opinions on Mordaunt Short 902's and others (1 Viewer)

[Salvador]

i just need some comments on the 902's. Read some reviews at www.audioreview.com and they received fairly good recognition.
I'm just making sure that i cover all the bases before i make my purchase. So far the choices have boiled down to listed in no particular order:
Paradigm mini-monitors w/ cc370
Mordaunt-Short 902 w/ 502 center
Monitor Audio Bronze 2's w/ Bronze Center
Axiom Audio M3ti w/ vp100 center
B&W 303 w/ lcr 3
I'm planning to add a SVS 16-46pc sub during the summer so whatever i'm getting should be able to hold their own without a sub. I think most if not all of them would be able to hold their own without a sub though.
I'm also weary about the clearance required for rear-ported speakers. I'm going to put these speakers very close to my wall (1 inch of clearance) so i'm worried that they might sound boomy. How much clearance should you give these speakers?? And would angling them 45 degrees to your listening position to give the rear-ports some breathing room matter??? My room is 15ft by 30ft by 10ft, speakers are going to be set up across the 15ft width since my computer is situated in that arrangement.

 

[ChrisAG]

I'm using the 902s as rears to compliment my 906 fronts. The 902s are about 6" from the rear wall, but I have them set to "small" in the receiver's bass management - they sound too boomy when set to "large" due to the proximity to the wall. If you are using them as mains without a sub, I'd say they should be at least 8-10 inches from the wall.

 

[Salvador]

8-10 inches would need some major remodelling. But anyhow if i buy a rear ported speaker i'll make remodelling my room my little christmas project.

ChrisAG, how do you find your 902's? Satisfied with it so far??

 

[ChrisAG]

My main purchase was the 906 pair, which I had compared to Paradigm Ref/60, Mission 774, PSB 5T, and a couple others. All were great speakers, but the MS-906 sounded the best in my opinion. I got the 902s for rears to compliment the 906's.

Just for laughs I put the 902s up front for a while to compare the sound. Lo and behold, that except for the lower bass extension, they sounded exactly like the 906s. That's what I would expect, but it was nice to confirm that the smooth midrange and clear highs were present in both speaker models.

That doesn't mean the 902s are lacking bass either. Most modern bookshelfs have decent bass capability, and the 902s are no exception.

The MS speakers seem to work best with 'warm' sounding receivers like Marantz and Denon. I think you have Marantz Salvador, but if others have a low-end Yamaha for example, I'd try the combo before buying.

 

[Salvador]

ChrisAG, i went to kromer and auditioned the 902's. I compared it with the Paradigm Atom, Titan, MM, Klipsch SB-1 and i have to say that the 902's came up on top. The Klipsch SB-1 simply SUCKED, muddiest sound that i've ever heard, hell my 6 year old mini component does better! The Atoms and titans sounded boxed and a bit muffled while the Mini-monitors sounded decent but the 902's offered more clarity but less punch.

I also auditioned the Studio 20's and the Monitor Audio Silver 3. The clarity of the Studio 20 was better than the mini monitor and close to the clarity of the 902's. Bass was definately present but i'm not looking for room shakers here (the SVS 16-46 will take care of that) but rather definition and clarity. The Silver 3's impressed me and i think that that was the best set i auditioned. It carried a rather large price tag though that was out of my price range ($800 CAD).

I'm still going audition more speakers. But i talked to Martin there at Kromer and he made an offer of $520 CAD for the 902's and $385 CAD for the 904 center. Are these good prices???

The onkyo 696 was outrageously expensive at $1200 and its not even 6.1. I'm seriously considering the Marantz 5200 or 6200 even with all the problems that have cropped up. BTW, anyone have any new info on the x200 problems???

 

[ChrisAG]

Salvador,

Those are definitely good prices, less than what I paid. I think I got the 902s (demos) for $538 and the 905c for just under $500.

The Paridgm 20s are nice also but cost more.

 

[Marc H]

Salvador,
Ian at Axiom says you can safely place his rear ported M3Ti up to two inches from a rear wall!
Do try and listen to those aswell as the M22Ti. SoundStage awarded the M22Ti their reviewers' choice award for this year:
http://www.soundstage.com/revequip/a...niam22tise.htm

 

[Salvador]

Thanks for the response ChrisAG. Martin the Kromer guy was very sly in trying to cajole me into purchasing the 902's on the spot. Fact is though, i haven't listened to all the models that i want to listen to. I want to make the most educated choice that i can possibly make. But it's good to hear that he quoted me good prices.

Marc, i'm still in the process of auditioning. Tomorrow i might go to Audio One to check out the B&W 300 and 600 series. There's a new 600 series 3 that is coming out so i might catch the Series 2 on sale in case i like it. The Axiom auditioing will probably take place during Saturday since Replay Electronics is close to my friends house.

Thanks for the input guys! I'll keep you posted.

