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Mordaunt short owners thread

post #1 of 84
1/7/12 at 11:09am
Thread Starter 
Well I did not see this title in any searches, so I will take the honor! I just bought two sets of Mordaunt Short Carnival 2's for my fronts and rears for a 5.1 system. They just came Fed ex from Audio Advisor, ultra fast shipping I might add! Anyone experienced with these? I will have them hooked up later tonight or tomorrow and I will give a review! I am running them on a Onkyo TX-NR609
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post #2 of 84
1/7/12 at 11:20am
That was fast!
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post #3 of 84
1/7/12 at 12:16pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by zieglj01 View Post

That was fast!

No kidding! I heard a knock on the door and there they were sitting at the front door! Michigan to NJ, two days?

On a side note, I wish I was able to hear the S30's to compare! I will be searching to see if I can find a pair of S30's on display so I can indeed make a comparison! It is ashame your a little far from NJ Jim! As we did discuss they are manufactured from the same parent company, so they should be close. The Carnival 2's are front ported vs rear ported!
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post #4 of 84
1/7/12 at 12:54pm
I just picked up a pair of Aviano 6s from a local dealer. I'd been intrigued after both sound and vision and home theater mag gave them some of the most overly positive reviews I've read.
I was looking at the Monitor Audio RX6, Paradigm Monitor 7/9, or the Energy RC70, but I stumbled across these on blow out for $250 less than the cheapest of the other options, so I grabbed them and I don't think I could be more pleased.
I had extensive experience with the RX6 and the Pardigm and I feel these are a better all around performer. I did not get to listen to the RC70 under ideal conditions so I have no comment on those.
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post #5 of 84
1/8/12 at 2:29pm
I'll have a pair delivered this week from Accessories4Less. I'll compare them to my P142's and RC-10's.
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post #6 of 84
1/8/12 at 3:42pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by l0nestar8 View Post

I'll have a pair delivered this week from Accessories4Less. I'll compare them to my P142's and RC-10's.

Please do so!!!! I looked at both these speakers. As I said earlier, there are basically no audio stores here anymore, so I really have no options for listing to most of these brands. HHgreg had a few sets on display, but nothing I was interested in and the sound room at Bestbuy was completely empty a couple of weeks ago? Maybe under construction? Comparisons and recommendations off this site are the only option I have!
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post #7 of 84
1/8/12 at 5:45pm
I have a set of the Aviano 2 and love them. When I first got them they were harsh in the upper mids but after the break in they smoothed out and sound awesome.
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post #8 of 84
1/10/12 at 2:29pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by adupree View Post

I have a set of the Aviano 2 and love them. When I first got them they were harsh in the upper mids but after the break in they smoothed out and sound awesome.

I was looking at these aswell, but I did not want to spend to much on a speaker I could not hear. The fit and finish on the Aviano 2's look really nice!
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post #9 of 84
1/10/12 at 5:49pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by adupree View Post

I have a set of the Aviano 2 and love them. When I first got them they were harsh in the upper mids but after the break in they smoothed out and sound awesome.

I was looking at these aswell, but I did not want to spend to much on a speaker I could not hear. The fit and finish on the Aviano 2's look really nice!
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post #10 of 84
1/10/12 at 8:40pm
The finish is beautiful in person
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post #11 of 84
1/15/12 at 11:33am
Thread Starter 
After a day of listing to the Carnival 2's, they really sound incredible! I am pushing these with an Onkyo TX-NR609 and I found that just running the 2 fronts along with the sub in Stereo that these speakers sounded incredible! They are not bassy at at all, and have just a nice punch, highs are very clear! I would have Still learning how to use my new receiver so I am sure when I get everything dialed in they should sound much better! I would have to say without the 12" Sub, they would be very flat!
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post #12 of 84
1/15/12 at 2:42pm
I finally have my Carnival 2's all set up. Gonna spend the week listening to them...
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post #13 of 84
1/22/12 at 12:24pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by l0nestar8 View Post

I finally have my Carnival 2's all set up. Gonna spend the week listening to them...

