B&W Mini Theatre

[ti33er]

Hello my fellow B&W enthusiasts!

Just wondering if anyone has demo'd the new "Mini Theatre" satelites from B&W yet? Curious as to how they perform as they are compact, stylish and relatively cheap and the lady of the house might just let me get them seeing as it is my birthday soon (I have been going out of my mind not having a HT setup and hoping this might be a good gap-filler until I can get my 804Ss etc)

Thanks in advance for any qualified comments!

[audioqueso]

Interesting.. since I'm in the same boat as you. No price mentioned though. I'd like to hear them as well.

[Cowanrg]

they sound pretty small... they definately need a sub, and they still have that gap in the midbass frequencies that almost all speakers of this size have. they arent terribly impressive, but i guess for what they are they are decent.

[T_Rex]

B&W Mini Theatre

I heard them and was most impressed. In comparison to a product like the B&W LM1, they are way better. I think the build quality is right up there too (solid feel to them)

Regarding needing a sub, of course you'll need one - you can't expect the M1's to perform too low with a 4" drive unit. Anyway, how many HT's out there don't use subs - they almost all do.

I believe the M1's benefit from 800 series refinements by using neodymium magnets for the tweeters, as well as using a simple crossover. Each driver is fed by only a single component on the crossover - not bad for an entry level product if you ask me...

They definately get the thumbs up from me :T

[ti33er]

T_Rex, that is kinda what I was hoping for - apparently they are going for £120 per satelite in the UK (and one can pair any sub in reality!)

I was most impressed with the Mission cubes, for what they were I was astounded by the clarity and muscle of these little retro hand-sized boxes - if the B&Ws are equal or better they are more than adequate for my purposes so a definite an audition is coming up shortly! What HiFi has given them 5 Stars, not that this means they are perfect but at least it means there is something about them that they really liked!

I already have 603 series 3 dipoles and was thinking about buying 602's to match, but they are so big and 'boxy' and they have been around for 4 years meaning that they are due to be replaced! - this happened with my Nautilus and I am not prepared to short-change myself by paying full whack again for obsolete technology. Reckon I am most likely to sell my 603 S3 dipoles and go for something newer.

PS. I have been using my 603 di's as fronts in monopole mode (which have not been all bad) and if these fine little sats can match those in performance there is certainly no argument!

[ti33er]

Just went to the shop on my lunch break and they have just got them in - they were busy setting these babies up and I am going to demo them tomorrow!

FYI the stands are really solid, I was concerned about this just by looking on the B&W website but it looks like they have done a very good job - the build quality on this entire range is superb IMO!

[kate]

Hi ti33er,

So you are getting itchy for a new system huh

I have been away for a while, but remember getting lots of good tips from you in the past.
I remember that you sold you B&W kit, because basically you needed the money for other things.....

If money is a problem...then why do you keep on focussing on new equipment???
I realise new equipment might seem better..but this is always temporary...in a little while..technology will change yet again...and then you will be unhappy and wanting more ...again...and again.

Why don't you look secondhand??
You remarked in your own post that you don't want to loose so much money selling your equipment on later..when you shall want to upgrade..because knowing you ..you will....
You always always loose buying NEW....
well ha ha ha ..i guess i have said that often enough...and you already know it all ofcourse.

I don't have money either..just make sure you get a good deal second hand ..like half price...and then later you can sell it on ..and not make too big a loss. Perhaps in worst case you will sell it later for 1/3 of the price....

People say that the 602 S3 is the sweet spot in the series..why not get that second hand.
It will probably perform better than a satellite (i have to be careful ofcourse, because i have no experience), and will retain its value much better.
B&W are not stupid. If the satellite really sounds good..they would have made it more expensive.....think about it...they just want to get a maximum profit...and make a price they think a consumer is willing to pay..and no less :W

have a nice day ti33er,
i am in the same boat...my bank saldo is looking very sick too...

kate

[ti33er]

hehe hi Kate, thanks for the pearls of wisdom and you are are right, that is what I normally say about buying brand new but believe it or not buying second hand 60x's cost almost the SAME as brand new ones!!! ...it's unbelievable but the cheaper stuff seems to retain value far better than the higher end equipment??? - I guess it is the mass market penny-pinchers that quibble at a £5 saved that one is dealing with at that level - check on eBay to see for yourself how much they go for in the end!

I really did look into buying 602/3/4's as a cheap alternative to tie me over but it is not worth it second hand and buying them new knowing that they are due for retirement makes me a little 'green' - I may still go the 602 etc route if the satelites aren't up to the job, but by the looks of things they very well could be (if the tweeter is more refined than the 600 series that will sell me on it - and a decent sub should fill the gap nicely if the frequency scale is consistent down to 80Hz at their cut-off points!?)

