M&K S-150THX Speaker Review

[Gammon]

I currently run these as RCL with other M&K as Atmos surround 11ch
Fronts are going through Emotiva A3 and and the others are going through the Denon X3800H

They are the originals and the foam wave guides have finally designated
How do I replace them or do I need to?

Thank you for any help or guidance

 

[NanoGuidingStar]

Whether it's the older version of the S150 tested by Amir or the newer version tested by Erin, the low-frequency response of these speakers doesn't seem very good. They even struggle to be properly crosseover at 80Hz. From what I can see, their low-frequency performance starts to noticeably drop off around 100Hz, let alone 80Hz. When measured in a real room using Dirac, it might be necessary to set the crossover for the S150 at around 100Hz, which would likely be a more ideal setup.

 

[dasdoing]

Whether it's the older version of the S150 tested by Amir or the newer version tested by Erin, the low-frequency response of these speakers doesn't seem very good. They even struggle to be properly crosseover at 80Hz. From what I can see, their low-frequency performance starts to noticeably drop off around 100Hz, let alone 80Hz. When measured in a real room using Dirac, it might be necessary to set the crossover for the S150 at around 100Hz, which would likely be a more ideal setup.

well, with the right low-pass on the sub, you could integrate tese without a high-pass

 

[MoreWatts]

M&K satellite speakers were always designed to be used with subwoofers, at every price point, and in both their home and pro audio offerings. The higher end models were designed with THX certification. All the satellites had a fairly steep roll-off below 80 Hz, which is the THX spec cross-over point. This allowed the small boxes to play quite loud for their size. (Roll over my avatar to see my profile pic to see what speaker made me an audiophile.)

 

[kiwifi]

It is not showing up anywhere else so hard to explain it.

Is possible that tweeters need to be refurbished with new ferrofluid?

 

[NanoGuidingStar]

M&K satellite speakers were always designed to be used with subwoofers, at every price point, and in both their home and pro audio offerings. The higher end models were designed with THX certification. All the satellites had a fairly steep roll-off below 80 Hz, which is the THX spec cross-over point. This allowed the small boxes to play quite loud for their size. (Roll over my avatar to see my profile pic to see what speaker made me an audiophile.)

What I'm worried about is that they might not be able to reach 80Hz effectively in room, which would require using a higher crossover point (such as 90Hz to 120Hz) for better integration. However, this could make the subwoofer more easily localized, especially since my room is quite small.

I currently have the opportunity to purchase brand-new MK S150 speakers (new version, not the older one) at around $600 each. For use in a small personal room setup (Atmos bed layer), is it worth buying them to replace my existing ELAC Debut Reference speakers?

 

[dasdoing]

What I'm worried about is that they might not be able to reach 80Hz effectively in room, which would require using a higher crossover point (such as 90Hz to 120Hz) for better integration. However, this could make the subwoofer more easily localized, especially since my room is quite small.

I currently have the opportunity to purchase brand-new MK S150 speakers (new version, not the older one) at around $600 each. For use in a small personal room setup (Atmos bed layer), is it worth buying them to replace my existing ELAC Debut Reference speakers?

it is definitly a 100Hz crossover:

to prevent localization you have two options: two subs in the front corners or one sub in the middle of the frontwall

 

[kiwifi]

What I'm worried about is that they might not be able to reach 80Hz effectively in room, which would require using a higher crossover point (such as 90Hz to 120Hz) for better integration. However, this could make the subwoofer more easily localized, especially since my room is quite small.

I currently have the opportunity to purchase brand-new MK S150 speakers (new version, not the older one) at around $600 each. For use in a small personal room setup (Atmos bed layer), is it worth buying them to replace my existing ELAC Debut Reference speakers?

The in room low end response will vary with placement (boundary gain)

I am using the (similar) M&K S100B for tops, surrounds and rear heights. The crossovers to the subs vary from 100Hz for the tops to 70Hz for the rear heights.

 

[Sam Ash]

Any measured comparisons between the S150 and S300? Possibly the IW500 too?

 

[GS430man]

M&K satellite speakers were always designed to be used with subwoofers, at every price point, and in both their home and pro audio offerings. The higher end models were designed with THX certification. All the satellites had a fairly steep roll-off below 80 Hz, which is the THX spec cross-over point. This allowed the small boxes to play quite loud for their size. (Roll over my avatar to see my profile pic to see what speaker made me an audiophile.)

My first serious speaker setup was 90's M&K S150 THX LCR, SS150 Tripole surrounds, and the MX350 THX subwoofer. Still have them, daily drivers!

 

[alanca3]

Any measured comparisons between the S150 and S300? Possibly the IW500 too?

Erin measured the S150 here and the IW150 here. They both look a bit worse to me.

 

[smithb]

Hello all. I picked up my M&K's in 2004. I have three S-150's up front, with four SS-200's as surround and back speakers, and an MX-350 for a sub. I also recently added two Klipsch Atmos speakers. I primarily watch movies, while also dabbling in multi-channel music. I have a dedicated media room with several acoustic panels for treating the room.

I have a question. I'm just setting up my new media room after moving to a new house with a new Denon X3800H receiver. I ran Audyssey and everything sounds pretty good. However, I was thinking of using the MultiEQ app. All the graphs here are beyond my understanding. What type of adjustments should I likely make within MultiEQ given the characteristics of these speakers? Should I implement the midrange compensation?

Thanks for your help.

