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  1. #26
    Audio/HT Nut version 1.3a
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    These are very well built (7 year warranty) and should be a good match with their relatively high 92dB sensitivity and your modest amp for $298.


    http://www.hsuresearch.com/products/hb-1.html

  2. #27
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    My recommendation would be to buy some older second hand speakers. You'll end up paying a lot less and may well find a bargain. If you have a nice setup upstairs why do you need a decent Rotel amp downstairs? If you're not going to do critical listening I would sell the Rotel (or keep it as a backup for the upstairs system if you don't need the money) and buy a second hand, maybe a good vintage amp for downstairs. There are bargains to be found!

  3. #28
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    Needle Doctor

    So funny Leroy. I received my order receipt from The Needle Doctor and I see that it's the old shop I went to at the University of MN campus! I'm heading down there today to grab the 902i and skip the shipping fee.

    Things just happen for a reason I guess. Thanks for sending out that link to the MS 902i and I'll let ya know what I think of them when I give them a listen.

    The seller (retail shop in Jersey) forgot to include the power cable to my Rotel RA-02 when they shipped it to me so I have to wait to recieve that before I can listen to them on the amp they will most like be powered by.
    Last edited by tbonebrown; 02-15-2010 at 09:50 AM.

  4. #29
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    Quote Originally Posted by audio amateur
    My recommendation would be to buy some older second hand speakers. You'll end up paying a lot less and may well find a bargain. If you have a nice setup upstairs why do you need a decent Rotel amp downstairs? If you're not going to do critical listening I would sell the Rotel (or keep it as a backup for the upstairs system if you don't need the money) and buy a second hand, maybe a good vintage amp for downstairs. There are bargains to be found!
    I got a great deal ($249) on the second amp, the Rotel RA-02, so I figured why not?

  5. #30
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    LeRoy, just got home with the 902i set and they seem to be a very solid build and sound pretty good so far. Still waiting on that power cord for the Rotel so they are currently hooked up to my Sonos system. Can't really tell right now but they sound much better than my Paradigm Cinema Micros, which was expected.

    Once again, thanks everyone for your replies and I'll keep you posted once I do the A/B compare on the Mordaunt Short Avant 902i and hopefully a set of Paradigm Titan v5.

    Thanks again!

    T.BONE

  6. #31
    Vinyl Fundamentalist Forums Moderator poppachubby's Avatar
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    LeRoy, you should be working on commission bro...Mordaunt Short salesman of the year!

  7. #32
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    Quote Originally Posted by tbonebrown
    I got a great deal ($249) on the second amp, the Rotel RA-02, so I figured why not?
    Right right, I realise my post was a little late. I hope you enjoy your new MS. But just be mindfull of what I said in the future, there are second hand bargains to be had in this hobby.

  8. #33
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    Update....I just did a quick side-by-side with the Mordaunt and the Paradigm and Paradigm Micros are much brighter than the 902i at this time but I'm hoping that is just due to break-in time on the fresh out-of-the-box 902s. I'm playing a Karl Denson album and the horns and lead guitar are much brighter and prominent on the Paradigms! I do have to admit though, the 902s are kicking the pants off the much smaller Micros when it comes to bass and low end. Time will tell I guess.

    The power cable for the Rotel is going to be here tomorrow from what FedEx says so I can give them a real test on a real system soon.

    Canada vs England..it's my own little Olympics going on in my house. I know some are partial to the British sounding speakers and amps but I just may not be one of them. We'll give them their fair break-in time before I make any real decisons!!

  9. #34
    Vinyl Fundamentalist Forums Moderator poppachubby's Avatar
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    Paradigms always get their azzes kicked in the low end but are super revealing and detailed in the mid. This is their sig...congrats on the speaks, sounds like you're having fun.

  10. #35
    frenchmon frenchmon's Avatar
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    Hey pappaC what Morgan is that?

    frenchmon
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  11. #36
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    Hello Tbone...glad you're enjoying the speaker olympics

    Well who'd a thunk that the audio shop that sells the M.S. is driving distance from you.....pretty good karma there..lol

    Your'e welcome for the M.S. links.

