Wanting to upgrade to the MK Sound LCR-950THX system!

[Techlord]

Hi everyone,

I trying to get as much info as I can on the new MK Sound LCR-950THX system, I have owned the M&K LCR-750THX speaker system for almost 9 years now and am wondering it the 950 system is a large enough step up from the 750's. I don't want to blow my money on a small performance difference, if the 950 can blow past the older 750 system I'll buy them!

Anyone?

Regards,
Techlord.

 

[AVRat]

I really don't see much difference between the two other than the sub. If you're happy with your current setup, I wouldn't bother.

 

[Techlord]

I really don't see much difference between the two other than the sub. If you're happy with your current setup, I wouldn't bother.

I will be using the SB-1250 subwoofer that I already have, the 750 can sound bright and harsh! I'm looking to upgrade the sound quality of my HT, the best way to do that is upgrade the speaker system as it should provide the largest difference v.s buying a new receiver or other AV gear. I just don't think I can get the best sound out of my Oppo BDP-83SE with the 750 system, I feel there holding back on what my AV gear is capable of. Many have stated that the 950 speakers are much better for music than the 750s ever were, that new pro tweeter from what I hear is golden!

Regards,
Techlord.

 

[MidnightSensi]

M&Ks assests were bought out after they went broke, I thought maybe they would try to revive it and keep some of their employees, but it seems they mostly just kept the name. I'd be weary of their new products, as the original designers are no longer there.

Regardless, a different but similar tweeter isn't going to make a world of difference from a product that was already pretty good (750s certainly have the THX tweeters, but they are still a nice sounding speaker!)

What's your budget, maybe we could recommend some different speakers? I think in order to get a big upgrade over your current M&Ks you'd need to make a bigger jump....maybe even in size.

What's your goals? Bigger home theater sound? Music?

 

[Techlord]

M&Ks assests were bought out after they went broke, I thought maybe they would try to revive it and keep some of their employees, but it seems they mostly just kept the name. I'd be weary of their new products, as the original designers are no longer there.

Regardless, a different but similar tweeter isn't going to make a world of difference from a product that was already pretty good (750s certainly have the THX tweeters, but they are still a nice sounding speaker!)

What's your budget, maybe we could recommend some different speakers? I think in order to get a big upgrade over your current M&Ks you'd need to make a bigger jump....maybe even in size.

What's your goals? Bigger home theater sound? Music?

I plan on spending $2500 for three LCR-950's ($500 each) and two SUR95T ($1000 a pair) surrounds but could sell my 750's and add that money to my $2000+ dollars saved up already. I wonder what three 750's and two 550's would go for in great condition? I have taken good care of them over the years and they still sound the same as when I first got them! You think with matching stands I could get $1250 for all my 750's?

Regards,
Techlord.

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

I remember your were talking about adding room treatments?
Just curious if you ever done them? Since I'd gladly invest $300-500 in acoustic panels, before putting 2g in slightly better speaker, which still will sound harsh in your space
My humble 2c is don't be shy - go to http://www.atsacoustics.com/
Use their tool to calculate number of panels, ask here in right topics about recs.
I think bpan is lead acoustic designer for GIK and always glad to answer your questions....

Also heavy drapes over that large window on your left wont hurt ether

And after all acoustic treatment installed - do EQ manually, with REW or just Audyssey [using all points - use official Audyssey guide on AVS]

 

[Techlord]

I remember your were talking about adding room treatments?
Just curious if you ever done them? Since I'd gladly invest $300-500 in acoustic panels, before putting 2g in slightly better speaker, which still will sound harsh in your space
My humble 2c is don't be shy - go to http://www.atsacoustics.com/
Use their tool to calculate number of panels, ask here in right topics about recs.
I think bpan is lead acoustic designer for GIK and always glad to answer your questions....

Also heavy drapes over that large window on your left wont hurt ether

And after all acoustic treatment installed - do EQ manually, with REW or just Audyssey [using all points - use official Audyssey guide on AVS]

What makes you think that there only slightly better, have you heard the 950's? My M&K speakers only sounded harsh when I cranked up the SPL, at moderate listening levels they were fine. I will listen to the 950's before I buy. I will also have a look at the acoustic panels.

