It's hard to believe that it's been seven years already since the Mark & Daniel Diamond Plus graced my listening room. In 2009 it was one of the most ambitious implementations of Oskar Heil's groundbreaking folded ribbon designs then attempted. Combined with the firm's development and manufacture of extraordinary small-diameter long-throw woofers and inert artificial marble cabinets, the design was and remains forward thinking and innovative. The speaker could sing with incredible transparency and dynamics, then kick out bass with the power and depth of a floorstander. In 2009 Mark and Daniel set the standard for what could be expected from a small monitor.


The arrival of their new Maximus Mini-Monitor was about to show what one of the smallest but most ambitious of their new models could accomplish for 2017.


For those new to the brand, here is a short retrospective of the company. Co-owners Mark Wong and Daniel Lee combine a blend of technical ingenuity, good business savvy and a Zen pursuit of musical beauty. Designed in Tucson/Arizona, their R&D and manufacturing end of the business is situated in Shanghai/China. Since their 2004 beginnings, Mark and Daniel have built an enviable track record of critical success to earn their place as a well-established respected manufacturer in the community. The Maximus Mini-Monitor is situated one step up from the entry-level Mini. The Monitor likewise marries a long-throw 4" mid/woofer to a remarkable air-motion transformer but gets a bit more of the star treatment.

Q: Another characteristic where you seem to have a major improvement is in the AMT's vertical dispersion. Since it is basically still a planar wave launch, how was that accomplished? Is it due to the smaller woofer matched with the tweeter, or the smaller cabinet? 
A: You are right, it is easier to get that sound character with the Mini-Monitor's smaller woofer. The DM-6b AMT has the same sharp vertical dispersion but may not feel so obvious due to the crossover phase relationships and smaller spacing between drivers of this model.


Q: The Mark & Daniel drivers are really quite unique. Are they built in house or do you have them manufactured by another company to your specifications?
A: We are perhaps nowadays the only manufacturer to make every component for our speakers, including all mid/woofers and AMT drivers, solid-surface enclosures, crossover networks and so forth. The good thing is that we can control parameters and specifications to meet my design targets. The bad thing is that construction is slow and exacting so production quantities are more limited.  


Q: Many manufacturers spotlight the use of premium internal parts. I notice that you downplay that aspect. Why?
A: As an engineer, I did try premium parts but remain unconvinced. At least there was no clear evidence for significant sonic improvement. Test instruments showed no meaningful difference, neither did blind A/B auditions. It's more of a placebo effect.