How do you all feel about MK Sound speakers?

[NanoGuidingStar]

Hello everyone,

I am located in East Asia, and both my current residence and the house I might purchase have limited space for a home theater, around 35 square meters.

I am interested in the MK Sound S150 speakers. Here is the product introduction:
https://mksound.com/products/150-series/s150/

I won't go into the complex history of the MK brand. What I want to know is whether the MK Sound S150 speakers I can currently purchase or maybe Ken Kriesel K700 Pro are outdated in terms of modern speaker design advancements.

The local dealer is offering me brand new S150 at around $800 each, which is quite affordable. However, I can only find frequency response measurements for the older version of the S150 online, which were produced decades ago in the USA (not the newer versions made in China). I can't find any measurement data for the newer models.

What are your thoughts on the new MK Sound S150? My primary purpose is for a small home theater setup for 1-2 viewers. I plan to purchase 7 MK Sound S150 speakers to form a home theater system, paired with SVS subwoofers.

I might use Dirac ART for calibration in the future, but the S150's low-frequency extension is limited. I'm not sure how effective they would be in an ART setup.

Thanks in advance

 

[Curvature]

Miller & Kreisel S150 Speaker Review

Miller & Kreisel S150 Review

www.erinsaudiocorner.com

What I want to know is whether the MK Sound S150 speakers I can currently purchase ... are outdated in terms of modern speaker design advancements

In short, yes. Although they do look cool.

 

[kemmler3D]

The performance of this speaker should be similar to the originals: https://audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/m-k-s-150thx-speaker-review.45586/


This is because the physical multi-driver arrangement dominates some aspects of performance, especially the verticals.

Unless you really need narrow vertical dispersion for some reason, or your top priority is low mid-range distortion, this speaker is not a great option at $800. I would say this is especially true because the horizontal radiation is asymmetrical, so you'll need to make some interesting decisions to get the surround to work.

In Asia in particular I'd suggest looking at Ascilab in this price range. They will have slightly more distortion in the upper midrange/ treble but way better everything else, at less than $800/ea. The m&k is a decent performing old-school design, the Ascilab c6b is an excellent performing fully modern design that will blow the m&k out of the water.

 

[NanoGuidingStar]

The performance of this speaker should be similar to the originals: https://audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/m-k-s-150thx-speaker-review.45586/

Miller & Kreisel S150 Speaker Review

Miller & Kreisel S150 Review

www.erinsaudiocorner.com

In short, yes. Although they do look cool.

I've read the reviews by amirm and Erin on the old S150 model (the most noticeable difference is the foam between the tweeters). Since MK became a Danish company, they have launched at least two improved versions of the S150. Ken Kriesel also released an improved version of the S150, with radial improvements on the waveguide of the tweeters.

I'm not sure how these small changes over the decades have impacted the S150 itself, as there are hardly any reviews of the new S150 model on European and American forums.

 

[Curvature]

I've read the reviews by amirm and Erin on the old S150 model (the most noticeable difference is the foam between the tweeters). Since MK became a Danish company, they have launched at least two improved versions of the S150. Ken Kriesel also released an improved version of the S150, with radial improvements on the waveguide of the tweeters.

I'm not sure how these small changes over the decades have impacted the S150 itself, as there are hardly any reviews of the new S150 model on European and American forums.

There are consequences to stacked drivers and asymmetric baffle arrangements. I can't think of a good reason to pick these given what else is out there.

Easily compare loudspeakers measurements

www.spinorama.org

 

[kemmler3D]

I've read the reviews by amirm and Erin on the old S150 model (the most noticeable difference is the foam between the tweeters). Since MK became a Danish company, they have launched at least two improved versions of the S150. Ken Kriesel also released an improved version of the S150, with radial improvements on the waveguide of the tweeters.

I'm not sure how these small changes over the decades have impacted the S150 itself, as there are hardly any reviews of the new S150 model on European and American forums.

