Questions & Answers for Bowers & Wilkins MM-1 Speakers
51 Questions from the Community
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Do these MM-1 speakers work with the MacBook Pro?
- Asked by Bruce S from Emo
- 02-May-2013
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Answer
These speakers work beautifully with the MacBook Pro. I am a recently retired teacher, and I used those speakers in the classroom for educational dvds, and to show movies right before the Christmas holiday. It really provided theater-quality sound, and the kids loved it!
- Answered by Marlene S. J from Grants
- 04-May-2013
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Given the lack of a subwoofer, how well-suited would these be for the odd movie?
I realize that these speakers won't have a thundering low-end and are best-suited for music, but has anyone found them to be suitable for movies as well? My workstation speaker use is probably 80% music and 20% film-watching.
- Asked by Mitch D from Montreal
- 19-Dec-2012
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Do these MM-1 speakers work with the Mac Pro?
- Asked by Ronald P from New York
- 21-Mar-2012
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Answer
They most certainly do work with a Mac Pro. I have had these speakers for over a year, and the sound experience has been great! I also use them with my kitchen TV--it is like having a theater in your kitchen. I also play my iPod off them.
- Answered by Marlene S. J from Grants
- 26-Mar-2012
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Are the MM-1 compatible with a tabletop internet radio that has a 3.5mm headphone jack but no sound card like a computer does?
My internet radio is a Grace Digital Brovado X. The existing internal speakers are extremely poor quality.
- Asked by Thomas T from Farmington
- 18-Jan-2013
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Answer
The MM-1 has a 3.5mm mini jack input so should be no problem connecting from the headphone jack of your radio.
- Answered by Christian W
- 20-Feb-2013
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How do they sound when listening a bit far from the speakers or across the room?
- Asked by Jose H R Murta M from Belo Horizonte
- 31-Dec-2012
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Are they better than the companion 20's for medium audio quality, are they worth the price difference?
- Asked by Jose H R Murta M from Belo Horizonte
- 31-Dec-2012
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Can i use the speakers on my MacAir
- Asked by Eddy V from Port Saint Lucie
- 30-Dec-2012
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Answer
Both are probably right, but they are different specifications. The speaker is probably capable of reproducing frequencies down to 38Hz, but only down to 57Hz at -6dB and anything lower falls below the -6dB measurement, which is possibly relative to some flat part of the response curve.
- Answered by Matt P from Champlin
- 23-Jun-2010
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Will the MM-1 work with the USB on an airport express ? Is the DAC on a airport express as good as the MM-1 DAC ?
- Asked by Colin N A P
- 14-Apr-2010
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Best Answer
The Airport Express USB port is only for USB printing. All audio data is either decoded by the Airport Express on-board Burr-Brown DAC or fed via digital optical mini-Toslink cable to another DAC-equiped device (i.e. audio/video receiver, Apple Hi-Fi). Therefore, you cannot connect the MM-1 to the Airport Express via USB.
Since the MM-1 does not have an digital optical input, you would have to rely on the Airport Express Burr-Brown DAC to decode then pass the audio to the MM-1 via analog cable, which bypasses the MM-1's on-board DAC.
The highest quality connection for these speakers is directly to computer via USB.
I could not find what DAC chip the MM-1 (or Zeppelins) use, so I can't factually answer which device has the superior DAC. I do know that the Burr-Brown PCM2705 used in the Airport Express is NOT low quality. Measured tests have shown it to be a very capable DAC.
Given my fondness for B&W speakers, I would expect that B&W also uses a good quality DAC chip.- Answered by Kyra S from Leona Valley
- 24-Aug-2010
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How do the MM-1 Speakers stack up against the Bose Companion 5? Is it even a comparison??
I currently have the Companion 5's and I love'em. I'm thinking about selling them to pick up a pair of the MM-1 if they are truly worth it.
If you were me, would you just stick with the Companion 5's? Would you sell the Companion 5's for the MM-1S?- Asked by Robert I from Farmers Branch
- 02-May-2010
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Best Answer
I am a 36 year professional in audio mastering, to qualify myself, and I think I can give you some insight on Bose vs. B&W. Let me qualify this by saying I haven't heard either of these speakers, but I'm sure you'll find this to be true as we're talking about the general philosophies of the two companies.
