comments from Mark L. Schifter
Dear J,
At the outset, please allow me to
thank you for taking the time to review our new x-mtm loudspeaker. We
have to agree with your findings, the x-mtm is a GREAT Bang For Your
Buck Loudspeaker.
With that of course come many challenges.
It’s not simple to make a speaker with this kind of fit and finish (as
you’ve kindly noted) at this size and performance level… and get
anywhere near this price point. There are a couple of noteworthy
replies I’d like to include…
The grills have been re-styled to
a more traditional look and finish. They are more robust now to be
sure. With respect to the low frequency response I’d like to add that
in most modern Home Theatre applications (and crossed over at 80Hz) the
x-mtm has been found to be a formidable performer – given the bass
response we have dialed into the design. A big and full bass-to-midbass
“harmony” is one reason why we voiced this speaker as we have. Coupled
to a reasonable sub woofer, and you’ll find that our x-mtm makes for
some wonderfully integrated low bass response “in-room” (the critical
issue of course)… I believe you even noted the same. Most modern HT
systems are making use of sub woofers – and THIS marriage with our
x-mtm is made in heaven.
I’d like to also point out that there
will be an updated x-mtm ready in the 4th quarter that has a new high
frequency unit (tweeter) that greatly improves the air and extension
“up top”. This addition, combined with some critical element changes in
the crossover raises the bar even further at this price point.
On
behalf of Danny Richie (our superb loudspeaker engineer) and myself,
allow me to once again thank you for the time you invested in this
process, and for the overall excellent review of our new x-mtm.
Most humbly,
Mark L. Schifter
President and Founder
av123
Recent Forum Posts:
The currently shipping X-series "Encore" speakers have an upgraded tweeter and crossover. This improves the performance of the MTM and other X-series models. There will als be an upgrade path for owners of the "classic" X-series speakers.
I agree with you. I would put them in the same caliber of speaker prior to my PSB upgrade; those speakers being Technics SB-T200 . They were almost identical in configuration, excpet they used 5 1/2" drivers instead of 6 1/2" and they had a port in the front and one in the back.
I ask because I am looking at several speaker options in this price range, and currently own an Onkyo TX-SR503 which is rated at 75W/ch @ 8ohm, would this be sufficient? or a bad idea?
I do plan on upgrading my receiver to a more modern receiver with HDMI switching, and possible pre-amp outputs/more power, but I really wanted to get new speakers first, and get the new receiver when I make a display upgrade into the world of HD.
gene;293684
I have no reason to doubt their specified sensitivity. Since I didn't measure impedance/phase, I can only guesstimate that they must be a difficult load. I forgot to mention that when the amp was clipping, the woofers were bottoming out like mad so you definately shouldn't drive them so hard. The woofers in these speakers and especially in the xls bookshelf can't take much punishment which is why they need to be bass managed and mated with a good sub or two.
I have to agree with the MTM's being power hungry. I ran them using a pair of bridged Berhinger A500's. They happily gobbled up the extra power.
The cabinet is large considering the drivers but not overly huge. If you have room for any towers then these will fit in as well. The speaker finish was superb and the cabinets were solid. My only beef with the set I tested was the grill. The grills were the old "snowman" style that I believe has been replaced.
As far as sound, they did quite well. I was only hoping for "brighter" highs. But I believe this is because of my bias toward metal dome tweeters. I had to remind myself that these were budget priced speakers. Can't expect high priced exotic components at this price level.
Again, as Gene stated, I too would recommend that these are used with a powerful receiver or amplifier to really get the most from them.
