m & k subs ?

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.

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.

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'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!

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.

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.