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Review
Audio Video April 2002
M&K K3 - Home Teater System
COVER FEATURE/AV SPEAKER SYSTEMS
The delicate sound of thunder
Miller & Kreisel K3
INTRO
Don’t be fooled by the diminutive, almost petite size of the sextet of loudspeakers making up M&K’s K3 home theatre speaker system. For all their unobtrusiveness, they inject the home movie experience with real life and presence.
VERDICT Huge presence, slam and pace from tiny speakers. Ability to seamlessly fill even larger rooms astounds. Taut delivery captures every microbe of detail and delivers it with authority.
TESTED WITH:
Harman Kardon AVR5000 AV amplifier, Atlantic Technology 170 sub/sat AV speaker system, Sony DVD-S525 DVD player, Sony Wega television monitor, Sony XL-V825 VCR, XLO Video interlinks and speaker cabling, Tice Solo and AV power conditioners, Eagle Audio custom-built AV stand.
RECORDINGS: Goldeneye,
Toy Story II, Scorpions - Acoustica
It’s all too easy to equate bigger to
better in the home theatre environment. In fact, it’s a syndrome that’s been
true of the entire audio game for years. Which is why one has become almost
conditioned to accepting that size, in audio terms, always counts.
Miller & Kreisel, on the other hand,
is a loudspeaker manufacturer that has never cared too much for convention, and
even less for marketing myth. Instead, founder Ken Kreisel and his team have
steadfastly focused on what matters most: performance.
The Culver City, California-based firm
has been in the satellite/subwoofer speaker game for more than a quarter of a
century, and today has an established reputation that straddles both home and
professional arenas. For instance, many of the world’s top movie studios are
among its list of professional clients.
Those that have experienced the M&K
approach to home theatre speaker systems remain exceptionally loyal to the
brand, pointing towards a special kind of magic that sets the marque apart from
the norm.
The K-Series AV speakers are among the
more recent arrivals from M&K, and ostensibly focus on providing big speaker
sound from a very compact overall package. The satellite and surround speakers
are tiny compared to conventional designs, and even the active subwoofer looks
almost too compact to be true.
While the K-Series consists of a number
of different satellite and subwoofer models, the K3 system links the K7
satellite monitors and K4 tripole surrounds to the K9 active sub. All speakers
are identically finished in a bluff, no-nonsense all-black cladding with plain,
black cloth grilles. White is also available, though.
The result is an array of six speakers
that look purposeful rather than pretty, and rely more on their compact
dimensions and unobtrusive design for a somewhat understated visual appeal.
However, this element soon fades into insignificance, compared to the
performance levels on offer.
It also has to be said that the rather
plain aesthetics have no bearing on the quality of design or construction, which
is impressive to the say the least. Drive units are top-notch, internal bracing
and damping of the highest order, and the 5-way binding posts are gold-plated
for sonically secure connections.
Common to all the satellites is a
completely shielded and sealed, infinite baffle enclosure design, ensuring a
taut and accurate delivery. Equally important is the fact that all the drivers
are identical, bar the additional units employed in the tripole surrounds.
The three identical K7 satellites are
employed as front left, right and centre loudspeakers. Unusually, the K7
employed in the centre channel role has to be positioned upright to ensure
vertical alignment of the tweeter and mid/bass drivers, which looks a little
awkward compared to dedicated centre channel designs.
However, the configuration easily passed
sonic muster, and underlines the importance of employing three identical
speakers (and not just speakers with identical drivers) for the three front AV
channels -- a philosophy that isn’t always adhered to by AV fans.
Each K7 satellite boasts a 25 mm silk
dome tweeter with neodymium magnet and ferrofluid cooling. This is accompanied
by dual 101 mm mid/bass drivers featuring a treated paper cone, cast aluminium
basket and butyl rubber surround.
Key technical specifications include a 4
ohm impedance and claimed frequency response of 80 Hz to 20 kHz. Power handling
is a useful 75 watts continuous and 150 watts peak. The K7 measures 314 x 124 x
152 mm (HxWxD).
The K4 surrounds are unusual in their
tripole configuration, compared to the bipolar approach adopted by most of
M&K’s rivals. The speaker employs the same combination of a 25 mm tweeter
and 100 mm mid/bass driver, firing directly at the audience, but adds two 65 mm
midrange drivers positioned at right angles to the main speaker array.