Any feed back?
I have been playing music and tuning for the last two or so hours and I am finding that the Carnival 2' sound fantastic with music (ipod) Good highs, tight bass. I was running two alone and they sounded good and filled the room, I then added in the sub and I am impressed. I do have two pair and in 5 channel Stereo I am in love!
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post #14 of 84
1/22/12 at 2:31pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Reefdvr27 View Post

Any feed back?
I have been playing music and tuning for the last two or so hours and I am finding that the Carnival 2' sound fantastic with music (ipod) Good highs, tight bass. I was running two alone and they sounded good and filled the room, I then added in the sub and I am impressed. I do have two pair and in 5 channel Stereo I am in love!

I've spent about a week with these. In short, I like them a great deal. I can only compare them to my RC-10, P142, P360, and M70's.

It's not fair to compare them to the P142, P360, or M70, but, that being said, I prefer the Carnivals to all of them. Aside from the obvious lack of bottom end, the P142's lack clarity and top end detail compared to the Carnival. The larger midwoofer of the Carnival undoubtedly contributes to this, again, not really a fair comparison. Advantage Carnival.

I didn't like the M70's at all so I'm not going to say much about them. They are bright, shrilly, with no bass (for a tower with four 6.5" drivers.) I would rank these last of all I've heard. To summarize, they sound small despite their gargantuan size. However, they are $300 a pair and they sound like it. Better than any other tower in that price range (I'm not a Polk hater and they look a lot better than the P360's.)

The P360 are very solid towers and I would suggest them as entry-level towers. However, I personally feel that a bookshelf/sub combo is a better value. I can't really say anything bad about either of the Infinity's. They are both very solid and without any peaks or spikes that I could detect. I like their sound signature a great deal. Very flat. However, the Infinity's don't have the technical resolution, texture, and detail of Carnival's and Energy's. I would still have the P360's in my living room and the P142's in my bedroom but the P360's were too big with a sub and I NEED a sub. There is just no substitute. When I think "Home Theater," I think "sub." When I got my RC-10's, I realized that they would fit in my bedroom so I decided to get another bookshelf to replace my P142's. It was actually quite hard to find a reasonable pair that were thin enough to fit. For instance, I would have just got some P153's but they were too wide. The RC-10's and Carnival 2's were perfect (and cheap) so I thought I'd compare them.

Comparison with RC-10's coming soon... (I need to A/B after break in.) I can give some initial impressions if anyone is interested.
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post #15 of 84
1/22/12 at 5:27pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by l0nestar8 View Post

I've spent about a week with these. In short, I like them a great deal. I can only compare them to my RC-10, P142, P360, and M70's.

It's not fair to compare them to the P142, P360, or M70, but, that being said, I prefer the Carnivals to all of them. Aside from the obvious lack of bottom end, the P142's lack clarity and top end detail compared to the Carnival. The larger midwoofer of the Carnival undoubtedly contributes to this, again, not really a fair comparison. Advantage Carnival.

I didn't like the M70's at all so I'm not going to say much about them. They are bright, shrilly, with no bass (for a tower with four 6.5" drivers.) I would rank these last of all I've heard. To summarize, they sound small despite their gargantuan size. However, they are $300 a pair and they sound like it. Better than any other tower in that price range (I'm not a Polk hater and they look a lot better than the P360's.)

The P360 are very solid towers and I would suggest them as entry-level towers. However, I personally feel that a bookshelf/sub combo is a better value. I can't really say anything bad about either of the Infinity's. They are both very solid and without any peaks or spikes that I could detect. I like their sound signature a great deal. Very flat. However, the Infinity's don't have the technical resolution, texture, and detail of Carnival's and Energy's. I would still have the P360's in my living room and the P142's in my bedroom but the P360's were too big with a sub and I NEED a sub. There is just no substitute. When I think "Home Theater," I think "sub." When I got my RC-10's, I realized that they would fit in my bedroom so I decided to get another bookshelf to replace my P142's. It was actually quite hard to find a reasonable pair that were thin enough to fit. For instance, I would have just got some P153's but they were too wide. The RC-10's and Carnival 2's were perfect (and cheap) so I thought I'd compare them.

