M&K for music? (1 Viewer)

[Steve Simm]

I have heard mixed comments on M&K and music. I am specifically wondering who has or has had the S-150THX speakers and how they liked them for music. I have only had the opportunity to hear these speakers once and they were not set-up very well and I was not that impressed when it came to listening to some of my CD's but I got a killer deal on 2 pairs of SS-150THX tripoles and would like to keep my system matched for obvious reasons. I have a couple of months to decide if I want to trade in my current mains on the S-150THX mains but I wanted ot get some opinions from people on this forum. Thanks....

 

[Mike Burke]

Steve,

I asked the same question some time ago and I did not get a bad reply from any of the M&K owners regarding music. I think when it comes to speakers that people are buying is that they sound good for BOTH music and HT. I know I personally wuld not buy a speaker that only does one good.

I really like M&K's alot but I think the Paradigm Studio 40/Studio CC setup is slightly better for music and good for HT where as the M&K's are great for HT and good for music. So it will come down to what's more important to YOU! Based on the amount of recording studios who use M&K's, I would feel safe to say that you wouldn't be disappointed.

Good Luck

Mike

 

[Steve Simm]

Mike- thanks for your thoughts. I am going to try and find a place that has the M&K's set-up properly and give them a serious listen. I am currently probably 50/50 HT/music so it is important to me that I am happy with both as I can't afford to have two decent systems at this time. I am slowly trying ot put together a system I can live with for awhile without constantly second guessing my equipment. Is that possible?

 

[VinceS]

I was between the S150s and the S100Bs before getting the S100Bs. They are hooked up to a Sony STRDA5ES (formally an STRDB930) with an MX150MkII sub. I love the 100s for music and felt they were less picky about placement than the 150s.

I am still trying to figure what surrounds to get (between the 55's, 85's, or very spouse friendly in-wall 85s). The SS150s are a bit big for my living space but would complement the 150s or 100Bs nicely I'm sure.

 

[James Stierman]

I sell the M&K 150 set, and i have to say they do an excellent job with music as well as an incredible job with movies. Everyone who has bought them from me has loved them very much, you can't go wrong with them.

James

 

[rodneyH]

"Everyone who has bought them from me has loved them very much, you can't go wrong with them."

"I asked the same question some time ago and I did not get a bad reply from any of the M&K owners regarding music."

are you guys serious, re-read your posts and tell me what is wrong, of course someone isn't going to BUY a pair of speakers (especially at that price) and say that they suck for music, obviously if they bought them, they prefer their sound.

As for the question-I would say that some people love these speakers and some don't, BUT I have never heard ANYONE say that they are BAD (in other words speakers like Klipsch and B&Ws have thier detractors, BUT I never see that with M&Ks). Go and listen for yourself, they aren't as "forward" as some and not as "boomy" as others, but a fairly good balance and they do a lot of things well.

 

[James Stierman]

true, but speakers will sound differnt in your home then they will in any store, with differnt setups and recivers. This is why we offer a 30 in home trial, you wouldn't want to spen 1750 for a pair of speakers and get them home to be disappointed.

 

[Mark Russ]

I have 4 M&K s85 satellites and 1 s85c center channel, along with a M&K v90 sub. I also have 2 s75 surrounds that I use as front effects speakers on a Yamaha 2092 receiver (as you may know, Yamahas can have 5 speakers up front with 2 extra "effects" speakers up higher and further apart than the regular l & r front channels). I don't think that they are great on movies and not as good on music. I think they are fine for either. Matter of fact, I think they are great for either. If a speaker can do one thing good, then it should also be ok for the other. Bottom line, sound is sound, and if a speaker is good at reproducing it, then it's good. Simple as that. Plus, they have 2 different sets of speaker wire input terminals. A "normal output" and a brighter sounding "maximum output". How it works, I do not know, but my ears confirm that the difference can clearly be heard, so it gives you some flexibility there that you wouldn't have on most other speaker brands. If you have a "bright" receiver or amp, use "normal", if it's a "warm" receiver, then use "maximum output".

