Reviews, Press and Testimonials
FIRST REVIEW OF OUR SAT MK3s on SOUNDSTAGE AUSTRALIA
The Microphase Audio Design SAT MK3 loudspeakers stand as a testament to the marriage of art, passion, solid engineering, and one man's commitment to the cause. With its impeccable craftsmanship, technical prowess, and musicality, the SAT MK3 speaker embodies the visionary spirit of its creator, Jean-Marie Lière. Whether you're a discerning audiophile or a casual music enthusiast, the SAT MK3 promises to transport you to the heart of the music, unveiling a world of sonic poetry that is as captivating as it is unforgettable.
More than this, however, is that it is indeed a true passion piece from a man who knows his stuff and is, without a doubt, a true gentleman of the industry. I take my hat off to you Jean-Marie, this is what the industry needs more of.
… Barry J Johnston
www.soundstageaustralia.com
More than this, however, is that it is indeed a true passion piece from a man who knows his stuff and is, without a doubt, a true gentleman of the industry. I take my hat off to you Jean-Marie, this is what the industry needs more of.
… Barry J Johnston
www.soundstageaustralia.com
FIRST REVIEW FROM THE AUSTRALIAN HI-FI MAGAZINE SHOW | APRIL 2024
Peter Warren of DIY Fullrange Hi-fi Speakers on YouTube
2023 Melbourne Hi-fi Show Stand out rooms reports
Soundstage Australia review
I’ve heard Microphase Audio Design’s Jean-Marie Lière’s diminutive speaker designs on many occasions and have been pleased with a sonic presentation which always defies stature. Talking to JM at the show about my even more heightened opinion of what I was hearing, I found out that he had conducted extensive crossover refinements in the current generation. I enjoyed the toe-tapping musicality, the controlled bass, the expressive dynamic contrast and the precise imaging. The latter in total denial of the very near field and cramped room arrangement.
Those comments applied to both the SAT-MK3 3-way standmount (rear mounted 170 mm 'subwoofer' crossed at 200Hz) and the slimline Tower One floorstanders. Supporting equipment came via Microphase Audio Design’s own CSW-A subwoofer, Perreaux iX300 integrated amplifier, Holton Audio 101 power amplifier, Accento Dynamica valve amplifier (used through its valve preamplifier stage feeding the subwoofer), Musical Fidelity Bluetooth Receiver and inakustik cable loom. On casual play was a Rega P3 sporting the new-ish Les Davis Audio 33 1/3D record platter slip mat.
StereoNet Australia review
Designed and built in Australia using custom French Audax drivers, the Microphase Audio Design room exhibited three models, including two standmount speakers. Common design cues run through all three designs, from driver placement and time-alignment to the semi-chic industrial look with raw marine grade birch ply. Powering the speakers was a Perreaux 300iX from New Zealand or an Australian Holton Precision Audio amplifier.
The standmounters, the SAT MK 1 and the new ST MK 3, were each able to fill the demonstration room. Firing across the room instead of down, the additional space between the speaker pairs provided a good sense of space around instruments in a broad soundstage. As expected, the bottom end was limited but not exerted, so there was a naturalness to the sound.
Moving to the floorstanding TOWER ONE three-way design with narrow front baffle and side-firing woofer, and the soundstage became bigger. The extended frequency response, compared to the standmounters, was evident and a greater sense of scale was put into the music. The standmounters are equally comfortable on a credenza, desk or bookshelf and have an active option if that is what you are seeking.
New and first review of our SAT MK1s | STEREONET 🇦🇺
THE VERDICT
The Microphase Audio Design SAT MK1 is a quality loudspeaker that's capable of reproducing music with all of its emotion intact, allowing a performance to speak to your heart. My suggestion would be to match a pair with a musical and powerful amplifier, preferably in a relatively compact listening space. I can understand why it appeals to the pro-market as a recording studio monitor, as it's highly revealing of musical nuances. An audition is a must. To Jean-Marie Lière I say, “monsieur, you have produced a winner.” Mark Gusew
The Microphase Audio Design SAT MK1 is a quality loudspeaker that's capable of reproducing music with all of its emotion intact, allowing a performance to speak to your heart. My suggestion would be to match a pair with a musical and powerful amplifier, preferably in a relatively compact listening space. I can understand why it appeals to the pro-market as a recording studio monitor, as it's highly revealing of musical nuances. An audition is a must. To Jean-Marie Lière I say, “monsieur, you have produced a winner.” Mark Gusew
New and first review of our Tower One speakers | Hifi and Stereo 🇦🇺
Andrew Hutchinson, the founder and chief editor of this new online publication has spent two weeks with our Tower Ones and it seems he liked them... Here is an excerpt of what he had to say about them:
”For anyone looking for something a bit different. For those wanting a loudspeaker of bespoke appearance and build quality, the Microphase Tower Ones are worthy of audition and closer inspection. I enjoyed their time in my listening area for their iconoclastic style.” Andrew Hutchinson
”For anyone looking for something a bit different. For those wanting a loudspeaker of bespoke appearance and build quality, the Microphase Tower Ones are worthy of audition and closer inspection. I enjoyed their time in my listening area for their iconoclastic style.” Andrew Hutchinson
NEW FEATURE ON A FRENCH ONLINE MAGAZINE | 22/04/2020
Chuffed to be featured in ONMAG_TOPAUDIO magazine in France! Check the link below if you read French...