Comparison with RC-10's coming soon... (I need to A/B after break in.) I can give some initial impressions if anyone is interested.

Very good review! I am glad you are as impressed with the Carnivals as I am! Did you wind going through AA? Did you get the stands? Looking forward to the camparison with the RC-10's!
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post #16 of 84
1/22/12 at 6:47pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Reefdvr27 View Post

Very good review! I am glad you are as impressed with the Carnivals as I am! Did you wind going through AA? Did you get the stands? Looking forward to the camparison with the RC-10's!

Yes to both questions. I can already tell everyone that the Carnivals and RC-10's sound nothing alike.
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post #17 of 84
1/22/12 at 6:49pm
Also, a head's up as the Carnival 2's do not come with rubber standoffs. So, if you plan on placing these on furniture, I would highly suggest buying some to isolate and avoid scratches. Luckily, I had some spares.
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post #18 of 84
1/22/12 at 6:58pm
Reef,

What is your current system? Four Carnivals and a center with sub? How do you like your receiver so far?
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post #19 of 84
1/22/12 at 7:31pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by l0nestar8 View Post

Yes to both questions. I can already tell everyone that the Carnivals and RC-10's sound nothing alike.

I imagine the Carnival 2 sounds alot like the Cambridge Audio S30... and if that is the case... you're right, they sound nothing alike...
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post #20 of 84
1/22/12 at 9:32pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by alphaiii View Post

I imagine the Carnival 2 sounds alot like the Cambridge Audio S30... and if that is the case... you're right, they sound nothing alike...

I would really like to hear the S30's and do a comparison with the Carnivals. I originally wanted to buy the S30's, but I decided to go with the Carnivals due to the larger midwoofer driver and cabinet (which is still quite slim much like the RC-10's.) In fact, the RC-10's and the Carnival 2's are essentially identical in form factor with the same 5.5" woofer. Visually speaking, the drivers of the RC-10's and the Carninal 2's look identical (not saying they are, by any means, but they are both kevlar-fabric woven 5.5" with chromey, shiny middle thingy.) In other words, given the drivers only, I wouldn't be able to tell them apart. Now, there are other differences, such as cabinet-size (RC-10's a hair bigger in all dimensions, but barely), port location (single-rear versus dual-front), and, of course, the tweeter (soft dome versus aluminum.)

Impressions to come...
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post #21 of 84
1/23/12 at 8:09am
Quote:
Originally Posted by l0nestar8 View Post

I would really like to hear the S30's and do a comparison with the Carnivals. I originally wanted to buy the S30's, but I decided to go with the Carnivals due to the larger midwoofer driver and cabinet (which is still quite slim much like the RC-10's.) In fact, the RC-10's and the Carnival 2's are essentially identical in form factor with the same 5.5" woofer. Visually speaking, the drivers of the RC-10's and the Carninal 2's look identical (not saying they are, by any means, but they are both kevlar-fabric woven 5.5" with chromey, shiny middle thingy.) In other words, given the drivers only, I wouldn't be able to tell them apart. Now, there are other differences, such as cabinet-size (RC-10's a hair bigger in all dimensions, but barely), port location (single-rear versus dual-front), and, of course, the tweeter (soft dome versus aluminum.)

Impressions to come...


I wonder what the actual difference is in the woofer size between the S30 and Carnival 2. Both cabinets are 6.3" wide, and the woofers on both take up most of the baffle width.

I know when I had the S30 and measured the diameter of the woofer, from outside surround edges... it was close in size the the RC-10 and NHT Absolute Zero woofers, which are called 5.5" and 5.25" woofers, respectively.