 

[Kirk Mango]

When I first started looking for a system I was in the same position as you. I wanted a system that would do a good job on both music and HT. I had never owned a higher end system and had no preconceptions on what equipment was good or bad nor on what sounded good or bad. I really did not know there may even be a difference between music and HT playback. I was told by a friend at work to make sure I bring both music CD's and movies and listen to both on any set up I was going to purchase. I started at tweeter where I listened to a system that had all bookshelf type speakers and was not impressed. Went to Sound Deluxe and asked to listen to several systems in my price range and was not impressed. I then asked the salesman to show me a system that would impress me with regards to HT and Music. He brought me into the higher end area of his store and played the Matrix on a full M&K 7.1 THX system, preamp was Lexicon MC1 and amplifier was Sunfire. It sounded awesome. I then found out that for me to get that kind of sound I was going to have to double my budget, oh well. I asked him to then Play some music for me on the same system. I think I put in an old Kieth Sweat CD I brought along. It was not very impressive. Seemed harsh to me on the high's. Fatiguing to listen to. However, the HT performance was so outstanding I was just about ready to purchase this system. I decided to call a cousin of mine who worked at another Tweeter store and explained to him what I was thinking of purchasing. He had nothing bad to say about the M&K system but said for about the same money, maybe a little more, he thought he could get me better sound. I decided to give it a try and went in to listen to a Mirage system Powered by B&K seperates. Needless to say I was also very impressed with HT playback and when I played the same CD, as well as many others, I was treated to a much warmer presentation. Not harsh at all. Based on this experience I ended up with Mirage and B&K stuff. It just seemed to be better at giving me much more equal performance out of both HT and Music. Just my experience, before preferences on sound where formed.

Kirk

 

[RandyKudor]

I have listened to S150s and I used to own S-1c by M&K. The S1 was great for music but it was very directional (not so good for HT). The S150s were great for HT but I found them lacking midbass for music. A bit too forward as well.

Just my 2 cents...

-R

 

[Steve Simm]

This is a thread from the past for sure. I ended up taking the M&K's back and going with Boston VR-M series all around. I found them to be more than acceptable for HT and excellent on music. I have no regrets even now. One of the few audio purchases that I have made that I haven't spent time wondering if I did the right thing.

 

[jason celaya]

Ilove mine, however you may consider if you are into a "sweetening" of the recording or do you want accuracy? If you are looking for the former, go with a B&W or one of the others mentioned. If it is accuracy you are looking for (bad recordings sound bad, great ones are incredible) go with the M&Ks.

Of coarse room accoustics are probably the biggest determiner of what you should get. M&K are pretty particular on vertical axis, make sure you will be able to accomindate them.

 

[Roger Kint]

I don't have the S-150 fronts, but do have the SS-150 surrounds and they are truly awesome. Therefore, I would keep the system matched as the 150 system is very nice.
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As an audiophile recording engineer and a high-end loudspeaker designer, my strong belief has al-ways
been that a good loudspeaker should accurately and realistically reproduce whatever the micro-phone
captured, whether the source is a human voice, a musical instrument, an explosion, car crash,
etc.; including the acoustical ambience of the environment in which the source was recorded.
Our philosophy is that exciting and lifelike sound and music reproduction takes place when your ears,
in effect, become the recording microphones. Our speakers are designed to allow you to hear exactly
what the microphones heard, placing you as close or as far away from the music or sound source as the
recording engineer placed the microphones.
Too many so-called “music” loudspeakers are designed with a philosophy that all recordings should
sound as if the music comes from a stage 10 or 20 rows distant, even if a recording is closely miked with
performers as close as a few inches from the microphones (as is often done on film soundtracks, espe-cially
for dialog).
This “homogenizing” effect may be pleasant for some music recordings, but it inaccurately reproduces
both close-miked recordings and recordings that accurately capture the acoustic space of a recording
site. This is why many “music” speakers do so poorly when trying to reproduce both the intensity and
intimacy of closely miked sound effects and dialog on today’s best soundtracks.
-- Ken Kreisel, President