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Mordaunt Short ... Thoughts?

I

IanInVan

New Member
Aside from having one of the coolest names in audio, what are your thoughts on these speakers?

Speakers and amplifiers from the UK are usually a pretty safe bet. While amplifiers are a bit more measurable, speakers tend to lean more to personal preference. That not-with-standing, is there a community of lovers or haters out there?

Can't wait to hear (pun intended)!!

Ian (a guy with $225 CDN about to pounce on the Avant 7.1 group)
 
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I have two pairs of older models and expect they were probably decent value for money when new. I like them. Good quality drivers with other components similar to obvious competitors from what I have seen.

No idea what newer ones sound like but I'd consider auditioning them if I was in the market.
 
I have had a few pairs and thought they were great speakers. Definitely in the fan club here. They aren't perfect but I really like the sound of them.
 
I bought a pair of Carnival III's a couple of years back and found them to be very New England / British sounding, easy to listen to for hours. Well balanced speakers. Mine are still in my collection. They're still in business making mostly AV stuff. I don't think I'd bother with their latest offerings but I like the 80's speakers from MS.
 
I have had a pair of MS35Ti for nearly 25 years, they are very good at everything,
not the greatest speaker in the world, but VERY good.
About 2 years ago I got a pair of MS15, for the size, they are best I have heard, but I haven't heard too many small speakers.
 
I have a pair of MS30's (Original MS manufacture) - they are really great sounding speakers. I replaced them with a pair of KEF iQ7's which were much more expensive but only slightly better sounding to my ears. (I kept the MS30's and still use them).
 
bluelines said:
Never listened to them, but only read (very) positive reviews.
Click to expand...

A ringing endorsement if you signed up just to post this, welcome aboard!

timofred said:
I have had a pair of MS35Ti for nearly 25 years, they are very good at everything,
not the greatest speaker in the world, but VERY good.
About 2 years ago I got a pair of MS15, for the size, they are best I have heard, but I haven't heard too many small speakers.
Click to expand...

I saw some 25Tis go for a very reasonable price a while ago, maybe should have bought them but do I really need more speakers? Besides I have a pair of Sony APMs with the same tweeters... As far as MS15s go, I got mine about 20 years ago and they were my first high quality mass produced speakers, others are better in some ways but these can really make music.

MS15_1.jpg

Hyperion said:
I have a pair of MS30's (Original MS manufacture) - they are really great sounding speakers. I replaced them with a pair of KEF iQ7's which were much more expensive but only slightly better sounding to my ears. (I kept the MS30's and still use them).
Click to expand...

Are yours the old ones like these, or the newer ~Epos ones?

MS30_1.jpg
 
OK, so I see people referring to 'having them in my collection' or 'I pulled them from my garage and hooked them up'. Is there a sickness awaiting me? Can I be inocculated? Should I be inocculated? Admittedly, I do have more speakers than I am presently using. How about the rest of you though ... do you save some for weddings and bar mitzvahs? What stimulates your desire to brush the dust off and give them a go?
 
IanInVan said:
OK, so I see people referring to 'having them in my collection' or 'I pulled them from my garage and hooked them up'. Is there a sickness awaiting me? Can I be inocculated? Should I be inocculated? Admittedly, I do have more speakers than I am presently using. How about the rest of you though ... do you save some for weddings and bar mitzvahs? What stimulates your desire to brush the dust off and give them a go?
Click to expand...

You are among many of your kind here. :D

The reasons for owning several (many? collection? hoard?) of speakers vary greatly from those of us that like to restore/keep them to others that like to own each and every model ever made to even others that select a few that play certain genres of music best.

Most of mine are ones I found not working, restored them and now rotate them around to enjoy their unique sound. Spice things up, etc.
 
sinewaver said:
I bought a pair of Carnival III's a couple of years back and found them to be very New England / British sounding, easy to listen to for hours. Well balanced speakers. Mine are still in my collection. They're still in business making mostly AV stuff. I don't think I'd bother with their latest offerings but I like the 80's speakers from MS.
Click to expand...

I considered and auditioned prior to buying my PSB's. Still very British sounding, similar to Wharfadale. Nice sound, not Monitor Audio, but at their price MS get really close to Monitor Audio. If in a tight budget I highly recommend them.
 
240sx4u said:
Definitely in the fan club here. They aren't perfect but I really like the sound of them.
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Agreed!
I got my Ms 10i in rotation now. Nice friendly sound. Surprises me every once in a while with something I haven't heard or forgot in a song.

I did end up hooking up a subwoofer. And then added some Minimus-7s on top ...
 
Sorry, I'm full of questions ... in your 2-channel 'music' systems, do any of you feel a sub bastardizes the resulting product or is it 'audiophilically' acceptable? After all, it is making up for the shortcomings of one's speakers. Kinda' like digital processing, no?
 
Most bookshelf and many floor standing speakers tend to roll off the lower frequencies tha a sub is designed to reproduce.

Most of us with the illness have at least one sub, some have multiple subs.

To each his/her own. There is generally no right or wrong, just what YOU like most.

Welcome to the club, resistance is futile......
 
I am OK adding sub(s). I start with the speaker as is, but usually end up adding in a sub.

It can be tough $$ to do well. I got one 'musical' subwoofer (SVS PB-1000 10”) and a couple of Dayton's. I try to adjust gain+crossover to gently supplement the low end. I might turn it up for movie night!
 
Original Mordaunt Shorts are nice, veddy British sounding. The ones to stay away from are the late '90s - early '00s imported/made in the US (I think the drivers were British) sold by Marantz. Horrible screechy things.

Happy trails,
Larry B.
 
I have owned a pair of Mourdant Short MS 30i and a pair of Performance 880's. Both are very nice speakers, with the 880 being affordable high quality speakers. Unfortunately they are somewhat rare, and tough to come by.

The name has been sold though, and as I recall a Chinese manufacturer now owns the company, and produces the speakers. Actually I think they have bought up a few established British names. I have yet to hear the new speaker, so cannot comment on them.

Always felt that the MS 30i was one of the finer $500 retail speakers I ever heard.

Regards
Mister Pig
 
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Ahh, the 'illness' ... I'm starting to get a tickle in my throat. I accept that resistance is futile. Unfortunately, my wife is force-feeding me echinacea.

Regardless, thanks for the thoughts. I now have 4 MS30i's (with 3 dented tweeters ... grrr) and [1] MSCi center. I also have a collection of Klipsch speakers which I'm quite fond of. And so it begins ...
 
Some strains of the illness are antibiotic resistant.

I have also learned that a significant audio purchase can be offset by a trip with her to the shoes/handbag/clothing retailer so she doesn't feel left out.

Many a dinged tweeter or dust cap have been pulled out with a vacuum cleaner.

Get well soon.....
 
A400 said:
A ringing endorsement if you signed up just to post this, welcome aboard!



I saw some 25Tis go for a very reasonable price a while ago, maybe should have bought them but do I really need more speakers? Besides I have a pair of Sony APMs with the same tweeters... As far as MS15s go, I got mine about 20 years ago and they were my first high quality mass produced speakers, others are better in some ways but these can really make music.

View attachment 528686



Are yours the old ones like these, or the newer ~Epos ones?

View attachment 528687
Click to expand...

Mine are almost certainly not as old as those ones, on mine the port is in the back. I replaced one of the tweeters - and when I was ordering the chap said "ah yes you have the original ones, not the newer ones" or something similar. He mentioned the buyout of the original MS company by another company (I forget who) and mine were pre-buyout I think he said.
 
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