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Mordaunt - Short System 442 Speakers. SWEET

This past weekend I had the opportunity to listen to a pair of Mordaunt-Short System 442 speakers at a friends house and was very blown away. One of the sweetest sounding speakers you'll ever hear. The jaw dropped once I starting to hear these babies play Hank Mobley, Lee Morgan and Cannonball and a bunch of other great Blue NOte artists. I am now looking for a pair of 442's but have not been able to find a pair other than my friend's pair.

He told me that he has owned dozens of speakers since his purchase of the 442's in 1988, ranging in prices of excess $20K but still keeps the Mordaunts as a fixture in his main rig. After listening with him for about +8 hours saturday I was convinced these are a real gem of a speaker. I offered to buy them from him at the end of the day but he laughed and said he's taking them to the grave, I would too.

Just proves there are some great, great sounding speakers that are buried with all the hype. I am definitely going to do more research of the Mordaunt - Short System 442's and try to locate a pair.
Joe
joefama

Showing 2 responses by mfslgoldcd

mfslgoldcd
90 posts
 
The Mordaunt Short System 442 speakers were and still are great sounding speakers. I remember a Hi-Fi store near me was a Mordaunt dealer in the mid to late 1980s. They had a pair of 442's in there main show room and they were about $3K. The dealer told me they could not get enough into the USA from the UK because they were in such high demand in Europe and Japan. The 442's had such a full natural sounding and smooth dynamics. Vocal midrange was accurate and precise. Scary good huge bass extensions considering they are a two way design speaker.

The only drawback other than not finding a pair is that the 442's are not that efficient and need plenty of amp juice.

Had bought a pair of B&W 801 series II from another dealer before I listened to the 442's. To this day I am kicking myself for not waiting. I have been searching for a preowned pair of 442's since. Have had no luck either.

The Mordaunt Short System 442's have a cult following and people tend to hold on to these classic speakers. I found a NY Times archive article raving about the 442's sound and cutting edge new design.

The search continues . Hopefully we can each find a pair.
mfslgoldcd
90 posts
 
Joefama

Stereophile also did a full glowing review of the Mordaunt Short System 442's. I forget what issue but around 1988/89.

Plus need to mention there is a Canadian site called American Audio out of Ontario. They have been advertising a used pair of 442's for $1800 for about a year. I must of attempted to inquire about the 442's about a dozen times. They never responded back to me. I even tried calling and left a few messages on there answering machine. Again they never responded. I don't think they have the 442's but just using them as a little bait to grab your attention.

I figure to save you the time and headache if you see there ad.
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