MJ Acoustics. Pro Cinema I Reviews

Pro Cinema I Reviews

See the magazines "star" / "globe" ratings.

Pro Cinema I - issue 16 Oct 2002.
We love their subs, and now MJ Acoustics have speakers to match.

We were just getting used to heaping praise on MJ Acoustics as an acclaimed ‘subwoofer specialist’, when it goes and bundles this fine collection of speakers alongside, and our label becomes instantly obsolete.

It’s not as if it’s held back either, as there are several tough decisions to be made before you can get them set up in your living room. We thought the standard black satin and silver finishes looked good enough, but for a further £100 you can indulge in a divine cherry wood veneer enclosure for a classic touch of sophistication. You can also upgrade the Pro 50 subwoofer with the extra power of the Pro 100, although you’ll need and extra £300 for that particular pleasure.

The satellites themselves deliver a crisp, vibrant performance across the audio spectrum that may sound a little flat without the support of the growling subwoofer, which lifts the speakers and brings the lower tones of the crash sequence to life.
As the speeding fighter plane swings form one side of the screen to the other in evasive manoeuvres, the Pro Cinema One carries off the swirling surround sound with the fluent grace of a glider.

As with many systems at this price, the speakers lack the power to maintain a distinct quality in a larger room, but it gives a dynamic all-round performance, boosted by the bass depth of the subwoofer that would suggest a sublime display with the Pro 100.

If you can spare the extra for this sub and the cherry wood finish, then every penny will be well spent.

MJ Acoustics Pro Cinema I / Pro 50 - August 2002
Stylish multichannel package gives fine sound

A British subwoofer specialist proves there's more than one string to its bow, according to James Vesey.

It's just over six months ago that the first products emerged from new British company MJ Acoustics, which looked set to take on the long-established REL as suppliers of subwoofers to both film lovers and music enthusiasts. Their background being in the professional music and sound industries, the company's founders predictably launched some very big and impressive subwoofers to provide low-frequency reinforcement for big home cinema systems. But it was the smaller range that caught the imagination.

A firm favourite is the tiny Pro 50 active subwoofer, combining a big punch with superb control, and all in an enclosure you can hide away almost anywhere. I've been using this for a while now and have never felt the need for anything bigger: it slots in nicely beneath the low-frequency roll off of my speakers, and despite recently moving to a larger listening room some 6 x 6m, the bass output is more than adequate.

Since I first renewed the Pro 50, the little feet have now been tapped to accept spikes which locates the unit more firmly on carpeted floors, but the unit is otherwise unchanged. However, the biggest news is the availability of a five-speaker package to go with the subwoofer, thus forming a complete home cinema/multichannel music set-up. Just add a suitable source and an AV receiver, throw in some cabling, and you have a complete system.

The satellite speakers are tiny at just 23cm tall, and house a 25mm soft-fabric-dome tweeter with a neodymium magnet and a 10cm paper cone mid/bass unit with a large 28mm voice coil- well, large for so small a drive unit The crossover is designed for high power handling, allowing the speakers to be used with receivers of up to 100W per channel, and the speakers are easy to drive thanks to 88dB/W/m sensitivity and 8ohm impedance. The claimed frequency response is 60Hz-25kHz, which fits in well with the Pro 50 sub's characteristics -it covers 15Hz to 240Hz- so it's easy to get a seamless integration between the two. It's also worth noting that all the speakers are magnetically shielded, so you should have no problems with colour staining on TV screens.

The satellite speakers themselves are solidly built from 15mm high density MDF, and are easily use standmounted or on wall brackets. They weigh 2.5kg apiece, so shouldn't put undue strain on a wall, and the fact that they're sealed enclosures rather than of a ported design makes positioning simpler.

The speakers come in a rather hi-tech silver paint finish as well a standard black satin. When I saw them at the Bristol Sound and Vision show, where real wood veneer Pro 50s were also on display, I suggested to MJ Acoustics' John Jefferis that it might be sensible to offer the speakers in similar wood finishes, as many Gramophone readers might find a high quality veneer more acceptable. As a result, the speakers for review came in a nicely finished cherry wood -very smart.

Performance

The speakers were tested with a variety of DVD players, powered by the excellent Marantz SR5200 receiver; I also tried them on the end of the Audio Editor's TAG McLaren Audio AV32R/100X5R combination, which is a pretty stern test for a system like this. In both cases the MJ Acoustics setup sounded very impressive indeed, with a lovely sense of integration once the subwoofer and amplification set-up was carried out- speakers set to 'small', please -and the system bad been allowed to run in for a few days.

