M&K Sound 950 házimozi hangfalszett teszt

2016. március 10., csütörtök, 16:10

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A few months ago the S300 series of M&K Sound performed brilliantly in our test, but we are well aware that not everyone needs such power, so this time we also checked out their smallest assembly, the 950.

M&K Sound is very proud of its past and of the role it played in the birth and proliferation of subwoofers, plus of course the fact that over the decades its products have become the everyday equipment of several large sound studios, such as Skywalker Sound. We, simple home cinema fans do not necessarily earn as much as George Lucas did from Star Wars; so perhaps we do not wish to spend as much on sound technology for a home cinema as he would. Precisely for this reason we were curious to listen to the smaller 950 family of M&K Sound, which is offered at a fraction of the price of the large 300 units, with a quality comparable to those, in roughly half the size.

Energy bomb

The basic block of the 950 series, the LCR950 is a true compact gem. It weighs nearly 7 kg, and just tapping it one can feel that it is truly robust. Of course, it has to be, on account of its closed design, due to which it needs to handle the energy of the loudspeakers without a "ventilating" opening. The LCR950 is 40 cm high, 18 cm wide, and 22 cm deep, which means that based on its size we could classify it as a standmounter loudspeaker.

Its kinship with the larger M&K 300 series is evident, even though due to its smaller size its speaker configuration is different. Specifically, instead of the three domes so typical of M&K Sound it uses only one, which is situated above the two central bass/mid speakers, whose possible impact we will return to later, as it is worth mentioning. Nonetheless, the similarity is undeniable. The robust structure, metal baskets, the front mounting frame of the dome and, of course, the silk coat are all characteristic of the manufacturer.

At first glimpse, the dome is a standard 1" dome, but beneath its surface it hides the technical solutions required to handle its high performance, such as the large and dampened air chamber behind the membrane. The ability to withstand higher output is also attested by the vents of the voice coil and the copper-coated aluminium coil, which is lighter than copper wires.

The manufacturer does not reveal much about the technical solutions used in the bass/mid speakers beyond the fact that they use 13 cm polypropylene membranes - although it could be enough to know just that they are derived from the speakers used in larger models. Still, leafing through the catalogue we were a little surprised that the manufacturer talks more even about the magnetically secured metal mesh grille than about the loudspeakers.

Naturally, in light of the THX Select2 classification of the closed box we have no doubt that the mid/bass speakers, too, represent respectable quality. Besides, looking through the brochure it is noticeable that M&K Sound mentions the quality of assembly, phase accuracy, and the carefully designed crossover the most. Even the THX classification is only mentioned in passing - what's more, even its logo is packaged separately, together with the accessories, instead of sticking it onto the loudspeaker, as if that would be some sort of questionable bragging, which they regard as optional. So, if the owner feels like it, they can attach the THX label, while if they are purists, they can leave it in the box. Each according to their taste.

In the M&K Sound 950 series we do not find smaller and larger models - the previous floorstanding speaker was omitted from the range. As can also be seen from its name, the LCR950 can be used as both front and centre speaker. This guarantees meeting the basic requirement that individual speakers should sound the same, as much as possible.

In the Home Movie room there are 3 LCR950 speakers behind the screen. Why behind? The reasons for this are obvious. If we would like to project a large picture, but lack the opportunity to move the home cinema into a vast room, then we do not lose half a meter or even more from both sides of the screen due to the speakers. The solution is to use a sound permeable projection screen and loudspeakers that fit comfortably behind it. Another huge advantage that results from this is that the centre speaker can be placed exactly where it was meant to be: in the very centre of the image, at the same height as the front speakers. This produces a more uniform sound, just like in large cinemas, or even better.

What should we use for surround sound?

According to both the "rulebook" and experience one should use sound boxes equipped with the same set of speakers as the front and centre speakers for surround speakers. The SUR95T speakers meet this requirement, with an extra: the letter "T" in their type mark refers to a real rarity - tripole arrangement. Specifically, this means that the front-radiating bass/mid and high-frequency speakers are complemented by two 7.5 cm pulp mid-tweeters on the two sides (oriented in dipole fashion). The result is a truly surround sound that fills the viewing area of the room. Although this model is slightly shorter than the LCR sound boxes, the surface area of their membranes is similar, so their capabilities resemble those of the other models of the set.

So is this a satellite?

In a certain respect yes: although the LCRs can best be characterised as refined standmounter speakers, they still require one (or two) active subwooofers - of the V12 type in the present case - to become truly complete. The reason for this lies in frequency response, whose lower limit (-3 dB) is 80 Hz, which also matches the recommendation of THX. However, this frequency limitation does not mean that M&K is unable to produce speakers that operate in the "entire" frequency range - they simply consider this unnecessary.

We must make it clear, however, that the M&K 950 family is very different from the typical small satellite speakers. For most, this name is associated with a different, almost pejorative meaning, bringing to mind tiny, single-box "can" sets. The comparison would be idle even with the small speakers of BOSE, despite their legendary sound quality.

Small details

The Home Movie team loves watching movies and also enjoys meticulous "fussing" with settings, so it did not come as a surprise for us that a precisely calibrated system was already in place upon our arrival. After mounting the speakers, they ran them for two days, carried out the basic settings of the subwoofer, and then performed the Audyssey Pro calibration, after which they once again checked everything.

How does it sound?

Already during the test of the 300 family we experienced something that is said to be characteristic of M&K Sound: dynamism, without an aggressive character. This was also our first impression of the 950 set - that is, we once again experienced part of what we heard during the previous test. The second notable feature was the excellent surround feeling, in which the speakers hidden behind the large screen and professional calibration naturally played a major part. What we heard during the test of the S300 was in fact very good, but the smaller LCR950s were placed elsewhere ? behind the screen ?, which we found to be a very pleasant modification. We experienced even more lifelike surround quality and uniform sound. Although, due to its size, its power fell short of its larger sibling, we still managed to coax such volume from it which we would not like to listen to for long. In short, its power is far from small, especially in a room of this size. What's more, in this case, too, the system remained precise, without distortion or shaking, which is due in part to its high-quality enclosed design.

Podrace

We listened to the podrace scene from Episode I of Star Wars, partly because for years it dominated home cinema demos, and, of course, also because the sound material of the film was created using M&K Sound speakers. But first, the usual details lined up. Now, after the test, it would be very difficult to distinguish what we heard from the experience provided by the S300, even if the available sound pressure of the latter was higher. The audio of the film was uniform and balanced, and high sounds sounded surprisingly light and airy, which has a clear impact on dialogues and finer details.

The biggest surprise, however, came not in connection with films, but with music. Naturally, we did not have any complaints about the S300, either, but listening to the smaller models we seriously felt that major kudos are in order here. We then had a think and listened to a little more of the sound material, and came to the conclusion that what at first we thought of as a more musical sound is in fact due rather to the distribution of the speakers. While the S300 works with 3 domes, the LCR950 uses only one, which is far more similar to typical stereo speakers. Listening to music on it, the otherwise explosive, but disciplined sound system resembled the usual stereo systems more than the S300 did.

Would we recommend it?

Very much so! Naturally, these speakers, too, are aimed at a well-defined clientele. The M&K Sound 950 is neither tiny enough to be tucked away simply, nor large enough to astound with its appearance. This loudspeaker is not for interior designers or exhibitionists, but for purposeful movie fans. If you would like to have a cinema room, or are willing to turn your living room into a little bit of a home cinema, have a listen to what M&K Sound is capable of!

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