![]() The cabinet is sealed to provide effective protection, and there are damping pads on the rear to eliminate vibration when in direct contact with the wall.Īll the mounting hardware is pre-fitted to the enclosure, including metal clamps to fix speaker wire in the pre-cut grooves, and gold-plated push-on terminals for easy cable connection. As a result, the company claims a frequency response for the IW150 of 80Hz to 20kHz and a sensitivity of 90dB, which is very close to the S150 despite the lack of a traditional enclosure. M&K Sound’s aim here is to reduce the internal volume to 20 to 30 per cent of a normal S150 cabinet, while preserving the neutrality, realism and musicality associated with its design. The speakers come with white magnetic grilles that can be painted whatever colour the wall is, blending them in with the overall decor. For those seeking an all in-wall system, M&K Sound sells the passive 2 x 8in IW28S subwoofer.įrom the front, the IW150 looks exactly like the S150: it has the classic M&K Sound driver layout of three vertically aligned 1in soft fabric dome tweeters down its left-hand side, and a pair of 5.25in polypropylene woofers ranged down the right. In other words it should be more than capable of enhancing the bass performance of the relatively small passive speakers. ![]() M&K Sound knows a thing or two about building subs, and the driver array is designed to deliver a total surface area equivalent to a single 18in unit. The also-THX-certified X12 is a beast of a subwoofer, and uses a pair of long-stroke 12in woofers (in a push-pull configuration) in a sealed black-satin enclosure. The S150T is THX Ultra-certified, has a lovely cabinet with a black satin finish, and a bracket for wall-mounting.įurther down the brand's in-wall range you'll find the IW950 (twin tweeter, single midbass) and more compact two-way IW95, IW85 and IW5 models. But the S150T’s proprietary tripole configuration is specifically designed for smaller rooms, where surround speakers are often much closer to the listener. Of course, if you had enough space, you could use the IW150 for every channel. It’s probably worth pointing out that neither the S150Ts nor the X12 are either in-wall or new, but M&K Sound deems them the perfect partners for its latest invention. The 5.1 package reviewed here is composed of three IW150s for front left, right and centre (£1,200 each), a pair of S150T tripoles for the surrounds (£1,750), and the X12 subwoofer (£3,200). This will have had some effect on their overall signature, as the drivers are no longer interacting with an 'infinite baffle', but shouldn't have aversely impacted the performance. While it didn’t look pretty, I was able to place the speakers right up against the wall on speaker stands. Thankfully I didn’t need to because the speaker uses a sealed enclosure. In the interests of full disclosure, I didn’t start attacking the walls of my home cinema with a sledgehammer in order to audition M&K Sound's IW150s. The other problem is that by removing the speaker from its cabinet and sticking it in a wall, you might change its sonic integrity. The problem with in-wall speakers is that, as the name suggests, you have to physically put them in the wall, which requires a custom installer, a gifted amateur, or the help of a friendly builder. And for some rooms/people, going in-wall is the only acceptable aesthetic option. This is especially true when it comes to movies, where the whole idea is to create the sensation of actually being in the film’s environment. The appeal of in-wall speakers is undeniable as soon as you can’t see the source of the sound it becomes easier for the listener to be immersed in the experience. The IW150, as indicated by the prefix, is an in-wall version of the S150. The original speaker uses a traditional box cabinet, which is designed to be positioned on stands or a convenient shelf. ![]() So if the S150 has been around for so long, what's new from the company? A new approach to installation. M&K Sound has recently released the larger S300, essentially moving the S150 down to a mid-range position but that doesn’t detract from what remains a world-class speaker. Since its introduction in 1995, the speaker has been installed in film and music recording studios the world over, and it may well have been involved in the mixing of some of your favourite movies and songs. The company has had its up and downs – co-founder Ken Kreisel has departed – but the S150 has been a professional studio monitor of choice for decades. If you browse your dictionary for the word iconic, you’ll probably see a picture of the M&K Sound S150 next to the definition.
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