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Mesanovic CDM65 love?

decasta

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Oct 24, 2023
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Hey everyone,

I'm about to acquire a pair of Mesanovic CDM65's, and I couldn't be more excited to use them on a daily basis in my studio!

What I'm curious about is... why isn't there more discussion about them?

I've been keeping an eye on these speakers ever since I saw Erin's review on it. The linearity, the interchangeable tunings, all of it made it an incredibly attractive and appealing speaker. SOS then confirmed that it was a phenomenal speaker, the active speaker recommendation list by @sweetchaos had it ranked VERY high, everything was pointing to this speaker being an all-star.

Because there wasn't much discussion otherwise about it, I was even momentarily considering getting either a pair of March Audio Sointuva's, or just waiting till the AsciLabs A6B Active came out. But the deal on the Mesanovics showed up, and I just couldn't pass on it.

So, with all of the facts already on display, how come it's not getting more love or chatter?

I'll be sure to leave my thoughts about them once they show up.

Currently using Amphion One15's, which I loved for my purposes, but it doesn't seem like they're bonding as much with my new control room space.

3U3A8401.JPG
 
Haven't heard of them myself so will go check out Erin's review. Small speakers and a setup like that aren't my thing, tho.
 
So, with all of the facts already on display, how come it's not getting more love or chatter?
Good question. They're clearly well-thought-out and capable speakers, and I imagine you'll be thrilled. Deep bass and level handling alone should be a different story, not to mention cardioid mode.
 
They are top speakers by almost every metric. But for the price point you are getting into the territory of KH150 + subs, 8341A etc, which obviously have better worldwide ubiquity, brand recognition, and most likely smoother/easier warranty process etc, along with better resale value. Even if you want to compare to the more expensive Genelec and Neumann offerings (8351B etc.), I also assume many professionals/companies buying these products have less of an incentive to save a couple thousand bucks since they are already getting some kind of tax relief for the purchase in addition to the fact that a few thousand bucks amortised over the 15-30+ year life of the speaker being used as a tool to generate revenue ends up being peanuts at the end of the day. Plus since those brands have a lot more existing products and have been around for decades, I suppose more people will find them easier integrated with existing genelec/neumann products into multichannel systems. Then we get into some of the other minor facts like Genelec/Neumann actually soffit mountable or can be used horizontally which offers more positioning versatility. I think even if the CDM65 may be objectively better in some ways, for these reasons most people specifically buying monitors for work/professional purposes and even in the home to some degree would rather just go with the established Genelec/Neumann. I see a product like this more suitable for enthusiasts, home users, people with more home-style studios with less budget for the room/treatment etc., that may not necessarily want to use subs. They probably would need to be cheaper to be talked about as a straight alternative to top monitors because of the hold the competitors already have on this niche.
 
They seem to be one of those brands that just fly under the radar. According to the Spinorama site they are some of the flattest speakers ever measured. Their older model was no slouch either from what I've read in reviews etc.. Personally for studio use I don't love how the DSP was integrated with the external wireless box etc., but I'd still love to hear them someday.
 
They seem to be one of those brands that just fly under the radar. According to the Spinorama site they are some of the flattest speakers ever measured. Their older model was no slouch either from what I've read in reviews etc.. Personally for studio use I don't love how the DSP was integrated with the external wireless box etc., but I'd still love to hear them someday.
They were one of my favorites when I listened to a bunch of speakers last December. I was looking for something bigger but I listened out of curiosity. Very good.
 
I'd assume the conventional choices have better bass management solutions, easier integration with digital interfaces like Dante for multichannel and so on.

If it was my job to use speakers I would only be looking at Genelec. Their range of offerings from tiny to huge, history of innovation and ability to service old products makes them almost impossible to compete with for that use. They engineer their own drivers, I don't believe mesanovic does (RAAL and Sb acoustics I believe). They're just...very polished products.

Mesanovic sells a highly engineered product but I feel like they use boutique exclusivity as a selling point. Sort of audiophilish marketing points. It's an odd combo. Not cool enough to be Oswald mill, not sober enough to be JBL, but I guess recording guys have their own logic.

Having said all that, as a home speaker, it's an amazing product. The wireless audio capabilities are very cool, and the engineering is awesome. Plus it's made in the USA (with parts from Indonesia, Croatia and Malaysia)

And, as you've seen, the measurements are incredible, but that doesn't mean much outside of a holistic room integration.
 
