The brand's first product bowed in 2018, so not years but months ago. Still, several models are available already. Today's focus is on the present top offering below which sit the Rocket 5.1 SuperResolution monitor and Sub One Ten subwoofer. The range will expand with another smaller monitor and two floorstanders. Also, Mark's radar is on high-quality surround sound. The M8audio website looks professional and Mark proved exceptionally communicative, open to all questions and gave the impression of someone who really has things under control. Current sales are factory direct.

My Sweet Maxwell loaners arrived in two separate cardboard boxes with foam-type custom liners hugging them safely. These protective cradles were of an unusually dense material and top quality. Each speaker snuggled scratch-free in its own cloth bag with a nice imprint on it and there even was a business card to show care and attention to detail. Unpeeled from its packaging, the Sweet Maxwell instantly communicated uniqueness. It's a vented two-way with two rear-firing ports measuring 45x21.6x34.4cm HxWxD and weighing 12kg. Big and heavy, it became one of the chunkiest monitors I've hosted yet. Rather than a typical rectangular box, Mark used his CNC expertise to mill a far more curvaceous form factor from stacked Plywood finished in either transparent satin to expose the grain; or with the cheeks in satin white or Tasmanian Blackwood veneer as my loaners. Aside from acoustic considerations, Mark views aesthetics as very important and knew that he wanted something visually different. As he put it, MDF too is a good building material but rather ugly unless veneered or painted. His chosen construction shows off the natural material which thus relies on precision finishing.

The Sweet Maxwell combines a 29mm SB Acoustics T104BE Beryllium dome tweeter with a W187-4 7.5" mid/woofer loaded with Egyptian papyrus fibres from the same catalogue. Each uses a neodymium motor. When asked about his choice of supplier, Mark explained how for this model, these Indonesian drivers designed by ex ScanSpeak engineers were best. For dynamics and detail, he finds them superior to current ScanSpeak equivalents though the forthcoming Tiny Maxwell may feature an SB Acoustics/ScanSpeak pairing. Sweet Maxwell specs include bandwidth of 47Hz–40kHz (±3dB) and sensitivity of 86dB (2.83V/1m). Nominal impedance is 6Ω (minimum 4.2Ω at 135Hz) and amplifier power of at least 60wpc is recommended.

Let's now look at one of the most prominent features, namely that costly Beryllium tweeter. As Mark explained, its broad surround and low-mass but large voice coil allow it to be crossed in early whilst still working with minimal distortion even at high output. For more engineering details on this premium driver, look here. The mid/woofer too is interesting, with a cone claimed to combine the vivid musicality of cellulose drivers with the dynamics and detail of much harder metal cones. Low-loss suspensions of rubber surround and proprietary spider plus a cast aluminium basket round out the specifics. The 4th-order filter hinge at 1'500Hz sits a good octave lower than most equivalent two-ways. Filter parts include baked edge-wound air coils and Jantzen polypropylene Alumen-Z capacitors.

The cabinet curves aren't just external but duplicated inside to combat standing waves whilst a horizontal honeycomb brace increases the structure's rigidity. To this M8audio still add a proprietary viscoelastic damping liner plus costly pure sheep's wool fill. With its twinned ports, the Sweet Maxwell was engineered to work close to the front wall without issue.