MORDAUNT-SHORT M20, Compact Bookshelf Speakers (Pair) - Black

Product Information

Looking around at various internet forums it seems advances have been made in making smaller speakers rather than improving sound quality to any significant level.

They respond VERY well to thoughtful upgrades in electronics and ancillaries and if you can find them in light wood veneer their looks still draw appreciative comments that belie their age. It’s interesting how things have changed, with the speakers being much wider than deep, and with stands on ever so practical castors. Quite sharp directivity at high frequencies is noticeable, so at the installation in a room you should orient the systems to the listener. However, I have 30 year old pair of Wharfedales which get an airing every now and then and they sound fine. I have a pair of Mordaunt Short MS20 speakers purchased around 1982, Marantz Cd player from 1992 and Marantz amplifier which is about 4 years old.

However you might find that they are bit bass shy, but you can always add small subwoofer later like BK Gemini II or REL T5i. In the early 90s’ i was fortunate enough to work for Morduant-Short as a production assembler in Havant (Hampshire), under the then TGI Group. The makers recommend use with amplifiers rated at 10 to 80 watts, and I would say that systems having output ratings towards the bottom end of this range would nevertheless give ample sound volume in a domestic situation. This is one of the best value-for-money speaker designs around, but there's just a little bit more care needed when matching your system to these dynamic, musical Mordaunt-Shorts than is the case with their obvious rivals.

Bass frequencies are robust, solid and straight-edged, and manfully resist blooming even when parked too close to a rear wall. This could be considered the forerunner to the Naim NBL which further developed some of the ideas introduced by Phil in his 442 design.Beyond their sheer, exuberant musicality, the 902is are more-than-adequately made and daintily attractive. Designed by talented acoustician Graham Foy, the final pre-production version was reputedly tuned by Marantz’s Ken Ishiwata – at that time, the brand was distributed by Marantz outside the UK. I fondly remember the Pageants and I had a smaller bookshelf pair back in the 90’s which were great, ms10’s I think. com Limited, registered in England and Wales with number 03934849, 27 Old Gloucester Street, London, WC1N 3AX, United Kingdom.

With Scott Walker's 30th Century Man playing, the 902is time really well, marshalling a natural tempo, and integrating voices and instruments pretty seamlessly. It is a reassuring characteristic of most of the smaller high-fidelity manufacturers in the UK that they do not bring out new models every few months just for the sake of drawing attention to themselves or introducing cosmetic changes. There's an ocean of space around Nina Simone's sultry voice during That's Him Over There, and if you choose to spin a rather more energetic tune, such as Bloc Party's Little Thoughts, they display a more playful side, with a spirited and sparkling performance.The impedance too remained at 8 ohms or higher over all the important part of the range and would present no problems to any reasonable amplifier or receiver. MS20i are ready to serve faithfully and loyally to music lovers and especially to whose, who appreciate live, not glorified sound. The soft dome tweeter gives a far smoother and more refined sound compared to hard dome types, and it has a cut-out on the bottom of its mount, allowing its axis point to be closer to that of the woofer.