av_phile,
pre, kamusta ang performance nung 914 mo? heard them for a while and mukhang ok naman. medyo tipo ko should i decide to get a pair for my audio set-up. tnx 
At comfortable listening levels. the MS914 exhibit excellent imaging at my listening spot. This obviates the need to get a center speaker as the vocals are dead on center. But that applies only when I am the only one listening. I have to activate the center (non-MS) when others are listening as well (my wife couldnt' care less) as the imaging is lost if you arr not seated precisely at the center.or are further forward.
The clarity and detailing are unmistakable. More importantly is the attack displayed by many instruments: you hear the isntant the strings are plucked, pianos/drums strucked and the wispy sliding of the fingers on the guitar frets. Instrumental definition is precise. It has the ability to resolve fine and recessed musical instruments I thought were not there in my previous Wharfdale. The excellent tweeter account much for this.
It is not sweet sounding or laidback, like the wharfes. . It is aggressive in its attack and presence and can make an insturment scome alive with stark reality. The horns can be frightening in some musical pieces (like in Mussorgsky's "Night On Bald Mountain" and " Pictures At An Exhibition." ) But ofcourse it can be sweet when the source materials says it should. Such musical dexterity borders on the bright side which I prefer, having heard real horns, violins and guitars up close. But what makes the MS914 stand out is, despite its detailed clarity, the detailing is not lost or drowned out in complex musical textures. The ability of metal drivers to resolve sonoriites of vairous hamonics in an orchestra is simply outstanding and must be heard .
Vocals are another thing. Laura Fygi sounds warm and raspy. Barbra Streisand, really nasal, Frank Sinatra, and Michael Buble are rendered steely and objective. I have the impression the drivers are brutally frank as it reveals nuances of the voice the way they are recorded. It doesn't color the sound making it warm when it is not. It's just plain being honest.
Charlotte Church and jSarah Brgihtman just makes my body hairs stand on end. Russel Watson and Placido Domingo are chillingly powerful to make my skin crawl as well. Some say the mark of a good speaker is its ability to render operatic voices with convicing aplomb. The MS914 didn't fail me here. (My previous Diamonds failed beaking up in many Church and Brightman selections.) Small choirs can be astonishingly real like in the opening funfare in Carl Orff's "Carmina Burana." But I have to admit, large choirs brought the ms914 to its knees as it failed to deliver the epic sonic impact of Beethoven's 9th Symphony to a heart-stopping climax the way I remember it in a much more expensive Coincident floorstanders. Understandably so. Shouldn't expect the heavens on a slightly above entry-level speakers. But neither can I expect mid-priced Sonus Fabers and B&Ws to deliver the thundering might of a 100 strong choir and 100 man orchestra together in full might to realistic 120 db lSPL evels.
All these good attributes are at a comfortable listening levels Notching the volume up reveals the driver's limitation as in many senstivie and accurate speakers. It just can't be driven far the way my wharfe's can. IBeyond these levels, the drivers' brutal frankness can be an assault to the ears. Good thing, i don't need to impress my neighbors.