    Ya, I am eager to know of your listening experience with everything you hook up the M.S. to. I just want to be sure that you have the speakers hooked up correctly because the M.S. should be more revealing in the high frequency as they are very detailed but without any spit, hash, or harshness to the sound. IMO, the M.S. should surpass the Titans in detail and transparency in every aspect, HF, Mids, and LF.

    Just to be a nag....if you are not bi-wiring the speakers be sure it's the outermost speaker posts that you are hooking up to the amp. The right end speaker post is the positive connection and the left end speaker post is the negative connection.

    I'll check back to see if you got better results with the Rotel. Enjoy the Music.

    LeRoy

  12. #37
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    Hello Poppachubby

    Quote Originally Posted by poppachubby
    LeRoy, you should be working on commission bro...Mordaunt Short salesman of the year!
    Man, I sound like a broken record on this site when it comes to speaker recommendations..lol

    I think I need to pass the M.S. Olympic torch to someone else...

    Take care P.C.

    LeRoy

  13. #38
    Vinyl Fundamentalist Forums Moderator poppachubby's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by frenchmon
    Hey pappaC what Morgan is that?

    frenchmon
    It's Vol.3, good album with "I Remember Clifford" on it. I'm on a Freddie Hubbard kick right now...

  14. #39
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    I have them wired correctly Leeeeroy! LOL No, thanks for asking but I did look at the insert when I saw the biwiring option, outsides for speaker posts. They have already seemed to open up a bit but I still think/hope the highs will open up a bit more.

    FedEx said the 5000+ flights that were cancelled on the east coast in the past few days is the root cause of my delay in shipping. I guess due to mother nature I will grant them a pass.

    I'm still going to get a set of Titans to do a compare. You have me truly wondering if these little 902s can hang with them. Titan's sounded damn fine in the store but these 902s may sound damn fine when that DAMN power cable gets here!

    Later,

    T.BONE

  15. #40
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    Man, I am also wondering what's going on....

    The only time the 902's did not impress was when I used the NAD 545 CDP as a source. That was so dull sounding that I never played the 545 again and just got rid of that player this past weekend.

    Just as an FYI, the amplification I use with the 902s is Rega Brio 3 @ 50 wpc. I've also used the 902's with Belles Soloist Amp and Belles Soloist pre-amp. The sources I use are the Musical Fidelity X-Ray and recently I acquired the Stello Transport and have that hooked up to the Musical Fidelity V-DAC. I've used the 902's in the Stello/Belles configuration also with very musical results.

    So, I am really perplexed as to why the HF and mids are falling short for you as I think the strong suit of the speaker is the HF and mids with enough bass output to make them sound really balanced. I'll check back later and hopefully the power cord has arrived by then.

    What are you currently using as a source and amplification with the 902's?

  16. #41
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    LeRoy, right now I'm just using my Sonos system....

    http://www.sonos.com/whattobuy/zonep...&LangType=1033

    Nothing too fancy so that's why I can't wait for the power cable to arrive. That's the real test!

    More to come.

  17. #42
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    Just checking in with the Tbone olympics...

    How's everything now? Got the power cord yet?

  18. #43
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    Finally...sorry

    Sorry it took so long to get back to you folks. I DID get the power cord and then I went out of town for a bit. Here is my bit on the Paradigm Cinema Micros and the MS 902i:...then Monitor 7s

