Hi there, i'm new and this is my first forum

[Noel_II]

Hi, I just joined last week, so i'm quite new. I have a pair of Mordaunt-Short MS 902 which I purchased in 2003, and which I hook up to a Rotel RA 930-AX mkII amp and a Marantz CD-5400 cd player. Its been a good and enjoyable listen to the speakers but Mordaunt-Short has recently introduced the Carnival 2 and I was captivated when I first listened to them as they were much more natural sounding and give a better sense of space and airiness with excellent bass control. The design is beautiful and they're so good to look at. Plus, its got an exlellent reviews from What Hi-Fi Magazine. The MS 902s are brighter and very detailed in the treble, punchier in the bass and very dynamic overall. There is hardly any difference in price between the ones I have now and the Carnival 2 but i wonder if it makes sense exchanging these for the Carnivals. Any advice?

[Mr Peabody]

Welcome to the forum. I'm not familiar with your brand of speakers. I'd say whether you swap would be dependent on how much improvement they would be to your system verses how much more out of pocket money it will cost you.

[hermanv]

If there is a limited budget, apply the money to the weakest link. If that's the speakers go for it.

Beware the upgrade spiral, almost all of us do it because of finite funds. For each new piece try and overreach a tiny bit, it may save you a step up later.

Think long and hard about used equipment, will a used pair of speakers in the same price range outperform the Carnival 2? If you're new to all of this, Audiogon is amazing for used stuff.

[JoeE SP9]

The only answer is to go with what sounds best to you. Of course this is balanced against cost. ie. Is it worth it to you?

BTW Welcome to the forum.

[2325fan]

i saw that u have a marantz that u r usin. but its not the orignal owner of the company im sorry to tell u its not the same marantz of the 60s an 70s like the equip that i am usin check out my pro ull see what i have im all 2 channell baby !!!!!!!!!! sorry

[Mr Peabody]

Marantz is now owned by Phillips who over the past several years has made Marantz a contender again. Their HT receivers are among the top and their CD/SACD players get a lot of respect. I also suspect their marketing must be some what different than most major brands because I don't see them in the big chain stores, at least around here.

[Noel_II]

I see. That's a good idea. I'll need a long time to listen and consider I guess, although i wouldn't call it much of an upgrade, i'm spending about the same amount of money. And about the Marantz, I've not listened to any models from the 60s or 70s before so I cannot comment. They're owned by Philips now (sadly, Philips being a regular electrical appliance brand just takes the M out of Marantz) but fortunately this hasn't changed the quality and fashion of their products. They still make awesome amps and CD players for a good price and very stylish looking ones too. I got the CD-5400 for RM 650, brand new. Its roughly US$ 185. Can hardly complain.

[hermanv]

Don't be too quick to knock Philips
1. The largest electronics company on Earth.
2. Invented the compact audio cassette.
3. Invented the CD
4. One of the first to sell plasma TVs
They are big enough to produce both junk and good stuff, and no I don't work for them.

[musiclover60]

Noel_II,

Tough call. When I've shopped for speakers this has always given me fits. Do I go with the more accurate, natural speakers ? Do I go with the speakers that have the dynamics and punch? Or, do I try to find a happy medium? My taste in music runs the gamut (did I spell that right?); rock, country, classical, blues, jazz, etc.. A set of speakers that sound great on rock might murder classical and a pair that sounds great with classical might lack the uumph needed for rock and fall flat on their face.
Here's an idea, take your current speakers, half a dozen of your favorite cd's, and compare the 2 speakers with music you listen to. My guess is that if your a Led Zepplin lover you'll stick with the ones you have. If Bach is your thing you'll get the more natural sounding ones. Of course, if you like Bach and LZ the saame, you might end up owning both!

musiclover60

PS
hermanv, I have to agree with you, Phillips is a lot better than a lot of people give them credit for. Great sound, no. Good sound, yes. Plus their stuff is built like tanks, and doen't cost you an arm and a leg!

[Mr Peabody]

I like Bach, Vivaldi better, and definitely Zepplin, all it takes is one pair of Dynaudio.

[JoeE SP9]

Speakers that sound good on the widest variety of music are always the most neutral. The most neutral speaker is always the way to go if you listen to more than one kind of music.