Product Review - NEAR 15M, 10MII, & JIB
Loudspeakers - December, 1997
By Karl Suager
N.E.A.R 15M One 1" Metal Dome Tweeter One 6 1/2" Mid-range Driver Rated FR: 42 Hz - 21 kHz (� 2 dB) Sensitivity: 88 dB/w/m (8 Ohms) Size: 5 �" H x 9 1/2"W x 12 �" D Weight: 24 pounds each $799/pair (Black Ash) |
N.E.A.R 10M-II One 1" Metal Dome Tweeter One 5 1/2" Mid-range Driver Rated FR: 48 Hz - 21 kHz (� 2 dB) Sensitivity: 88 dB/w/m (4 Ohms) Size: 11 �" H x 7 1/4"W x 9 �" D Weight: 14 pounds each $450/pair (Black Ash) |
N.E.A.R JIB Center
Channel One 1" Metal Dome Tweeter Two 5 1/2" Mid-range Driver Rated FR: 42 Hz - 21 kHz (� 2 dB) Sensitivity: 88 dB/w/m (4 Ohms) Size: 7 �" H x 22"W x 10 �" D Weight: 36 pounds $799 each (Black Ash) |
New England Audio Resources, 12 Foss Rd, Lewiston, Maine 04240 USA; Phone 207-795-0609; Fax Fax 207-795-0613; Web http://www.nearspeakers.com; E-Mail [email protected]. |
If decadence is a sin, these speakers will end up in Hades. Did I
give away too much too early?
NEAR, an acronym for New England Audio Resource, makes loudspeakers based on metal
drivers. Metal diaphragms possess extreme stiffness, but if not well damped, can ring
(like a bell) with very irritating resonance, sometimes generating substantial response
peaks. The five NEAR visitors to enter my abode all wear metal in their fa�ade. The JIB
(as in the sailboat part) center channel speaker, as well as the 10M satellite speakers,
and the 15M bookshelf speakers, use metal cone woofers coated with a ceramic damping
material (aluminum oxide), in addition to an inverted metal dome tweeter, all spliced
together with crossovers which end up with third order slopes after response tailoring.
Before this paragraph gains a serious lame factor, lets just get to the meat of it.
The quickest way to get to the bottom is to start there. The biggest bottom of this squat
bunch belongs to the 15M bookshelf speakers. Youre going to need large
shelves for these honeys. Aside from physically formidable dimensions (not huge, but
considerable), they utilize a rear port which requires a bit of distance from the rear
walls, at least 6 inches or so, to avoid changing the tuning of the cabinet. Although
Ive already considered shelves for acoustical reasons, all of my literature resides
stacked on the floor in various corners as well as under my coffee table, which more often
than not supports tea and/or hot chocolate. For lack of suitable shelves, I took a trip to
the table saw with some glue and screws and whipped out some stands. Ah, the pride of a
DIY project! Take comfort in knowing that the NEARs work well without a cozy
bookshelf, but that can wait.
Were responsible adults who can abstain from fondling bottoms for awhile, right?
Right? Its my trip and I want to get tangential. For the moment, let us veer off
into the construction of the 15 Ms. Pretty much an artful display of brute force.
Theyre black boxes made out of MDF. All the drivers mounted flush to the baffle
surface (to avoid diffraction anomalies.) No gimmicks, no flashy curves. If it
werent for the gleaming Cyclops eyes (tweeters for the metaphorically challenged),
theyd be downright puritan. After removing the woofers and peeking inside, I must
amend. Theyre absolutely Teutonic!
Besides a 1 thick baffle and side walls, a shelf brace in the middle, and a clump of
crossover components with carefully placed inductors (reducing magnetic flux interference
between themselves), I found what appeared to be car-audio power amps. Printed on the side
of these massive heat sinks, Tekna Sonic. Oh, yeah, I remember them.
They make those doohickeys that do that thing they do, that thing, you know, that makes
speakers way better? Vibration control devices some call them. Essentially, while a
cabinet may possess its own internal damping, bracing mostly spreads out the resonance of
the cabinet into higher frequencies. These devices supposedly absorb cabinet vibrations
and turn that energy into heat instead of radiating it into the room. Ive heard of
people putting them on their speakers, but Ive never seen them inside a speaker
before. I can only conclude that the doohickeys work because the 15Ms wear some of the
most inert cabinets Ive applied knuckles to.
I wondered if NEAR tried to pull a fast one with the review sample, so I called them on
it. Lee Lareau, the helpful veck who answered my other general questions, said that after
listening tests and verification by accelerometer measurements of cabinet vibration, they
decided to include the vibration absorbers with some of their speakers. To the best of his
knowledge, and mine, NEAR is unique in this practice. Enough dawdling, lets get on
to fondling bottoms!
