MJ Pro 100 - Would you recommend?

willmc23

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my local dealer is selling this sub for 500 euros (half original price), I have listened to it and like it a lot, but stopped myself listening to anything more expensive since I want to upgrade other parts of my system.

The only major drawback from this unit for me is the size.
Does anyone have any opinions on a smaller, modern unit, for less than 500 euros?

I shall be using the sub more for movies than music as my MA S6's in my small room give adequate bass. So am looking for omething that packs a punch.
 
Take a look at the BK XLS200. I was about to buy a secondhand MJ100 for £260 on ebay on the strength of having a MJ50 for a couple of weeks and loving it. For £20 extra I got the XLS. Its a tiny monster - theres lots to read on this forum about it and in my opinion the praise is entirely deserved.
 
willmc23,

I owned an MJ Pro 100 for a while. The reason I say "a while" was due to it's size. Before owning a Pro 100 I had the little Pro 50. That was great for my HiFi use but I wanted more headroom over the Pro 50.

The Pro 100 had more power but an identical driver type to the Pro 50, the sound was predicatably very much the same only louder. I chose to try a different manufacturer for my 3rd subwoofer.

The Pro 100 wasn't a sub I really tried with Movies, which is what you're after. I can say though, that if you crank it up it performs quite well, if you pop your head near the bottom (it being downward firing and all) you can feel the air moving.

I have received a BK Elctronics XLS200 in the last 2 days, which "binbag" recommends. I have not had long enough to play with it enough yet but like it so far. It is an IDEAL size for my HiFi area - a bedroom and so great for small area's. This is not to suggest it cannot cope in a larger space.

It looks very smart in silver and I can take the grill off the front and see the chunky 10" peerless driver, if I feel like it. I intend to leave it on though (for protection).

I chose this model after a fair bit of reseach. I nearly went for a second hand REL Q200 (well Q201e as it was the slightly modified version of the Q200 - i.e. it has a grill!). Reading through this forum suggests that the BK XLS200 can be considered roughly equal in performance to the REL, apparently. Not actually heard the REL myself so I cannot confirm from first hand experience. Anyway...

the BK sub is pleasing me with music and it's still being very much run-in. I am not running it past 50% yet on the gain/volume (low level connection). Not thraping my amp either, so it's still playing fairly quietly until I turn up both my amp (increasing the signal it gets) and the sub gain.

I would search this forum for the BK XLS200, as it seems users here have found it performs well with A/V use in surround sound as well as with HiFi. This subwoofer forum has the BK elec advert which links to there site, go check it out!

You need to really consider if you can happily accomodate the larger Pro 100. Make a mock up in cardboard or at least tape out the floor area it would take up before purchasing. I would have probably kept the Pro 100 if it didn't dominate my room. It IS longer/wider than 2 MJ Pro 50's stuck together btw.

Bear in mind that even this larger MJ acoustic offering isn't by any means vast compared with say, a BK Monolith or SVS monster and so on. If you can go big, it'll probably prove better for movies. If you can go big, go bigger than the Pro 100. I say this because if you are directly comparing the MJ Pro 100 vs a smaller sub, remember that the 100 isn't that powerful.

It'll dominate your room more and not necessarily provide much, if any (?) of a performance advantage over a smaller sub.

The XLS200 is very compact and uses a 275 Watt RMS amplifier panel. The Pro 100 uses a 100W version but has twin 8" driver vs XLS having one 10". Remember though, that amplifier power is NOT a definitive answer. Suffice to say, more power is not the only important thing as different subs seem to utilise the power differently. Depends on cabinet volume, driver size, dynamic headroom, etc. A smaller sub may need more power to get some air moving in the room, espeicially if an infinite baffle design (i.e. no ports).

Don't forget to imagine the sub in 3-D as AV gear in the shops always seems smaller! If I were you, in effect I WAS in your situation, go for a smaller sub like the BK XLS200. I also considered having a downward firing (as with the MJ's I had before) VS Front-Firing. It seems in the case of BK at least they perform to the same standards. Howeer in my bedroom, with wooden floor boards, I feel I can better suit the Front Firing sub to the room.

