Mesanovic CDM65 Studio Monitor Review

[Maiky76]

Here is my take on the EQ.
Please report your findings, positive or negative!

For the score rational your journey starts here
Explanation for the sub score
The following EQs are “anechoic” EQs to get the speaker right before room integration.
If you able to implement these EQs you must add EQ at LF for room integration, that is usually not optional… see hints there.

The raw data with corrected ER and PIR:

Score no EQ: 6.8
With Sub: 8.2

Spinorama with no EQ:

• Great
• Probably does not an EQ

Directivity:

EQ design:

• One EQ LW/Score are the same

Score EQ Score: 6.9
with sub: 8.4

Mesanovic CDM65 APO EQ Score 96000Hz
December172024-103917

Preamp: -3.00 dB

Filter 1: ON PK Fc 60.8 Hz Gain 1.80 dB Q 1.98
Filter 2: ON PK Fc 479.2 Hz Gain -1.50 dB Q 3.54
Filter 3: ON PK Fc 1358.5 Hz Gain 0.62 dB Q 0.30
Filter 4: ON PK Fc 16924.1 Hz Gain 2.92 dB Q 0.82

Spinorama EQ Score

Zoom PIR-LW-ON

Regression - Tonal

Radar no EQ vs EQ score
No improvements

 

[Veri]

Probably does not need an EQ

 

[dfuller]

Matches Erin's data excellently.

Also - I've actually heard these. Excellent little speakers.

 

[norman bates]

Looks like the sb acoustics rib stiffened 5" driver of some sort (aluminum cone they mention).

sb15nbac30 (4 or 8)

5″ SB15NBAC30-4 / Aluminum - Sbacoustics

Vented cast aluminum chassis for optimum strength and low compression, geometrically reinforced aluminum cone for optimum piston operation and reduced break-up.

sbacoustics.com

5″ SB15NBAC30-8 / Aluminum - Sbacoustics

Vented cast aluminum chassis for optimum strength and low compression, geometrically reinforced aluminum cone for optimum piston operation and reduced break-up.

sbacoustics.com

 

[Rja4000]

Very interesting !

A question:
How does the cardioid directivity translates in those directivity plots ?

Here is the Genelec 8351B

Here is this one

Compared to Dutch & Dutch 8C (Erin)

This doesn't tell us what happens behind the speaker, of course.

EDIT:
In fact, it does show us what happens behind the speaker.
Cardioid directivity is not that pronounced here.

 

[denzel200219]

Pretty good, but nowadays theres so many good options that are significantly cheaper. Studio speaker competition is very stiff these days

 

[staticV3]

How does the cardioid directivity translates in those directivity plots ?

Cardioid directivity = more directional bass response

Some examples below.

Omni:


Cardioid:


CDM65 Omni vs Cardi:

This doesn't tell us what happens behind the speaker, of course.

These directivity graphs extend to ±180° off-axis.

They quite literally tell us what happens behind the speaker.

 

[phoenixdogfan]

This is good enough to be in a conversation with the D&D 8C and it's less than half the price; hardly a scam.

3-way + cardioid justifies some additional cost over the KH 150. The latter does offer MA 1, though. It would be an interesting comparison.

Just use Dirac.

 

[Ktacos]

I built a DIY speaker based off this format, but it more closely resembled the kii seven. It was intended to be a prototype to see if I wanted to pursue the design further. I even planned on replacing the side woofers with the Dayton DCS165's used in the Mesanovic, though the ones I did use were not much different in terms of output and xmax.

I ultimately scrapped the project because the bass distortion was too bothersome. The bass was there, but it had a rather poor quality to it. I do believe some would find the distortion in the CDM65 to be lacking. Also worth mentioning that I found the sensation of woofers moving a lot but not making much noise to be kind of weird. The cabinet volume for the side woofers is just too small to make for usable bass. I didn't find the cardoid pattern control for the woofers lower region in my speaker to be of much benefit and not worth the trade off of poor bass distortion. I think the Mesanovic should be marketed similar to the Sigburg Manta with the suggestion that they need a subwoover.