    The Mordaunt Short 902i have much more bass and low end but the high end does not beat out the Micros in any way at all. It may be my ear (and I have listened to plenty of live music and loud A$$ home stereo in my day to damage them) but here is what I hear....snare drum (weird...I know) , lead guitar (solos, high picking), etc, seem to be muffled and not nearly as prominant on the MSs as opposed to the Micros. The Micros "sing" much more in this area than that of the 902is. The 902i seem to provide a "stage" much more than that of the Micros. It just seems to fill the middle space much better so you have that feeling of the music being right in front of you more as opposed to stage left, stage right. Not sure if that makes sense to you all or not but that's what i'm going with on my description. sound stage maybe?? The 902s are much better for lower end music though, such as rock and roll or hip hop, much better and some really tight impressive bass for such a small cabinet. When listening to bluegrass or guitar music though the micros are better on the high end but definitely lack on the lower end and don't have that tight solid bass to them, no matter where you put them! They are cheap, made for cinema, and small. I didn't really expect much out of them but they will work well in my office when I beef that up. I'm choosing the MS 902i as beating out the Micros overall as the Micros fall way short in areas that the 902i only come in a close second to. Bottom line, both speakers are a grrrreat value for the cost, $139 Micros and $250 for MS 902i. With that being said, I'll bring up my room size again, 25' by 25' at largest but less square footage due to the dormers being on the second floor. 45 degree wall/celings etc...you get the point. Overall a larger room with some tough angles and poor acoustics. Bookshelf speakers at this level are not cutting it. Here is what I ended up doing....

    Purchased a set of Paradigm Monitor 7 v4 off clist.org ($225) and put those out there this afternoon. Wow does that sound 10 times better than either of those bookshelf speakers! I had a hunch it may. It's doing a d@mn fine job of filling the room with quality sound even at high levels, which the others could not.

    So what do I do with the other sets you may ask? Well I have moved the MS 902Is back to the Sonos in my upstairs living room (not my main listening area) and plan to use those until I get my new sub I ordered the other day. Should be here in a few more days, Paradimg PDR-10 V3....last Canuck made version before The China Man took over production. Once I receive the new sub I can hook them up to the bookshelf speaks and see how that goes.

    LeRoy, sorry I can't do the side by side comparison on the Titans vs your mini monsters, aka 902i, but I'm done buying cheap speakers for a bit. I'm impressed with them though and I truly would recommend them to anyone looking for a great value in a bookshelf speaker using them in a smaller room but not a large room, as expected I'm sure. The floor standers are the way to go for a room that size but I'll let ya know where I end up after the sub gets here. I assume I can wire the MS 902is into the high posts and see what happens there. Not an option on the Micros but I'll keep ya posted on my testing once I receive it!

    Take care and thanks for all the input folks!

    T.BONE

  19. #44
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    Oh yeah, for anyone wondering about the Rotel RA-02. It's sweet for 40W per channel!!!! I would say it's just as loud and much more crisp at high volumes than my old Harmon Kardon AVRXXX that was running 100or125W/channel!

    The Paradigm Monitor line are such efficient speakers. Especially with the Rotel (they match up well if you ask me) as it will get too loud in that 25x25 room with the RA-02 pushing the Monitor 7s, trust me.

    Highly recommend the RA-02 amp for a cheap amp in a second listening area if you are on a budget and have effiecient speakers.....aka....no B+Ws or Paradigm Studio, etc.

  20. #45
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    Thanks for the update T.Bone

    Quote Originally Posted by tbonebrown
    Sorry it took so long to get back to you folks. I DID get the power cord and then I went out of town for a bit. Here is my bit on the Paradigm Cinema Micros and the MS 902i:...then Monitor 7s

    The Mordaunt Short 902i have much more bass and low end but the high end does not beat out the Micros in any way at all. It may be my ear (and I have listened to plenty of live music and loud A$$ home stereo in my day to damage them) but here is what I hear....snare drum (weird...I know) , lead guitar (solos, high picking), etc, seem to be muffled and not nearly as prominant on the MSs as opposed to the Micros. The Micros "sing" much more in this area than that of the 902is. The 902i seem to provide a "stage" much more than that of the Micros. It just seems to fill the middle space much better so you have that feeling of the music being right in front of you more as opposed to stage left, stage right. Not sure if that makes sense to you all or not but that's what i'm going with on my description. sound stage maybe?? The 902s are much better for lower end music though, such as rock and roll or hip hop, much better and some really tight impressive bass for such a small cabinet. When listening to bluegrass or guitar music though the micros are better on the high end but definitely lack on the lower end and don't have that tight solid bass to them, no matter where you put them! They are cheap, made for cinema, and small. I didn't really expect much out of them but they will work well in my office when I beef that up. I'm choosing the MS 902i as beating out the Micros overall as the Micros fall way short in areas that the 902i only come in a close second to. Bottom line, both speakers are a grrrreat value for the cost, $139 Micros and $250 for MS 902i. With that being said, I'll bring up my room size again, 25' by 25' at largest but less square footage due to the dormers being on the second floor. 45 degree wall/celings etc...you get the point. Overall a larger room with some tough angles and poor acoustics. Bookshelf speakers at this level are not cutting it. Here is what I ended up doing....