Seems like Cambridge is just more honest with the spec of their woofer size than some companies...
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post #22 of 84
1/23/12 at 8:17am
Quote:
Originally Posted by alphaiii View Post

I wonder what the actual difference is in the woofer size between the S30 and Carnival 2. Both cabinets are 6.3" wide, and the woofers on both take up most of the baffle width.

I know when I had the S30 and measured the diameter of the woofer, from outside surround edges... it was close in size the the RC-10 and NHT Absolute Zero woofers, which are called 5.5" and 5.25" woofers, respectively.

Seems like Cambridge is just more honest with the spec of their woofer size than some companies...

I will measure the Carnival 2 and RC-10 midwoofer tonight and report back.

Alphaii,

Isn't the S30 reported as a 4.5" driver?
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post #23 of 84
1/23/12 at 8:27am
Quote:
Originally Posted by l0nestar8 View Post

I will measure the Carnival 2 and RC-10 midwoofer tonight and report back.

Alphaii,

Isn't the S30 reported as a 4.5" driver?

It is... and I can't remember off the top of my head what the actual woofer size was... I posted it either here or at Audioholics, so I'll have to see if I can dig it up.

But I can tell you the Energy RC-Mini/V-Mini woofer is reported as a 4.5" driver too, and it's alot smaller than the S30. When you don't factor in the basket, and just measure woofer (including surround), the Energy driver is probably more like 3.75" at most.
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post #24 of 84
1/23/12 at 8:46am
Quote:
Originally Posted by alphaiii View Post

But I can tell you the Energy RC-Mini/V-Mini woofer is reported as a 4.5" driver too, and it's alot small than the S30. When you don't factor in the basket, and just measure woofer (including surround), it's probably more like 3.75" at most.

From the outside edge surround and inside the frame basket - the
S30 woofer is 5''
The cabinet is cross braced and has good damping material inside.
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post #25 of 84
1/23/12 at 9:06am
Quote:
Originally Posted by zieglj01 View Post

From the outside edge surround and inside the frame basket - the
S30 woofer is 5''
The cabinet is cross braced and has good damping material inside.

Just goes to show - people shouldn't make assumptions about the S30 because the specs say 4.5" woofer.
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post #26 of 84
1/23/12 at 9:09am
Quote:
Originally Posted by alphaiii View Post

Just goes to show - people shouldn't make assumptions about the S30 because the specs say 4.5" woofer.

Good point.

I'll get back to everyone this evening with my measurements. What should I be measuring exactly, btw? I want to stay consistent with you guys.
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post #27 of 84
1/23/12 at 9:20am
Quote:
Originally Posted by l0nestar8 View Post

Good point.

I'll get back to everyone this evening with my measurements. What should I be measuring exactly, btw? I want to stay consistent with you guys.

I measured like this:
LL
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post #28 of 84
1/23/12 at 9:26am
Quote:
Originally Posted by alphaiii View Post

I measured like this:

I'll do the same. Thanks.
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post #29 of 84
1/23/12 at 12:56pm
I picked up a pair of M-S Carnival 6s a couple or so years ago - for a very reasonable price - to use in a modest two-channel system in my family room. They're hooked up to a sweet, vintage Technics SA-500 stereo receiver.

They're nice-looking towers (compact, w/ solid WAF) and, overall, they're pretty nice-sounding, too:
- good imaging;
- decent soundstage;
- clean highs;
- a touch too "laid-back" on the mids for my liking, but acceptable; and
- a little light on bass, but nothing that clicking the bass knob up a couple of notches couldn't fix.
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post #30 of 84
1/24/12 at 4:08pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by zieglj01 View Post

From the outside edge surround and inside the frame basket - the
S30 woofer is 5''
The cabinet is cross braced and has good damping material inside.

I just measured the woofers of the Carnival 2's and the RC-10's. According to my measurements, the Carnivals 2's are 4 15/16" and the RC-10's are 5" (virtually identical and both listed at 5.5".) The only other bookshelves I have on hand are the P142's and they are 3.5" (listed as 4.5".)
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