I refer to this thread for background : https://www.avforums.co.za/index.php/topic,97888.0.html
I've owned Mission, PSB, B&W, Klipsch and now M&K for cinema (95%) and music (5%). As my interest and financial capabilities grew I upgraded over the years. Most recently I had the B&W CM10 S2 system with 2x SVS PB-4000's on Marantz separates in a dedicated cinema room. They are good speakers and sounded great and I would still recommend them to anyone, but since I shifted more towards cinema, I wanted something designed for cinema, not all purpose. Ideally identical LCR's and capability to match the whole system with driver / output / timbre matched surrounds etc, also the LCR's behind a AT screen.
I owned the B&W CT7.3's, the Klipsch LCR6000's and settled on the M&K S150's. After having lived with them for a while I thought I'd give some feedback that could potentially help someone make a decision in the future.
Firstly, the above 3 speakers and the CM10's are all very good and at the point of diminishing returns regarding price to performance. If it's your passion and finances allow, by all means go wild, but the 3 sets I chose between do things differently, rather than one being out right better than the other - so I will try and summarize each in it's own way.
The B&W CT7.3's were long ago, but I remember them being incredible, 3 way design with 8" drivers and very good soundstage. I just couldn't live with the silk dome tweeter on those being just a little too dull. I like detail and compared to the CM10's they lacked quite a bit, but the CM10's were a little harsh when loud, so the search continued.
The Klipsch I had for 1 month, (they're for sale at E-Piphany for a massive discount by the way, and condition as new) quite recently. They were excellent in every way and would satisfy almost all. Very sensitive so super easy to drive. Sounds good at low volume, the waveguide / compression driver (CD) allows for this, but the CD / waveguide design also "projects" treble in a way that at times sounded a little "cupped hands" with dialogue. It was just occasionally, but still, the way vocals in general sounded and the treble was "projected" via the waveguides didn't suit my taste. I'd like to own some CD speakers at one point, but for cinema I like domes better.
Lastly I went for the M&K S150's. They were impossible to demo, as all the rest, but getting very expensive to buy and resell at a loss. Even the others cost me quite a bit, but I enjoyed the process. I see it as if I paid the money I lost, by reselling at a loss, for the experience of "playing" with the speakers and living with them for a while. In the end after A LOT of research and listening to a lower tier M&K system, I decided to pull the trigger... and I was not disappointed.
Many times they say things about speakers in reviews that you cannot always hear yourself when you own them, but what they say about these being accurate, neutral, flat, transparent etc is really true. They resolve enough detail to satisfy me, which is saying something, but they never get even a tad bit harsh. Very smooth and kind on the ears to reference, without sacrificing detail. I have them (well only the center) behind a 120" Elite Screen Acoustic Pro UHD Acoustic Transparent screen, and the speakers have literally disappeared sonically into the room. I never find my attention being focused towards a little harshness in a loud scene, or a little dullness where I feel I miss clarity, or some colouration or anything really, I just watch movie after movie and only realize the speakers are there when the lights come on. This is definitely the best for cinema out of everything I've owned and heard (apart from massive high end stuff) for my taste and I don't see myself upgrading soon. Like a 10 years type of not soon... I'll complete the system with M&K stuff and just enjoy it, which I have been doing. (Honestly even the super high end stuff wouldn't be my first choice currently - maybe with substantially more space my opinion would change)
The 3 identical LCR's are better than the compromised horizontal center setup for sure, especially when placed the same height, (and even more so behind an AT screen at the same height) but a well setup "traditional" horizontal center can sound very good, it all depends on taste and how "OCD" you are, but for those on the fence, identical LCR's at same / close to same height does give a more uniform and detailed front stage. One big wide and seamless field wrapping right around to your surrounds when set up correctly.
And I guess all of what I said depends on taste and what you like. Strange that M&K are not much better known and more main stream, they're more used in the pro space. If anyone were looking at M&K, even the lower models, I can tell you that they are no nonsense in terms of marketing claims and if you don't mind neutrality you'll likely be very happy with them. There is a reason why many movie studios use them, and the S150 was used to mix movie soundtracks like the new Star Wars etc, and the S150's are used to mix bluray soundtracks, they are professional grade monitors that just replays the intended sound that was engineered for the movie, nothing more, nothing less - and for my taste, this is just about as perfect as it gets and I'm very happy with the purchase. It's worth every cent and most highly recommended.
