Mordaunt-Short Carnival SERIES 2 (coming soon)

I'm curious as to what the changes will be. I hope they keep the front ports of the Carnival 2 (reason why I bought it over the S30). The $250/pr price point will always be attractive so hopefully that remains the same as well. My only request is that they tame down that upper mid/lower treble bump. That's the only thing that keeps the S30/C2 from being a true "giant killer" in my book.

I have two pair of the Carnival 2's and a Carnival 5 center, (no longer in service) The 2's did not work out for front speakers, but right now they are fine for surrounds. I am looking to replace them with the Monitor Audio RX surrounds in the future, but no hurry. I am interested to see the new Carnivals though.

Thanks for sharing! There are very few Mordaunt Short fans here, I learned that sometime ago. I too love my Carnival 2 and hope the new series is a success.


I guess we all hear things differently. Because my speakers are desktop monitors I benefit from the sound before it takes on room characteristics, as they are 3ft from my ears. My only [trivially] negative comment regarding the Carnival 2 is the opposite, I hear a slight recess in this region. I'll take this tradeoff, for the money I think these are pretty darned transparent speakers.

The enclosure is different for sure. I am guessing that they are very similar.

These are still my favorite budget speakers at the moment. There is a slight bump in this range as verified by Dennis Murphy. His S30 mod to the crossover largely fixes this issue and flattens out the upper end of the spectrum. Others can chime in with their impressions pre and post mod. I hear the Carnival 2 the same way. It still sounds great but no speaker is perfect.

Off topic: I will have a BS-41 delivered today to compare to my RC10 and Carnival 2. As soon as A4L get some more Boston A25's, I'm gonna order those too. The Wharfedale 10.1's and PSB Alpha B1'a are also on my radar. These are all budget bookshelves. Stereophile has an "Entry Level" column where most of these were compared. The columnist said he liked the Diamond 10.1=BS-41>PSB B1>Boston A25. I don't think he has heard the S30/Carnival 2. "What HI-Fi?" said the the A26 and the A25 were each the second best speakers in their respective prices ranges (second to the Q Acoustics 2020i and the Monitor Audio BX-2, resp.)

So, I want to try the A25 next when the A4L has the refurb for $150/pr.

EDIT: Apparently, the 10.1's and BS-41's sound very similar with the 10.1's having a much nicer finish. It was a coin flip between the two. Also, the 10.1's sound noticeably worse with their grills on (which is weird).

Hi lonestar, I own the Carnival 2. I listened to the S30 but they wouldn't have been appropriate as nearfield monitors. I do know that Dennis did some crossover modifications to the S30 that provided significant improvement. I wish he had some time to do the same for my Carnivals, but I'm not about to derail him from building my Philharmonic 2

I wasn't aware that Cambridge and MS Carnivals shared the same or similar design, thanks.

Interesting, the BS-41 were not on my radar. I did compare the RC10 and Carnival 2 for about a week. The Energy were very nice, but again a bit much for desktop. This is a challenging spot for speakers! I really wanted to audition the Wharfedale 10.1 as well, they receive great feedback, but I couldn't find them locally and once I listened to the Carnivals I had found a match. I did listen to the PSB B1 (and others) at Crutchfield, they didn't quite appeal to me.

Out of curiosity, what are you using your speakers for?

Thanks for the input about the PSB B1's. I may skip these as most people (including yourself, et al.) much prefer the S30/M-S C2 to the Alpha's.

I am using one pair for my 2.1 main system and another for my 2.0 bedroom system. I swap the RC-10's and M-S C2's occasionally just for fun. I tend to like the Energy's in my bedroom as they create a lot of bass and sizzle on their own. I like the Carnival's in the living room because they blend so well with my sub and I can listen at lower volumes due to their flatter midrange response (compared to the RC-10's saddle curve.) I like them both.

Mordaunt Short Aviano series the series above the Carnival.
Are really nice sounding the bookself versions aren't that expensive.
Possibly considered budget.

In some ways I like them better than the PSB T6 towers I have.
So now I really think some Mordaunt Short towers would likely be the perfect speaker for me.

Nice list there.

I owned the Energy RC-10 for about 3 years, and during that time demo'd the Cambridge S30, Pioneer BS41, and Wharfedale Diamond 10.1 (among others not on your list) and compared them directly to the RC-10.

