Mordaunt-Short MS-902 Floorstanding Speakers

Mordaunt-Short MS-902 Floorstanding Speakers 

DESCRIPTION

The Mordaunt-Short 902 is a 2-way bookshelf loudspeaker designed for listeners who want mid-band resolution plus treble clarity and whose budget and environment demand a compact size. The rear-ported cabinet ensures a tight, fast bass response with surprising extension. These loudspeakers are voiced to allow you to derive maximise pleasure from your music. The dramatically simple yet elegant styling combines form with function and maintains Mordaunt-Short's heritage of first class design and sonic excellence.

USER REVIEWS

Showing 1-10 of 33  
[Dec 17, 2008]
jandanhof
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

Punch, sound image is very complete, decent bass

Weakness:

Sometimes a bit harsh on the treble side

I use these two small speaker for my study. If paired with a good amplifier, CD-player and good cabling (for instance Kimber 4PR), these are probably the best budget speakers around these days, provided you buy the 902i version. They have punch, good treble, and enough bass to satisfy (or at least surprise) even the high-end lovers. I use a Marantz CD5400 player, Van den Hul The Bay interconnect, Rotel RA-980BX amplifier and Kimber 4PR speaker cables. I simply love the sound they make. Only when I hook up my old B&W DM560 I hear the difference. More depth and dynamics, but considering the price difference this is not surprising.

Similar Products Used:

Mission 772, ASW S75, B&W 302

OVERALL
RATING
4
VALUE
RATING
5
[May 03, 2008]
benlg
AudioPhile

Strength:

Crystal clear highs and transparent mids, sounds incredible with vocals
Fast dynamic bass
Great build quality and looks

Weakness:

Slightly harsh with bright amps

Do not be fooled by the cheap price tag, the Mordaunt Short 902s offers incredible high end stereo performance. I have paired the 902s with many mid level HT receivers eg. Onkyo and Marantz as well integrated/separate amps from Cambridge Audio and Parasound. The performance never disappoints. It shines and performs at its best with integrated and separates, the sound really opens up with a good amp. Mids and treble are clean and crystal clear. Timing on the bass is fast, deep and dynamic and will have your toes tapping. Stereo image is very good. If there is one word I would use to describe the speakers its precise. The only flaw Ive noticed is that the treble can sound harsh with a bad recording or bright sounding amp. Ive had best results matching the 902s with warmer amps like Marantz and Cambridge Audio. The 902s are the best value Ive found and have in my two channel setup. Very musical for casual listening but also very good detail for the critical listener.

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Apr 15, 2004]
tkyong1
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

Look very pretty. Clear sound. Just nice Bass. Value for Money paid.

Weakness:

Need careful matching with Amp + CDP. Not suitable for Bright set-up.

I agreed that the MS902 is bright speaker but it's very detailed and clear. However, some time speaker is not the only component to blame, please read further.... I experienced a bright system since i bought my first hi-fi system with MS902. My system = (Marantz CD4000 + PM4200 + MS902 via QED Micro Bi-wire). You guy should know that the above set-up is on bright side and the QED Micro bi-wire enhanced the brightness further and make certain recording hard to listen for long hours. I met a Marantz Dealer 2 days ago, he suggest me to change my QED Micro to QED Plus Speaker Cable which is 2 times price of the Micro. Surprise, Surprise, the whole system now sound warm, more powerful due to increase in bass, it tamp the treble to a very comfortable level and make the recording sound so ease to listen. I simply love it. See, guys, sometime certain shops would like to sell you something and they will said your component is not good...balabala... Try experiment and important talk to a honest hi-fi shop technical adviser will help a lot. Thanks

Similar Products Used:

Mission M70 series. Audio Pro Black Pearl

OVERALL
RATING
4
VALUE
RATING
4
[Oct 29, 2003]
Marco Stam
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

mid-range and treble are excellent, the sound is very distinctive, vivid and clear.

Weakness:

bass is not always well-balanced, but certainly depending on the position of the speakers.

These speakers were recommended to me to match my Onkyo DV 434 receiver and I still thank that man on my bare knees. Once run in and put on decent Atakama floor stands, the sound is crystal clear even when played fairly loud. Even heavily orchestrated pieces such as my old Marillion albums do not sound 'fuzzy' in the mid-range. (I like to distinghuish the individual instruments, rather than being covered by warm blanket of mid-tones.) However, when played very softly the bass may get lost a bit and it is fairly booming a when played VERY loud. Because they are also used in a Home Theater (they're at 4 you know) with an MS 905 center, I am considering adding a sub to it (REL Quake II is a good candidate, because it is said to have very good musical quality as well)

OVERALL
RATING
4
VALUE
RATING
4
[Sep 23, 2003]
rob
AudioPhile

Strength:

pretty to look at.the usual transparancy , sound stage etc expected from budget speakers,solid construction , bi wire ,

Weakness:

way to bright and mettalic. if you like a warm sound better not go down this road, muddy flabby bass,over powering treble and not much comming from the tweeters.the tweeter guard is very difficult to remove so i wouldent bother even though m/s say it will improve the sound(which it did, slightly).i think if these speakers were front ported they would sound a lot better.or perhaps a tuneable rear port(the one they have is fixed).all in all they arn't a bad speaker,just takes a bit of time/tweaking before they grow on you.which they do over time.

i have the 902 signature.what can i say? im not going to say how wonderfull these speakers are, because they just arn't.every one raves on about tight bass and crisp treble. the bass is muddy / flabby and this is only if you are lucky enough to hear it.its usually muffled by the overly bright treble.these speakers dont have anything special in their price range, in fact i think you could do a lot better.they are pretty to look at though.i use silver speaker cable and it hasent fully burned in yet so im hoping that when it does some of the brightness will go away.these speakers will sound slightly mettalic due to the cones being alloy.