    Purchased a set of Paradigm Monitor 7 v4 off clist.org ($225) and put those out there this afternoon. Wow does that sound 10 times better than either of those bookshelf speakers! I had a hunch it may. It's doing a d@mn fine job of filling the room with quality sound even at high levels, which the others could not.

    So what do I do with the other sets you may ask? Well I have moved the MS 902Is back to the Sonos in my upstairs living room (not my main listening area) and plan to use those until I get my new sub I ordered the other day. Should be here in a few more days, Paradimg PDR-10 V3....last Canuck made version before The China Man took over production. Once I receive the new sub I can hook them up to the bookshelf speaks and see how that goes.

    LeRoy, sorry I can't do the side by side comparison on the Titans vs your mini monsters, aka 902i, but I'm done buying cheap speakers for a bit. I'm impressed with them though and I truly would recommend them to anyone looking for a great value in a bookshelf speaker using them in a smaller room but not a large room, as expected I'm sure. The floor standers are the way to go for a room that size but I'll let ya know where I end up after the sub gets here. I assume I can wire the MS 902is into the high posts and see what happens there. Not an option on the Micros but I'll keep ya posted on my testing once I receive it!

    Take care and thanks for all the input folks!

    T.BONE
    I was wondering where you went and glad you came back to provide your findings. I am glad you found what you needed in the floor standers and wish the M.S. had fit your needs better.

    Yes, the M.S. can be bi-wired and hopefully you will be better able to extract the HF that you are seeking. That's cool that you still find some value and use of the 902's even though they are not going to be primary speakers.

    So, what is the config.. Rotel, Paradigm Monitors 7 v4, digital source?, speaker wire?, and interconnects?

  21. #46
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    Config

    Rotel RA-02
    Monitor 7s connected with Python 10 gauge
    iPod connected with iPod supplied headphone to RCA cable

    I know it's pretty low budget but it's sounding pretty good. If you think the connects would make a large difference please let me know what you use or what you would recommend. Same on the speaker wire but I don't need to spend $100 on wire as I think the currrent Pythons are doing quite well. Thoughts?

    I used to only use store purchased CDs kicking through my main stereo but with the digital world coming on so strong I had to go with the iPod and Apple Lossless compression. I had a coupld hundred CDs and a few others did too when we started out digital music library. We're up to 700+ full albums now and love the quick access to all the music...especially shuffle or genre shuffle! I have a pretty decent setup with nice Rotel and Paradigms in my main listening area and the other buddy has a nice Magnepan set connected to a high end separates system. We both agreed that although we can hear a difference we were impressed at the quality of sound coming out of the Apple Lossless files so we converted all our music many years ago.

    I briefly looked into a DAC when I was at The Needle Doctor (remember roping me into getting those 902Is? ) and they said it would definitely improve your sound. Well I read later from an article or two that the iPod acutally uses one of the best manu. for their DAC. I'm wondering if if would acutally make much of a difference? Do you have any experience in this digital setup at all?....ANYONE? If so, please comment.

    I'm now looking into somehow connecting those Micros to my PC...any experience with those cheap Pyle mini amps at all or would I be best looking for an older receiver amp to get what I need? I may start a new thread on this topic as I've looked on audioreview.com and didnt' see much under my search.

    blah...blah....blah...LATER!

  22. #47
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    If those Micros sound better with that new sub I may end up with those M.S. connected to my PC via some amp!

