Beovox MS150 gone bad?

Hi.

I've gotten myself a pair of the big old beovox ms150 speakers, which unfortunately have had their subs replaced. They've got fair enough bass however. I've also got a pair of beovox rl 140, and as far as i've read, the beovox ms150 should be the best passive loudspeaker by b&o, yet in my ears the rl 140 has a much clearer sound than the ms150, and not worse bass. So my question is this: is the beovox rl140 a better sounding speaker than the ms150, or might there be something wrong with the pair of ms150 i've gotten myself?
Hope you can help :). 

The MS150s should be much better than the RL140s.

Could be a number of issues...

for a start you will want to find a pair of original woofers and give the crossovers a re-cap.

Also what are you using to drive the speakers and what size room are they in?

It isn't a good test to compare two pieces of audio gear that are both used and it is unknown how far out of original specification they are. Your MS-150 speakers have been changed as they don't have the original woofers. There may be other things changed in them as well. You should have all of the drivers checked and the crossovers. Bring it up to spec and also check the condition of the RL 140s. Then compare. With speakers though, it is a matter of personal taste. Even if the consensus is the MS-150s are better speakers, if you prefer the sound of the RL 140s then there isn't anything wrong with that.  Also remember the importance of speaker placement. Are your MS-150s on the proper B&O stands? If not (and especially if they are on the floor), that will adversely affect their sound.

-sonavor

Lee:

The MS150s should be much better than the RL140s.

Could be a number of issues...

 

for a start you will want to find a pair of original woofers and give the crossovers a re-cap.

 

Also what are you using to drive the speakers and what size room are they in?

sonavor:

It isn't a good test to compare two pieces of audio gear that are both used and it is unknown how far out of original specification they are. Your MS-150 speakers have been changed as they don't have the original woofers. There may be other things changed in them as well. You should have all of the drivers checked and the crossovers. Bring it up to spec and also check the condition of the RL 140s. Then compare. With speakers though, it is a matter of personal taste. Even if the consensus is the MS-150s are better speakers, if you prefer the sound of the RL 140s then there isn't anything wrong with that.  Also remember the importance of speaker placement. Are your MS-150s on the proper B&O stands? If not (and especially if they are on the floor), that will adversely affect their sound.

-sonavor

 

How can i check the drivers, or the crossovers for that matter? The ms150s are both standing on the original b&o stand, also the rl140.

 

Which speaker sounds best?
What is good music?

A matter of taste.

But as already mentioned in this thread, restore both pairs (with original capacitor types and drivers) and compare again.

Martin

Rune Rasmussen:

 

How can i check the drivers, or the crossovers for that matter? The ms150s are both standing on the original b&o stand, also the rl140.

Here is a thread of mine from a few years back where I show three different versions of the MS-150 speakers. Look at that thread and you will see what the crossovers look like and how to open the MS-150s (if you are inclined to do so).

I also have a pair of RL-140s that I use in my bedroom powered by a B&O 5500 receiver. I like the RL-140s but I probably like the MS-150s a little better. To put it a different way...whichever I like the most, the other one is still good enough to keep and use. As I said earlier, it is a matter of taste. You are in the ideal scenario because you own both and can do side by side comparisons. Let your ears decide. Have you checked your RL-140s woofers though? Those speakers also (as the MS-150s) use foam speaker surrounds that eventually fall apart. It is a typical restoration step to fit new foam surrounds. I had to replace the foam surrounds on both my RL-140s and all of my MS-150s. 

I would install new crossover capacitors in both the MS-150s and RL-140s, then spend a few weeks breaking them in and comparing them. You can get the capacitor kits from Beoworld member Dillen (Martin). He supplied me with the kits on my MS-150s.

You can check the condition of the surrounds by visual inspection. You can also check the movement of the drivers, when they are not playing music, by gently pressing the cones (not the dust cap) of the larger drivers in and let them push back out. While your fingers are on the cone you can feel if it moves freely or if there is any rubbing or obstruction. If they move freely then they should be fine.

I will be looking forward to your continued evaluation.

-sonavor

I'll try and recap them then compare them. The woofers in Rl140's have had their surrounds done, so no problem there. Same with the MS150.

I'm afraid that I won't be able to reply on how they turned out in some time though, since I'm going overseas for some months due to my education, in a couple of days. I'll do it first thing when I come home though.