For me, the MayFly MF-201A speakers were a bit like that: a great poem or novel that initially fails to grab you—okay, me— or, if you prefer, a slow-burning movie that doesn’t become engrossing until the second act.
Baked Dragons
The Mayfly MF-201A (to keep things short and simple, I’ll call it the 201) is the brainchild of Ottawa-based Trevor May, the founder of MayFly Audio Systems. May is a veteran guitarist and sound designer who builds two types of products that have opposite intentions. His equipment for guitar players includes a stomp box called the Sketchy Zebra that generates swirling vibrato and phase-shifting effects. Another one, the Dirty Window, produces different types of tubelike distortion.
The groovy nomenclature doesn’t carry through to May’s other enterprise: designing and manufacturing hi-fi speakers, a field where distortion is the enemy and tonal purity is paramount. I wouldn’t have minded if a pair of Baked Dragons had turned up on my doorstep, or, say, a duo of Funky Beavers. Instead, we have the blandly named 201 standmounts ($4900/pair); plus, to satisfy bassheads, the matching MF-301 passive subwoofers ($10,000/pair; bring your own crossover and amplification).
This story is from the March 2022 edition of Stereophile.
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This story is from the March 2022 edition of Stereophile.
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