Have a nice day too

PS. I have also been away for a while now that the 800 series hype has died down a little --> actually watching movies and listening to music instead hehe (and working for a change)

[ti33er]

I listened to the Mini Theatres vs. 602's side by side yesterday. I am not going to say anything yet as I am going back again today to make up my mind...and will report!

[ti33er]

Well people it has been a tough decision but feeling slightly dismayed I am going to go with the 602’s - as much as I really wanted the Mini Theatre’s to be my salvation they narrowly missed the mark of acceptable performance for my likes.

Don’t get me wrong the satellites are really impressive for satellite speakers and I mean really impressive – fantastic build quality, racy looks, conveniently compact and sound very smooth for their class, but as was mentioned in the above post there is a dip in the mid to upper bass region that just cannot be filled or made up by a subwoofer and comparing 602’s to these babies sided by side it is quite noticeable.

I attribute this lack of bass/mids to the 4” speaker cone…honestly I believe if B&W had made that a 5” cone I would be purchasing those this afternoon - something else that is noticeable is the directionality of the satellites, I thought to open them up (expand the sound-stage) slightly I might be able to remove the grills, unfortunately they are fixed – there are now nail-marks in the rubber above at the store where the salesperson tried to remove them for me

If you are in the market for satellites I highly recommend these, but if you are more interested in the sound quality and have the space, at this price the 601/2’s are still a better bet.

PS. Run-in I doubt will affect these very much as far as the “thinness” of the sound is concerned (I did take that into consideration FYI)

[Radec]

I just picked up a pair of these a few days ago and I got to say I am very impressed. I have been in the market for a pair of sattelite speakers for my Living Room for a few months now and these fit the bill nicely. I had some VERY strict size requirements from the Mrs and these barely made the cut (Ti33er, I'm glad they chose the 4" cone instead of the 5" as that would have probably been enough to kick it out of the "approved" column ). I will say that once I put these in their location, my wife was very pleased as they do have a great look to them. As stated, I do still hear a "hole" in the mid's that is somewhere between these and the sub, but it's not unbearable.
They are very directional, be very careful where and how you place these, I found myself turning these for about an hour each before finding the right placement(still not sure it's right). Also, if you are using these as bookshelf speakers as I am, be careful as connecting the wire is a bit tricky...especially if your wire's jacket is thick...you will have to do a bit of trimming to get these working

Bottom line is I looked at a bunch of small sattelitte speakers, prices ranging from under 200 bucks (US$) to $750+. For what you get, great value. IMO B&W did a good job on these.

[Cowanrg]

i could have saved you a lot of time

i do this stuff for a living and LIVE with all this equipment. the 602 compared to those is NO contest. good thinking with the 602.

[RebelMan]

i could have saved you a lot of time

This may be, but application restrictions, budget restictions and the sound people hear (for themselves) will be (should be) the determining factor here. Your opinon (mine too) is secondary to this process.

[ti33er]

hehe in terms of Sound Quality the 600's are better, everyone will probably say that but in terms of aesthetics the MT's win hands down IMO - I am kinda sad that the MTs weren't quite good enough for my taste and are not in my living room, it was a very close call, however I eagerly await the day that I get 800s which is a light at the end of my tunnel!

...in saying that all B&W products are great IMO - a B&W-die-hard-fan I am (slap me sideways and call me shirly)

[dajtw]

Kef eggs...

...or is it an insult to compare the eggs with B&W M1s?

Apologies but I'm new to the speaker scene and have been considering either the Kef 2005.2 speaker package or the B&W MT-10 package. I've heard the b&w in detail (music and movie) and sounds fabulous. I've only head the Kef 2005.2 in music playback and apart from sounding better than the Bose AM10, I'm not sure how well the b&w compares to the kefs.

Would be most grateful if experienced folk could lend a hand in comments, mucho tia!

[ti33er]

Hi Dajtw

Sorry I don't have a lot of experience with the KEF eggs although I have heard sterling reports about them? ...you really need to find a dealer that stocks both and listen to them side by side, then judge for yourself unfortunately - personally my thoughts are at the satelite level there aren't "huge" differences to be quite frank (although the married subwoofers are what usually make up for the largest 'differences' in the sub/sat domain).

[fordster]

I too am interested in the B&W Mini Theatres after seeing them in my local dealer at the weekend (didn't have time for a demo). I currently have a Mission FS2-AV sub/sat package which I actually like but am always keen to upgrade as and when funds (and the wife!) allow. If I upgrade it would be to improve the music quality so I'm not sure from the comments here whether I would notice much difference? I don't have the space to use full size speakers or I'd go for the Quad home cinema package (or maybe the B&W 600 series). Any opinions?

[BlazeMaster]

My B&W dealer also carries the Canton mini satellites package and my coworker just bought a set. I was there with my coworker when he demoed the Canton's against the B&W mini speakers. I have to agree with ti33er that even the mini B&W speakers sounded pretty good. My coworker bought the Cantons unfortuantly.