Reviews for Bowers & Wilkins MM-1 Speakers

Wow...just...wow. If you can afford these bad boys, pick them up! Warm tones, great bass, good highs, nice balance of bass and highs, just amazing all around sound. A couple things: Do not put these behind anything (I know, DUH). I thought I could put them slightly behind my Imac's monitor, but the sound suffers significantly if they're covered even a little bit. The right side will run kind of hot, but try not to worry. Also, maybe it's just me, but it took a little bit for me to truly appreciate the sound these give off...Try playing something from all the genres you like and see your positive opinion of these grow...By the way, the audio sweet spot is right in front of them, so if you're going to show them off, have the person sit down where you normally sit...and if you've used an equalizer on your ipod settings, take 'em off, or at least give them a listen WITHOUT eq...I was amazed how much better these sounded when I turned the eq off...
I know, they don't have a subwoofer (they're 2.0, not 2.1), but if you aren't trying to shake the walls of the room you're using these in, you will be pleasantly surprised how much low end these have.
Just to make sure these were as good as I thought, I compared these to the Bose music monitors, the 2.0 set that seemed to be the closest in positive reviews and price. The Bose have brighter highs, but the lows and overall sound balance can't even come CLOSE to the MM-1s.
If price is an issue, ask people to give you apple store cards for your birthday and Christmas, and get yourself a pair! BONUS: you can plug it into the USB and STILL plug in your ipod to the AUX...awesome! I gave these only four stars because their price will keep a lot of people who could really appreciate these from getting them...boo!
p.s. I saw in some reviews that the sound suffers if you play bad quality mp3s on these...have not had that problem.

the sound is gorgeous. have it hooked up directly to the macbook pro via usb. love the sound. BUT....it would be nice if it could hook into an Airport Express, Time Machine, or Apple TV (all of which I have) via USB as well and be recognized by iTunes as a speaker. This is a big drawback in my book. I'd rather not be tethered to them and use them remotely in the same room via wireless to serve as my speakers. So Apple get to updating the iTunes software to make this work!!?? Or whatever. Would make it a full 5 stars. Don't want to use stereo plugs on the Airport Express to do this is it really reduces the sound quality.

Like the title says at low levels they are extremely clear. Not so great with my dubstep collection. Large base collectors should probably avoid these but all other music sounds amazing.

Yes, B&W make great speakers! Purchased them after listening to them at a retail Apple Store. They are very beautiful next to the 27 in Apple Cinema Display on my desk. I have read about white noise being a problem, but I can't really say I notice it. Maybe it will be more noticeable to me over time? The sound is very clear, crisp and well defined. I also have a Bose system on another Mac, and compared to that, MM1 speakers are more precise. There is enough base coming through B&W speakers, but not as much as the Bose that has a separate subwoofer. The volume is adequate, but I wouldn't say you can really blast it much. There is a software update, but I didn't perform it because it puts the speakers in standby when the computer is put to sleep or turned off. The remote is able to turn the speakers off, and when that is done while the computer is still on, it will default to the display speakers. Overall, I really like these speakers and only took off one star for the relatively high price and weaker bass.

As you would expect, since this is a tiny speaker and there's no defeating the laws of physics, so this speaker is not going to compare to a larger sub + satellite system or larger powered speakers.

I'll summarize the important points
- The build quality is outstanding. They feel solid and I like the fact that they are all covered in a cloth like material and the speaker drivers are protected by a perforated plastic grill, so there is no way you can accidentally damage the drivers behind the cloth covering. The top is brushed metal and they are little jewels of metal and cloth
- The sound is outstandingly clear, the tweeters convey an airy sound so you can hear the shimmer of cymbals, and the midrange is solid so you can hear vocals with clarity
- The bass response is limited, they probably convey bass detail down to about 90Hz by my ear, and thanks to B&W sound processing, it manages to stay full sounding even at slightly lower volumes. Because of their DSP processing which tailors the sound quality at any given volume, the sound is clear even when you start cranking it and the circuitry works hard to make sure the sound doesn't break up prematurely, but there's only so much the little drivers can do, so in the end, the speaker is very satisfying considering its size but don't expect miracles....you won't mistake these for much larger speakers that cost a fraction of the price.
- The speaker emits a slight hiss that isn't that noticeable except in a quiet room, but some people who has younger ears may find it slightly too evident
- The right speaker gets astonishingly warm even with no music playing so it's probably eating up lots of power. This is a bit surprising considering that this speaker uses digital amps
- The remote is small but handy

All in all I like these and if they were $300 I'd recommend them for anybody who wants a premium ultra compact setup, but at $500 I only recommend them if you absolute want something cool and stylish in your fancy office tbat takes up a minimal of desk space. Right now there are plenty of competitors that offer more bang for the buck sound quality wise. If you don't need a built in USB DAC, I would look at the Focal XS Book, Paradigm A2, PSB PS1, NHT Superpower which are all regular powered speakers which can play louder and cleaner, offer more usable bass response, and offer refined sound as well

I purchased the MM-1s to supplement the built-in speakers on my ACD, and they are fantastic for that purpose in a beautiful form factor. There is no question that their price demands incredible performance, but they deliver when listening to music in front of the computer at reasonable volumes. Full and rich, but very defined and detailed. They are not designed to replace your stereo speakers or fill a room with sound or bass, and if that's what you want, purchase something else (Bose Companion 20s or Audessey LES). Two issues: (1) The MM-1s do not shut down automatically, and the right speaker will stay quite hot even if just sitting there. So you have to treat them like a real mini-stereo system and turn them off when not in use. (For me, not a huge deal as the ACD speakers automatically switch on when the MM-1s are off, which is a nice feature of the USB connection.) (2) The MM-1s produce a faint hiss when on. You need to be in a very quite room to hear it, but it's there and will only go away if you mute the speakers or turn them off. If I had more room, I likely would have gone with something else, but there's no 2.0 speaker set up out there that gives this level of performance in such a small size. If that's what you want, the cost can be justified (barely...).

Pros:
-Very good stereo imaging
-Surprising amount of low frequency reproduction for their size.
-The build-in DAC makes a big difference. ( Run a line from your sound card to the Aux. input and compare it to the USB input )
-Frequency range is very good for "real" instrument sound l instrument reproduction.

Cons:
-Some high frequency sounds seem tinny.
-Cabinets resonate slightly at lower frequencies.

B and W always make great speakers! These speakers are awesome in sound quality. They are quite HI-Fi standard! Just remember when you install them via USB to re-boot your Mac!Initially the sound was all bassy and no treble but on rebooting this all corrected. Also poor quality songs (MP3) will sound poor! There is no software to download. Also the remote is not necessary if you are using the USb interface.
Just use your Mac keyboard or volume icon at the top!

I love this product since I bought it but it has been giving me popping sound every time I start playing my music so I'm not sure what's happening but I will give them a call. Overall quality is great.