Similar Products Used:

space shuttle columbia.

OVERALL
RATING
3
VALUE
RATING
3
[Jul 27, 2003]
Mike Faulkner
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

Solid bass, and crisp treble

Weakness:

None

I first got introduced to MS speakers about 20 years ago when i bought a set of MS20's and Heybrook stands. When they gave up earlier this year MS was in the front of my choice list. I ran them in for about a month and found these to be a beautiful set of speakers. My tastes include rock, modern electronic and classical and these speakers do justice to it all. The bass is tight, and the treble is crisp and well defined. I have a fairly large listening room, the speakers are about 7 feet apart, on the old Heybrook stands (filled with dry sand)

Similar Products Used:

Cambridge Audio CD5 and A500 Amp, Gale Bi-wire cable

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Jul 05, 2003]
RorySwann
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

Everything! Treble is crystal clear and crisp without sounding too bright, and the bass is well extended yet still managing to remain tight. Stunning looks!

Weakness:

Nothing at all.

Well, what can i say? These speakers are just amazing! They are so detailed in every aspect and they produce such an AMAZING sound for their size! The bass is just unbelieveable!(for their size) you could almost be listening to floorstanders with a 6inch woofer! And the treble is crisp and crystal clear! You wouldnt find a better pair of speakers up to £450, trust me, i did try! And they look stunning!

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Jul 05, 2003]
RorySwann
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

Everything! Treble is crystal clear and crisp without sounding too bright, and the bass is well extended yet still managing to remain tight. Stunning looks!

Weakness:

Nothing at all.

Well, what can i say? These speakers are just amazing! They are so detailed in every aspect and they produce such an AMAZING sound for their size! The bass is just unbelieveable!(for their size) you could almost be listening to floorstanders with a 6inch woofer! And the treble is crisp and crystal clear! You wouldnt find a better pair of speakers up to £450, trust me, i did try! And they look stunning!

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Apr 18, 2003]
tkyong
Casual Listener

Strength:

Handsome look. Crytal n soft treble. Tight Bass. Warm Vocal (Especially for Norah Jone + Diana Krall - They sound so SEXY in this MS902).

Weakness:

a Little Boomy due to my front-rear wall. Help needed. Value for Money. Get it guys.

I just start my Hi-Fi Life a month ago and I went to a Marantz REtailer for my 1st Virgin Hi-Fi Set. After comparison testing, my purchases are as follow:- Amp: Marantz PM4200 Integrated Amp. CD Player: Marantz CD4000. Speaker: Mordaunt-Short MS902. Cable: QED Micro Bi-Wire. Stand: Empire SA. I have compared by listening to Mordaunt-Short MS901 vs Pro-Ac vs Mission M72. The MS902 beat them all in term of warm, soft, detail and tight punchy bass. The Mission is too boomy. After using for about a month, the MS902 sound great from Bass to Mid to Treble. The Bass is tight and just adequate. Treble is cyrtal and soft. Mid is warm. I just can't believe such a compact speaker can sound that great. The bass is like from a much bigger size speaker. But One problem i faced is the boomy due to the narrow front-rear wall (about 10 ft.) Any advise please email me at : kinyt@pd.jaring.my (Appreciated guys). Bravo set of speakers.

Similar Products Used:

Pro-Ac Mission M72

OVERALL
RATING
4
VALUE
RATING
5
[Apr 18, 2003]
tkyong1
Casual Listener

Strength:

Handsome look. Crytal n soft treble. Tight Bass. Warm Vocal (Especially for Norah Jone + Diana Krall - They sound so SEXY in this MS902).

Weakness:

a Little Boomy due to my front-rear wall. Help needed. Value for Money. Get it guys.

I just start my Hi-Fi Life a month ago and I went to a Marantz REtailer for my 1st Virgin Hi-Fi Set. After comparison testing, my purchases are as follow:- Amp: Marantz PM4200 Integrated Amp. CD Player: Marantz CD4000. Speaker: Mordaunt-Short MS902. Cable: QED Micro Bi-Wire. Stand: Empire SA. I have compared by listening to Mordaunt-Short MS901 vs Pro-Ac vs Mission M72. The MS902 beat them all in term of warm, soft, detail and tight punchy bass. The Mission is too boomy. After using for about a month, the MS902 sound great from Bass to Mid to Treble. The Bass is tight and just adequate. Treble is cyrtal and soft. Mid is warm. I just can't believe such a compact speaker can sound that great. The bass is like from a much bigger size speaker. But One problem i faced is the boomy due to the narrow front-rear wall (about 10 ft.) Any advise please email me at : kinyt@pd.jaring.my (Appreciated guys). Bravo set of speakers.

Similar Products Used:

Pro-Ac Mission M72

OVERALL
RATING
4
VALUE
RATING
5
Showing 1-10 of 33  

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