New Mordaunt Short speakers on the way....

[frenchmon]

Do you think they will fair better than the 902's

frenchmon

[LeRoy]

Do you think they will fair better than the 902's

frenchmon

I think each have their great points but it depends on what the listener prefers as to which is better.

The 902's are fun, lively, punchy/snappy bass notes, composed, and basically balanced from top to bottom. The only weakness I can detect is a little lack of brass bite (but just a little bit). The imaging is pretty good laterally, and okay vertically. These speakers match perfectly with my 65WPC amp.

The AV2's are composed, a bit slower in delivering the bass notes unless playing a reference type recording, meatier in the brass and overall have a more mid-range presence compared to the 902's. The bass energizes my listening room in a way that the 902's can't touch though. The AV2's sound spacious with excellent lateral imaging and pretty good vertical imaging. My feeling is these speakers need more power than my 65 WPC amp.

The upper frequencies are very, very fine in each of the M.S. models and I can not detect any upper frequency variations in either model. The voicing is excellent in both models, and I have yet to hear any distortion from either speaker.

Of course, I have only had the AV2's for about a week now....I am sure it's gonna be a few more weeks before the speakers fully break in.

[LeRoy]

I can comfortably state the tweeter is broken in and the hi freq SQ is very good indeed. I have detail, detail, and insight without brightness or hash. The wave guide on the tweeter sure makes an impact on how the hi freq is dispersed into the listening area and I think the wave guide is definite improvement over the M.S. Avanti series.

The low end is still coming in, however, I did get better results in getting some bass note snap when I swapped out the Belles gear and put in the Rega Brio 3. I was quite shocked to discover the little inexpensive Brio 3 was a match to the Belles in detail, pace, HF extension, mid range accuracy, overall tonality, PLUS the Rega put some snap into the leading edge bass notes where the Belles did not. Additionally, the Rega has a quieter background.

I really did not expect this kind of overall musicality from the Rega and especially a change in bass note playback going from the Belles to the Brio 3 but I am sure glad Frenchmon brought up the topic of amplification as maybe being one of the factors in getting a rolled bass note with the Belles gear. Thanks for the suggestion Frenchmon!

Also, I have been using the XRAY as the source and it was in fact the NAD 545 that made any system sound so dead/drab. I am getting rid of the 545 real pronto.

LeRoy

[frenchmon]

I can comfortably state the tweeter is broken in and the hi freq SQ is very good indeed. I have detail, detail, and insight without brightness or hash.
LeRoy

Do you have better body and vividness with the Brio/ Musical Fedelity and Aviano 2's ?

frenchmon

[LeRoy]

I'm in central Texas, the burbs of San Antonio that is.

I know how speaker temptation feels...The Avanti 902 small bookshelves are no longer being sold on http://www.accessories4less.com/index.php. However, they are carrying the current line of M.S. Aviano and I think they are already discounted 20%.

As far as floorstander's go, you might want to wait on a review of the Aviano 6. I know the small Aviano 1 got a great review on What Hi Fi and basically the AV1 is the upgrade to the 902.

My audio dealer/friend who made the recommendation for the MS to begin with continues to insist that the Avanti 6 was/is superior to the Mezzo 6. Of course, the Avanti 6 is also a discontinued model and I can only find them for sale in the UK. IF you can snag a new pair of Avanti 6 THAT would be the way to go.

However, these here MS Aviano 2 sure can put out some bass like a small floorstander does. If you are really wanting to hear these I can talk with my audio dealer buddy and see what rate can be had in shipping to MO so you can give em a listen. If you still have the prior email I sent to you with regard to my email address then shoot me an email so we can discuss it.

No, I don't have better body/texture but I do have some snap in the bass note with the Rega Brio 3 that I don't get with the Belles and AV2 pairing.

[frenchmon]

I'm in central Texas, the burbs of San Antonio that is.

Just thinking maybe one day during the summer months I may be able to get away. I use to live in Houston during the 80's.

I know how speaker temptation feels...The Avanti 902 small bookshelves are no longer being sold on accessories4less. However, the are carrying the current line of M.S. Aviano and I think they are already discounted 20%.

