Morel Applause MKII SoundSpot 5.1 Speaker System (Black)

Morel Applause MKII SoundSpot 5.1 Speaker System (Black)
Manufacturer: Morel Loudspeakers
Product Type: CE

Editorial Review:
Product Description
The Applause MKII home theater speaker system is based on Morel's SoundSpot SA-2 speakers. The SA-2's high-clarity open sound and excellent dynamic capabilities render it very suitable for reproducing movie soundtracks as well as high-quality music reproduction.Complementing the SA-2 is the SoundSub 9, a 9" active reflex loaded subwoofer that supplies the great bass sound for the Applause MKII system. The Morel's flagship system, the Applause MKII, is a non-compromise system designed for the audiophile home theater and music enthusiasts.
Amazon.com Product Description
For the past 30 years, Israel-based Morel has been one of the best-kept secrets in the audio industry. Instead of marketing their speakers directly to the consumers, they've been quietly and convincingly providing ultra-high quality drivers for other loudspeaker manufacturers. Morel's technology can be found in speakers manufactured all over the world, including many top brands in the United States. Thankfully, all that's changing. Morel is now setting its sights on the consumer market with its own branded speaker components and systems. The Morel Applause MKII SoundSpot 5.1 Speaker System is the company's top-of-the-line system, designed to satisfy the most discerning of audiophiles who are looking for an uncompromised home-theater experience.

Advanced technology and peerless quality control ensure the ultimate audiophile-class home theater experience. View larger.

The Applause MKII comes with two stands. Wall mounting is an option, too. View larger.

The SoundSub 9 boasts a full range of connections and controls for optimizing bass performance. View larger.

A Compact and Smart Design
The days of filling your living space with fifty-pound speaker boxes that look like they belong on an Aerosmith concert stage are thankfully long gone. Morel knows that if you're going to invest in serious audio for your home, you'll want your system to reflect your tastes in every respect. At the heart of the Applause MKII are five award-winning SA-2 Satellite Speakers that each weigh all of 2.8 pounds and stand a mere seven inches tall. Housed in smart, black, steel enclosures, with oversized gold-plated binding posts, the SA-2s combine a four-inch mid/bass unit with a soft-dome tweeter resting directly above it. Small enough to discreetly blend into almost any modern decor, the SA-2s offer outstanding performance without compromising on style. (If you want to turn your 5.1 system into a 7.1, simply add another pair of SA-2s.) The speakers are set on circular mounting plates, which can either be screwed onto a wall, placed on a suitable flat surface, or mounted on one of Morel's ST-95 Speaker Stands. The stands neatly conceal the speaker wires and complement the system design nicely.

Complementing the speakers is the system's SoundSub 9 100-watt powered subwoofer, featuring a 20-inch diameter, curved black MDF enclosure. The subwoofer comes with its own stand but can also be attached to a wall with the included brackets. And at just five inches in depth, the SoundSub 9 can slide beneath a couch or other piece of furniture.

Quality Assurance: The Morel Difference
Morel's peerless quality control is a key selling point. Every speaker and component with the Morel name on it is built, tested, and inspected in Morel's factory in Israel. Except for the production of the speaker housing, which is outsourced, Morel is directly responsible for everything.

Morel drivers are based on what the company describes as "Hexatech technology," which employs a hexagonal aluminum wire voice-coil. Meanwhile, the speaker construction is based on its own "External Voice Coil," or EVC, technology, which uses a magnet with a shaped pole that fits inside the aluminum voice coil rather than around it. The EVC design offers higher efficiency and greater power handling accuracy. Plus, the design provides as much power response as conventional systems five times larger. In other words, what the speakers may lack in size, they more than make up for in power.

The SoundSpot SA-2s are built with neodymium magnets, which are up to 20 times more powerful than conventional magnet systems. They each include a four-inch woofer with a 1.125-inch liquid cooled Hexatech aluminum voice coil. The speakers can handle 120 watts with a frequency response of 80-22,000Hz (-5dB) and are carefully aligned for phase and time coherence, for precise imaging, and for delivering integrated, lifelike sound.

If you want an even richer home-theater experience, you can upgrade your system by adding a SoundCenter C-5 center channel speaker, or a SoundSub IS-9A 120-watt subwoofer.

Note: New Morel speakers and components require 40 hours of "break-in" time before you'll achieve optimal performance. The response of any speaker will depend on how free the woofer cones are to move, and since new speaker components are bound to have stiff suspensions, a "loosening up" period should be allowed before passing final judgement on the system's performance.

What's in the Box
Five SA-2 satellite speakers, SoundSub 9 subwoofer, two speaker stands, subwoofer speaker stand, subwoofer wall/ceiling connection bracket, user's manual.