Clear, detailed across the range.
Excellent Soundstage

The usual shortcomings of small-box speakers - bass shy

An excellent speaker for the money. Best on stands rather than bookshelves, and stood a bit away from the wall - as per the instructions.

Used mostly for classical music, there is clear placement of instruments and singers, with no obvious boom or sibilance.

Vastly superior to Wharfdale Diamond Pro bought for a similar price - which sound muffled and confused with no soundstage to speak of and very little detail.

Similar Products Used:

Wharfdale Diamond Pro

Clarity, clarity and clarity. Dynamic, nimble sound.
Excellent bass extension (for its size and price of course... only the super-finicky would whine on about the obvious lack of deeeep bass on entry-level book-shelf speakers, duh!)

While clear, the midrange could do with more "body". This slight lack of fullness diminishes the dramatic impact of some orchestral music.

These Pearls were my first-ever hifi speakers, and for the most part, they performed magnificently! :-) I matched them with a NAD 310 amp, before upgrading later to a Marantz PM-66SE. Either way, the 10i's clarity, speed and nimbleness were strikingly evident. Such qualities mean that these babies are completely at home with pop and rock music. Feed them with pacy, modern rock discs, and they sure can get yer foot tappin'!

The gold-anodised tweeter has got to be the Pearls' greatest strength. It digs up masses of HF details, yet remains smooth and free of any irritating grain. Only that slight thinness in the midrange mars an otherwise perfect pair of entry-level speakers. That said, the MS-10i Pearls were certainly tops in their price-class (of 1997-1998). imho, of course...

I think I'm starting to miss them now. :::sob:::

Clean, tight bass and sweet and lively mid & treble

A bit too bright and harsh at times

I had chose the 10i pearl over the Tannoy M2 and KEF Coda 7 2 years ago and I've never regreted, consider the budget I had at that moment.

Compare with competitors within similar price range, the sound characteristics of the 10i pearl is more detailed, agile and clean. Bass are tight and fast without a hint of boominess, treble and midrange are sweet and detail but can be sparkling and sharp at times, so people who are used to more smooth-sounding high-end equipment may not like this pair of speakers, but I believe that most beginners and casual listeners will find them very exciting and desirable.

Looking at the present choices, I may choose the AE Agies One for its more "classy" sound but in my country, it cost almost twice as much as the 10i pearl, so it is not so fair to make a straight comparison.

As my tastes in musics changes, I now prefer a smoother and more relaxing sounding combination, and I may upgrade my amp and speakers to Roksan Caspian and Dynaudio Audience 50. However, I will not dispose off my 10i pearl becos I know I will miss them if I do.

I bought the MS 10i pearls after listening to a lot of different speakers in the same price range (around 140-150 sterling). I found Tannoy M-1s to be too bassy and Mission 731s to be too thin on presentation. When I heard the MS 10i pearls, however, I was amazed at the range of sound stage. They seemed to have everything I needed.
When I got them home and hooked them up to my ageing Philips 300 Cd-player and midi system, I found the sound to be disappointing at first. The treble was as sweet as I remembered, but the bass was lacking

With careful placement, however, the bass kicks through perfectly. It's no ground shaker, but it seems perfectly natural and well suited to jazz and classical music.

I will soon be buying an amp (maybe an Arcam Alpha 8) to pair up with the speakers.

My advice , then, is that these are great little speakers, which produce an outstanding sound for the money. The bass could be extended, but put them near a wall (10 cm max) on good stands or a very solid shelf and you will not be disappointed,

Hope this helps,

PS: MS has just gone into receivership and you should be able to buy these speakers even more cheaply.

4.5 star rating!

I bought this pair of speakers at US$140. I have compared this to Tannoy M2.5, Mordaunt Short MS202 and JPW ML510 and I must say that the MS10i Pearl has the most smooth and effortless music presentation. Details are clean and clear, midband is very expressive. Bass is light but taut. There is very little coloration unlike the other 3 speakers I mentioned. Don't partner these with sharp sounding equipment as the speakers has quite a pronounced treble. Partner them with warm sounding equipment and you will have a very balanced system. Music should sound this way, I highly recommend it.