Regards,
Techlord.

 

[Jack Hammer]

I can't tell you anything about the new 950 series speakers or the new MKSound speakers in general. All my experience is with the original M&K speakers. What I can say is that adding accoustic panels to my M&K system made a dramatic difference for me. I'm a firm believer that many people, if they haven't already, should at minimum consider adding a few panels before they "upgrade" to help their system show what it is capable of. As always YMMV

 

[Techlord]

I can't tell you anything about the new 950 series speakers or the new MKSound speakers in general. All my experience is with the original M&K speakers. What I can say is that adding accoustic panels to my M&K system made a dramatic difference for me. I'm a firm believer that many people, if they haven't already, should at minimum consider adding a few panels before they "upgrade" to help their system show what it is capable of. As always YMMV

I did come across this extensive review of the 8 years old M&K S-150THX Ultras v.s the newer MK Sound S-150THX Ultras, the original M&K S-150THX Ultras use the Z16 tweeter while the 750's uses the Z11 tweeter. This means if I did buy the 950's I would be getting a third generation profesional tweeter, from the Z11 skipping the Z16 onto the Pro tweeter.

M&K S-150THX Ultras v.s MK Sound S-150THX Ultras

Regards,
Techlord.

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

Common sense tells me that if someone bough new speakers at say $1500 retail price and then several years later buy a step up speaker system from same company which retails at $2500 - I wont expect a drastic difference...
Sounding harsh speaker at high spl (especially for THX speaker, which was designed to work at reference volumes all the time) would be ether

a) HUGE design flaw
b) Manufacturing flaw with your specific set
c) Room modes

So it makes: a) - is impossible, b) is improbable and only c) remains as probably and most likely the reason for harsh speakers.

p.s: The review you mentioned, I'd hardly call "extensive" , till I see some real objective measurements. Bring me T/L numbers or bring me death

 

[ski2xblack]

I second the room treatment suggestions. Much greater bang/buck, and may directly address the perceived shortcomings for far less expense.

Also, M&K's are notoriously power hungry, inefficient little beasts. You could be simply running out of power when listening at high levels. Be careful not to fry your tweeters by having too little power. I run my M&K's exclusively with powerful old NAD or crown amps; a Yamaha HT receiver rated at 80w/ch simply didn't have the balls.

Good luck!

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

I second the room treatment suggestions. Much greater bang/buck, and may directly address the perceived shortcomings for far less expense.

Also, M&K's are notoriously power hungry, inefficient little beasts. You could be simply running out of power when listening at high levels. Be careful not to fry your tweeters by having too little power. I run my M&K's exclusively with powerful old NAD or crown amps; a Yamaha HT receiver rated at 80w/ch simply didn't have the balls.

Good luck!

OP have Denon AVR-5700, so I think lack of power is unlikely the issue, thou some people reported great success powering L/C/R with Emotiva XPA-3 also cheaper upgrade then new speakers, plus Emotiva have good return home trial [30 days]

 

[FirstReflection]

I'm eagerly awaiting some proper reviews of the new MK 950 speakers and attempting to track some down locally so that I can hear them for myself. Tom Andry has put in a request to Gene to see if they can score a 950 set for review, so let's hope that pans out!

In regards to getting the most improvement for your money, I will also strongly support the suggestions that you acoustically treat your room. You are correct that new speakers will make a bigger difference than any other equipment upgrade. But new (and better) room acoustics will make a bigger difference than new speakers!

Take advantage of Auralex' FREE Room Analysis. It costs nothing but a few hours of your time, so it is WELL worth the effort!

GiK Acoustics and Auralex are both fabulous companies that sell very affordable room treatment products and a whole-heartedly recommend both companies.

The new tweeters in the 950 series supposedly do have higher power handling. If your 750 speakers are having difficulty at very high output levels, then there is a decent chance that the 950 series will offer an improvement in that area. But I am only saying that based upon information that I have read. I have not heard the 950 speakers nor seen any measurements, so I would certainly not recommend them only based on that!