They are top speakers by almost every metric. But for the price point you are getting into the territory of KH150 + subs, 8341A etc, which obviously have better worldwide ubiquity, brand recognition, and most likely smoother/easier warranty process etc, along with better resale value. Even if you want to compare to the more expensive Genelec and Neumann offerings (8351B etc.), I also assume many professionals/companies buying these products have less of an incentive to save a couple thousand bucks since they are already getting some kind of tax relief for the purchase in addition to the fact that a few thousand bucks amortised over the 15-30+ year life of the speaker being used as a tool to generate revenue ends up being peanuts at the end of the day. Plus since those brands have a lot more existing products and have been around for decades, I suppose more people will find them easier integrated with existing genelec/neumann products into multichannel systems. Then we get into some of the other minor facts like Genelec/Neumann actually soffit mountable or can be used horizontally which offers more positioning versatility. I think even if the CDM65 may be objectively better in some ways, for these reasons most people specifically buying monitors for work/professional purposes and even in the home to some degree would rather just go with the established Genelec/Neumann. I see a product like this more suitable for enthusiasts, home users, people with more home-style studios with less budget for the room/treatment etc., that may not necessarily want to use subs. They probably would need to be cheaper to be talked about as a straight alternative to top monitors because of the hold the competitors already have on this niche.
food for thought, at least for myself. Price + added tax for imported electronic hardware in my country is, well, what can I say..

Neumann KH120 II (Pair)IDR 48.000.0003166$
Neumann KH150 (Pair)IDR 75.000.0004947$
Genelec 8341A (Pair)IDR 91.232.0006018$

CDM65 wasn't available at the moment, but I expect it will be in the same price range as the 8341A.
It easier to find community support for Genelec & Neumann product, easier warranty claim, and all those Jae said are being true to me. I am but a mere casual music listener.
 
I see the mesanovic stuff as competition to D&D almost, lots of lifestyle features. Those amazing new purefi speakers from Korea will be in that category as well when they come out.

Incidentally I'd bet the 8c would be a pretty good monitoring solution. Powerful, great room independence. Cardiods give up a bit of output to do what they do, so I like the bigger woofer in the 8c.
 
Incidentally I'd bet the 8c would be a pretty good monitoring solution.
I know a fair few mastering guys who use them.
 
food for thought, at least for myself. Price + added tax for imported electronic hardware in my country is, well, what can I say..

Neumann KH120 II (Pair)IDR 48.000.0003166$
Neumann KH150 (Pair)IDR 75.000.0004947$
Genelec 8341A (Pair)IDR 91.232.0006018$

CDM65 wasn't available at the moment, but I expect it will be in the same price range as the 8341A.
It easier to find community support for Genelec & Neumann product, easier warranty claim, and all those Jae said are being true to me. I am but a mere casual music listener.
I think you accidentally doubled the prices of Neumann, looks completely out of whack..

Thomann for example:

1726990821483.png
 
The RTM 10’s were super speakers, but as has been mentioned just doesn’t have the brand awareness, and pros tend to stick with what they know even there are objectively better designs available, 10” woofer
IMG_2482.jpeg
IMG_2483.jpeg
 
They definitely tick all the right boxes. But as mentioned it comes down to brand awareness, and perception of customer service, resale value, aesthetics, etc. They do seem like awesome speakers for sure.
 
I guess by chatter, I mean in comparison to the equal competition and “small-ness” on this Forum, such as the March Audio Sointuva (which are technically different because they’re passive, but they more roughly the same price point, and measure extremely well) or even the AsciLabs stuff. There’s just not as much excitement as I would expect for one of the objectively best measuring bookshelf speakers I’ve seen.

I totally understand the brand recognition of neumann and Genelec. But I guess I can’t help but always go for the underdog, haha.

I’m also pretty curious about VESA mounting the speakers, to see if that makes any acoustical difference vs. the traditional top mounting.
Personally for studio use I don't love how the DSP was integrated with the external wireless box etc., but I'd still love to hear them someday.

I very much agree with this though. Room correction features are super useful for studio environments, but the lack of balanced connectivity makes it not the most viable.
 
I see the mesanovic stuff as competition to D&D almost, lots of lifestyle features. Those amazing new purefi speakers from Korea will be in that category as well when they come out.

Incidentally I'd bet the 8c would be a pretty good monitoring solution. Powerful, great room independence. Cardiods give up a bit of output to do what they do, so I like the bigger woofer in the 8c.
They are, on paper, very similar to the D&D’s, maybe even more so the Kii’s given that their dispersion is based on DSP and not inherent physical design. Both the D&D’s and Kii’s are pretty popular in the recording studio world, and with the Mesanovics accomplishing very “similar” results at a much lower price point, there’s no reason for them to not be a bigger deal than they currently are.

