Aaron MicroMAX Quick start guide

Brand: Aaron

Model: MicroMAX

Category: Loudspeakers

Type: Quick start guide

Aaron MicroMAX is a versatile home theater speaker system that combines affordability with impressive sound quality. Comprising five identical SS-10 satellite speakers, an active SUB-60 subwoofer, and a pair of telescopic metal speaker stands, this compact system is ideal for space-conscious setups while delivering a rich and immersive audio experience.

Aaron MicroMax

Home Theatre Speaker System

Five speakers, a

subwoofer and

pair of stands

all for under

$800 - what’s

the catch?

By Nic Tatham

Audio & Video Lifestyle Magazine

audition

equipment review

Vital Statistics

Dimensions:

155 x 100 x 85mm (SS-10)

Weight:

0.75kg (SS-10), 11kg (SUB-60)

Price:

$799 (complete system)

Distributor:

Betetec Industries Pty Ltd

17 De Havilland Cresent

Ballina, NSW 2478

Telephone:

(02) 6686 0277

Facsimile:

(02) 6686 0285

Website:

www.spot.com.au/aaron

hen the price

of consumer

electronics

comes down,

it’s naturally a

good thing

for anyone

looking to buy such products. But when

the quality also drops, what may seem

inexpensive might also be cheap and

nasty too. In the past few years the

entire consumer electronics industry

has seen the emergence of a new breed

of product - and it isn’t always a good

thing.

It’s one thing for the price to fall,

but bear in mind that you almost always

get what you pay for with hi-fi and

home theatre equipment. So when you

receive a colourful flyer from your local

discount megastore offering the latest

and greatest home theatre system for

an unheard of price, it’ll probably be

best left that way - unheard.

I’ve tried some of these systems

when browsing the shelfs, lined with

names that you’ve never heard of

before and there’s not a lot to

recommend most of them, other than

the low price. Allied to this though,

build quality is very suspect and sound

quality, well let’s just say it’s equally low.

Like it or not, this sort of price-

orientated home theatre system has

made its mark in Australia. We love our

$2 shops and plenty of people aren’t

too fussed about sound or picture

quality when it comes to listening to

music or watching films either.

For those that are a little more

discerning, there are alternatives.

Recognising this, Australian

loudspeaker manufacturer Aaron’s

latest AV speaker system was

developed specifically for this reason. It

wanted to offer a small and affordable

satellite and subwoofer system that still

delivered proper hi-fi performance. It’s

called the MicroMax and for the very

wallet-friendly sum of $799 you get five

identical satellites, an active subwoofer

as well as a pair of trendy-looking

telescopic metal speaker stands.

Aaron has always been a brand

associated with value for money and its

designs are always well researched and

thoroughly measured and tested.

Reproduced with

permission from

Audio & Video

Lifestyle magazine

Audio & Video Lifestyle Magazine

Technotalk

Product Type:

Home theatre speaker system

Driver Complement:

1 x 80mm bass/mid driver (SS-10)

1 x 13mm tweeter (SS-10)

1 x 213mm woofer (SUB-60)

Frequency Response:

100Hz-20kHz ±3dB (SS-10)

Sensitivity:

88dB @ 2.83V, 1m (SS-10)

Impedance:

6 ohms nominal (SS-10)

Crossover Frequency:

6kHz (SS-10)

Frequency Range:

30Hz-150Hz (SUB-60)

Amplifier Power:

50 watts RMS (SUB-60)

Amplifier Power:

10-60 watts RMS (SS-10)

Distortion:

0.04% @ rated output

Technotalk specifications and recommended

retail prices are supplied by the manufacturer

Recently, the decision was taken to

relocate some of its production to

China, for a couple of main reasons -

to enable the brand to keep up with

increasing demand and also for the

obvious economic benefits Chinese

manufacturing offers. With the new

MicroMax system, the tiny SS-10

satellites and stands are made over

there, while the SUB-60 active

subwoofer comes out of the company’s

Ballina factory.