FIRST REVIEW PUBLISHED ON SOUNDSTAGE AUSTRALIA | 15/05/2019
“The main impression Microphase SAT MkII Signature speakers left on me was their remarkably accurate mid-range sound reproduction, to a degree that they can expose any deficiencies in your hi-fi chain, and particularly in your power amplifier. When you audition these speakers, and with all other components being top-notch, you will in all probability really audition your power amplifier instead. Do not let their small size fool you: Signatures need power, crave power, breathe power, and plenty of current to be exact.
In summary, I think the Microphase Audio Design SAT Mk.II Signatures are high-quality speakers well worthy of your attention, especially if you’re pressed for space, keeping in mind that your Hi-Fi chain has to be of equally high quality to give them justice, and your power amplifier in particular."
Vedran Suminovic - SoundstageAustralia
More testimonials and comments
"Gobsmacking that these little speakers could hold their own in a very big room. Truely impressive. Big sound & imaging can come from beautiful and small little boxes. This was fun and rewarding!"
Fredrik U. - after a 3 hour listening session in his 60m2 room What I liked: · Surprising dynamics · Stunning detail and micro-detail · Arresting attack at notes’ leading edge · Wide sound stage and good image specificity · Very ‘live’ sounding Some things that are not quite what I’m used to. This are my biases so purely subjective and meant as constructive comments. . I’m used to a somewhat softer top end. I found the speakers very sibilant compared to what I’m used to and what I consider neutral. Both versions, but the Signature less so. · This in my opinion, affected the tonal qualities towards a “toppy” sound that is, to me, less natural and not as I hear live unamplified instruments. · This same issue affects the “body” of the midrange frequencies. This is relieved by the use of the subwoofer but I’m talking about the speakers as standalone products. · It would seem from my observations above that the upper mids and highs are somewhat forward and the lower mids shelved down. Edgar Kramer - Editor-in-Chief - SoundStage! Australia - after a two hour listening session in Sydney As a semi-professional musician (double bass player and vocalist) and long-time speaker builder, I was keen to hear Jean-Marie's latest creations. After a couple of hours of listening, here are my impressions: Pro's: - Diminutive in size but not in presence. Attack, clarity and micro-detail is very excellent, all without feeling clinical, dry or fatiguing. - Bright, but in a good way; cymbals ring and decay very realistically, and instruments like saxophones bark with their inherent rawness that's heard on-stage but not from the cheap seats. - Coupled and blended properly with a conservative sub yields a very natural sound, lacking any sense of artificial bloat that some speakers exhibit; in fact, I initially found myself waiting for them to 'jump' out at me, only to realise after a while that I had been anticipating (in vain) for the 'inevitable' hotspots to reveal themselves. The top-end, in particular, I found to be brilliant; yes, it's there in spades, but is exceedingly natural. I didn't find myself hearing the tweeter, which Jean-Marie accredited to the speakers' linear phase response and therefore detail (that he's particularly proud of). After a while, I was only hearing the music, not a well-transduced version of it. - Notable was that Jean-Marie wasn't augmenting the system with super high-end tweaks; cable was decent but not spectacular (nor eye-wateringly expensive) Monster cable. Amplification to the Microphases was an NAD integrated used as preamp only with a vintage Bryston 3B as power amp. Source was an Oppo Universal Player. The point is: This was nice but, in hi-fi terms, reasonable pedestrian stuff, and the speakers still sounded amazing. Kind of boggles the mind what they might do with an expensive set-up... Note from M.A.D: listening on a much more expensive system with Yamaha CD transport, external DAC and 15k$ Gryphon amp was not extraordinarily different... - Small size, slight breakaway from the standard box shape (with the large chamfered edges) and interesting looks means less chance of upsetting the spouse. Caveats? - The small driver size won't give you access to the upper limits of dynamic range and SPL without some degree of driver compression, but these are about finesse and detail, not shock and awe (although are certainly not incapable of generating decent SPL's in the kind of room they're designed for). - As always, poor quality recordings are quickly shown for what they are (but high quality versions absolutely shine). - I didn't get to hear them without low end augmentation, but I'd imagine it's largely essential for the full experience. Overall, highly desirable indeed. Paul Sun - Swing In Good Time - after spending 3 hours at our listening room in Sydney Various visitors comments « memorable « « how can these small speakers produce such a big and precise sound? » « beautiful design, very Danish » « what’s your secret? » 50 years of experience 😜 |
"Au delà des caractéristiques et des techniques mises en œuvre pour aboutir à ce résultat musical surprenant de vérité, ces enceintes avec des dimensions et un espace « ridiculement réduit » proposent de très hautes performances musicales et se comportent comme de « très grandes ».