Whether with film sound tracks or music DVDs, the effortless presentation made listening a pleasure. The latest Vienna New Year's Day set, conducted by Seiji Ozawa (TDK Mediactive, 5/02), was particularly enjoyable. More to the point, the MJ package passes the test when the display" is switched off and you just listen to the sound track. It's surprising how much one is prepared to forgive when there are great pictures to keep at least part of the brain occupied -even some pretty ropy sound becomes acceptable .To anyone testing surround systems with a view to buying I'd suggest at some listening without the video component, since one becomes much more critical of tonal balance and soundstaging.

Fortunately this set-up requires few excuses to be made for its performance. It may lack that last element of surround diffusion that you can only get when using purpose-made bipolar or dipolar surround speakers, but with the satellites mounted well away from the listening position, and to the side, there was a good impression of the sound wrapping around. The crisp, clean sound track of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone was delivered with excellent dialogue clarity, witty surround effects and good scale to the music score, while the big, majestic music of Gladiator had striking power and presence. Some juggling of the subwoofer crossover and gain controls was needed to avoid things becoming too bombastic, but beyond once all was well, the temptation was just to sit back and get swept up in what was being played.

And I played a lot of discs through these speakers, finding them always involving and exciting without ever sounding wayward or brash. It just goes to show what can be done when one thinks of a speaker set-up as a whole, rather than trying to cobble something together from a variety of brands. I think MJ Acoustics has another winner on its hands there are less expensive packages on the market, but few look and sound as good as this. G

MJ Acoustics Pro Cinema I/Pro 50 - Issue 13 - June 2002

MJ ACOUSTICS IS MUTATING FROM SUB SPECIALIST TO SPEAKER SUPREMO. JAMES BROOMFIELD HEARS
ITS FIRST SURROUND SOUND PACKAGE.

Following the success of the Pro 50 (reviewed issue 11 ), a diminutive sub aimed at the home market, the Pro Cinema I marks MJ Acoustics' debut as a manufacturer of surround speakers.

This package comprises five satellite speakers, which can be matched with the Pro 50 sub (as we tested them), with the Pro 100 or with your own sub. The product represents a philosophy of combination, mixing the stylish looks and value prices of the mainstream speaker world and the quality of cabinets in a full home cinema.

Each satellite has gold-plated binding posts with banana plug holes, confirming their position as a serious home cinema solution. The centre speaker is also completely indistinguishable from the surrounds, except for the horizontal mounting of the binding posts.

Stereo line-Ievel inputs are available on the sub (with the right channel acting as a mono input) and simple dials to set gain, phase and frequency allow the unit to be matched with the speakers.

Any amp up to a maximum of l00W per channel output will be perfect for driving the satellites.

Broad, although not as deep as a standard cabinet speaker, each satellite is hand-built from sealed MDF and finished in either silver or black. Each has a pulp paper cone midrange driver and a textile dome tweeter. The grilles can be removed, although the drive units are nothing special to look at. The special stuff is inside: fancy crossover units, featuring studio grade circuitry derived from MJ Acoustics' professional range.

The satellites demand to be wall mounted, not only for aesthetic reasons but to achieve the best sound. In this sense, they are not so flexible as some lifestyle surround products, but to MJ Acoustics' credit, it has made the mounting process as easy as possible, pre-drilling holes in the speaker for simple screw mounting or offering brackets as a neat and tidy alternative.

The subwoofer is titchy enough to pass unnoticed -always a plus, as these boxes are rarely the most eye-pleasing additions to your home. It has already impressed us in its standalone form and we're delighted to have another reminder of how punchy the bass output can be from such a small box. It's a good job that power is there too, because the satellites seem to be happiest in and above the mid-range and seem slightly less convincing at bass output when you drive them without the sub.

Here is the major argument for wall mounting; the small enclosures need something solid to kick against in order to get the depth you'd experience from a cabinet speaker. Shelf mounted, the Pro Cinema Is lose some of their presence, something that's particularly noticeable in the centre channel, where voices can sound thin.

Still, for a small set of speakers, the Pro Cinema Is have a striking dynamism to their
performance. Effects move across the front of the soundfield with terrific energy, while the rears provide impressive backup. The result is a wholly immersive sound, where the placement of spot effects is always precise and well realised.

This system has been designed to work best in the smaller room where the surround effect is coherent. In larger spaces that effect may be lost, but within a small enclosure, the Pro Cinema 1 s are capable of a terrific amount of noise, especially when coupled with the bass from the sub.

The Pro Cinema Is may not compete with many style systems in terms of looks but only because they hug the walls close enough to shrink back out of sight. Their enthusiastic sound reproduction will be the greater draw. These should appeal to anyone who wants simple quality audio without making a fashion statement.

See the magazines "star" / "globe" ratingss.