The five SS-10s are all identical and

constructed from non-resonant plastic.

Their design offers a variety of

mounting and positioning options,

either on the TS-10 stands, or for $19 a

pair Aaron also makes some wall-

mounting brackets called the SWB.

Around the back of each SS-10 there’s

a sliding bracket with keyhole and this

can be fitted so the speaker stands both

horizontally and vertically. To keep up

appearances, the badge on the front

grille can also rotate to the right

subsequent way up. Build quality of

these little speakers is pretty impressive

- the moulded cases fit nicely together

and there’s some weight to them as

well. Each speaker is a 2-way design

and the small drivers comprise an

80mm fine fibre pulp cone woofer and

the 13mm dome tweeter is constructed

from Mylar. All

SS-10s use two-

stage magnetic

shielding so

there’s no

worries placing

them on or near

a conventional

TV. Cable

connection, not

surprisingly at

the price, is in

the form of

spring clip

terminals on

both the SS-10s

and the SUB-

60. Binding

posts would be

better, but it’s

not likely going

to be a

consideration

for the sort of

customer and

system that’s

likely to

entertain these

speakers.

I’ve had a

play with my fair

share of Aaron subwoofers over the

years and the SUB-60 is the baby of the

range. The bigger SUB-120 is also

recommended by Aaron to partner the

SS-10s, if you simply fancy more of the

low stuff or have a larger living space to

fill. In my average-sized living room, the

SUB-60 proved ample, even though it’s

hardly the biggest or most powerful of

active subs. The power is rated at 60

watts RMS, driving a single 213mm

woofer.

All Aaron’s woofer drivers employ

the company’s Low Q Ratio bass

alignment design technique, which aims

to lower distortion, achieve faster

response times, and greater system

efficiency. In a nutshell, the system

works by the use of an ultra light driver

cone in a unique air alignment

suspension, operating in conjunction

with what Aaron refers to as an

internal Cabinet Q Regulator. The

Regulator is an angled panel

strategically positioned in the cabinet

bass to dampen a specific frequency

band. The overall aim of such design

mechanisms is to maximise bass

efficiency. A lightweight bass driver

requires less energy to move, and

therefore puts less demand on the

amplifier, resulting in higher efficiency.

But, enough of such technical

jargon - what does this little and

inexpensive system sound like?

Surprisingly good is the short answer.

To be perfectly honest, I wasn’t

expecting too much either when

hooking them all up, thinking that this

might be quite a painful review to listen

and write up. It’s always nice when

you’re proved wrong and in this case, I

was way off the mark. Aaron has fully

achieved it’s aim with the MicroMax in

achieving ‘proper’ hi-fi sound. Okay,

it’s hardly the last word in high fidelity

reproduction, but it’s definitely hi-fi.

Before hooking the sub up, I had a

quick listen to the satellites and

although they claim to genuinely go

down to 100Hz, you wouldn’t want to

listen to anything on them without a

subwoofer in tow. On their own, they

sound like tiny speakers, but as soon as

the SUB-60 kicked, it was a different

story all together.

Music first and in stereo with the

SUB-60 and left and right SS-10s in

play, the three make quite a pleasant

noise. As I said, there are gutsier and

more fearful subwoofers around, but

bearing in mind it’s $399 price tag, the

SUB-60 is quite capable in the bass-

Audio & Video Lifestyle Magazine

“...what does

this little and

inexpensive

system sound

like?

Surprisingly

good is the

short answer.

To be perfectly

honest, I wasn’t

expecting too

much either

when hooking

them all up,

thinking that

this might be

quite a painful

review to listen

and write up.

It’s always nice

when you’re

proved wrong

and in this

case, I was way

off the mark.

Aaron has fully

achieved it’s

aim with the

MicroMax in

achieving

‘proper’ hi-fi

sound.”