I'd also agree that the KH150 is a better offering. The waveguide and tweeter seem to mate better and the bass distortion is really impressive and 30db down from the Mesanovic at 96db output and with only a single 6.5" driver. That's not at all an insignifcant amount and the speakers will definitely be presenting the low end much differently. I think the differences here showcase just how much of a difference big company engineering and budget makes compared to a smaller outfit that is stuck using off the shelf drivers. The Kali LP6 even seems to pull off better low end distortion numbers (worse everywhere else of coure).

 

[JSmith]

@deni ... time to update the website with the ASR review/test now?

JSmith

 

[Waxx]

A bit expensive and ugly looking are the only two downsides i can find. And if those are the only negatives, you got a great speaker!

I would still prefer Neuman's KH150's altough.

 

[Ilkless]

I built a DIY speaker based off this format, but it more closely resembled the kii seven. It was intended to be a prototype to see if I wanted to pursue the design further. I even planned on replacing the side woofers with the Dayton DCS165's used in the Mesanovic, though the ones I did use were not much different in terms of output and xmax.

I ultimately scrapped the project because the bass distortion was too bothersome. The bass was there, but it had a rather poor quality to it. I do believe some would find the distortion in the CDM65 to be lacking. Also worth mentioning that I found the sensation of woofers moving a lot but not making much noise to be kind of weird. The cabinet volume for the side woofers is just too small to make for usable bass. I didn't find the cardoid pattern control for the woofers lower region in my speaker to be of much benefit and not worth the trade off of poor bass distortion. I think the Mesanovic should be marketed similar to the Sigburg Manta with the suggestion that they need a subwoover.

I'd also agree that the KH150 is a better offering. The waveguide and tweeter seem to mate better and the bass distortion is really impressive and 30db down from the Mesanovic at 96db output and with only a single 6.5" driver. That's not at all an insignifcant amount and the speakers will definitely be presenting the low end much differently. I think the differences here showcase just how much of a difference big company engineering and budget makes compared to a smaller outfit that is stuck using off the shelf drivers. The Kali LP6 even seems to pull off better low end distortion numbers (worse everywhere else of coure).

FWIW I think Purifi has commoditised SOTA distortion measurements. Pricing currently puts it at a relatively small premium over say SEAS Prestige and much cheaper than say Accuton or whatever exotic 600$ midwoofer.

As a consumer I personally value how much more advanced Purifi drivers a lot more than the additional BOM cost.

On cardioid -- it could conceivably work better for a given set of placement constraints than other dispersion patterns. But Geddes has argued that on a general statistical level that dipole, cardioid and monopole have no significant advantage on room response IIRC. But one might work better than the others for a given placement. And that's good enough for me, because not all of us have unfettered placement options.

 

[thewas]

It cannot be really compared though to the KH 150 as that doesn't offer a cardioid mode for the upper bass like this.* Also since its front "mid" driver only operates above 150 Hz it might have lower multitone distortions at high SPLs compared to the the 2-way Neumann. On the other hand its upper bass cardioid behaviour seems more limited compared to much more expensive D&D with a similar concept:

*Some people though claim that cardioid behaviour under 500 Hz doesn't bring real audible benefits if someone can use EQ, for me it was also hard to tell when I compared the D&D8c with KH310+subs. I had posted some in-room measurements of a D&D 8C vs Neumann KH 310 in the same room here, differences were smaller than we had expected.

Mind you the CDM65 like the 8c needs also placement close to the front wall as otherwise its rear subwoofer will also have the SBIR problem as it has no cardioid behaviour in the deep bass like the Geithain K or Kii Three models do.

