Mordaunt-Short MS-908 Floorstanding Speakers

Mordaunt-Short MS-908 Floorstanding Speakers 

DESCRIPTION

Flagship of the 900 range, the Mordaunt-Short 908 is a 3-way floorstanding loudspeaker that combines the astonishing mid-band resolution and treble claritty of the smaller 900 models with the power, authority and awesome drive only obtainable from a dedicated sub-woofer. These substantially proportioned, cricitally damped dual-enclosures have a complement of high frequency, mid-range and bass units that are equally capable of communicating the finesse and subtleties of recorded music as the thundering bass and sound track effects of home theater material.

USER REVIEWS

Showing 1-10 of 28  
[Dec 13, 2018]
reef2k


Strength:

Owned a pair of the 908i avanti's for about 5 yrs that i found at a local auction for £70.Excellent build quality,very rigid cabinet. Effortless power that doesn't get harsh when loud.Fine top end detail and smooth tight bass. I do plan on a speaker upgrade,hopefully next year,but i will probably need to spend over 2k do make it worthwhile

Weakness:

Only negatives i can think of are that mine have the black/ebony finish and look rather bland with grilles on,which they usually are.

Price Paid:
70
Purchased:
Used  
Model Year:
1995
OVERALL
RATING
4
[Dec 23, 2016]
Naaman
AudioPhile

16 years on and these guys are still going strong...love these speakers.

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Jan 23, 2010]
Androcles
Audio Enthusiast

Enough has been said by many reviewers before me so I won't say too much about the heavy duty, fast and tight bass (think earthquake with stabilisers), the sizzling upper frequencies (an aural scythe) and the well controlled mid range (grand piano and choral works all crystal clear without a hint of discomfort).

Much as I find these speakers utterly addictive, I’m actually changing them for some smaller speakers because my house/available room is too small to do these things justice. You really need a lot of space for these because much of the bass sound waves they create cannot become fully formed within a small room.

Assuming they are spaced approx 2-3 metres apart, they ideally require an additional 2 metres space from their respective walls to allow for the full and effective performance of the bass units. And I would advise a minimum listening distance of approx 4 metres. Anything less and I reckon you’re not getting the best sonic value for your money.

Overall these are truly titanic speakers (which of course benefit from bi wiring via strong amplification, in my case a TAG McLaren 60iRV). I’ve no experience of ultra expensive very high end speakers but if these MS908s are what you get for £200 secondhand on eBay, then the expensive stuff really needs to perform miracles to justify the greater expenditure.

If you’ve got a big domestic space to fill, I’d recommend some good quality clean powerful bi wireable amplification and you’ll enjoy the sounds these fantastically priced floor standers produce without any sense of fatigue for many years to come.

OVERALL
RATING
4
VALUE
RATING
5
[May 14, 2004]
RorySwann
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

Everything

Weakness:

Noting

I bought these speakers as an upgrade for the fronts on my home cinema setup and i must say...what a difference!!! These are amazingly pure sounding speakers. I have them hoocked up to a Yamaha HTR-5640RDS amp. This amp just really doesnt do these speakers justice. They still sound really great, but you really need to hook them up to a normal sterio amp, so i tried them with my Cambridge Audio A5i and...wow....never heard anything like it. The treble is just so pure and clean but didnt sound at all harsh on your ears. The mid range is fabulous, everything is there, you just dont miss a thing, its very warm sounding and now we get to the best bit, the bass! These speakers have such a tight, deep base that only a skilled speaker manufacturer could produce, without making them sound at all "boomy". I was very lucky with these, i managed to get hold of the last pair going in circulation with Richer Sounds, and got them quite cheap. If you see a pair of these, BUY THEM!!

Similar Products Used:

Mordaunt short 902, 906.

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Jan 04, 2004]
riddlerjb
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

Sound is amazing. Well built. Look emensly cool with the covers off.

Weakness:

Very heavy take a car to pick them up.

These speakers are fantstic go buy them now! Set them up with Cambirdge Audio P500 / C500 pre and power amp set up and Mordaunt Short Silver Maestro speaker cables. These babys sound amazing music is totally different through these speakers. The treble is clear and crisp but not harsh on the ears, mids well they exist on these speakers comparied to my old 1s and the bass is yummy :) only have these speakers in a small room but the bass is fine to me. Im lookin forwad to hearin what they sound like with there feet on. If ya lookin for a new pair of speakers these are fantastic sounding and great value for money.

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Jan 01, 2004]
sujoyroy8
Audio Enthusiast

I bought these for £300 from richer sounds on sale - what a bargain! These speakers are amazing. Not even set them up properly or anything just a quick connection etc. I can't even imagine how they'll sound with some better cabling and positioned properly etc. i don't even have them bi-wired! However 1 question. I forgot to check the boxes when I took them out. The sub(woofers) should be facing outwards right? I didn't check which was the left and which was the right! DOH!