Treat your room. That really should be your primary focus. Personally, I'm not a fan of EQ'ing speakers because it is rare that people or programs measure with fine enough gradation to properly adjust higher frequency output. Use active EQ for subwoofers for sure, but not so much for speakers unless you are limiting the EQ to the lower frequencies of the speaker. I've toyed with the various AutoEQ systems (Audyssey, YPAO, MCACC, etc.) to no end and I've never come across an instance where they didn't reduce detail. So I don't trust active EQ for higher frequencies, but room treatments can genuinely improve your room's acoustics, which DOES help a great deal!

If you are a fan of M&K's sound, I would also recommend that you consider Emotiva's speakers as they have a very similar design philosophy, but are less of a rip-off than the cheap parts at high prices used in MK Sound's speakers and subs.

 

[Techlord]

I'm eagerly awaiting some proper reviews of the new MK 950 speakers and attempting to track some down locally so that I can hear them for myself. Tom Andry has put in a request to Gene to see if they can score a 950 set for review, so let's hope that pans out!

In regards to getting the most improvement for your money, I will also strongly support the suggestions that you acoustically treat your room. You are correct that new speakers will make a bigger difference than any other equipment upgrade. But new (and better) room acoustics will make a bigger difference than new speakers!

Take advantage of Auralex' FREE Room Analysis. It costs nothing but a few hours of your time, so it is WELL worth the effort!

GiK Acoustics and Auralex are both fabulous companies that sell very affordable room treatment products and a whole-heartedly recommend both companies.

The new tweeters in the 950 series supposedly do have higher power handling. If your 750 speakers are having difficulty at very high output levels, then there is a decent chance that the 950 series will offer an improvement in that area. But I am only saying that based upon information that I have read. I have not heard the 950 speakers nor seen any measurements, so I would certainly not recommend them only based on that!

Treat your room. That really should be your primary focus. Personally, I'm not a fan of EQ'ing speakers because it is rare that people or programs measure with fine enough gradation to properly adjust higher frequency output. Use active EQ for subwoofers for sure, but not so much for speakers unless you are limiting the EQ to the lower frequencies of the speaker. I've toyed with the various AutoEQ systems (Audyssey, YPAO, MCACC, etc.) to no end and I've never come across an instance where they didn't reduce detail. So I don't trust active EQ for higher frequencies, but room treatments can genuinely improve your room's acoustics, which DOES help a great deal!

If you are a fan of M&K's sound, I would also recommend that you consider Emotiva's speakers as they have a very similar design philosophy, but are less of a rip-off than the cheap parts at high prices used in MK Sound's speakers and subs..

Room treatment is going to happen, that's for sure! I've been working on my own patterns for a more blending in with my style of pictures. I'm curious now, where did you hear that the 950's new tweeters have higher power handling? I also don't care for room correction technologies, they do kill details! What makes you think MK Sound uses cheap parts in there speakers?

Regards,
Techlord.

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

Well, not sure if they (auto-eq) kill details, but in my space (I rent - so no treatments possible) Audyssey did a great job, as before the 8 points calibration I had hard time understanding people speaking - it was 98% fixed after auto-eq,
and i'm very happy with results. Did I lost details - maybe, I didn't really noticed..

 

[Jack Hammer]

Well, not sure if they (auto-eq) kill details, but in my space (I rent - so no treatments possible) Audyssey did a great job, as before the 8 points calibration I had hard time understanding people speaking - it was 98% fixed after auto-eq,
and i'm very happy with results. Did I lost details - maybe, I didn't really noticed..

Just because you rent does not mean you can not use room treatments. I have panels that hang from the wall using the same hook one would use to hang a picture.

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

Just because you rent does not mean you can not use room treatments. I have panels that hang from the wall using the same hook one would use to hang a picture.

That would be good for the back wall , however previous owners made front wall (where tv is) covered entirely in black textured glass. To get idea click on my boxee htpc in my sig.

So no hooks, nails or screws in this one

 

[Jack Hammer]

That would be good for the back wall , however previous owners made front wall (where tv is) covered entirely in black textured glass. To get idea click on my boxee htpc in my sig.

So no hooks, nails or screws in this one

I'm not sure where to get them, I've seen larger suction cups (not the cheap lick and stick kind) designed to be used to hang stuff off similar surfaces. Basically it was a lever activated suction cup with a hook for hanging stuff on it. Maybe worth asking around.