Bookshelf Speaker Reviews

In any Face Off, there has to be someone who comes in last place. In this group, thanks to some extremely strong competition, the dubious honor goes to the Morel Spiro. Keep in mind that, depending on what you look for in speakers, this system might have something you like. At the very least, Morel gets the distance award for being located 7,566 miles away from our Southern California studio. That puts Morel halfway around the world if you don't count the Pacific Ocean. And really, who does? (My apologies to our reader in Guam.) Morel is located about 10 miles south of Tel Aviv in Ness Ziona, Israel. Their SoundSpot SI-2 speaker is about the size of a grapefruit and houses a 4-inch woofer and a 1.125-inch coaxial soft-dome tweeter. The SoundCenter C-5 center channel has dual 5.25-inch woofers and the same tweeter as the SI-2. For the deep stuff, the SoundSub IS-9A sub has a 120-watt amp that powers two 9-inch woofers.

Our first test selection was the Holly Cole Trio's 1993 CD Don't Smoke in Bed. Track 10, "Cry (If You Want To)," is a jazz/blues romp that features piano, bass, and Cole's beautiful voice. The Spiro system's predominate feature is how laid-back it is. Several of the panelists commented on these speakers' mellowness. Their like or dislike of this characteristic varied. Claire liked their laid-backness so much that she rated these speakers first for performance. Adrienne rated them third, and everyone else put them last. The Morels are very directional speakers, so they had the smallest soundstage of all of the systems in our test. A couple of people thought their sound had a slightly nasal quality.

For our high-resolution track, I picked the SACD version of Bach: The Brandenburg Concertos, performed by the English Chamber Orchestra. This is an excellent disc from Vanguard (see my review in the April 2003 issue). Track 8, Allegro from Concerto No. 3, features violins, violas, and harpsichord across the front channels, while cello and bass are in the surround channels. With SACD's extra resolution, the Morels fared far better. Maureen thought that these were very musical speakers, and Claire thought that she could see herself getting lost in the music with this system. Chris thought the Morels were extremely focused, which, as with the Holly Cole track, created a smallish soundstage.

We also demoed a couple of movie picks. The first was chapter 3 of The Attack of the Clones. In this scene, a Naboo cruiser descends to Coruscant, creating a copious amount of bass. With this selection, the responses were across the board. Chris was surprised by how tight the subwoofer was, although he thought it did better at certain frequencies than at others. Adrienne said she didn't really notice the sub, which is always a good thing. I also played the chapter 7 chase scene, which takes place in the traffic above Coruscant. With this scene, Claire liked the match between the surrounds and the front speakers. Adrienne thought the voices were a little chesty, while Hilary thought the Morels handled the dialogue far better than the music.

Our last movie pick was Band of Brothers. About 30 minutes into the second episode, a group of paratroopers takes on an artillery emplacement. Explosions, gunshots, and voices make this an excellent demo scene. Chris liked the Spiro's definition but, due to its laid-back quality, thought the selection lacked immediacy. Adrienne thought that these speakers were a little too warm. Claire, again praising her favorite system, called the sub "tight and punchy but not overwhelming," and that's exactly how she likes her bass.

The Morels are certainly unique-looking speakers. As with any such design, not all of our reviewers took a liking to them. Claire thought they would look a lot better in silver or one of the other available colors, so she rated them second to last for looks. Maureen picked them second for looks, but everyone else ranked them last. To each their own. I thought they were cool-looking, although their acceptance in a room would certainly depend on its décor. If you're on the hunt for cool-looking, laid-back speakers, these are right up your alley.

HT Labs Measures: Morel Spiro Speaker System

This graph shows the quasi-anechoic (employing close-miking of all woofers) frequency response of the SoundSpot SI-2 satellite (purple trace), SoundSub IS-9A subwoofer (blue trace), and SoundCenter C-5 center channel (green trace). All passive loudspeakers were measured at a distance of 1 meter with a 2.83-volt input and scaled for display purposes.

The SoundSpot SI-2's listening-window response (a five-point average of axial and +/–15-degree horizontal and vertical responses) measures +2.36/–1.38 decibels from 200 hertz to 10 kilohertz. The –3dB point is at 256 Hz, and the –6dB point is at 195 Hz. Impedance reaches a minimum of 4.79 ohms at 5.6 kHz and a phase angle of –45.10 degrees at 288 Hz. Sensitivity averages 86 dB from 500 Hz to 2 kHz.

The SoundCenter C-5's listening-window response measures +1.53/–7.21 dB from 200 Hz to 10 kHz. An average of axial and +/–15-degree horizontal responses measures +1.60/–8.73 dB from 200 Hz to 10 kHz. The –3dB point is at 97 Hz, and the –6dB point is at 84 Hz. Impedance reaches a minimum of 6.04 ohms at 230 Hz and a phase angle of –35.74 degrees at 4.2 kHz. Sensitivity averages 87 dB from 500 Hz to 2 kHz.

The SoundSub IS-9A's close-miked response, normalized to the level at 80 Hz, indicates that the lower –3dB point is at 40 Hz and the –6dB point is at 34 Hz. The upper –3dB point is at 104 Hz with the crossover control set to maximum.—AJ

Highlights

Morel Spiro:
• Striking design
• Laid-back
• Will fit anywhere

Spiro Speaker System $1,950
Morel North America
(800) MOREL-14
www.morelhifi.com
Dealer Locator Code MRL