M&K M90 or Arendal 1961 monitors advice req'd

bungieben

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Had the Kef's since May 2007 so maybe time for a change but i'm limited due to the size of the mantle piece for centre speaker.
Currently 5.2 system detached house drywall walls Marantz NR1509 AVR and no interest in 4k or above until the KRP 500m dies and not interested in more than 5.2 in this property - listening volume circa -15 but have known to go -6

Edging towards the m90's because that would sit on the mantle piece nicely as the 1961 centre monitor would stick out 10mm and i think that would bug me.

Don't listen to music much but do have it cranked up when i do and normal TV - Film sources.

Suppose i would need to get another AVR to power these at 4 ohm and the Arendal centre would stick out of the mantle piece by 10mm i think that would bug me also plasma needs to be raised a few mm but that's not a problem.

M&K options
3x m90's LCR ( left and right on the two outer edged corners by lamp and plant) would sound stage be to wide
2x 1961 monitors as surrounds horizontal as they are now on angled vesa mounts
2x svs sb1000 pro subwoofers or 1x sb2000 pro in front position

Arendal options
5x 1961 monitors
1x or 2x 1961 1s subwoofers

any thoughts, suggestions welcome
 
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The L to R to listener creates almost equilateral triangle so it should be quite good starting point at least.

If i were you i would think about the MP950 which has 100mm depth so should fit on the mantle and they would have better performance/sound quality with tweeter from the legendary S150 model. Benzi has three of those and tripoles for sale here:

Your slimline receiver 1509 can power 4ohm speakers. AVForum editor used 17000£ costing M&K S300 system with that amp up to -6db volume 😅, but the S300 have much higher sensitivity than the smaller models so it´s not same. Naturally you won´t hear the speakers at their best with such cheap receiver, but you will get started and don´t go past when things start to "harden up". I would say summer time when new models are introduced could be ideal time to buy 2021 model cheaper if you looking Denon/Marantz. I would also keep eye the new Onkyo models (RZ-50) when they arrive to UK with Dirac Live!


As for the subwoofers 2x 1961 1S would be strong option if you want sealed subs. Performance should be similar to SB2000 Pro with a stronger low end. There is also the "older" SVS PC2000 cylinders which doesn´t take ton of floorspace at 700£/each if you looking more rumble/earthquake in your room. These were 599£ week ago so perhaps some discount would be possible if you buy two.
 
M40T would fit and be clear of the door but i would not be able to angle them down without looking odd and would they not be to close to the one side wall on the firing side.
MP 950 would be good I could leave them free standing on the cabinets so could be moved around a fair bit with positioning.
Not sure about the MP950 centre I would like the M90 under the screen that would fill that area niceley.
I'll have a mooch around later for more info after work.

Ta
 
The M90’s will give a much cleaner look as well as being high performance. These are primarily designed to be placed around a TV. They are an easy load to drive and give a neutral detailed sound.

The MP950’s are higher output with the same drivers as used in the 150 series.

M&K have various options for surrounds. Tripoles or you can use the M50’s.

Rich@SeriouslyCinema
 
Does the M&K MP 950 used as a centre match the LCR 950 if two of those were used as front LR just weighing up my options.
Centre dialogue is the most important and would need to be significantly better that the Kef HTC 5001.2 as im using now.

Thanks
 
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Yes three matches LCR.

The MP950 is placed horizontally under the TV with the L&R MP950 vertical to the sides of the TV.

M&K because of their pro heritage and the 150 drivers as used in studios deliver crystal clear dialogue without colouration.
 
OK so looking like,,,

1x mp 950 Centre better than M90
2x LR 950 bookshelf @ 22.5d equilateral triangle to mlp
2x S150T compromised @ ceiling height but angled towards mlp and need to figure out mounting bracket.
2x pc 2000 subwoofers in positions they are now the rear can go anywhere behind the sofa area or 1x pc 2000 Pro in front position.

Thoughts
 
The MP950 is a totally different speaker to the M90. Far higher performance all round.

The in room LCR950 are matched to the MP950.

The S150T tripoles will work well installed this way. Their drivers are identical to the 950 series.

If you already have the subs then these will work. If not we would recommend the MK V12+ subwoofers as tighter bass.

We also supply SVS.

Best wishes

Rich@SeriouslyCinema
 
@bungieben - still have speakers available. If you are anywhere near Sale/Manchester - happy for you to have a demo.
IMG_20210808_152116__01.jpg


I have M40Ts about 3ft above MLP in a bay window recess. Works well in surrounding the MLP etc - ideally would be a little lower. I'm using with MP300 and they still do a good job.

Still have wall brackets in place thus could set MP950 back on wall as per photo above. I also have a SVS SB3000 so you could see how well they'd work together - should be similar to PC2000 Pro (well close enough as it is sealed).

The angled brackets for S150T is the K&M 24471 - this brings the speaker a further 100mm out from wall which is why I prefer the M40T in my space - but this might not be an issue for you.
 
Thanks for all your advice, I ended up with,,,

3x M&K MP950's from Benzi (Sitting on rubber mats with L R tweeters on the outside)
2x M&K M40T (white) angled down to MLP
2x PC-2000 subs (Should have seen the wife's face)
Yamaha RX-A6A

I had no time yet to setup and tweak after cutting 2" off the hard wood mantle piece by hand, re painting, sorting angled brackets for the tripoles and really windy so just done a single calibration and stuck a film on. Far far far better than before so immersive.
Good news is nothing stood out sound wise with the placements and the room has swallowed up the subs.
 

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id demo a pair of arendals vs the MKs.

every review I'm seeing of the Arendals pitting them against the competition recently, Arendal are winning.

Their form factor is insane and the range of speakers and upgrade paths with full timbre matching is something pretty awesome. I love my 1961 atmos speakers which I assume will be very very similar to the monitors.

If you're crossing over high , i think they're hard to beat.
 

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