M&K S-150THX Speaker Review

[Chilli]

The general benefits of studio sound design aside, this was still the era of "matrix" surround encoded into stereo tracks (a la Dolby Surround) with mediocre channel separation. Speakers with narrow directivity would definitely help enhance channel separation.

True. Back then, I was going to splash out on a lexicon processor or a big Sony ldc proj. Instead, we waited a little and got a yamaha dsp a1. The new era of 5.1! The only thing still standing from back then is our mirage sub.

 

[paulgyro]

My Dad has these as his LCR with good Monolith THX subs. They sound great! They also have a custom EQ curve of my making.

Also the vertical response is no surprise due to THX requirements.

If I recall correctly Dr Floyd Toole clearly indicates that vertical dispersion importance is an area that is not clear.

 

[Maginness]

Nice! I have a LCR set of these. Used them paired with 2 MX200 subs and MnK rears. Boxed up for now waiting on the next time I set up a home theater.

When Covid hit the upgrade bug bit me and a new 2.2 system crept in.

 

[amirm]

If I recall correctly Dr Floyd Toole clearly indicates that vertical dispersion importance is an area that is not clear.

It is true that impact of vertical reflections is not very clear. The issue here is different though. The angle of optimal response for *on axis* has no leeway. In our theater we have recliners so you can never know of the direct ear location of a listener. Speakers like this simply won't work for many.

 

[DualTriode]

It is true that impact of vertical reflections is not very clear. The issue here is different though. The angle of optimal response for *on axis* has no leeway. In our theater we have recliners so you can never know of the direct ear location of a listener. Speakers like this simply won't work for many.

Hello,

We are speaking of vertical things. I do not believe that it is just vertical reflections that is important.

There are drivers lined up vertically in a column that are inches or centimeters separated from one another. Radiation patterns from the vertically separated drivers add and substract from each other in a lobbing pattern with negative nulls in-between.

@amirm,

Hopefully the the speaker coverage patterns cover your theater recliner seats.

Thanks DT

 

[3ll3d00d]

As you see, it doesn't align with the woofer. So the other tweeters must be driven differently.

As far as I recall the top and bottom tweeters plays from 1300Hz or so and then others come in around 4kHz. Looks like that memory agrees with your measurement.

 

[Thomas_A]

Those drivers sure look Peerless in "1994". A glimpse from my surround speakers.

http://nedlab.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Peerless-832591-woofer.pdf

 

[norman bates]

I remember reading something too about only 1 tweet running the higher stuff.

1.3khz is a rough crossover point for those tweets I imagine, but running 2 (or more) lessens the load.

 

[DualTriode]

Those speakers sure look like they were designed to beam

 

[norman bates]

When I ran 4 x tg9 (84mm frames touching) drivers in a vertical line (full range drivers), at 10', the vertical listening area was about a foot tall.
At 15' you could be about a foot above it without losing highs.............

I'd read for horns in home, many prefer a 90x40 dispersion pattern.

 

[SegaCD]

Those drivers sure look Peerless in "1994". A glimpse from my surround speakers.

According to Mr. Kreisel himself, they are "Danish-made Z50 custom designed drivers" and the same as used in the S-1C and other THX-certified M&K speakers from the period. Not sure if that guarantees Peerless. He mentioned that most of the drivers in earlier speakers were Peerless with some of the earliest sub & satellite combos using USA-made Peerless instead of ones made in Denmark.

 

[kiwifi]

I have the (non-THX) M&K S-100B, which is very similar to the S-150, as back and L/R surrounds. They are wall mounted and angled down towards the MLP. The homemade wall bracket is made from an 8 inch gate hinge.

 

[norman bates]

I like your diffusors.

 

[kiwifi]

I like your diffusors.

Thanks! Another DIY item.
5 mm MDF plus hot glue!

 

[norman bates]

Mine are ugly but work well....

 

[Muddywaters]

Planning on using my S-100B’s to start with across the front once we get back into our home these 150’s on sides

 

[hyfynut]

The idea of making a (kind of) waveguide just by sticking foam to the baffle is clever IMHO, I've seen similar stuff with felt somewhere. Back in the 90s these were very good cinema speakers, even today they aren't bad, really.

About M&K - M&K Sound® | Official Site

At M&K Sound, we design loudspeakers to sound inherently right, to be universal tools, equally adept with any style of music or movie soundtrack, in stereo or surround.

mksound.com

Would that be a wave good if it's merely intended to keep the tweeters from interacting with each other/the baffle? Just absorbing fine high frequency energy?

 

[respice finem]

Would that be a wave good if it's merely intended to keep the tweeters from interacting with each other/the baffle? Just absorbing fine high frequency energy?

In my understanding of the definition, it is: "A waveguide is a structure that guides waves, such as sound (acoustic waveguide), light (optical waveguide), radio waves (radio-frequency waveguide) or other electromagnetic waves, with minimal loss of energy by restricting the transmission of energy to one direction."
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waveguide

 

[Ellebob]

While that definition is correct, in speakers a waveguide is usually used to match dispersion between drivers at the crossover frequency.

 

[Frank Dernie]

I went to a demo at a high end home theatre dealer a while ago and they used these. It was a massive room-corrected super expensive theatre.

The system sounded mediocre at best on music, which I use far more than watching films, one of the reasons I didn’t bother with a proper home theatre but stuck with a stereo that sounded great to me on music and added centre and rear speakers for the odd occasion I put a film on.

He had a stereo Steinway model-D in a different room and it was spectacular at a similar price to the home theatre.