The RC-10 is my favorite of the bunch, and I'd probably say the Diamond 10.1 is second, then the S30... although it's hard to say without having directly compared the 10.1 and the S30. I can confidently say they have a very different sound though... since I found the S30 more forward/edgier than the RC-10, and thought the Diamond 10.1 sounded "darker"/less lively than the RC-10. I'd say the BS41 was my least favorite... but I thought it was very good for the $110 or so I had paid. Still, I didn't feel it was in the same class as the RC-10, so I sent it back.

I haven't heard the Carnival 2, although it would seem it's very similar to the S30... I haven't heard the Alpha B1 or the Boston A25/A26 either... In any case, I'm curious to read your thoughts on these when you get a chance to hear them... and do a few comparisons.

Accessories4Less has nice prices on the Aviano's right now too...

While I think the Diamond 10.1's are nice speakers... I don't think they'd do too well sitting on a desk. Even on stands out from the wall in my living room, they put out alot of upper bass, so I'd expect the bass to get pretty boomy if they were sitting on a desktop.

Not really budget - however, only $289 B-stock on Ebay
Acoustic Energy Aelite 1 > it should be here tomorrow.
http://www.acoustic-energy.co.uk/Def...-1-loudspeaker

I still have the modified Cambridge - the origional (stock) has a new home.

Maybe someday, I will hear the Carnival - budget hunting can be fun.

I noticed that there is a carnival 3 surround speaker.
http://www.audioadvisor.com/prodinfo.asp?number=MOCAR3

I will mail you a pair to listen to if you would like Jim

What did you feel the BS-41's lacked? I just hooked these up last night and I am pleasantly surprised. They are definitely bassier than the RC-10's and Carnival 2's. I can't comment on the mids and highs yet as I need more ear time with these, but so far they are closer in sound to the RC-10's than the Carnivals.

I find budget hunting to be more fun than just picking one high-end series and calling it a day. Where's the fun in that?

I look forward to your impressions of your newest acquisition.

Do you remember your impressions of these?

It's been awhile since I heard them... but I'd say they didn't have the resolution/detail of the RC-10.

They are really nice for the price though, and I don't recall them being offensive in any frequencies... more error of omission rather than commission.

I kind of know what you mean. The more I listen, the more I am starting to notice small differences. I need to continue A/B'ing before I really start dissecting the sounds. I can see how these (BS41) could be characterized as doing nothing wrong and nothing great (which is not a bad thing). The RC10's do have some very special qualities (Carnivals as well).

Listening continues...

P.S. While I'm at it, has anyone else heard the PSB Alpha series or the Monitor Audio Bronze (BX) series? After looking at the dimensions of the speakers I'm interested in, it turns out that these are the only ones that will fit in my space (width < 7"). The others were all a hair too wide. I've heard rumors of the MA's being bright and I'm not sure about the PSB's. They seem to get mixed reviews ranging from excellent to forgettable.

Boston A25, is also at Onecall - half price on white with black grill.
http://www.onecall.com/product/Bosto...ker/_/R-115576

That's a good find. They are actually even cheaper at A4L. I'm just not sure I can bring myself to buying white speakers. It seems too Apple-ish. But, I really want to listen to them as I hear good things. Also, it turns out they would be a bit too wide for my bedroom (I have limited space on my dresser with my TV, cable box, blu-ray player, and HK3940. I literally have 14 inches of space to play with or else something will be hanging off the side.)

The RC10's and Carnivals fit fine (both less than 6.5" wide) and the BS41's are way too big. That's why I'm interested in the B1's and BX-1's. I prolly need to start a new thread.

I bought a pair of Monitor Audio BX2's for my bedroom mainly because of the good reviews but when I finally got to hear them they really exceeded my expectations.

I'm leaning in this direction as well at the moment. Thanks for the input. How are the highs? Any comparisons?

The BX2's replaced a pair of Infinity Primus 162's. The Monitor Audios are just at higher level than the Infinity's. They have deeper bass, more detailed midrange and sparkly highs all in a smaller footprint. I had also ordered the KEF Q300's at the same time as the BX2's to compare them at home. Although the KEF's were superior in a few ways I favored the MA's and sent the KEF's back. I preferred the BX2's livelier presentation over the Q300's somewhat polite sound. The only nick I'd give the BX2's is they could be bright with some material but they really haven't offended me at all.

Thanks! I'm a recent Primus upgrader as well. Comparing the BX2's and Q300's must have been fun.

It's interesting, on paper the KEF's have a more advanced design using a proprietary coaxial driver compared to the traditional drivers used in MA's. I started with the expectation that the Q300's would come out on top but it didn't turn out that way once I sat down and listened to them both.