 

[ChrisAG]

One thing to keep in mind Salvador is that the speakers at the dealer are usually hooked up to decent amplifiers (I forget what they use at Kromer though). When I got my 906s home and hooked up to my older Yamaha RX-V390 I was slightly disappointed. They still sounded good, but that little something "extra" that set them apart was gone. Then I purchased a Marantz SR6200 and the "extra" returned, with deeper bass and smoother delivery.
If you're looking at Marantz, I had both the 6200 and 5200 in my home, and the 5200 sounded a little distorted at high volumes when compared to the more effortless delivery of the 6200. It may have just been a bad sample, but it is cause enough for me to recommend the 6200.
I took both of them back though. Right now I am back to the Yamaha until Marantz clears up the problems :frowning:

 

[Dave Simpson]

Hey Salvador,

I took a friend to Replay about a month ago to listen to some Axioms; he loved 'em and bought a pair of demo M40s (for only $300 CDN! Yow!!). What was interesting to me however, was that I wasn't knocked out by any of the Axioms we listened to that day (Replay was driving them with a Cambridge Audio integrated amp, cd player was also Cambridge). Weird, because as you may recall, I've got Axiom M3s in my house paired occasionally with my Yamaha 795A receiver, and they don't cease to astound me here. Maybe there's something peculiar about Replay's room, dunno (my living room is certainly smaller than Replay's big, open room). Anyway, my previous offer for you to give a listen to the M3s at my house stands. E-mail or post here, and we can arrange something. Or not. Whatever you like, sir. Cheers.

DS.

 

[Salvador]

I went to Greater Metropolitan Sound today and i got to audition the Acoustic Energy Aegis 1 and PSB IMage 1B or 2B(i'll have to verify that tomorrow). The PSB's were quite a surprise to me. They sounded very full bodied and clarity was great. The Aegis one offered a little bit more definition but it definately lacked the PSB's oomph factor. Overall, i think the PSB's made quite an impression on me but the Aegis one's was also a fairly good set. Considering that i can get the PSB's cheaper than the Aegis', i'm giving the PSB's a serious consideration along with the Mordaunt Short 902's i auditioned yesterday. Tony salesman over there and he was the most pleasant guy i've talked to so far. The deal he was able to offer me was $2060 CAD for two pairs of Aegis ones, Aegis Centre, and a marantz 5200.

Speaking of the 5200, when i asked him about the problems (S-video, audio dropouts, etc) he said that it has been resolved and the early batch was the only one affected. According to him, zero returns of any of the x200 line so far. I'm a bit skeptical here but his story was that the original line was suppose to be manufactured in Malaysia but instead it went to China so that it could be produced faster. His conslusion was that it was rushed and that was the cause of the defect.

From what i've been reading in HTF it seems to me that there is no issue whether where the x200 is made. THe official statement from Jim Smerz said that there is a DESIGN flaw, and that is the real issue i suppose. So i don't know if he's intentionaly lying or if he is just plain ignorant on the whole situation.

Its really frustrating since none of the other receivers in the price range of the 5200 are close to what it has to offer. I might be forced to wait it out until next year when Marantz releases something official about it. THat would be tough on me since school starts on the 7th and when school starts i can't find time to do anything else other than study.

Ahhh, hopefully Marantz puts this issue to rest soon. I can't wait any longer but i won't settle for less.

 

[Salvador]

I went to two stores today, Tabangi Electronics and Audio-one.
Let me start of with Tabangi Electronics. They carried the Monitor Audio Bronze 2's and the Polk Audio rt25i, both of which i wanted to audition. My initial impression on the Bronze 2's was that it was pretty flat, not much presence, and quite a disappointment from what i was expecting. To make matters worse, the rude salesman there told me that "I have had enough listening, you should know by now if you want it or not" Well, this was definately the WORST treatment that i have gotten so far. I wasn't listening that long (20 minutes into my disc) and the store wasn't brimming full of people. It was only me, my friend and a couple shopping around. That pretty much p!ssed the hell out of me but just to cover all the bases i proceeded to listen to the rt25i. Five minutes into listening to the Polk's, i concluded that they were even worse than the bronze 2's (boxed and i mean boxed sound). Ughh, i didn't commute 2 hours for this load of crap! Crap service, crap products, and wait its not done yet. For formalities sake, i asked the salesman what's the best price he could give me two sets of bronze 2's and a center, $1100 he said. In my mind thoough, even if i liked something from their store i wouldn't buy it because of the crap service that i could. So as i proceeded out the door the guy abrubtly calls me back saying that he could do "better". I eventually shrugged him off and said "doesn't matter".
Good thing Audio One is just a block away from Tabangi. Me and my friend did our initial rounds around the store. We were quite mesmerized by a pair of PMC AB? speakers. If you stood on its sweet spot, my God it was the best sounding pair that we ever heard in our lives. I'm sure audiophiles out there have heard better, but our amateur ears have never graced anything like it. So on we went and tested the Paradigm Studio 20's and the B&W 601's. The 601's sounded pretty good but was outmatched by the Studio 20's. Sonically and economically, the Paradigm Studio 20's are the best IMHO. The B&W's offered clarity above all things but the Studio 20's offered clarity AND a full-bodied soound.
I think my search for my home theater speakers is nearing its conclusion. Only speakers that i haven't heard in my list are the Axiom Audio M3ti's. Dave S has been kind enough to let me audition his M3ti's and PSB's in his house. Tomorrow's audition will probably be the clincher and i will be making my speaker decision finalized soon.
After tomorrow, only the receiver will stand in question.
Sorry for the long post, just wanted to vent out my experience, hopefully it will serve other people as a helpful tool because this forum has really helped me with my decision making.
Merry Christmas to all!!!