We shall see when I finally listen to them, whether or not they live to even my own hype, haha.
 
I think you accidentally doubled the prices of Neumann, looks completely out of whack..
Screen Shot 2024-09-22 at 7.37.29 PM.png

There is no official store for Genelec and Neumann products in Indonesia yet, which is why I feel the sellers are inflating the prices sky-high. Thank you for pointing me the right direction, I guess I'm going to ask the seller first.

Anyway, with the calculation of import taxes and other fees:

KH150
Total Tax

= Import Duties + VAT + PPh Article 22 (10% tax applies to certain imported goods such as electronic equipment, sports equipment, and musical instruments)
= 2.853.750 + 4.499.413 + (10% × Tax Base)
= 2.853.750 + 4.499.413 + 4.090.375 = 11.443.538 IDR / ($754.81) / (€675.72)

Total Price After Tax:

= CIF + Total Tax
= 38.050.000 + 11.443.538 = 49.493.538 IDR / ($3264.57) / (€2922.49)

Yes, the number is better than the one I previously cited.
 
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You could argue the Mesanovic are much more advanced than any Neumann. Neumann doesn't have a cardioid speaker, nor do they have a speaker with a large enough waveguide to deliver the low frequency directivity control that makes these speakers distinct.

I'm waiting for the cardioid Kali myself.
 
I was looking for new speakers for my living room setup, where no room acoustic measures are possible other than acoustic modules on the back wall, a carpet and sofa. In addition, all speakers are placed very close to the wall because the TV area only takes up 4.5m x 4m in a living room (7.5m x 4m) that is open to the kitchen and hallway.
These are of course not ideal conditions, but thanks to the cardioid radiation of the CDM 65, they are not a problem at all. I use a Genelec 8351B as the center, which integrates harmoniously like the other speakers (Kef LS 50 Meta).
Now, as I said, I certainly don't have optimal conditions like in the recording studio. But at least under my conditions, I noticed that the Mesanovic loudspeakers played exactly the way I wanted them, even without any EQ intervention. In the bass they are crossed over to the subwoofers at 75 Hz. I thought for a long time whether I should really go all-in (Dutch & Dutch 8c) and ultimately decided against it because of the huge price difference. After some negotiation, I paid almost 3,000 euros for each CDM 65, but it was a little more for the 8351B. Unfortunately, Dutch & Dutch and Kii Audio now cost more than twice the price.
It's a shame that Mesanovic has such low visibility as a brand. My speakers had serial numbers in the 30's. It's basically the niche within the niche... You have to be aware of that and of course it also has disadvantages.
 
I was looking for new speakers for my living room setup, where no room acoustic measures are possible other than acoustic modules on the back wall, a carpet and sofa. In addition, all speakers are placed very close to the wall because the TV area only takes up 4.5m x 4m in a living room (7.5m x 4m) that is open to the kitchen and hallway.
These are of course not ideal conditions, but thanks to the cardioid radiation of the CDM 65, they are not a problem at all. I use a Genelec 8351B as the center, which integrates harmoniously like the other speakers (Kef LS 50 Meta).
Now, as I said, I certainly don't have optimal conditions like in the recording studio. But at least under my conditions, I noticed that the Mesanovic loudspeakers played exactly the way I wanted them, even without any EQ intervention. In the bass they are crossed over to the subwoofers at 75 Hz. I thought for a long time whether I should really go all-in (Dutch & Dutch 8c) and ultimately decided against it because of the huge price difference. After some negotiation, I paid almost 3,000 euros for each CDM 65, but it was a little more for the 8351B. Unfortunately, Dutch & Dutch and Kii Audio now cost more than twice the price.
It's a shame that Mesanovic has such low visibility as a brand. My speakers had serial numbers in the 30's. It's basically the niche within the niche... You have to be aware of that and of course it also has disadvantages.
I'm glad to hear them working out well for you in your space! I'm curious to hear how they will integrate in my treated studio space, since I won't be taking advantage of them being so close to a reflective back wall.

I believe mine are in the late 20's serial range. Very excited to put them to use!

But yes! If Mesanovic is pumping out this kinda of quality, they deserve to be seen and recognized for their hard work. Hope they get that soon.
 
Have a pair of Mesanovic CDM65 in our living room and we love them very much. So there is definitely a lot of love coming from the people owning them :)
 
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