  23. #48
    frenchmon frenchmon's Avatar
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    ...last Canuck made version before The China Man took over production
    Did Paradigm start production in China?

    frenchmon
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  24. #49
    Shostakovich fan Feanor's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by frenchmon
    Did Paradigm start production in China?

    frenchmon
    Not the last I heard -- though I might have missed the email.

    Certainly PSB has shifted all production to China, parts and assembly. A few months ago Paul Barton, in a TAS or 'Phile interview, (don't rememeber which), was ecstatic about doing business over there. He felt he could design, build, and deliver a better product with off-shore production; (up yours, NA workers). Judging by the recent, highly favorable reviews for PSB speakers in various price ranges, he has a point.

    Still kudos to Paradigm for holding for North American production, (assuming that is still indeed true). But for practical purposes we can kiss off production of all mass market and mid-range goods in North American and Europe. And entrepreneurs like Barton needn't be so smug: Chinese entrepreneurs abound and will are already promoting their own designs and brands -- at least some of which are highly compeditive in performance and quality with western-designed goods.

    Chinese brands will have established a solid, popular reputation somewhat before NA and European workers' wages will have fallen enough to make production in these places feasible once again.

  25. #50
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    That's a pretty impressive library of music....

    Quote Originally Posted by tbonebrown
    Rotel RA-02
    Monitor 7s connected with Python 10 gauge
    iPod connected with iPod supplied headphone to RCA cable

    I know it's pretty low budget but it's sounding pretty good. If you think the connects would make a large difference please let me know what you use or what you would recommend. Same on the speaker wire but I don't need to spend $100 on wire as I think the currrent Pythons are doing quite well. Thoughts?

    I used to only use store purchased CDs kicking through my main stereo but with the digital world coming on so strong I had to go with the iPod and Apple Lossless compression. I had a coupld hundred CDs and a few others did too when we started out digital music library. We're up to 700+ full albums now and love the quick access to all the music...especially shuffle or genre shuffle! I have a pretty decent setup with nice Rotel and Paradigms in my main listening area and the other buddy has a nice Magnepan set connected to a high end separates system. We both agreed that although we can hear a difference we were impressed at the quality of sound coming out of the Apple Lossless files so we converted all our music many years ago.

    I briefly looked into a DAC when I was at The Needle Doctor (remember roping me into getting those 902Is? ) and they said it would definitely improve your sound. Well I read later from an article or two that the iPod acutally uses one of the best manu. for their DAC. I'm wondering if if would acutally make much of a difference? Do you have any experience in this digital setup at all?....ANYONE? If so, please comment.

    I'm now looking into somehow connecting those Micros to my PC...any experience with those cheap Pyle mini amps at all or would I be best looking for an older receiver amp to get what I need? I may start a new thread on this topic as I've looked on audioreview.com and didnt' see much under my search.

    blah...blah....blah...LATER!
    I am not familiar with Ipod's, Ipod connectivity, or Ipod sound quality. Somewhat recently I had purchased a Musical Fidelity V-DAC $299.00 and thought it might improve the sound of my M.F. X-RAY CDP and as it turned out the DAC in the X-RAY produced SQ that was more favorable than the V-DAC so that experiment did not go as hoped for. However, the V-DAC was a definite improvement over the Toshiba Laptop DAC connected to the Evolved Sonic amp/transmitter. Real recently I had an opportunity to get really acquainted with the Naim DAC and that is state of the art, $4K. No way I can afford that kind of audio SQ.

    I will have to ask my audio buddy who is also a cable builder how Ipod connectivity and SQ can be improved or tweaked. I'll have to get back to you on that. For speaker wire I currently use Chord Carnival Silver Screen, 8ft, and I have two sets, one bi-wire, and one set only that is 2-conductor. I will be replacing the CCSC 2-conductor speaker wire with Blue Marble Audio speaker wire (and the only reason I am doing that is because the MBA wire was a gift). The BMA wire is excellent, worth the $$, but pricey.

    As far as system building goes....everything piece makes a difference...IC's, speaker wire, power cord, amp, speakers, source....all of comes together to produce the final sound.

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