I think Amazon and Wild west Electronics are selling the 902's and the Aviano's

As far as floorstander's go, you might want to wait on a review of the Aviano 6. I know the small Aviano 1 got a great review on What Hi Fi and basically the AV1 is the upgrade to the 902.

The Mezzo 6 got a 5 star rating over at What Hi Fi. I just love the way they look but the Aviano has a better price. I've also had my eye on the Wharfdale Opus 1 v2 over at Wild west Electronics. That thing has great reviews and is being discounted at an unbelievable price. It has a soft dome mid woofer. Never seen that before. Check it out. http://www.wildwestelectronics.net/w...-speakers.html

My audio dealer/friend who made the recommendation for the MS to begin with continues to insist that the Avanti 6 was/is superior to the Mezzo 6. Of course, the Avanti 6 is also a discontinued model and I can only find them for sale in the UK. IF you can snag a new pair of Avanti 6 THAT would be the way to go.

What surprises me is that not many people on all the differnt forums I visit give MS or Canton any attention. I wish we had a Canton or MS dealer hear in St. Louis.

However, these here MS Aviano 2 sure can put out some bass like a small floorstander does. If you are really wanting to hear these I can talk with my audio dealer buddy and see what rate can be had in shipping to MO so you can give em a listen. If you still have the prior email I sent to you with regard to my email address then shoot me an email so we can discuss it.

I just might take you up on that advice. I kinda want to put the Cantons through a shoot out to see what its really like compared to other speaker in its range. I might break down and get a pair of Avianos for my own curiosity. But I tell you the Cantons are sounding really good in my two channel room. I'm sitting here as we speak listening to Pat Metheny, Dave Holland and Roy Haynes 1998 release "Question and Answer" CD. The Aviano 2's go lower that my Cantons.

The guy over on the Sound and Vision Mag forum started this thing called pass the speaker. The way it worked, some one would get a good pair of used book shelf speakers that maybe would go in a second set up at a good price off of audiogon. Then guys would put their names on a list over at the forum and then once all was signed up they would map out the route of the speaker according to the next closes city so each person on the list would get a chance to keep it for a week until every one on the list had a chance to listen to it. Each person who had the speaker shipped to him, would have to pay for shipping on UPS or FEDX to the next person. The last person would then pay for shipping to the owner of the speakers. After every one had a chance to listen to the speaker each person could comment on the speaker or give a detailed review on how the speaker did in their set up. Once the owner got the speaker back he would keep the speaker for his second set up or resale it on audiogon. It would be a nice thing if we could do something like that here at AR.

No, I don't have better body/texture but I do have some snap in the bass note with the Rega Brio 3 that I don't get with the Belles and AV2 pairing.

Are you going to keep the Brio paired with the Aviano's? I wish I could hear your system. How is your imaging? Tho I really don't need it, I use a sub with my Cantons...it gives more body than I had while running with out it. Have you tried a sub? And the A+ gave me a better sound stage and imaging.

frenchmon

[LeRoy]

Wild West stopped selling the MS Avanti series long ago. That's the first place I looked to try to find a pair of Avanti 6's. Yes, WW is selling the current line of MS Aviano but the pricing is better at A4less.

Yep, the looks of the Mezzo are quite captivating and that tweeter technology gets me all excited to read about....I know how tempting the are to want to snag a pair.

I am going to have to give the Wharfedale Opus a look and read. I once had a pair of Wharfedale Diamond 9.1's and I thought they were pretty good until I got the M.S. I am sure the Opus is a different world from the diamond series.

LOL, I know ..it's always such a bummer to not find the audio that interests you to not be close by. I know Canton is a quality product and so is M.S. I think marketing has a lot to do with each not having a larger following and because they spend less on marketing and more $$ into their products then we win. Certainly each company deserves better pub and recognition though.

Pass the speaker...that's an interesting concept. Yes, my main system will now be Rega Brio 3, AV2, and the XRAY. I don't intend to use a sub with the system and actually the only time I do use a sub is with HT. Next thing to do is to add the A+ spades/nana's to the Chord Carnival Silver Screen speaker wire. Thanks again for the reminder..