Mordaunt-Short Avant 902i Monitor Loudspeaker pair- Honey Maple
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The highly respected Mordaunt-Short 902i Avant is a rear-ported, two-way bookshelf model which combines mid range resolution and treble clarity with tight, fast low frequency performance. Despite its compact size, the Avant 902i standmount offers a highly impressive performance with a wonderfully large soundstage. The Black woodgrain accenting the satin silver baffle make it an extremely attractive monitor. Matching grills are included.
Features
- 11″ H x 6″ W x 10″ D
- (1) 5″ aluminum CPC mid
- (1) 1″ aluminum dome tweeter
- 89dB – 55-22kHz – 15-100 Watts RMS
- Dimensions (W x H x L): 0 x 0 x 0 inches
- Weight: 0 pounds
This is a GREAT value–after I found out how to handle a glitch
I bought these speakers (mine were the black woodgrain speakers, rather than the Honey Maple finished speakers)to replace a pair of KEF Coda 7 speakers. They look great, well finished, good weight, with black finish and silver faces. When I got them, I hooked them up, and I was initially deeply disappointed by the sound quality which was muddy, and lacking any of the shimmering highs I expected. I phoned the distributors–Dedicated Audio, and got Daniel Harmon (who happened to be in on the weekend). He was very helpful, and he got my problem sorted out.
The cause of the muddy sound? If you look at the pictures of the MS Avant 902i check out the terminal wiring post picture. It is a bi-wirable speaker (so it has four wire post terminals–two + and two – posts, rather than the traditional two, one + and one – terminal), and I haven’t had those type of speakers before, and that is why I had difficulties. I followed the instruction manual, and attached one speaker wire cable to one + terminal, and one to a – terminal; but the manual (actually a reasonably useless sheet) forgets to mention one IMPORTANT thing you have to do, concerning bi-wirable speakers. You have to bridge the speaker posts with speaker jumper cables or plates. The speaker jumper cables essentially turn the bi-wired posts into single wired posts. If you don’t put the jumpers in place, you either get output from frequencies that lie under the driver crossover or over the crossover (depending on the wiring) but not from both treble and mid range speaker drivers at the same time. This makes for a mess aurally speaking. The speakers include four jumper “cables.” Actually they are four silvered plates, shaped like fat “W” or “M” depending on how you look at them, and they fit snugly on the speaker terminal posts. Dan seemed to think that these were silvered coated copper. I am not so sure. Anyway, place a jumper plate to cover the two positive wire terminal posts, and another to cover the two negative terminal wire posts, for each speaker (see the wire post image on the Amazon page), and you should be good to go. Once I did that bit of work, the speakers were ready to use.
How did they sound? For the money (239 and free shipping)–amazingly good. For the money you pay, they are an extraordinary value, right up there with much more expensive speakers. The highs are extended, clear, detailed, the midrange smooth and sharp, very detailed as well, and the bass? Punchy and tight. It does not have the long extension that you would get from a bigger speaker (and one reason why it doesn’t cost as much), but the bass is controlled, not boomy or peaked, but it responds remarkably fast to input in the upper bass. In a word, this is a dynamic speaker. It revealed things I hadn’t heard before, especially in the mid and treble, and lent the music an air of excitement, dare I call it musicality, with a solid sound-stage? If you play Codona, it will show oif these speakers to perfection. A useful review can be found at: [...]. The one possible drawback is that they might be a bit forward in the top end, but as someone who is in middle age, I do not hear it! What I can say is that it is fun to listen to music again!
Impressive performance!
Although I have owned Magnepans, Carver Amazing Loudspeakers, Monsoon planars, and Infinity EMIT speakers, among others, these speakers are something special at their price point! Even though they are not the equal of the aforementioned speakers, they come amazingly close for a fraction of the price. Considering that I live in a tiny apartment and have fewer discretionary dollars presently, these Mordaunt Short speakers fill the bill quite nicely! They sound great straight out of the box, as well. I can only imagine how fabulous they will sound after a break in period. At the price which I paid, ($249)they are quite literally a STEAL! I would recommend stands that are about 30-36 inches high as the speakers are deep, but not very tall. They produce an astounding amount of tight, controlled bass from a remarkably small enclosure. MY HIGHEST RECOMMENDATION!!!