This allows both directly radiated sound
(for accurate positioning of rear effects on the surround soundstage) and a
diffuse sound field to enhance the ambience and surround effect, regardless of
the actual listening/viewing position. M&K claims that timbre and driver
‘voice’ matching remain intact.
The K4 has a quoted 8 ohm nominal
impedance, and a frequency response of 80 Hz to 20 kHz. Power handling is
identical to the K7, too, while the physical dimensions are a compact 187 x 152
x 152 mm. (HxWxD).
At 257 x 349 x 254 mm, the K9 subwoofer
doesn’t exactly look the monster part. Nor does the presence of a single 200
mm long-throw subwoofer driver instil much initial confidence. However, coupled
to an internal power amplifier credited with a 75 watt RMS output (150 watt
peak), and equipped with an impressive array of input and control options, the
K9 proves unequivocally that looks can be deceiving.
Produced to the same high standards as
the other K-Series units, the K9’s control panel offers both line-level and
high-level (speaker) inputs, providing for mono or stereo feeds. An on-board
crossover offers adjustable high-pass settings, or can be bypassed completely,
while there is also an output adjuster.
M&K credits the little sub with an
impressive 35 Hz to 200 Hz frequency response at ±
3 dB. And in case you’re concerned about durability, the K9 carries a
five-year parts and labour warranty. The satellites eclipse even that with an
impressive 10-year warranty.
My reference AV system employs Atlantic
Technology speakers which are similarly dimensioned (only slightly larger) than
the M&K K3 system’s speakers, and thus the same stands (tall rear
supports, ear-level fronts) were employed. Interestingly, the K7 and K4 speakers
came complete with hardware for on-wall mounting.
Driven by my Harman Kardon AVR5000, the
M&Ks were not difficult to set up, using virtually identical speaker
placement and system configuration: the AVR5000’s internal crossover was used
to limit the subwoofer feed to 80 Hz, while the subwoofer’s high-pass filter
was bypassed. The AV receiver’s speaker setting for the main fronts was
limited to ‘small’, reflecting their satellite status.
The initial performance of the K3 system
was immediately impressive, with a very quick delivery and loads of impact.
However, the treble was much brighter than anticipated, and the tonal character
was lean to the point of aggression.
Some hours of continuous operation
later, and the system had settled down much more satisfactorily, and now
displayed a far better integration between low and high frequencies, with a
meatier midrange, clean and deep bass and clear tops ensuring a more user -- and
music -- friendly delivery.
The K3 system has little trouble in
producing a sound that is gigantic compared to their physical presence. Close
your eyes and you’d never believe that you’re listening to a set of tiny
satellites and an equally compact subwoofer. The result is a movie experience
that lacks nothing in terms of dimension and presence.
However, it’s the precision of
delivery, the tautness of control, the sheer impact of the performance that sets
the K3 system apart from the norm. There’s no sloppy bass, no wayward
resonances to contend with: the soundtrack is translated with absolute clarity,
highlighting detail and projecting dialogue with absolute confidence.
Staging is exceptional, with the K3
set-up easily creating and maintaining a true 360-degree sound picture. The K4
tripoles play an important part in integrating rear effects into the overall
picture, while boosting cross-channel steering accuracy.
Tonal linearity and integration is
impressive for a satellite/subwoofer system, although the inherent character of
the system remains on the lean side, which is likely to compromise enjoyment of
lesser recordings, and also demands quality ancillaries.
Talking of which, M&K provides no
information on the efficiency of the K-Series speakers, but it’s clear that
they demand a fair amount of muscle, and should not be paired with anything
inferior on the amplifier front. The benefit is exceptional performance that
also extends into the musical framework: stereo sounds great, too.
Not surprisingly, excellence comes at a
price. The M&K K3 AV speaker system doesn’t come cheaply. On the other
hand, the big price may not be reflected in the small physical presence of the
speakers, but is more than ably qualified by the sonic delivery. And who needs
the clutter and imposing intrusion of big speakers, anyway?
With the K-Series, M&K continues to entrench itself as an innovative producer of top-quality sub/sat speaker systems that exceed expectations and make movie and music magic.