m & k subs ?


i am in the market for a new subwoofer. i had an m & k mx100 for about 15 years before it finally gave out. the sub is mainly used for movies. i am just wondering if i should stick to m & k or start investigating other avenues. i have found very little feedback on this website about m & k compared to other brands so i was starting to doubt if m & k is still one of the better ones out there. i have snell c/v as my lcr snell e/II for sides and snell k/II for rears all driven with mcintosh equipment. i was ready to pull the trigger on a m & k mx350 but now would consider any suggestions that audiogon members might think to be a better option. thanks in advance for any feedback you may give me!
flognam
Call Steve at American Theater Systems.
1-800-889-5845, tell him I sent you.
They handle many different brands, M&K, Velodyne etc.
Ask him about the Definitive Tech. Super Cubes.
I got a pair of the II's, no looking back, search is over.
M&K still make great HT subs. I had an MX 150, but listened to the 350 driven by big Mac gear in the dealer's "Hi-end" room. I was floored and bought the 150 on the spot. I have no idea how it was hooked up, I didn't know much then. I sold it about a year later and picked up a REL storm III. The main problem as I remember it was it relied on something external to set the crossover point. In HT the processor did this just fine, but no such luck for stereo listening. Those 2 12" woofers really hit hard, but was always overwhelming. Hope this helps.
I've been on Audiogon for over five years and have wondered at times why there hasn't been much said about M&K. I do know that in the last ten years or so their emphasis has shifted more towards home theater, so that may be the reason.

I remember about 15-20 years ago when my local [and now defunct] Wherehouse record shop was the flagship store for that chain. This store had a separate classical section that was in its own large glass room. One day, I walked in and noticed that it was actually fairly sonically isolated from the loud music circulating through the rest of the store. An adagio movement from a piece I don't remember was softly filling the room. Four small M&K satellite speakers were mounted amid the posters, standees and other displays near the corners of the room. Then all of a sudden some very low yet nicely defined and nuanced bass emanated from nowhere. I was so impressed because until the subwoofer made its presence known, I had no idea it was even there, but when it did it did so in a subtle yet powerful way.

During this phase of my life I was mostly into car stereos, and this first experience with "quality" bass really impressed me. I searched around for the source of the low frequencies and found that an M&K subwoofer was actually hidden in plain sight on a table amid the CDs, LPs and promotional display material.

Thinking back on that experience, I'm shocked that the M&K sub exhibited such good tone sitting on a table. Obviously, some care was taken in setting up the system in that room. I think it'd be cool to own equipment from that era like those M&K sats and sub, and some mid '80s ADS speakers.

Sorry to respond with such a longwinded diversion, but I'd kinda forgotten about M&K and your thread brought me back to that experience. As Rx8man suggests, for movies M&K, Velodyne, Def Tech, etc. are excellent choices.

Good luck!
Flognam,
I have a M&K MX 100 that I bought probaly 15 years ago that the amp went out on and I called M&K to see if they had a replacement amp. they told me to take off the amp and ship it to them and they would check it out. A week later they sent it back to me completely updated and repaired for free. A great Company give them a call.
Good Luck,
Lee
I think for HT purposes they are still excellent subs. I used to use an MX105 mkII in a combined music/HT room. At the time I used the room for more HT than music and the sub could shake the walls. M&K subs are excellent for HT. I've since made a changeover to more music and traded the M&K for a REL Strata III. For music, the REL is much better. It blends better and yields a more defined bass. Hope this helps.

Mike.
I purchased an M&K MX-350 off Audiogon several years ago. For music purposes, it was a tremendous improvement over my previous Definitive Techology PFTL15. The Def Tech hit hard for movies and produced tremendous bass for movie effects, but the M&K is much smoother and blends in perfectly with my bookshelf speakers.

For HT, the Def Tech probably would have been sufficient and I think there are many other good subs out there such as SVS. M&K also makes less expensive subs that will do well for movies.