Thinking of selling my M&K 850's - replace with what?

NICMAC

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As per title,
I am contemplating selling my beloved 850's which I still love and hold high regard, they are mainly used for movies, tv & gaming and they still bring a grin to my face when watching a film with the amp cranked up.

I've got the urge to try something different, a traditional hifi speaker set up possibly like the monitor audio rx line maybe, question is am i going to be dissapointed with this kind of move?

Open to suggestions especially from anyone especially those who have done a similar move from dediacted movie monitors to a more hifi oriented speaker set up....

Will probably still keep my M&K surrouns though, just change the front 3....
 
Do you have a price point in mind? Or are you just interested to see what you would need to look at to replace them?

Having been a long time MK user, I've been looking at other brands to replace the MK range with. If I was to change, I'd be looking at either the ATC SCM range, or KEF.

I personally find that the KEF is the easiest transition from MK. In a recent 2 channel comparison, I found the KEF Reference 203/2 and 205/2 stood out among equivalently priced competiton as far as mid and treble punch is concerned - listen to any tight snare drums and the KEF's just seem to have far more snap to them. I'm assuming this is partly down to the UniQ driver, which I find lends itself extremely well to movie soundtracks.

The ATC's, being a studio monitor company, also perform well with movies, but I find them easier going than the KEF's, which wasn't what I expected from them - I expected something a little more 'forward'. They do need more driving than the KEF's though, so you need a fair amount of current on tap to hear them at their best in an AV system.

I'm assuming you don't want to go too mad - the XQ range would be worth looking at - the XQ10 or XQ20's.

As good as the MA RX's are, they'll be way too smooth for you after being used to the MK's.
 
Interesting thanks David,

To be honest I didn't want to spend that kind of money but I know what you mean by attacking speakers, have not heard the monitor audios so I didn't realise they were that smooth sounding.

I know I'm not going to get anyway near the same kind of quality without spending quite a bit of money but I just don't have it at the moment and the 850's will have to part fund my next purchase.

Have Mordaunt Short got any range at the moment that is reasonable cost wise that might get close? I always remember them to be attacking sounding speakers with plenty of punch, that was a few years ago mind........


Do you have a price point in mind? Or are you just interested to see what you would need to look at to replace them?

Having been a long time MK user, I've been looking at other brands to replace the MK range with. If I was to change, I'd be looking at either the ATC SCM range, or KEF.

I personally find that the KEF is the easiest transition from MK. In a recent 2 channel comparison, I found the KEF Reference 203/2 and 205/2 stood out among equivalently priced competiton as far as mid and treble punch is concerned - listen to any tight snare drums and the KEF's just seem to have far more snap to them. I'm assuming this is partly down to the UniQ driver, which I find lends itself extremely well to movie soundtracks.

The ATC's, being a studio monitor company, also perform well with movies, but I find them easier going than the KEF's, which wasn't what I expected from them - I expected something a little more 'forward'. They do need more driving than the KEF's though, so you need a fair amount of current on tap to hear them at their best in an AV system.

I'm assuming you don't want to go too mad - the XQ range would be worth looking at - the XQ10 or XQ20's.

As good as the MA RX's are, they'll be way too smooth for you after being used to the MK's.
 
I am contemplating selling my beloved 850's which I still love and hold high regard, they are mainly used for movies, tv & gaming and they still bring a grin to my face when watching a film with the amp cranked up.
This poses a problem as for the uses you specify, you already have one of the best speakers of it's type. The newer 950 builds on the formula adding an extra level of refinement, but will obviously not be a no cost upgrade.

I've got the urge to try something different, a traditional hifi speaker set up possibly like the monitor audio rx line maybe, question is am i going to be dissapointed with this kind of move?
This very much depends on what you do like about the 850s and what you don't. The MKs favour a slightly hyper-real dynamic attack and emphasis of certain movie effects at the expense of tonal neutrality. Hi-fi speakers will tend to lean the other way. That said, in both cases this tends to be more a limitation of budget meaning the manufacturers have to cut their cloth within the limits of making an affordable product and decide which way they want to lean.

Open to suggestions especially from anyone especially those who have done a similar move from dediacted movie monitors to a more hifi oriented speaker set up....
Here's a thread from two people, one who wanted a hi-fi speaker that cut it with movies and another who had movie speakers but wanted a bit more music. They now both use the same speakers.

Will probably still keep my M&K surrouns though, just change the front 3....
Much the same as the two people above then. I have yet to hear anything that comes close to MK tripole surrounds.