This may cause some debate, as you can put subs on a base like granite or something and reduce vibrations THROUGH the floor instead of pressurising the room with the sub driving 'acoustic air' as it's suposed to (if there is such a thing?)

Good luck :) ~ mrdark8
 
thanks very much for a detailed and considered response.
Having had a play around with it, what now are your thoughts on the BKXLS200 ?

I must say that the number of positive comments concerning this unit make me almost suspicious about it. This is perhaps because I am a newbie to the board and have not had time to assess the plausibility of all the pro-MK posts/ posters yet.

If you get the chance, please do let me know your thoughts, since it seems very competitive in all departments - on paper at least!
 
willmc23 said:
I must say that the number of positive comments concerning this unit make me almost suspicious about it. This is perhaps because I am a newbie to the board and have not had time to assess the plausibility of all the pro-BK posts/ posters yet.

It is right to be careful of reviews and opinions but in this case the sheer weight of numbers must count for something and if you are in the market for a compact budget subwoofer it would be difficult to better the performance on offer from the XLS200 without spending considerably more.
 
"Having had a play around with it, what now are your thoughts on the BKXLS200 ?"


Hi. Having had it for 10 days ish, he's an update ...

Firstly, as Ian said, suspicion is a good idea when reading reviews. It's a little like examining a historical document. Why was it written, who by, what links did the reviewer have to the item/topic, did they exeprience first hand, has it been editted etc.

I am in no way attached to BK Electronics and would gain nothing financially in recommending the BK XLS200. I might feel happy that I had steered someone parting with their hard earned money in the right direction though.

As I said in earlier post, if I were you I'd buy the XLS200 over the Pro100, but this is only my humble opinion based on experience with both units. If you like the Pro100, (which you can demo) and have the space, it might suit you better. Again, if you can go bigger, I'd go to a different sub to Pro100.

Okay ... the XLS200 is growing more on me.

I have it on all the time, listening to music (atmospheric 'new age' and rock - 'goth'/'symphonic metal) and only turn off at night.

It adds to the music, which is why if my HIFI is on, so is the BK. I find more 'weight' to tracks and greater depth to music with the atmospheric stuff. I don't just mean bass. The bass doesn't overhang (i.e. it's 'fast'). I have it on 50% gain at the moment and HIFI Amp volume on a moderate level. Not too loud - this may mean I need to turn the sub up more than if the BK was controlled by an AV Amp instead.

I find the performance of the 10" driver better than previous 8" MJ Acoustic drivers. I find it's 'cleaner' in the delivery of bass. There is less distortion and at lower volumes than the 50% I have it set at, it plays more softly and integrates well into my HIFI. I feel I am hearing less distortion and the sub is playing more accurately, hence what I mean by "softly". My brother was over last weekend and I played music to him which he'd heard before with the Pro 50. He agreed that it was playing more accurately. He was used to hearing a sub play more distorted bass. The XLS200 plays bass if it's there and stops when it's not. I think that the filter for frequency cut off it more accurate than the MJ ones, but this is more of an idea of mine. I have it set quite low, probably about 56Hz to cut-off at. I had it near the 40Hz minimum for a while, which might be why I made reference to softer sounds at low volumes. If it's only playing low bass and the imput signal isn't that high, then it will be playing in a more relaxed way. Make sense?

The bass can be better felt now than heard and isn't intrusive with music, which I like. I am very happy with my purchase, it's great value for money and should not be considered simply as a decent sub at low cost. As Ian indicates, buying directly from manufacturer avoids all the middlemen cost of profit mark-up. It's a more expensive sub (performance wise) at a reasonable cost.

I can only offer my experience from my set-up. For movies, I haven't used it. However I do have my HIFI linked to my set-top digitial TV box and watching some films through that were pleasing. The sub took on a different character, which might be why other forum members have described it as being good for music and movies.

One last point to mention. Part of my criteria for a new sub was it's ability with music. I was looking for something to be able to integrate with my speakers and be a pleasure to have on all the time. If you are only really want a sub for movies, you might not be so interested in whether or not a sub can be subtle. That opens up your options for subs as many can create the drama and excitement needed for surround sound application but be less suitable with music alone. Might be better looking second hand or even at two smaller subs?

~mrdark8.
 

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