I am sure you all know that feeling...

[abefroeman]

...when two really big boxes arrive at your door. I had that feeling today when the wife called me at work at told me that my mordaunt short 914's came. So, I went home fo lunch to try them out. Man these things are cool. I don't regret the purchase at all.

I am super cheap and my inital budget for my sound system was $200. But after hanging out on here I realized that this was not going to fly. So I upped the budget to $500. Then someone on here showed me the link to these MS914's for $379 and I bought em. They sound great. Sooo real compared to any other speakers I have heard outside of a movie theater.

Right now the only problem is that I am running them off of a boombox amplifier. Seeing as I won't be buying more speakers for a while (cuz im cheap), I recently found an old NAD 7155 stereo receiver on ebay ($80) that is now in the mail. This way I won't have to have the boombox tuned up so high.

I think I will be watching the matrix tonight.

 

[corysmith01]

Congrats. Let's see 'em!

 

[Joe Schmoe]

Be careful using that boombox amp! It probably has way less wattage than the speakers can handle, but you could still damage them if you drive it into hard clipping.

 

[abboudc]

Very nice. Did you get maple or black? Pics!

 

[abefroeman]

Be careful using that boombox amp! It probably has way less wattage than the speakers can handle, but you could still damage them if you drive it into hard clipping.

Thanks, I will aviod the red bars when using the boombox.


And I will try and get a pic up soon.
Until then, here is the link to where I bought them:
Link

The 6.5" woofers have ok bass, but they could use a sub. I am going to fill them with sand tonight (the cabinets, not the woofers).

 

[j_garcia]

Congrats. Mordaunt Short is a favorite of mine.

 

[zumbo]

Another great audio website I lost when my computer crashed. Glad to get the link back. Thanks! Looks like a smart purchase.

 

[abefroeman]

They have a killer deal right now on the 908's for ~550. It is one that I almost stretched the budget to buy. But they only have maple. And I'm not a big fan of that color and neither is the wife. She requested tower speakers. I married a one of the good ones. Our wedding present to each other was an Olevia 342 LCD TV. Her idea, I swear.

 

[j_garcia]

I'll be honest with you, I wasn't impressed with their black finish, but I didn't really like the maple either. My 902s are the older cherry finish. IMO, the veneers aren't their top selling point on these speakers, but the build quality is excellent and they sound great.

 

[abefroeman]

I'll be honest with you, I wasn't impressed with their black finish, but I didn't really like the maple either. My 902s are the older cherry finish. IMO, the veneers aren't their top selling point on these speakers, but the build quality is excellent and they sound great.

The finish is kinda cheap looking. But my TV stand for the 42" LCD is a $70 Ikea bookshelf turned on its side. It is in thier "Brown/Black" finish. The finish is almost exactly the same as the speakers so it works out great.Bookcase

Now I really need to get a pic posted.

 

[jaxvon]

Thanks, I will aviod the red bars when using the boombox.


And I will try and get a pic up soon.
Until then, here is the link to where I bought them:
Link

The 6.5" woofers have ok bass, but they could use a sub. I am going to fill them with sand tonight (the cabinets, not the woofers).

Uhm...what? I would advise against sand in your cabinets. If you want to increase damping, pick up some Peel 'n Seal from the roofing section of Lowes. Six layers on each wall will make them pretty damn dead.

 

[abefroeman]

There is a plug in the back of the cabinet for this purpose. Its not the entire cabinet, just the bottom 5" or so. The area to be filled is separated from the rest of the cabinet using MDF. Here is the link to the owners manual. it is in the section called mass loading.

 

[abboudc]

They have a killer deal right now on the 908's for ~550. It is one that I almost stretched the budget to buy. But they only have maple. And I'm not a big fan of that color and neither is the wife. She requested tower speakers. I married a one of the good ones.

The finish on the 908's and 912's is pretty nice, it's maple, but it's not glossy. The 903S i was really disappointed in the finish, it almost feels like wood colored plastic. I picked up a pair of 908's and 903S right before christmas (they're like 3 miles from me), unfortunately, they didn't have the matching centers. Oh well, for that price, can't really complain!

Enjoy your new speakers. Just watch out for those spiked feet!

 

[abefroeman]

I might try that peel and seal stuff though. or somthing similar. I was too excited to remember to do the knock test over lunch. I will knock on them tonight and see how dead they are.

I am a little nervous about taking them apart to put that stuff on the inner walls. Are speakers easy to disassemble?

 

[abboudc]

Uhm...what? I would advise against sand in your cabinets. If you want to increase damping, pick up some Peel 'n Seal from the roofing section of Lowes. Six layers on each wall will make them pretty damn dead.

What's wrong with sand? My tower stands (M&K) each came with a large bag of sand when i bought them....

...although they didn't recommend putting straight sand into the tower (like the Mordaunt Short manual) and said to leave it in the bag.

 

[jaxvon]

What's wrong with sand? My towers each came with a large bag of sand when i bought them....

The way it sounded to me, it was going to involve dumping loose sand into the main enclosure. You could understand why I warned against that. As for taking your speakers apart, all you need to do really is remove the drivers to get enough access for Peel 'n Seal.

 

[Swerd]

Congrats on the new speakers. I hope you like them. It's been fun reading about your shopping journey. You asked a lot of good questions, and seemed to have learned a lot. By the way, from one tightwad to another, you did great finding good prices on your gear so far.

Don't turn up the volume very high with that boom-box amp. Its easy to send a low-power amp into clipping, and a clipped signal is what can damage good speakers. Wait until you get that NAD receiver .

About the mass loading with sand business... It is fashionable among British speaker makers to include this feature. I guess the buyers they cater to think it is cool. I wonder whether it really makes an audible difference. It might if the cabinets resonate without the mass loading. It certainly does allow the speaker makers to manufacture a lighter cabinet (saves on shipping costs). The mass loading adds weight only to the lower part of a floor standing cabinet, making it less top heavy.

The trouble with sand is that it accumulates moisture in humid weather, even if you go to the trouble of heating the sand in an oven to dry it out before loading it in the cabinet. Try putting the sand in a number of smaller plastic bags and placing the bags in the cabinet. That way it is easy to remove the sand if you want to move the cabinets. Some people use lead shot or BBs instead of sand.

 

[j_garcia]

Lead shot is better, but is also much harder to get. Use the sand and use small bags, or feed a large bag in there and use a funel or something to fill it with sand. You don't need too much.

 

[JoeE SP9]

Congrats on your new speakers. A word of warning! Beware! One of my best buddies bought a pair of MS bookshelf's about 7 years ago. He wanted something modest that sounded good.
He now has Maggy 3.6R's with custom external crossovers, tubed CDP, custom transmission line sub woofer and other goodies.

 

[abefroeman]

Thanks Swerd,

It has been fun learning from this site, there is a ton of good info here. I enjoy this site's emphasis on testing the results of manufacturer claims. It allows consumers to make intellegent decisions.