Opinion

The ‘Opinion’ expressed here is that

of the reviewer, summarised in the

form of a 5-star rating system, and

should be considered as an integral

part of the full contents of this

Audition Equipment Review. As

such, each category should be

judged on its own merits and not

necessarily used as a comparison

with other equipment reviews in this,

or other editions of Audio & Video

Lifestyle magazine.

 

 Shocker

 

 Average

 

 Good

 

 Excellent

 

 Perfection

“It wanted to offer a small and

affordable satellite and

subwoofer system that still

delivered proper hi-fi

performance.”

Performance

      

   

Build Quality

      

   

Compatibilty

      

   

Value For Money

        

    

making department. It musters plenty

of thump, yet keeps the low-end taut

and tuneful - a sure sign that a

subwoofer’s doing its job competently.

Lending ample weight and authority to

music, the tempo of dance tracks like

BT’s Godspeed are given some of that

club-sound kick, and although it’s not

the sort of subwoofer that can slam you

in the chest with wave after wave of

bass, there’s sufficient weight and

extension produced by the SUB-60.

With classical pieces like Brahm’s

Ein Deutsches Requiem the MicroMax

collection does a good job in handling

this large-scale work. The satellites

provide credible ambience, while the

subwoofer lends both substance and

plenty of controlled low-end presence.

Swapping a CD for a DVD, the

MicroMax system also does a credible

job in 5.1 mode. There’s not the sheer

dynamic scale that you get with bigger

and more capable AV loudspeakers

and at times things sound a little

compressed, but overall, movie

soundtracks are handled pretty well by

the Aarons. Dialogue-heavy films like

Dirty Deeds could do with a bit more

openness and weight from the centre

SS-10 and with big action sequences,

the SUB-60 lends its weight nicely, but

there’s a slightly recessed sound with

fast-moving transient effects. Again,

you’ve got to remind yourself that the

SS-10s cost just $80 each and they

sound infinitely better than the vast

majority of mass-produced speaker

competition. What they do very well is

integrate and provide a seamless tonal

balance across the 5.1 soundstage. The

satellites blend in well with one another

and the subwoofer’s easily tuned to

take over where the SS-10s lower

frequency response gives up.

Only when presented with the more

dynamic 5.1 movie soundtracks and

with a healthy nudge of the volume

control, does the MicroMax protest. It,

like all loudspeakers, has its limits and

pushed too hard, it’ll become unstuck.

Big, dynamic movie moments such as

the attack sequence in Pearl Harbor

sound wholesome and with plenty of

impact at moderate levels, just don’t

expect this system to reproduce the

sort of levels that the whole street will

feel. But, this is only to be expected and

driven by the likes of the Onkyo TX-

SR700 AV receiver, the little Aarons

certainly don’t mind being pushed a

fair bit. They do go loud and remain

clean and in control at normal levels.

Aaron is also making this new

package even more attractive to buyers,

by offering quite a saving if you buy it

complete. Compared to the individual

prices of $400 for five SS-10 satellites,

$399 for a single SUB-60 and $169 for

a pair of the TS-10 stands, buy it all

together for $799 means you’ll save

$169 - in other words, the stands are

thrown in for free.

It’s hard to argue with the sheer

value for money on offer here and even

if the system sounded half as good as it

does, it would still be considered pretty

good. And Aaron isn’t attempting to

throw down the gauntlet to other

manufacturers with this system, just

offer the Australian consumer some

real and affordable loudspeakers. It’s

achieved it with the MicroMax. AVL

Ancillary Equipment: Toshiba 38D9UXA

LCD rear projection Television, Onkyo

TX-SR700 AV receiver, Onkyo DV-

SP800 universal DVD player, Black Box

mains conditioner, SAP Relaxa 1

isolation shelf, Concorde AC-03

equipment rack, Audioquest cables

Aaron MicroMAX Quick start guide

Brand: Aaron

Model: MicroMAX

Category: Loudspeakers

Type: Quick start guide

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Aaron MicroMAX Quick start guide

Aaron MicroMAX Quick start guide

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