FWIW, I reckon you'd be better off looking at what you could afford if you replaced the Velodyne.;)

Russell
 
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First of all, thank you very much Mr Williams, your vast knowledge is always welcome :thumbsup:

This poses a problem as for the uses you specify, you already have one of the best speakers of it's type. The newer 950 builds on the formula adding an extra level of refinement, but will obviously not be a no cost upgrade.

I have may problems Will! :eek: I'm kind of getting back into 2 channel music but 5.1 movie litening will always be my first love

This very much depends on what you do like about the 850s and what you don't. The MKs favour a slightly hyper-real dynamic attack and emphasis of certain movie effects at the expense of tonal neutrality. Hi-fi speakers will tend to lean the other way. That said, in both cases this tends to be more a limitation of budget meaning the manufacturers have to cut their cloth within the limits of making an affordable product and decide which way they want to lean.

I love the 850s for their dynamic attack and to be honest i've never found them forward or fatiguing in movie or tv listening, I remember the original demo I had with them a few years ago, I thought the 5.1 set up i heard was good which was made up of some floor standers and uniform centre speaker (can't remember the brand) until I heard the 850s with the same film passages :eek: shocked was putting it mildly!!! I understand that Hifi speakers are cut from a different cloth but am thinking that can in run a reasonably priced compamise where I still get that same punch and visceral attack but with good 2 channel music playback (all this within the realms of reasonable cost)

Here's a thread from two people, one who wanted a hi-fi speaker that cut it with movies and another who had movie speakers but wanted a bit more music. They now both use the same speakers.


Will check this out thanks :)

Much the same as the two people above then. I have yet to hear anything that comes close to MK tripole surrounds.

Hard to describe to until you've heard them for yourself......

FWIW, I reckon you'd be better off looking at what you could afford if you replaced the Velodyne.;)

I'm intrigued, please explain.......

Russell
 
Sorry, my multi quote skills are not up to much!

This poses a problem as for the uses you specify, you already have one of the best speakers of it's type. The newer 950 builds on the formula adding an extra level of refinement, but will obviously not be a no cost upgrade.

This very much depends on what you do like about the 850s and what you don't. The MKs favour a slightly hyper-real dynamic attack and emphasis of certain movie effects at the expense of tonal neutrality. Hi-fi speakers will tend to lean the other way. That said, in both cases this tends to be more a limitation of budget meaning the manufacturers have to cut their cloth within the limits of making an affordable product and decide which way they want to lean.

Here's a thread from two people, one who wanted a hi-fi speaker that cut it with movies and another who had movie speakers but wanted a bit more music. They now both use the same speakers.

Much the same as the two people above then. I have yet to hear anything that comes close to MK tripole surrounds.

FWIW, I reckon you'd be better off looking at what you could afford if you replaced the Velodyne.;)

Russell
 
I think Russ is saying that you could sell the Velo for a good sum and then use some of the money here to help towards changing the speakers. I have to say though, from where you are you need to be careful that you don't pay good money for a downgrade. If you love the 850s, and especially for movies and games which is the majority of their use, why even consider changing them?

The only speaker I can think of which won't break the bank are the XTZ 99.25s - I've not checked Russ's link but I assume the two people he mentions are ones who changed from M&K to XTZ (and both are very happy). Unfortunately I can't comment on how good they are as I haven't heard them, but it might be worth tracking down a friendly forum member to see if you can have a listen.
 
All I can say about the XTZ's, is that they are certainly a quality sounding speaker, and especially so for the money.
 
Thanks Smurfin,

Have looked at the XTZ's before, only online mind, never seen them in the flesh or heard them, they could be quite tempting but most of them are quite deep and my centre speaker needs to sit on top of a solid marble mantle which wouldn't be deep enough to hold the xtz's, the 850's aren't that deep as you know so suit my purpose perfectly. Really do like those XTZ's though and i trust the likes of Angel Eyes when he says they are special!

SELL THE VELLO!!!!!!! :eek: :eek: :eek:
Even the other half knows that the D12 is the first love of my life! I would be interested to hear Russ's thoughts on this though on where he would suggest i go to in terms of replacing it :suicide:


I think Russ is saying that you could sell the Velo for a good sum and then use some of the money here to help towards changing the speakers. I have to say though, from where you are you need to be careful that you don't pay good money for a downgrade. If you love the 850s, and especially for movies and games which is the majority of their use, why even consider changing them?

