GAMUT M'inenT M5
Floorstanding loudspeakers
The M5's stunned me with their breathtaking dynamics and open and transparent sound. Which is something I love and also something I enjoyed with many other superb speakers. However, what I was not prepared for was the fact that some of the elements of the GamuT's sound, that are normally incompatible, were skillfully blended here. For instance, the sound exhibited microscopic precision, speed and incisiveness, but at the same time it was very relaxing and soothing. Do not ask me how this is possible but they somehow manage to join both sonic philosophies to end up with enormously pleasing aural experience.
Function and form
The front baffles of M5s are just 20cm narrow and tilted slightly backwards for precise time alignment. On top of that they go even narrower towards the back of the cabinets in a two-fold facette that is softly curved to get hardly 9cm apart at the back. It can be like that for speaker terminals and a crossover are both integrated into the black-painted MDF base that is stabilized by perfectly machined aluminum spikes running to the sides. The spikes are adjustable from top so you do not have to exercise with the 34kg-heavy speakers should you need to make any adjustment.
The tweeters, mid-woofers and woofers are all sourced from ScanSpeak. They look like modifications of Super Revelator Ring Radiator and other Revelator cones, at least judged by the typical stainless steel phase plugs and spiralling grooves on the paper membranes that are said to optimize the dynamical behaviour of the assembly. The cross-over points are set to 250Hz and 2350Hz. The former crossover point is very close to 220Hz where the impedance curve of the M5s drops to 3 ohms. The speakers are specified as 4 ohm/90.5dB, so a certain cautiousness should be in place if you plan to use less stable amps, yet the above the average sensitivity guarantees that not a lot of watts will be needed to make them sing.
Bass management
Should you need some criticism right at the start I would mention the M5's lows that could be better defined in transients and exhibit more punch. As a result, a double-bass is a tad slower and the event of fingers plucking fat strings lacks a higher sense of articulation.
Clarity & delicacy
The transparency and cleanliness of the M5's highs is fascinating. They soar, they fly to the sky and they are always well controlled. The specs say something about 50,000Hz upper extension and I take it for granted. There are moments when you would expect the highs to cross the line and become too aggressive but no, they never give up their silky quality. Though sometimes the speakers may sound a bit forward they never leave the realm of crystalline clarity of a Nordic lake deep in the woods and this something that nailed me into my listening chair for hours.
Tonal accuracy
The M´inenT M5s are quite sensitive to the in-room placement. GamuT recommends to position them at least 1m from the nearest boundaries which can be generalized for most speakers. Unlike the most speakers the M5s are also quite sensitive to other two things: their tilt angle and their toe-in. Depending on your concrete room acoustics the direct to your ears radiation (minimum tilt, tweeter axis pointing directly to your ears) yields the right-in-your-face sound. This is nice in an acoustically controlled listening environment. In standard conditions the tonal balance of the M5s will favour airiness and extra detail, in a modern minimalistic interior that provides little diffusion and absorption the highs will be over the top and will mask the mids. That's when you can correct the final result with tilt and toe-in. Further you are from the direct axis more laid-back the sound will be. After an hour or so of experimenting with the placement I finished with the speakers pointing about 1m behind my ears which provided the best tonal balance. Even then I perceived the slightest excess of highs but as they were absolutely clean I did not object.
Spatial resolution
The M´inenT M5's have the gift to absorb you into their performance so my review got easily quite lengthy - I was simply listening to the music without any urge to skip tracks or change CDs and this is the power and magic of the GamuT. Perhaps earlier than you would realize you are caught and they will not let you go. Even worse, once they are gone, you will miss them. The excellent icy Hyman's piano in Topsy (Dick Hyman, From The Age of Swing) was crystalline and immediate as if I was looking over Dick Hyman's shoulders. The nuancees of string decays around 2´00 mark were nicely delineated without dominating and this detail enriched the pure enjoyment and realism of the M5s.
The perfect soundstage was what was immediately apparent. The speakers were not throwing the soundstage, they just ceased to exist, they dissapeared and the Hyman's swinging ensemble naturally occupied the listening room. With my eyes closed there was no way to identify where the sound was coming from. You will benefit from it especially with the symphonic music that was recorded in real concert venues as the M5s could recreate the be-there feeling without being limited by the walls of the listening room. The other benefit is that the M'inenT could handle enormous dynamic contrasts in a fraction of second - in fact I would compare their dynamic performance to the best speakers available in the market, irrespective of price.
Recommended resellers
Iryson, Kvetoslavov, tel. +421 903 418 345
Manufacturer's website: http://www.gamutaudio.com
Associated components
- Sources: BMC AUDIO BD CD1 + DAC1
- Amplifiers: BMC Audio M1 monos
- Interconnects and speaker cables: WSS The Absolut Platin Line
- Power cables: Oyaide Tunami
Gallery
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