Since the original Bose speakers were introduced, Dr. Bose has striven to create the illusion that sound is coming from everywhere, and you can't pinpoint where the speakers are actually located.
B&W uses the more standard approach of endeavoring to create as accurate a soundstage as possible, with as little phase distortion as possible.
So this is what you would hear - with the Bose, the sound field is very broad, spread across the speakers and even outside the speakers themselves, but nothing in the music has a real defined placement. With the B&W, you'll get a very tight center image - the vocals, kick, snare, bass guitar etc. (on modern mixes) will appear to be coming from directly in front of you, and the other instruments will be spread across the soundstage between, but not outside of, the speakers.
So what is best? That's up to your own taste. The B&W approach is by far the most accurate, and would be the hands-down preference of true audiophiles, because the tricks Dr. Bose uses to get his sound involves things being out-of-phase, and that is not accurate. But if you like a larger-than-life, ethereal kind of sound, then that's right for you.
Also note that you have the sound-enhance feature on iTunes, so if you want the illusion that sound is coming from outside the speaker placement, you can do that with the B&W's. I wouldn't, but many do.
Again, I haven't heard either of these speakers, but I would be surprised if this is not the case.- Answered by George G from Dallas
- 29-Dec-2010
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Best Answer
I just got these and they are absolutely phenomenal. To answer your question here is a review from March: Best Computer Speakers Period!!
Written by JY from Los Angeles Mar 30, 2010
I had been using the Companion 5's for two years before the MM-1's. I never thought I would find a computer speaker that would make my $400 Bose speakers pale in comparison.
Initial Impressions:
- The soundstage produced is amazing. It was like the 2D sound created by the Bose suddenly became 3D on the MM-1's.
- Because it lacks a subwoofer, the bass is not as powerful as the Companion 5's. This is not to say that it lacks bass. I found the overall sound much more balanced and detailed. It made the Bose sound like the heavy bass was just covering up the inadequate mids and highs.
- The speakers really shine at higher volumes with more pronounced bass.
- Gorgeous design and impressive build quality. Much thought was put into the design like the cable management system on the bottom of the speakers.
I also want to compare these speakers to the Zeppelin Mini. I had been using the Mini as a computer speaker for five months and found it to be quite good. However, I felt that it lacked bass, even though it produced mids and highs much better than the Bose. It made me skeptical with the MM-1’s bass, but I have found it much better than the Mini’s.
At $500, I was not going to settle for a speaker that was just "amazing for its size." They had to be freaking good, period. These are also the best computer speakers I've ever heard and purchased. I recommend spending the extra $100 over the Companion 5's and do your music justice with the MM-1's.- Answered by Macy M from Saint Louis
- 22-Apr-2010
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1. How big does this speaker's AC adapter? I couldn't find any photo on Internet. 2. How long the cable between L&R?
- Asked by 好宣 尾 from 江戸川区
- 23-Mar-2010
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Best Answer
Normal size 2 prong plug. A wire leads from plug to a voltage converter box that is of typical size as one for a laptop computer- about 5 inches long. Another wire leads from theconverter box to the right loudspeaker.
Length of wire between Left and right speaker I would guess is at least 4 feet. I only use about 2 feet to straddle my 15" Macbook Pro. Unused wire coils up below left speaker.- Answered by Murray B from Potomac
- 31-Mar-2010
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What speakers actually sound better & have more bass? The Zeppelin Air or MM-1?
- Asked by Rowell D
- 03-Oct-2011
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Best Answer
Before I start I will qualify myself by saying I own both the Zeppelin Air and the MM-1.
The terms 'better' and 'more bass' are very ambiguous. I would say that more bass is not always better :)
My MM-1 are the main speakers for my computer. I run them through USB to take advantage of the highest possible sound quality, and the source files are loss-less from iTunes. I do not run any sound modification as I am very happy with the pre-sets. I use them on a daily basis, and sit at a distance of about 3-4 feet from my screen. At this distance the MM-1 offers the best sound I have ever heard, surpassing my old Logitech 5500's by a long shot. The bass is deep and rich, and the music all sounds amazing.
