[bmichael]

I'm pretty new to audio stuff, but I can see myself heading down this rabbit hole.
 
I recently bought Audioengine A5 speakers, but I'm already kind of regretting getting them. They sound all right, but between the persistent hum and the overheat-to-shut-off move, I'm a little fed up. This site 6 Moons reviewed Mark and Daniel Ruby speakers, and they seem to love them.
 
As well, their review of the NuForce Icon (http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/nuforce7/icon_2.html) features the rubies. Given that the Icon is pretty cheap, and the Rubies are kind of cheap (total less than $2k), it seems like a good intermediate set up? (Right?)
 
The only thing is that 6 Moons seems to be the primary cheerleaders of the brand. I read a review of the Maximuses this morning (on my ipad so I don't have the URL) that was extremely critical of the Mark/Daniel. Does anyone here have experience with the Ruby or Mini line of speakers?
 
Speaking of the Minis, does anyone have an idea of Mini-versus-Ruby? I want to fill a room that's about I don't know 12' tall by 12' by 15' by 10'. And/or the better part of my apartment, which is about maybe 45' long and fairly open? They would be on my desk though, so they'd need to be good for nearfield listening. I'm not sure if I'm even approaching this question from the right direction.
 
Basically, though, it seems like Mark/Daniel presents a really strong price-to-quality ratio, so I'm willing to spend more than I'd necessarily want to on speakers. If that's not true, though, then I'll just keep my A5s and maybe get better headphones someday.
 
Thanks a lot if anyone reads this and even more if they respond. Thanks!

 

[jilgiljongiljing]

Seems pricey to me. For that sort of money there are so many good options and you really have to audition them or get to try them before you can decide.
 
Oh and if you are interested in small form factor, I recommend you listen to the Sonus Faber Toy speaker, they shouldnt be too hard to find for a demo.

 

[Rdr. Seraphim]

My experience with this level (size) loudspeakers meant having a better than average amp capable of decent low impedance drive. A SS amp with decent current capabilities is on order here, like a NuForce integrated, or similar as these run 3 - 6 ohm impedance, and they are very inefficient. (Your A5's have built in amps.)  

 

[Furface]

Its best to audition with your own ears. Not forgeting these small speakers will require high current amplifiers inorder to drive them properly.

 

[cracky]

Hey bmichael,
 
I've recently purchased a pair of Maximus-Mini+, driven by a pair of Threshold SA/10e (175watts each), connected with Apogee Duet (no pre-amp yet) from my hackintosh, Amarra+iTunes (still waiting for the balanced breakout XLR to arrive).
 
 
I was going with some other brands such as B&W, Usher, Swans, etc, but the M&Ds do stand out most and sound different. As most reviews said, the bass is incredible for the size. I'm stuck in my small room for most of the time, thus size matters a lot. I still don't have time to position them correctly yet, but I am pretty happy with the result so far.
 
Keep in mind, these speakers ain't easy to drive. You will need at least 60watts (each channel) to move them. From What i heard, bi-amping them with some tube and hybrid amps can give you some astonishing results 

 
Here's a photo of my experimental set up...

 

[mulveling]

82.5 db/Watt is way below average efficiency. In combination with that amp you're going to be limited to either a near-field desktop configuration or "pleasantly modest" levels any further out. You're not going to rock a room without hitting clipping, and high dynamic range recordings (classical) at decent levels are out of the question. That is OK if you never want more than modest levels - otherwise I'd pick an easier speaker for starters. 

 

[bmichael]

Quote:

82.5 db/Watt is way below average efficiency. In combination with that amp you're going to be limited to either a near-field desktop configuration or "pleasantly modest" levels any further out. You're not going to rock a room without hitting clipping, and high dynamic range recordings (classical) at decent levels are out of the question. That is OK if you never want more than modest levels - otherwise I'd pick an easier speaker for starters. 

You mean, let me get this straight, that the speakers won't pleasantly go above a moderate volume, even if they're driven with a high enough power amp?

 

[mulveling]

Quote:

Quote:

82.5 db/Watt is way below average efficiency. In combination with that amp you're going to be limited to either a near-field desktop configuration or "pleasantly modest" levels any further out. You're not going to rock a room without hitting clipping, and high dynamic range recordings (classical) at decent levels are out of the question. That is OK if you never want more than modest levels - otherwise I'd pick an easier speaker for starters. 

You mean, let me get this straight, that the speakers won't pleasantly go above a moderate volume, even if they're driven with a high enough power amp?

Not saying it's impossible but it's an uphill battle. That NuForce is only 12 Watts which seems like a bad mismatch to me; it's only going to manage ~ 92dB peaks at 1 meter (= 86dB peaks at 2 meters, 80dB at 4 meters...). So e.g. if you want to hear say a recording with peaks of 20dB over average level, then you're looking at a max average level of about 65dB @ 2m before you hit clipping at the peaks. That's a lot less loud than spirited conversation. These things are significantly less efficient than Maggies, which have a rep for benefitting greatly from monster power amps (Maggies also lose substantially less SPL per additional meter, IIRC).
 
If you have a 100 Watts/ch continuous power amp, then on those M&D speakers it's going to act more like an 18 Watts/ch amp would on average-ish (~87-88dB/Watt) speakers. Then, say you go for a 500 Watts/ch amp - most speakers can't handle that level of continuous power without burning up (the Ruby specs only 80 Watts/ch).
 
Disclaimer: I have a hard time understanding the philosophy of low efficiency speakers (unless we're talking electrostats, magneplanars, etc). To be fair you can add a few dB to the above numbers for a stereo pair, and maybe a few more for room gain, but I still think it's pretty safe to say this is a bad choice (particularly that combo) for breaking into the speaker world. 
 
Edit: Reading the specs on their site, the Ruby is 82.5dB/2.83V/1m, not 82.5dB/1 Watt/1m. At 4 ohms nominal that translates to roughly 79.5dB/1 Watt/1m. So I adjusted the (roughly calculated) numbers above, down by 3dB.

 

[astonmartin65]

Hi I have specifically joined this forum to add my "two penneth worth"
I have owned a pair of Rubies for 2 years,I imported them into the uk.
First to correct a number of misconceptions!
I have spoke to Lauren Charles of M&D and the drivers are rated to 250 watt.
This does not mean however that using them with more power will damage them ,providing the amp is of high quality and you are sensible.
The rubies when suitably driven in my mediuim (17ft x 21ft) room go more than loud enough hitting peaks of 105 db on my sound meter if desired and if your ears will take it!
They can be used with tube amplification(I used rogue audio tempest in ultra linear) but do prefer solid stae in my humble opinion.
For the last 18 months I have used with Chapter Audio Precis 250s @ 225w into 8 ohm 450w into 4ohm.
I can tell you the results are stunning,with real bass,and stunning topend.
The rubies have a huge magnet system and low efficiency so need current to control the bass driver,but even more so to work with the low impedance ribbon high frequency driver.
Different but well worth the effort,how good are they,well I personally sold my revel ultima gems and kept the rubies.......go figure!