA-500.