mhi

Evidence loudspeakers / Mini Monitors with Ribbon tweeter and in Piano Black

As reviewed by
the honorable Robert H. Levi of Positive Feedback see details below ;

My favorite mini loudspeaker is the
currently available Amphion Ion—a most revealing little transducer,
though rather costly at $1400—as my reference JM Labs Cobalt has been
discontinued. Well, along comes this surprise entry; a new U.S.
designed, but Chinese built, little wonder called the Evidence. The
manufacturer and designer is MHI, Musical Heart Instruments, a division
of Micro Home Installation, Inc., Corona, CA. They are available from
Brooks Berdan LTD, in Monrovia, CA. They currently make only one model
and this is it! You can have any color you want as long as it's gloss
black lacquer.

It's equal to the Ion in midband
transparency, is a bit smaller, and costs a paltry $600 in beautiful
black lacquer. With its high tech design—for the music loving
audiophile and nearfield experimenter alike—it has more midrange
definition and high band air than anything made under $1000; maybe even
more. They are as detailed as my Stax Headphones and reveal everything
on one's music. One can spread them wide for a wild, live experience, or
bring them together with your iPod and computer for nearfield
monitoring. Add a subwoofer for a full-range sound or play them as is.
You want ultra high definition, beautiful looks, small size, and at a
low cost? The Evidence is your ticket.

Being only about 6 inches wide, 9.5 inches
high and 8 inches deep, they sound HUGE on just 8-watts per channel from
my Cary SET amplifier. Efficiency is an understated 90dB. They are rated
at 4 ohms and should be bi-wired [don't use the supplied jumpers]. Now
here's what's so new about these cool speakers! The 4.5 inch robust
Mogami paper midrange/woofer, sourced from Pioneer of Japan, is ran
full-range. The driver is surrounded in a high tech cloth that will last
vastly longer than foam. It has a response from about 60Hz to 10,000Hz.
A crossover controls only an exotic two inch long ribbon super tweeter,
also from Pioneer. This is crossed over at about 10,000Hz and extends
up to 100,000+ Hz! Ultra well built with knuckle breaking solidity, this
baby has no vibrations to upset either driver. Grooves cut between the
stacked drivers separate their baffles to assure better isolation and
performance. There's virtually no solder used as most parts are
professionally crimped in place for less coloration. There's no grill
cloth either; just an attractive black metal mesh over the mid/woofer
and a nicely recessed silver ribbon tweeter just out of harm's way. The
cabinets feature a small rear port to augment the bass response. Very
cool.

I wired them with the recently reviewed
superb new Harmonic Technology Reference 9+ Biwire Speaker Cables. Along
with the Cary SET 300B amp, I used an E.A.R. 834L linestage and
ModWright Sony 999 CD/SACD player. Interconnects were also by Harmonic
Tech and included the latest Cyberlight Interconnects with the Battery
Pack Type 4. The speakers were placed on Target stands about six feet
apart, parallel to each other with no toe-in, with the tweeter at ear level.

From the Manufacturer:

Specifications

• 
  

  
  Tweeter - Pure
  aluminum ribbon

• 
  

  
  Woofer - MOGAMI
  paper cone 4.5"

• 
  

  
  Impedance: 4 ohm

• 
  

  
  Frequency Range: 65Hz
  to 120,000Hz

• 
  

  
  Sensitivity: 90 dB / 2.83V / m

• 
  

  
  Max. Power: 75 W RMS.

• 
  

  
  Crossover
  Frequency: 10,000Hz

• 
  

  
  Break-in period: 50 hours

• 
  

  
  Weight: 4.0
  kg (8.8 lbs.) each

First impression: where did all that sound
come from? They look small, but sound big, open, and scarily detailed!
They have mountains of midrange definition, spectacularly delicate and
extended highs, power and snap galore, and a soundstage like Mount
Wilson. Vocal reproduction is their specialty. According to Ed Kojima,
their designer, having no crossover in the mid frequencies allows vocals
to be neutral and detailed. He got it right, as vocals are truly
astounding; you are there! If the performers have bad breath, you'll
know it!

Imaging of this nearly perfect point source
speaker is, needless to say, spot on tight. They are even more focused
than my reference Cobalts, while being fast and clean, with no
discernable distortion or driver breakup [at least none with my little
amp]. Simply put, what they have is phenomenal definition in the mids
and highs with top notch focus. Naturally with such small-ish drivers,
what they lack is any deep bass, and to a great extent, power and weight
in the midbass. Of course I did all my listening without a sub but I
would think that you would want one eventually, these are that good. Any
quality sub will work just fine crossed in at about 50 or 60Hz.

I discovered that you don't want to aim them
at your ears like many highband deficient designs, there is just too
much energy. When I put them parallel to each other, they exploded with
music and sounded quite right. Put them about a foot from the rear wall
for best bass; further out for best depth. If you buy these, you'll toss
out your earbuds and never go back.

I found that with such extraordinary
definition, I could listen at a lower volume and be just as satisfied.
Classical music needs subtlety to sound right and the Evidence's come
amazingly close to what I like. You may want to pump up the volume with
jazz and rock, and the Evidence's do that, too. It's fun to have nearly
limitless highband performance in a speaker this size. It so enhances
the harmonic structure of horns, cymbals, and the like. Plus, vocals are
mellifluous to the max. Female voices are finely present.

This brand new, low cost, super high
definition loudspeaker gets my attention. The MHI Evidence Loudspeakers
are tiny and elegant. They require few watts, but yield big musical
sound. With definition like my electrostatic headphones and designed
with exotic cutting edge thinking, you'll see and hear the performance
right in front of you. These are probably the best small sized, point
source loudspeakers I've heard that are currently available. Their only
flaw is lack of bass. Other small designs work hard to give you bass by
sacrificing mids and highs in the process. Some others use cheap, common
drivers and construction that's light weight so as to be affordable.
These do neither. The Evidence's are a sonic over achiever, very
beautiful and well made, and inexpensive; at least right now. Highly
recommended! Robert H. Levi

Evidence

Retail: $600 per pair

MHI Musical Heart Instruments

Micro Home Installation, Inc.

Ed Kojima, President

1235 Countess Drive

Corona, CA  92882

TEL: 951. 898. 1121

email address:

[email protected]

===============================

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