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Nov 03, 2003]
Tramontana
Audio Enthusiast

I have had these for around a year now, they have been my side speakers in a 7.1 set up. Yes they are great. No doubts.

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Feb 18, 2003]
u165839
Casual Listener

Strength:

Solid bass , good treble good all round sound.

Weakness:

Check the spike bracket from time to time it might become slightly loose. I've only done it once since i bought them. about a year and half ago.

I wouldn't say that i'm a Audio Enthusiat but after reading a few of these reviews i don't understand why people are saying that the bass is crap and the treble is dull, these speakers are definatly worth the money compared to some speakers out there. _________________________________ It's important that you have enough room space and good/buget equipment to make these speakers kickass. There's no point connecting a low powered amp 30/40 RMS to speakers that are 150RMS, you just wont receive the full potential of the speakers. You will be better off buying yourself a decent less powered speaker.The reason i know is becuase i made the same mistake. I bought these speakers and put them in a small'ish room (Bedroom), don't got me wrong they sounded good but they could sound better. So, when my parents went anyway on holiday i took them in the living room connected them up and, THEY KICKEDASS. The treble had opened up and the bass was producing depth and THUMP........ I was amazed how different the 908's sounded, i didn't want to move them. I was trying all different types of music from classical to house music just to find the range of these speakers and i wasn't dissaponited. Anyone that is looking to buy a pair of 908's, i say go for it they are great for music and also they are really impressive in home entertainment.

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Feb 05, 2003]
clancol
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

Simple one word (Sound)

Weakness:

Run your finger over the top of a beach set and a black set. you will see that black set's finish is of a better quality

ok, to start of my room is an attic conversion with a sloped roof, a stupid solid banaster in the middle. a large open bay window and lots of unusable space. the speakers are in one half of the room and the other half is empty I am also using a DVD player as the source well! STEREO these speakers sound class! i find these spaekers to be very matter of fact, the high's and mid are very clinical yet they don't sound to harsh. I like boomy music, i love big bass that shakes the room. i am a typical young man that loves his music with more bass than enything. Well i used to be! these speakers have tought me to listen to music properly dispite my love for bass these speakers shine so much class that you don't want more bass. It's taken me 3 years to decide which speakers i wanted i have looked at B&W, AE, yam, mission, elac, wharf, and MonAudio and these are by far the best value of the lot. i use them with 903 bipoles, a 905 centre, a marantz 5300 reciver and a A15 sub. they are perfect for cinema and even sound as good as the MS THX select set. great value especialy when u work for the shop and u get them all for 500 GBP

Similar Products Used:

MS THX mission m74's

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Dec 19, 2002]
rorcocobun
AudioPhile

Strength:

refer to summary

Weakness:

refer to summary

I find it quite odd that you would complain about this speaker in the manner that you have. I have over the course of many years had the opportunity to audition many speakers and equipment combinations thanks to my friends in the audio industry and felt that the MS-908 held its own against speakers costing anywhere from 2x to 3x their own price. Included in this comparison were speakers from Proac, Totem, B&W, Kef, Ruark, Angstrom, Rega, Acoustic Energy, Monitor Audio, Monsoon Audio, Energy, PSB, Vandersteen and Castle to name but a few of the speakers I have had the privilege of listening to. I have consistently found the British speakers to have a consistent soft sound which makes sense given the smallish apartments and the reign of classical. I have consistently found the Canadian speakers to be much more neutral then their British counterparts. Again I speak in generalizations but go and Audition a midrange level Totem and compare it to a midrange Proac and you'll quickly see what I mean. Now this is where the MS-908 comes in. It isn't perfect for classical given it's more neutral sound characteristic but let them breath with jazz and you will be floored. Yes you heard me right. Traditionally British speaker manufactures roll-off the mid's and tweets in order to better handle violins. Listening to a wide variety of music will quickly tell you that the MS-908 is at home with a wide variety of music. Try listening to Cassandra Wilson's Strange Fruit or Branford Marsalis's Tain Mutiny at a healthy sound level on a typical British speaker and the dynamics go to hell because of that roll-off that I just mentioned. However, this is where the MS-908 shines. As for the bass comment, well I just can't figure out where that came from. What were your comparisons? I've listened to most of the MS-908s direct competition and you will be lucky to see multiple 6" bass drivers. Because of the cross-over point of the MS-908 being at 100 Hz the 10" bass driver doesn't have to get involved with the speeder upper bass region of lets say the cello or natural bass. Traditionally this is where larger bass units have fits. However, asking 6" drivers to delve into the the sub 40 Hz region is just stupid and unrealistic. Even if the driver can get there its capacity to move air is just to limiting a factor.

Similar Products Used:

refer to summary

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
Showing 1-10 of 28  

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