 

[alanca3]

Hello all. I picked up my M&K's in 2004. I have three S-150's up front, with four SS-200's as surround and back speakers, and an MX-350 for a sub. I also recently added two Klipsch Atmos speakers. I primarily watch movies, while also dabbling in multi-channel music. I have a dedicated media room with several acoustic panels for treating the room.

I have a question. I'm just setting up my new media room after moving to a new house with a new Denon X3800H receiver. I ran Audyssey and everything sounds pretty good. However, I was thinking of using the MultiEQ app. All the graphs here are beyond my understanding. What type of adjustments should I likely make within MultiEQ given the characteristics of these speakers? Should I implement the midrange compensation?

Thanks for your help.

Do not use the midrange compensation dip. Many speakers have a dip in their power response near the crossover frequency, typically in the 2-3khz range. The compensation is designed to avoid correcting for this phenomenon, but in reality it ends up further coloring the sound. This is because the software is essentially baking a flawed response into the correction.


The best feature of the app is the ability to adjust the target curve. MultiEQ by default has a flat response with a sharp drop in the high frequencies. I would recommend changing the target response to a linear downward slope, and also playing with different targets to see what you prefer.


Here is an example of what I mean by a linear downward slope. You can experiment with the slope, as well as adding a gentle high/low shelf.

 

[alanca3]

Above is an example of both a high and low shelf.

Below is the default MultiEQ target. Notice how it is flat until about 5khz, where the response drops off. This can sound good for movies, but I don’t recommend it in general.

This default curve is similar (though not as extreme) as the infamous “X-Curve” shown below.

Without getting into too much detail, this graph shows how a flat speaker sounds in a large theatre (steady state). It is due to psychoacoustics, reverberation, and measurement methodology. Such a curve is inappropriate for your theatre, assuming it’s the size of a normal home theater. It would sound dull. But you can see the similarity between line A and the MultiEQ curve.


In summary, avoid the X curve and try to create a flat sloping line. Tailor the low and high end to taste.

 

[smithb]

@alanca3, Thank you very much for the advice and explanation. Very much appreciated. Really provides me with some interesting things to experiment with.

 

[smithb]

it is definitly a 100Hz crossover:

View attachment 469969

to prevent localization you have two options: two subs in the front corners or one sub in the middle of the frontwall

I've always had mine crossed over at 80Hz. While I get what the graph is representing, I tried 120Hz, 100Hz, and 80Hz this evening and the 80Hz still sounded best to my ears. My listening environment is 9.1 and I was listening to multi-channel music as a test case. The bass just seemed fuller. I'm guessing because the 100Hz to 80Hz sound was coming from all around instead of just the sub. Maybe the dynamics of the room, I don't know.

However, the graph above is just for the S-150. I also have four SS-200's as side and back speakers in the mix. There was a time in my old setup with a Marantz receiver that Audyssey set my S-150's to 80Hz and my SS-200's to 60Hz. I didn't figure it out right away until I listened to the Eagles Hotel California Blu-ray Audio that seemed bass heavy in the surrounds and the bass was definitely being overdriven in my side and rear speakers. That is when I discovered the 60Hz crossover settings. When I put it back to 80Hz and played it again all was fine. I only bring this up because maybe I should try the S-150's at 100Hz and the SS-200s at 80Hz. Maybe Audyssey was telling me something about the SS-200s.

When I bought these speakers back in 2004, I knew the SS-150s were the natural match for the S-150's and the SS-250's for the S-250. Somewhere in the middle was the odd duck SS-200. The SS-200s had the larger woofer and two speakers on each side vs. the one per side in the SS-150's. For movies I'm sure the SS-150's would have been fine, but for multi-channel music I thought the SS-200's would be a better match.

I wonder how the SS-200's would graph?

 

[alanca3]

I've always had mine crossed over at 80Hz. While I get what the graph is representing, I tried 120Hz, 100Hz, and 80Hz this evening and the 80Hz still sounded best to my ears. My listening environment is 9.1 and I was listening to multi-channel music as a test case. The bass just seemed fuller. I'm guessing because the 100Hz to 80Hz sound was coming from all around instead of just the sub. Maybe the dynamics of the room, I don't know.

However, the graph above is just for the S-150. I also have four SS-200's as side and back speakers in the mix. There was a time in my old setup with a Marantz receiver that Audyssey set my S-150's to 80Hz and my SS-200's to 60Hz. I didn't figure it out right away until I listened to the Eagles Hotel California Blu-ray Audio that seemed bass heavy in the surrounds and the bass was definitely being overdriven in my side and rear speakers. That is when I discovered the 60Hz crossover settings. When I put it back to 80Hz and played it again all was fine. I only bring this up because maybe I should try the S-150's at 100Hz and the SS-200s at 80Hz. Maybe Audyssey was telling me something about the SS-200s.

When I bought these speakers back in 2004, I knew the SS-150s were the natural match for the S-150's and the SS-250's for the S-250. Somewhere in the middle was the odd duck SS-200. The SS-200s had the larger woofer and two speakers on each side vs. the one per side in the SS-150's. For movies I'm sure the SS-150's would have been fine, but for multi-channel music I thought the SS-200's would be a better match.

I wonder how the SS-200's would graph?

Not familiar with the SS200, but the optimal setup is having all speakers crossed at the same frequency if possible, and thus allowing your subs to take care of everything below 80hz.

A step up would be using DSP and MultiSubOptimizer, or Dirac Art.

In any case, 80hz should be your starting point, and you should move it upwards if the speaker cannot handle such a crossover frequency.