Still what you say about the too often seen SBIR in the 100-200 Hz region is very important as most people tend to place their loudspeakers in a distance to the front walls which causes them (which can have other advantages though like better imaging):



As it can be seen the best solution in such setups are subwoofers:

 

[firedog]

Almost $1000 more expensive than the KH150 while having fewer controls and worse distortion? Looks like a scam

Distortion?
What if you can't really hear it? Do you listen at 96db? I doubt it.
Cardoid speakers do this and then all reports are of very good sounding bass.
Anyway, if the idea bothers you, add a sub for the lowest bass notes, and roll the speaker off at 40 hz.

 

[napfkuchen]

Bought these speakers based on Erin's review and am pleased that his results are confirmed by Amir.
In my living room with very few room acoustics measures, I placed the speakers relatively close to the back wall and measured them together with two subwoofers using Dirac. I can't notice any difference between a limited correction up to 300 Hz and a full range correction.

For comparison, I also set up a Genelec front (8331 + 8351), with which EQ was an absolute must for me. With the CDM 65 it's more of a kind of icing on the cake.

I think the speakers offer an interesting feature set at an attractive price, especially when you look at the price increase of the top dogs (D&D 8c, Kii Three) in recent years.

 

[Marc v E]

Wow, these speakers are impressive.

Great frequency response
Bass untill 40hz flat
Wisa support
And a streamer/wisa with multiple digital inputs for 600

What's not to like?
Maybe the looks are somewhat more studio than home, but everything else is just top spec.

 

[DanielT]

Thank you for your review Amir.

It looks like the SB15NBAC30 is used as the mid driver. A superb choice in that case for the Mesanovic CDM65 speaker.
The same driver is used by Revel in their m105 model and I have seen it popular with DIYers. That driver has really low distortion.

But then that SB driver must be used in a good way and Mesanovic has succeeded in that task.

 

[DanielT]

Looks like the sb acoustics rib stiffened 5" driver of some sort (aluminum cone they mention).

sb15nbac30 (4 or 8)

5″ SB15NBAC30-4 / Aluminum - Sbacoustics

Vented cast aluminum chassis for optimum strength and low compression, geometrically reinforced aluminum cone for optimum piston operation and reduced break-up.

sbacoustics.com

5″ SB15NBAC30-8 / Aluminum - Sbacoustics

Vented cast aluminum chassis for optimum strength and low compression, geometrically reinforced aluminum cone for optimum piston operation and reduced break-up.

sbacoustics.com

Sorry, I missed your post. See my post above.

 

[thewas]

It cannot be really compared though to the KH 150 as that doesn't offer a cardioid mode for the upper bass like this.* Also since its front "mid" driver only operates above 150 Hz it might have lower multitone distortions at high SPLs compared to the the 2-way Neumann. On the other hand its upper bass cardioid behaviour seems more limited compared to much more expensive D&D with a similar concept:

View attachment 414576

*Some people though claim that cardioid behaviour under 500 Hz doesn't bring real audible benefits if someone can use EQ, for me it was also hard to tell when I compared the D&D8c with KH310+subs. I had posted some in-room measurements of a D&D 8C vs Neumann KH 310 in the same room here, differences were smaller than we had expected.

Mind you the CDM65 like the 8c needs also placement close to the front wall as otherwise its rear subwoofer will also have the SBIR problem as it has no cardioid behaviour in the deep bass like the Geithain K or Kii Three models do.

Still what you say about the too often seen SBIR in the 100-200 Hz region is very important as most people tend to place their loudspeakers in a distance to the front walls which causes them (which can have other advantages though like better imaging):

View attachment 414555

As it can be seen the best solution in such setups are subwoofers:

View attachment 414554

Also the Mesanovic has a more continuous PIR and sound power due to its wider directivity and better vertical radiation:

 

[totti1965]

Almost $1000 more expensive than the KH150 while having fewer controls and worse distortion? Looks like a scam

You don't seem to be the type of person who values any form of CHOICE!