Waveguide or no, there is only so much you can do with 3 tweeters at that spacing and woofers on the side like that. Truthfully the performance of the original is surprisingly good, (there are very strong reasons you don't normally see more than 1 tweeter per speaker) so I don't know how much improvement is possible given that design.

I think it's fair to expect somewhat improved performance vs. amir's measurements, but they will not be completely different, physics has not changed since the '90s.

They definitely look cool and you can still expect very nice distortion performance, but $800/speaker can get you close to SOTA In 2025 and I can't honestly recommend you go with a legacy design like that.

 

[NanoGuidingStar]

The performance of this speaker should be similar to the originals: https://audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/m-k-s-150thx-speaker-review.45586/


This is because the physical multi-driver arrangement dominates some aspects of performance, especially the verticals.

Unless you really need narrow vertical dispersion for some reason, or your top priority is low mid-range distortion, this speaker is not a great option at $800. I would say this is especially true because the horizontal radiation is asymmetrical, so you'll need to make some interesting decisions to get the surround to work.

In Asia in particular I'd suggest looking at Ascilab in this price range. They will have slightly more distortion in the upper midrange/ treble but way better everything else, at less than $800/ea. The m&k is a decent performing old-school design, the Ascilab c6b is an excellent performing fully modern design that will blow the m&k out of the water.

Regarding Ascilab, it is a rising star in Korea that has recently gained attention. Due to receiving excellent reviews, they have been inundated with orders and are struggling to fulfill them in the short term.

They are indeed on my purchase list, but I noticed that their speakers seem to be difficult to drive. Are they suitable for home theater applications? Especially their speakers using Purifi drivers, which have even lower sensitivity.

I was initially considering purchasing a pair of Ascilab bookshelf speakers for listening to stereo music and hadn't thought about using them for a home theater setup.

 

[kemmler3D]

I noticed that their speakers seem to be difficult to drive. Are they suitable for home theater applications? Especially their speakers using Purifi drivers, which have even lower sensitivity.

Depends on the power your AVR can provide and how loud you want to listen, I suppose. The Purifi based designs should be amazing but they're pretty expensive due to the high cost of the drivers. For home theater I think you will still be doing really well even with the F6B.

 

[Jumu]

Regarding Ascilab, it is a rising star in Korea that has recently gained attention. Due to receiving excellent reviews, they have been inundated with orders and are struggling to fulfill them in the short term.

They are indeed on my purchase list, but I noticed that their speakers seem to be difficult to drive. Are they suitable for home theater applications? Especially their speakers using Purifi drivers, which have even lower sensitivity.

I was initially considering purchasing a pair of Ascilab bookshelf speakers for listening to stereo music and hadn't thought about using them for a home theater setup.

Ascilab is really an awsome product. Price /performance king. I am going to buy for myself also.

But if your budget allows, take a look at Perlisten r4b. It has one of the lowest distortion numbers of bookshelves. good for HT usage. There are very few products which can be used for HT and music at the same time and Perliten is one of them. I have them too.

 

[NanoGuidingStar]

Ascilab is really an awsome product. Price /performance king. I am going to buy for myself also.

But if your budget allows, take a look at Perlisten r4b. It has one of the lowest distortion numbers of bookshelves. good for HT usage. There are very few products which can be used for HT and music at the same time and Perliten is one of them. I have them too.

The retail price of Perlisten r4b in my country is around 6350 USD per pair, which is insane.

 

[kemmler3D]

The retail price of Perlisten r4b in my country is around 6350 USD per pair, which is insane.

Oh, very... You can build an HT of all LS60s and still have money for subs...

 

[Jumu]

The retail price of Perlisten r4b in my country is around 6350 USD per pair, which is insane.

Oh..it really is expensive

Look for AsciLab then. Kef is also great choice, but I think in terms of price/performans Ascilab is better.
İf you cant buy Ascilab in your country, then new Kef Q concerto Meta is also a good option.