The only speaker I can think of which won't break the bank are the XTZ 99.25s - I've not checked Russ's link but I assume the two people he mentions are ones who changed from M&K to XTZ (and both are very happy). Unfortunately I can't comment on how good they are as I haven't heard them, but it might be worth tracking down a friendly forum member to see if you can have a listen.
 
Thanks,
Which model did you hear?

All I can say about the XTZ's, is that they are certainly a quality sounding speaker, and especially so for the money.
 
The 99.25 bookshelves. One thing I did notice about them was the detail from the ribbon tweeters (Ive always been impressed with ribbons), and the bass response from them was excellent for a bookshelf speaker, and more impressive than that of a pair of MA RX2's I heard recently. It has been said that the XTZ 99 range can hold its own against the likes of the MA gold series, and what I heard left me with little doubt as to the claims, they are indeed a cracking speaker for the money. In sealed mode they will act more like the MK's too, and having a bit of play with their setup only adds to an already very good little speaker.

FYI, I'm eyeing up the larger floorstanders myself based on that demo, when the time is right and funds allow.
 
Thanks Moonfly,
They do seem to strike a balance of detail & attack with hifi finesse and i agree that they are fantastic value, my main issue is when it comes down to eplacing my centre which at the moment fits exactly where i want it, anything much deeper just will not fit.

The 99.25 bookshelves. One thing I did notice about them was the detail from the ribbon tweeters (Ive always been impressed with ribbons), and the bass response from them was excellent for a bookshelf speaker, and more impressive than that of a pair of MA RX2's I heard recently. It has been said that the XTZ 99 range can hold its own against the likes of the MA gold series, and what I heard left me with little doubt as to the claims, they are indeed a cracking speaker for the money. In sealed mode they will act more like the MK's too, and having a bit of play with their setup only adds to an already very good little speaker.

FYI, I'm eyeing up the larger floorstanders myself based on that demo, when the time is right and funds allow.
 
SELL THE VELLO!!!!!!! :eek: :eek: :eek:
Even the other half knows that the D12 is the first love of my life! I would be interested to hear Russ's thoughts on this though on where he would suggest i go to in terms of replacing it :suicide:
Don't get me wrong, it's still a good compact sub, but if there's half a sniff of getting something bigger in the room, then it can be significantly out-performed in the lower reaches. Whilst the Servo ensures a very clean bass above 40Hz, it also sacrifices output below this frequency at the altar of distortion control.

The problem is that plenty of drivers now exist that can do similarly clean upper bass and offer significantly more lower bass output without the distortion figures going through the roof. Okay, you have to factor the inbuilt EQ of the Velo, but there a lot of standalone alternatives available now and some of them are a significant technological advance in the way they handle the room's characteristics.

So my point was, you could change the speakers for a small incremental advance and anyway, your space restrictions broadly limit you to what you have anyway; Or, you could change the sub and really add the extra dimension of virtually a whole missing bottom octave.

As to whether this change is worth it depends on how large you can go and/or what your budgetary restrictions are.

Russell
 
Don't get me wrong, it's still a good compact sub, but if there's half a sniff of getting something bigger in the room, then it can be significantly out-performed in the lower reaches. Whilst the Servo ensures a very clean bass above 40Hz, it also sacrifices output below this frequency at the altar of distortion control.

The problem is that plenty of drivers now exist that can do similarly clean upper bass and offer significantly more lower bass output without the distortion figures going through the roof. Okay, you have to factor the inbuilt EQ of the Velo, but there a lot of standalone alternatives available now and some of them are a significant technological advance in the way they handle the room's characteristics.

So my point was, you could change the speakers for a small incremental advance and anyway, your space restrictions broadly limit you to what you have anyway; Or, you could change the sub and really add the extra dimension of virtually a whole missing bottom octave.

As to whether this change is worth it depends on how large you can go and/or what your budgetary restrictions are.

Russell

Thanks for your reply Russell

I can accomadate a bigger sub, what did you have in mind??? I would also have to factor in what the vello would fetch me if I sold it.... like you say the digital drive's do wonderful clean upper bass that has always impressed.
 
Thanks for your reply Russell

I can accomadate a bigger sub, what did you have in mind??? I would also have to factor in what the vello would fetch me if I sold it.... like you say the digital drive's do wonderful clean upper bass that has always impressed.

Can you build one? Its one consideration that needs ruling out from the off if its not possible. If it is, then you can reap the rewards a plenty. Also, if you are thinking more along the lines of swapping the sub rather than the speakers (and I agree with Russell you will probably gain more by doing so), then I think a thread in the sub area will be a good idea too :smashin:
 

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