"Besides the specifications and the technologies implemented to achieve this surprising musical result, these speakers with their ridiculously small dimensions offer outstanding musical reproduction performance and sound like much bigger ones" Jean-Jacques Capello - Point Musiques. "There is a lot to like about both the Microphase SAT MK2 and the recently completed Signature version. They both benefit from a relatively small size which assists with soundstage projection. While unconventional, the 3-way design with the bass driver located at the back of each cabinet combined with careful driver selection has delivered a very musical speaker which easily extract the emotion of a recording in a very satisfying way. For a full range experience a subwoofer works well with the SAT MK2s to deliver the bottom octaves, however they can still hold their own in smaller rooms with careful placement. The Microphase SAT MK2 Signature version builds on what is already a very competent design to deliver further refinement by tightening up the presentation, this tightening delivers a lowering of the noise floor allowing for an increased perceived transparency. David Allen The SAT MK2 speakers give one of the best musical performances I've heard in a long time. They are the most exciting and amazing speakers I've the chance to listen to. They play beautiful and natural music with only 2 very very little boxes. It's absolutely M.A.D! Wonderful and unforgettable speakers that show that less is more :-))) Hervé Brasebin/AudioNec - after spending 2 hours at our open house on May 27th, 2018 in Warluis As an audiophile and an architecture student, I’m firstly very sensitive to the sound quality but also to the design. And I admit that the first time I saw the SAT MK2, they completely catched both my eyes and ears. The sounds is really impressive, precise and clear, amazingly considering the super small size. I find the design simple and minimalist, just going straight to the point. Sure they will make my perfect next loudspeakers ! Matthieu Brasebin / Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) - EPFL - Copenhagen - Denmark Posted September 11, 2018 "I was quite amazed at the quality of the tweeters in these small speakers! One of the sweetest high frequency drivers I have heard in many years. ... or perhaps, it's Jean - Marie's magic touch that made them sound so good? These are highly specialized transducers, targeting (as we were told), the smallish Parisian apartment environment where, I am sure, will sound even better from the excellent sounds we heard on Sunday.One has to consider the fact, these little 'gems' did their magic without the help of any special multi $$$$$ cabling or power line conditioners etc etc.My final thoughts were, Jean - Marie presented an 'honest' product - what you see is what you get - that communicated very well with the listeners an made music thoroughly an enjoyable event! Jean - Marie should be proud of his creation!" Arthur from The Sydney Audio Club October 2018 - International Hifi Show - Melbourne Microphase Audio Design exhibited the extremely capable SAT Mk.II Signature monitor (AU$3500) with its dedicated subwoofer (AU$2800/pair). Big sound, small form factor. Designer extraordinaire Jean-Marie Liere proudly stands by his creations Edgar Kramer/SoundStage! Australia Every year there’s a surprise at the show. This time around it came by way of Microphase Audio Design (Sydney) and its show debut. @microphaseaudiodesign | Playing in the room were the $3500 SAT Mk2 Signature bookshelf’s sitting on the $2800 SWS Mk2 Signature subwoofers. Anyone with a small room or apartment should make a note to hear these Peter Familari, Jason DeBono, StereoNet I recently had the pleasure to listen to the entire range and was blown away by the sound reproduction through Bluetooth, CD and vinyl.
The crossovers are tight and rich to say the least. The high end frequency makes the tweeters work at their optimum while the other drivers in the unit perform in incredible detail. With years of experience and talent, it is expected that Jean-Marie’s creations would be and are simply exquisite. Shener D. Sydney, August 2020 |
Crafted in Australia with French flair
Microphase Audio Design
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