At a distance they do lose some of the magic, but for anything where I will be at such distance or in another room I choose the Zeppelin Air. The Zeppelin Air can also project to a great length and fill a room much better than the MM-1 which can get drowned out in a room of people. Being that it is AirPlay compatible I simply stream music strait from my iPhone. Again on the Zeppelin Air the bass is deep and rich, and the music sounds amazing.
So in short, the MM-1 are best for stationary use when you are close, and the Zeppelin Air is best for distance or projection use.- Answered by Colton D from Thornhill
- 19-Jul-2012
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what are the watts on system?
what are the watts on this system?
- Asked by Tina G from Dallas
- 10-Jul-2012
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Best Answer
18 watts x 4= 72watts total
- Answered by Mildred W from Marlin
- 22-Aug-2012
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Best Answer
If hooked in directly to a USB port on the back then no.
The bandwidth draw from these in minimal. The only time I could see this as an issue is if you have many USB devices connected via hubs at the same time all operation at full capacity.- Answered by Colton D from Thornhill
- 19-Jul-2012
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Can someone with a Mac who has purchased these indicate what bit rates and sampling rates are available via USB in the Audio Midi Setup.app?
Audio Midi Setup is in ~/Applications/Utilities. Please indicate the possible choices for bit depth and sampling rate. Thanks.
- Asked by Christopher G from Fort Wayne
- 26-Mar-2010
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Best Answer
Audio Devices: MM-1: offers the following settings:
Format: 32k, 44.1k, 48k; 2ch-16bit (only option).
Note however that 24bit, 96k FLAC files played via Songbird, exhibit the usual analogue-like superiority over CD; while CD betters Apple lossless.- Answered by Richard C from Southgate
- 29-Mar-2010
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Answer
I would go to the website. their website is awesome if nothing else. They have the zep and the new mini zep with a small "forum" there for each product. Not sure if you will get your question addressed, but with all the info they have about the Zepplin, your answer might be right on the website. You can even email them questions like yours that might be better addressed by one of the techs.
I will add that I did not expect to run into such poor customer service. I actually did not even think about it because everybody had nothing put awesome comments about their products. I have the MM-1s. Everything was good to go for the first 6 months. I used the website for additional information since the manual in the box left out some technical stuff. I sent in the registration card, got free 6 months to Sound, which was kind of cool. When I ran into some sound trouble about after 6 months, I thought maybe there was some kind of driver update, but I was lost at what to do. I could get no help from the local US head quarters so I asked the head technical person to forward my email to the UK. They replied with no help whatsoever. I was really disappointed. I imagine they do not get many requests for technical help after the first 4 months or so, but I thought for sure they would do what they could to get my sound back up to par. Just something you might want to think about, because I never though thought I would run into this kind of trouble. Good luck.- Answered by Kent T from Salt Lake City
- 07-Jan-2011
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Comparison to Bang & Olufsen BeoLab 4. What do you think?
The BL 's appear to have a better frequency range and more wattage power... so I'm curious are these comparable.
- Asked by Justin E from Southlake
- 26-Mar-2010
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Answer
When it comes to sound, I don't really trust B&O. I heard both - the MM-1 and the BeoLab 4. The BeoLab have more bass and sounded a little bit more detailed in the lower tones, but the peeper of the MM-1's simply better, which makes - for me - a nicer and more personal sound. It comes down to your preferences, but they at least aren't worth more money than the MM-1.
- Answered by Hannes B
- 17-Sep-2011
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Would these automatically power on when the computer comes out of sleep mode?
- Asked by Victoria Q from Oakham
- 19-Feb-2010
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Answer
The MM-1 computer speakers will not become active from standby when a computer wakes from sleep mode.
- Answered by Frazer H from Worthing
- 04-Mar-2010
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Best Answer
Yes.
You can use the iPad Camera Connecter USB adapter.
Plug the adapter into the iPad and then plug the USB cable into the MM-1 speaker.
This will allow you take take advantage of B&W's DAC chip, while using an iPad, etc.- Answered by Sam I from Farmers Branch
- 25-Aug-2010
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