Bookshelf Speakers — M&K S300

The S300 is a compact monitor loudspeaker from M&K Sound, sold under the Miller & Kreisel name, and M&K presents it as a reference speaker for home entertainment. The company suggests a dedicated left and right mirror-image pair for two-channel sources and an identical third S300 as the centre channel for a consistent sound field. The S300 Series also includes the S300T Tripole surround and the shallower MP300 on-wall monitor.

Key specs that matter

The load is 4 ohm, and M&K suggests amplifier power of 25 to 500 W. The frequency response runs from 60 Hz to 22 kHz within plus or minus 3 dB, and sensitivity is 93 dB at 2.83 V and 1 m. The cabinet measures 395 x 340 x 330 mm (height, width, depth) and weighs 18.2 kg, in a black satin finish. The MP300 is a wall-mount version of the S300 with reduced cabinet depth and an adjusted crossover that takes the effect of wall mounting into account. The front baffle follows the layout of the S150 monitor, with a triple-tweeter array next to dual woofers.

Engineering and use context

The drivers were developed and custom built together with the Danish company Scan-Speak, and the whole S300 range is designed, developed, built and tested in Denmark. The three tweeters are rear mounted to a rigid cast aluminium flange with an integrated waveguide, which isolates them mechanically from the cabinet. A solid steel bracket gives the woofers a tightly sealed connection to the inside of the front baffle. All drivers are fixed from behind, so the front shows no screws and no reflective edges near the drivers. The enclosure uses a box-inside-a-box construction, with a non-resonant layer of tar between the two cabinets providing constrained layer damping. M&K says this build and the driver design lower the mechanical noise floor, and that the system was analysed and calibrated by its own engineers.

Pairing

M&K builds satellite and subwoofer systems, keeping deep bass in its own enclosure away from the upper range, and it pairs the S300 Series with its X Series subwoofers. The choice of model within that range depends on room size, preferred listening level and taste in music and film. For surround channels the S300T uses the same front drivers and crossover as the S300 for an acoustic match, adding isolated side chambers with two 4 inch drivers per side.

Alternatives

The M&K LCR950 is a smaller front speaker with two 5.25 inch polypropylene woofers, a 1 inch soft dome tweeter and THX Select2 certification.