The 8008BB, an amplifier known for its own nice bottom, played conductor for the majority
of the performance, and the 15Ms didnt drop any balls. Or, rather, they
dropped them quite well. Not to say that the earth itself will shudder with the impact of
a giant squeezed into a moderately sized package, but they can pull the scalp off of a
head of thunder. While bumping to an electric bass solo of Brian Bromberg, they caught a
fair share of the lower octaves. Transient response wasnt superb in the nether
regions, but neither did the speakers impart a muddy, bosomy, or otherwise gaudy
character. In fact, it came across as a mild warmness complementing much of the lower
mid-range. Vocals generally maintained a somewhat rich character without bloating like an
Elvis impersonator. The upper mid-range, compared to an all out exuberant yet unfatiguing
treble, lays back slightly, but doesnt hide in the shadows to forsake attention. You
can see the room response in the first review we did of these speakers by clicking here.
Judging by the tone of their voice, they do love attention. Like bubbling cherubs, beaming
with their one good eye, they sing, Listen! Listen! Listen! I have listened,
and I pronounce them good. They are not evil, no matter what your conscience might tell
you. They are pleasant storytellers, without foul temper, but possessing enough bite to
give life to many a musical passage. The black boxes unfurled an even soundstage with a
spacious, open presence, much like a large juicy meal laid out on a picnic table. The
level of raw detail approached or equaled the M&Ks, and came close to the Infinitys in
direct A/B comparisons. The more substantial sonic differences mostly a matter of
taste and character. Both the M&Ks and Infinitys held a more neutral tonal
stance, remaining relatively aloof from the music (here it is whether you like it or not),
but the NEARs plunged in, determined to make that 110% soap commercial.
In the Home Theater setting, the whole group definitely holds its own. The 10Ms and the
JIB are giving me dirty looks. Too bad. I'm not going to fall into a redundant description
solely for their sake. Well, just a bit. It wont surprise many that they
sound like the 15Ms. Funny, perhaps, but thats a major requirement for a theater
application. The forward nature of the M&Ks, by comparison, did provide more benefit
to low-level dialogue intelligibility. But, at normal levels with channels properly
balanced, the whole scheme filled out well. I rented "Cut Throat Island", and
the NEARs kept me entertained enough to withstand at least half of that horrible, horrible
movie before admitting that I wasted $3.50. It was a horrible, horrible, horrible movie. I
cant believe they made it. "Swingers" didnt give the NEARs much
show-off material either, but they did their duty well. "Men In Black" I liked.
Dynamics won't be a problem except for the future hearing impaired. Both the 10Ms
and the JIB also give up the bass extension of their little fireplug cousins. The 10Ms
dont include Tekna Sonic doohickeys, but their smaller boxes offer less radiating
potential which minimizes the need, and are solid to begin with. The 10Ms did get a little
more playfully aggressive in the upper range, but not much. The JIB wasnt an
absolutely identical speaker to either of them, but the acoustic effects of a television
will swamp the small sonic differences between the JIB and either the 10Ms or the 15Ms,
and, if youre using a projector which doesnt require shielding, just match it
with an identical speaker anyway!
Whether or not they fit your needs, only you can decide. Things to consider -
They are moderately efficient. At 88 dB/w/m, Id recommend at least an honest 80
watts into eight Ohms, preferably more (watts). It depends on how loud you like it, and
the power supply behind the spec. The impedance is relatively sane but not a cakewalk (the
10Ms are rated at 4 Ohms, but are more like 6 Ohms). The Denon AVR-3200 used at the
time didnt pull any disasters. The Myryad MI-120 pulled out warm and sweet without
sucking, but the 8008BB lit them off like a firecracker.
Even though a sub would be nice, the 15Ms can do without one (but NEAR makes one if you're
interested). The 10Ms can rock almost as hard when required, but Id really suggest
supplementing the foundation with something decent.
Theyre not going to win any aesthetic awards for appearance. They aint ugly,
but neither would I call them chick magnets. All of you guys who went out and
bought a Suzuki GSX-R750 solely to cruise at 25 m.p.h. wearing a tank top and sunglasses
need not apply.
Conclusion: Even if you aren't looking for new speakers, if you've got the time and
transportation, go pay homage at the closest temple of NEAR. If,
for some reason or another, you are looking for new speakers, go give these some serious
flirting. You might just get lucky.
Components used for this evaluation (Translated to Car Audio Talk,
"My current system consists of . . .?")
Myryad MC-100 CD Player
Myryad MI-120 Integrated Amplifier
JVC XLZ-1050 CD Player
Denon AVR-3200 Receiver
Aragon 80088BB amplifier
Passive attenuator (50kOhm Nobel pot)
M&K S-85 satellite speakers
Infinity Renaissance 90 floorstanding speakers.
Bybee/Curl power purifier prototypes
Bybee Technologies shielded power cords
API Power Pack V line conditioner
DH Labs Silver Sonic interconnects
Three parallel runs of DH Labs Silver Sonic 14 awg speaker wire w/Apature banana
connectors
Karl Suager
� Copyright 1997 Secrets of Home Theater & High Fidelity
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