Not many of these original Mercury series left anymore - and the examples that remain are probably quite tired. If you find a clean pair like I did, they're a bargain. Attractive, well made, and will run off as little as 10 watts - extremely efficient. Won't win any awards for detail, imaging or soundstage depth but for $200 do I care? The sound is warm, clean and full - just don't expect it to sound like a Dynaudio. The treble is sweet but detail is sacrificed. The bass I actually love and probably the biggest selling point of them. It's still got plenty of low end slam for an oldie. Definitely play around with positioning and buy a plinth or some spikes as in my experience the sound instantly tightened up.

Well they were always a budget floorstander and nothing will change that. I bought them as a temporary stop gap because my kids destroyed my Dynaudio bookshelf speakers. Do they compare to the Dyns? Not even close but hey, I could leave them on day and night for a week and not get fatigued, the sound is that faithful. I wouldn't call the sound laid back because it isn't, it just lacks the sparkle, pace, imaging all out detail from what I'm used to. But for $200, and until I can afford $2000 they'll do just fine.

warm and natural sound, good soundstage. Ideal for classical music (superb in vocal and choral music!)

none

I recently bought a pair of Tannoys Mercury M3 (the first generation of this series), second hand, at $ 270. They seduced me with their soft, warm and natural sound. Every instrument sounded just as it should be, naturally, without coloration. But the bass was a little weak, with a lack of precision. And most importantly, unwanted cavity resonance appeared at some middle-bass frequencies. Soundstage was sometimes good, but sometimes, depending on the music you were listening to, it was very poor. So I went to the Tannoy distributor in Chile. They had a pair of MX4-M in sale, at only $445. Original price was $647, but they are waiting for the new models to come, so everything is on sale. So I bought them. At this price, it's the best loudspeaker you can get. I don't know if at the original price it's still a best buy, but anyway it's a terrific speaker. The third generation of the Mercury series has a lot of technical features that improve the sounstaging dramatically in comparison to the old models. I only listen to classical music (a little bit of jazz sometimes, also). This is the best speaker for classical music, because it respects the personality of each instrument. The sound is always warm, even with instruments such as the harpsichord, wich can sound really too bright and "ear-pearcing" in some loudspeakers (I listened to the Paradigm Esprit and I could not bear to hear the harpsichord for more than 3 minutes). This is not a very technological loudspeaker, the drivers are simple (no titanium tweeters or alloy cones), but the sound is really natural, well ballanced, and, if I may say so, "elegant". However, I do not recomend it for popular or rock music, I think the sound is just too neutral.

Similar Products Used:

Paradigm, jamo, polk audio of similar prices.

separation and claerity of music instruments and voice even at low level (most of the other speakers I listene needed more power to clearly enjoy the crisp of the ambiance !

none.

Tannoy M4 are the best speakers you can get for the price. I listened to many brands with my receiver-amplifier (NAD) and the sound is tremendous. I was even able, with my eyes closed, to determine when the Tannoy were playing (Its amazing !) and they are real good for classical music and even for home cinema. A discovery for me !!!

Similar Products Used:

Mission, Mirage, B&W and JM Lab (which were more costly)

See above..

Could get a little messy at a high volume (especially the lower frequencies, while listening to e.g. metal)

What a sound! Warm, open, easy! With this speaker I can listen for ages to every style of music. And that for such a nice price..

Similar Products Used:

Listened to many speakers.

Nice styling - excellant sound and an absolute bargain.

At this price absolutly nothing

Believe it or not i puchased these speakers without listening to them!! I had preveously purchased a pair of M2's which were the best bookshelf speakers i have ever heard below £300 to this very day!! Anyway i was not dissapointed with the M4's - infact i was totally stuned by the amount of sound these speakers produced for such a bargain price. Treble is clean and clear without being overly bright. The midrange is a touch of pure class - extreemly detailed - you never feel like your missing out on any soun. The Bass - although is sometimes a little slow with some musical styles is well balanced and capable of some very deep rumbles - trust me on this 1 people as i listen to drum and bass as well as classical etc - so i know what deep basslines are all about. Basically you cant go wrong with these speakers and although its proberably impossible to buy a pair now id recommend any1 to buy these.

Fantastic bass (despite what some other reviewers might say) and midrange. Spikes hold speakers firmly to the floor, with is essential for true sound.

Sparkling high end a little lacking.

The Mx4 is an outstanding speaker and marries very well with my higher-end NAD components. I think tubes are better, but I can't affor them! Anyway, after auditioning a variety of set-ups, I opted for these speakers and am very very happy with them. They have a very flat response, which might mean a lack of warmth for some listeners. I notice that jazz instrumentals and chamber music seem to be ideally suited to these speakers. Listening to solo piano and violin reveals a little lack of something at the high end. I have turned up the treble a notch, which seems to help, but the upper octaves of piano still seems a little "thick" to my ears. E-mail correspondence with Tannoy indicates that a qualified dealer can tweek the treble, but I'm hesitant to do that! I will say that turning the volume up seems to minimize my complaint (although I'm afraid of my neighbour's complaints!).

Similar Products Used:

Cabasse (another outstanding speaker)

Great for Trance/Techno & Rock Accurate bass

Not really

This is a review for the Tannoy M5 speakers. Unlike the M4 it have 2 woofers and not just one. Any way after listining to about 12 diffrent speakers all I have to say it''s this - The Tannoy M5 are the best speakers at it''s price range and about 1-2 price levels up. When I brought them home they still sounded great altuogh the reciver in the store was much better then mine. The thing I love best about the way they sound is the accurate bass. You will hear every bass beat. This is allso the only bad thing I found about them. Somethins the bass is a little too accurate, but you can really hardly tell, and it''s hardly ever happens any way. In 4 words - These Are Great Speakers !

Sound much better than anything I have found in that price range. Easy on the ears. Great bass.

None...

Did not think that I would find this type of sound for this price. I have a fairly large room and these speakers have no problem with it. Very impressed with home theater sound as well.

Similar Products Used:

Nothing like this...

Great overall sound and fantastic value.

Treble could use a little upgrade.

After listening to many speakers (about 10 pairs in all though the Energy and the Vandersteen were the only other real contenders at the end of the day) for what seemed like an eternity I happily found a Tannoy dealer in my area (not an easy task), listened, auditioned at home and bought them very happily! For $700 you will not find anything like this. Clean, tight, forceful bass; rich, powerful mid; and highs that, to me, are just about right, though they could use a little more on this end. "Warm" definitely comes to mind but it is a clean, detailed warmth. Crank them up and you will be impressed by the force and beauty they deliver. I auditioned them with a variety of music (Mozart, Cranberries, Van Morrison) and they handled loud volumes very, very well. Only place they came through a little distorted was at a very complex portion of Mozart's "Requiem" (the Kyrie). Fantastic soundstage! Sit in front of a pair of m4's, close your eyes and- no, it's not just like being there- but the sound and sensation is tantalizingly close to the real thing.

Similar Products Used:

Energy xl-26, Vandersteen 1-C

Fine speakers, definitelly better than Mission 703....
sound character as other of Mercury range - warm and confortable

try Pat Metheny Group - The Imaginary Day
on them :-))

performance/price = 4.78 stars ~ 5