Hope that helps someone, feel free to ask questions and drop by for a listen if you're in the Stellenbosch area :thumbs:
I've owned Mission, PSB, B&W, Klipsch and now M&K for cinema (95%) and music (5%). As my interest and financial capabilities grew I upgraded over the years. Most recently I had the B&W CM10 S2 system with 2x SVS PB-4000's on Marantz separates in a dedicated cinema room. They are good speakers and sounded great and I would still recommend them to anyone, but since I shifted more towards cinema, I wanted something designed for cinema, not all purpose. Ideally identical LCR's and capability to match the whole system with driver / output / timbre matched surrounds etc, also the LCR's behind a AT screen.
I owned the B&W CT7.3's, the Klipsch LCR6000's and settled on the M&K S150's. After having lived with them for a while I thought I'd give some feedback that could potentially help someone make a decision in the future.
Firstly, the above 3 speakers and the CM10's are all very good and at the point of diminishing returns regarding price to performance. If it's your passion and finances allow, by all means go wild, but the 3 sets I chose between do things differently, rather than one being out right better than the other - so I will try and summarize each in it's own way.
The B&W CT7.3's were long ago, but I remember them being incredible, 3 way design with 8" drivers and very good soundstage. I just couldn't live with the silk dome tweeter on those being just a little too dull. I like detail and compared to the CM10's they lacked quite a bit, but the CM10's were a little harsh when loud, so the search continued.
The Klipsch I had for 1 month, (they're for sale at E-Piphany for a massive discount by the way, and condition as new) quite recently. They were excellent in every way and would satisfy almost all. Very sensitive so super easy to drive. Sounds good at low volume, the waveguide / compression driver (CD) allows for this, but the CD / waveguide design also "projects" treble in a way that at times sounded a little "cupped hands" with dialogue. It was just occasionally, but still, the way vocals in general sounded and the treble was "projected" via the waveguides didn't suit my taste. I'd like to own some CD speakers at one point, but for cinema I like domes better.
Lastly I went for the M&K S150's. They were impossible to demo, as all the rest, but getting very expensive to buy and resell at a loss. Even the others cost me quite a bit, but I enjoyed the process. I see it as if I paid the money I lost, by reselling at a loss, for the experience of "playing" with the speakers and living with them for a while. In the end after A LOT of research and listening to a lower tier M&K system, I decided to pull the trigger... and I was not disappointed.
Many times they say things about speakers in reviews that you cannot always hear yourself when you own them, but what they say about these being accurate, neutral, flat, transparent etc is really true. They resolve enough detail to satisfy me, which is saying something, but they never get even a tad bit harsh. Very smooth and kind on the ears to reference, without sacrificing detail. I have them (well only the center) behind a 120" Elite Screen Acoustic Pro UHD Acoustic Transparent screen, and the speakers have literally disappeared sonically into the room. I never find my attention being focused towards a little harshness in a loud scene, or a little dullness where I feel I miss clarity, or some colouration or anything really, I just watch movie after movie and only realize the speakers are there when the lights come on. This is definitely the best for cinema out of everything I've owned and heard (apart from massive high end stuff) for my taste and I don't see myself upgrading soon. Like a 10 years type of not soon... I'll complete the system with M&K stuff and just enjoy it, which I have been doing. (Honestly even the super high end stuff wouldn't be my first choice currently - maybe with substantially more space my opinion would change)
The 3 identical LCR's are better than the compromised horizontal center setup for sure, especially when placed the same height, (and even more so behind an AT screen at the same height) but a well setup "traditional" horizontal center can sound very good, it all depends on taste and how "OCD" you are, but for those on the fence, identical LCR's at same / close to same height does give a more uniform and detailed front stage. One big wide and seamless field wrapping right around to your surrounds when set up correctly.
And I guess all of what I said depends on taste and what you like. Strange that M&K are not much better known and more main stream, they're more used in the pro space. If anyone were looking at M&K, even the lower models, I can tell you that they are no nonsense in terms of marketing claims and if you don't mind neutrality you'll likely be very happy with them. There is a reason why many movie studios use them, and the S150 was used to mix movie soundtracks like the new Star Wars etc, and the S150's are used to mix bluray soundtracks, they are professional grade monitors that just replays the intended sound that was engineered for the movie, nothing more, nothing less - and for my taste, this is just about as perfect as it gets and I'm very happy with the purchase. It's worth every cent and most highly recommended.
Hope that helps someone, feel free to ask questions and drop by for a listen if you're in the Stellenbosch area :thumbs:
