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

I used to live in Havant where these speakers and the brand was born, they used to share the site with Goodmans but moved away when Goodmans image fell off the cliff and went real cheap.The speakers are perfect for my desktop, I didn't want you normal pc speakers as they're just shite and made from a random Chinese Shenzhen 10 a penny brand.I'd advise you get 8 little rubber feet and put one in each corner to give them some isolation (you'd be surprised) the tops and mids sound good, crisp and clean, with nice low end due to air port being front facing so low end remains audible at lower volumes. At higher volumes these pack a nice punch for the size and the mids/tops remain clear and crisp; Even my friend pointed out how well they sounded (he is more of an audiophile than i am!) and when he realised they were Mordant Short he said they are good quality.

Bought for £100, they matched the Wharfedale Diamond 9.0 bookshelf speakers for price, but the quality exceeds them. The bass is full and tight without being woolly or too deep and the mid range is clear and detailed with a top end that never seems brash but is detailed with excellent timing. The soundstage is very open and wide but never sounds boxy width a presentation that seems to bring sound from outside of their placement, giving you a full on, involving experience no matter what music you listen to.

For context I'm not an audiophile, but I enjoy films and music on a custom 5.1 setup.I recently bought these to replace the rears of the setup that were previously Logitech z906 satellites. I found the z906 relied heavily on a subwoofer for any low end.Before setting up the amplifier in 5.1 I tested these speakers as just stereo speakers with a variety of music. They struggled to fill the room when listening off axis, but when listening in the ideal position they gave a good sound. Mounted in the corners of the rooms they gave very good bass response, a bit peaky from the positioning in the room, but not too boomy despite the bass reflex design. It benefits in this regard as the port is forward facing.When pushing the volume they started to distort, but considering the size room I'm not entirely suprised, as bookshelves in a smaller listening room they will easily produce more than enough volume.As part of the 5.1 system they match the sound of the fronts (a set of inherited 80's Mordaunt Short MS35Ti's) very well in tone, sensitivity and response. Considering the M20's are probably a quarter the internal volume/size, I'd call that quite an achievement.The centre, now a Tannoy Mercury 7C struggles to get as low as these speakers, but benefits from a higher sensitivity.I've set the subwoofer, an XLS200 down firing, positioned next to the listening position and crossing over at 80hz. The mordaunts could handle lower, but the Tannoy struggles a bit more.Bottom line, Mordaunt-Short have built a good set of speakers, they give good sound for less than £90 a pair. They certainly work well in my setup. You are paying for a quality pair of British designed, Chinese built speakers. They don't have a huge amount of marketing w*nk behind them, there's no magical bull* in them. They're just good budget speakers.

I'm of an age where absolute fidelity would probably be wasted. I can tell a good speaker from a bad one, I use mid-range amps and separates, I'm not looking for perfection. I have some cheap Tannoy Mercury speakers with custom cones that produce a sound I like and by which I compare my other speakers. These M20s produce a decent sound but are not as clear as the Tannoys.They're cheap, compact, look nice and sound OK. For the price I'm happy. You can spend thousands on speakers but there are many factors that affect the sound quality which most people will never consider. If you want something small and attractive to listen to Radio 2 or the odd CD and you have a budget of £100 max, then I think these fit the bill.

Well made for price, came quickly and packed securely. Fairly wide frequency response 41hz to 20khz for a small speaker (I have the precise range somewhere - but know it reaches down into the 40's at the low end). Sensitivity about 89db and power range over 20 - 100w (100w continuous according to manufacturer) at 8ohms; so makes for easy driving by smaller amps. Currently connected to a TEAC mini-system with a 25w rms output and at half amp volume fills a 18 x 12 room with moderate loudness. Easily detachable covers do make for a more open sound, but this is a matter of personal preference of course. Socketed terminals and binding posts, take your pick. I use banana plugs for convenience. I think the front bass port makes all the difference with avoiding 'boomy bass' in rooms where you are forced to have your speakers close to the wall (I've got these about 6" from the rear wall and 12" in from the side, angled towards the central listening position). Previous speakers with rear ports have resulted in a muddy bass for me with a small room, especially if you can't locate them at the recommended ideal distances into the room; so these are good where you can have them in corner and still get some bass extension into the room at lower listening levels. I also found Mordaunt Shorts technical helpline good with a swift response from them with more technical details of the M20 model. I have had Mordaunt Shorts in the past and they've always been well screwed together with a neutral tone and good midrange, so not trending into over bright or muffled with the treble. If you want a relatively compact speaker with reasonable bass and a nice detailed sound (at least with contemporary music), then I recommend these speakers. I may try them on stands eventually and though they aren't bi-wireable, I have not found bi-wiring in small speakers to make any clearly perceptible difference - though my ears are older and maybe not so a-tuned to higher frequencies anymore. So, a good buy and friendly customer support - what else does one need.