Boston Acoustics M25

thomdp

thomdp

New Member
I have a pair of Boston Acoustics M25's coming tomorrow from Crutchfiled @$359 shipped, scratch and dent. What the hell I'll take a chance on them at that price and a 60 day return policy.

I'm trying to see if I can catch Lightning on a bottle with them. There is a dearth of reviews and talk on the net. They did receive an editors choice award from Hifi Choice a couple years back and they were co-designed by the great Ken Ishiwata!

My current speakers are B&W 601s2's picked up at a garage sale earlier this year for $5.00, Optimus LX 4's and Phase Technology 7T's.

So will I be disappointed or will I have picked up a great little speaker that has flown under the radar? What can I expect? I do think they will best all I have now. Does anyone have experience with them?
 
Now I know why I didn't receive any responses to my post and why these speaker have not received much press.

The M25's have a smooth but dark tonal balance. They lack midrange and treble detail. They sound rather shut in. They are the polar opposites of my B&W 601s2. Which sound rather bright and ragged in comparison.

I believe that the Boston's really need a high powered amp to open up and perhaps some more time to run in. My Yarland tube amp may not have enough grunt, so I'm going back to the HK680. I'll see if things change or they are definitely going back.
 
Give them more time to run in. You probably didn't receive any responses because very few people own them.
 
I just did a bit more research...you may want to send them back for a refund. I think you can do better for similar money.
 
I have the return slips ready to go.

You are right I can do better for the money. I just don't know what to try next.

In the meantime I have a Dayton sub coming on Monday to match up with the LX4's as they are the favorite of my current crop of speakers. I'll see how that works out first.
 
It's going to depend on what flavor you are looking for. Warm and inviting with plenty of detail or leaner with a bit more edge. Frankly to me the first type takes longer to impress but can be listened to endlessly and with all of your music.
 
Art K. said:
It's going to depend on what flavor you are looking for. Warm and inviting with plenty of detail or leaner with a bit more edge. Frankly to me the first type takes longer to impress but can be listened to endlessly and with all of your music.
Click to expand...

My main intention was to go listen to the KEF LS50's and then decide if I should sell all of my speakers off to fund their purchase, but I haven't had a chance to get to a shop that has them.

The Boston's were an impulse buy that didn't work out.
 
If you intend to use the Yarland amp I would rethink your speaker choice as I don't think the LS50 would work with it. It may be time for a fresh start. Looks like you have a fabulous turntable and phono pre amp. Many Arcam CD players sound good...not sure about that one but I'll trust you that it does. You need an amp and speakers that compliment each other.
 
If the Yarland is the EL84 one get a speaker capable of utilizing the tube amps. The Audio Note AX Two I reviewed with Audio Note's I-Zero a 9 watt amp. I own the AX Two and the KEF LS-50. The AX Two can be driven with 5 watts. The regular model sounds better than the signature model. They have been selling them for almost 15 years now and I consider them to be the best sounding under $2,000 standmount that I have heard. The KEF gives them a good run - but ultimately, the AX Two is a more satisfying all around performer and has the goosebump factor capability that the KEF lacks and for 2/3 the money. It's just so boring to look and uses unremarkable technology unfortunately.

You could also look at single drivers but they're treble tends to have issues at the lower price points as well.

I rather dislike most small box speakers because most of them always sound dead shut in and overly boxy. The B&W 602 S2 gets around that problem for the most part but the metal tweeter I can't live with. I actually like the old DM 302 over the 303 which replaced the 302's tweeter with a metal one.
 
Art K. said:
If you intend to use the Yarland amp I would rethink your speaker choice as I don't think the LS50 would work with it. It may be time for a fresh start. Looks like you have a fabulous turntable and phono pre amp. Many Arcam CD players sound good...not sure about that one but I'll trust you that it does. You need an amp and speakers that compliment each other.
Click to expand...

If I decided on the Kef's I would have a European model Harman/kardon HK680 to fall back on which is capable of dropping some series power. It's a really nice sounding amp too.

http://tnt-audio.com/ampli/hk680_e.html

The Arcam is in the process of being sold. It is a little long in the tooth. I intend to replace it with a Marantz CD 5003 or 5004, they can be bought used for less than $200.

The Yarland is a decent budget tube amp, it is a capable amp but as with tubes speaker matching is critical. I like having a tube and solid state amp to switch back and forth with.

The system is in flux no doubt. It's all about finding the right synergy.
 
RGA said:
If the Yarland is the EL84 one get a speaker capable of utilizing the tube amps. The Audio Note AX Two I reviewed with Audio Note's I-Zero a 9 watt amp. I own the AX Two and the KEF LS-50. The AX Two can be driven with 5 watts. The regular model sounds better than the signature model. They have been selling them for almost 15 years now and I consider them to be the best sounding under $2,000 standmount that I have heard. The KEF gives them a good run - but ultimately, the AX Two is a more satisfying all around performer and has the goosebump factor capability that the KEF lacks and for 2/3 the money. It's just so boring to look and uses unremarkable technology unfortunately.

You could also look at single drivers but they're treble tends to have issues at the lower price points as well.

I rather dislike most small box speakers because most of them always sound dead shut in and overly boxy. The B&W 602 S2 gets around that problem for the most part but the metal tweeter I can't live with. I actually like the old DM 302 over the 303 which replaced the 302's tweeter with a metal one.
Click to expand...

The Yarland is an EL34 amp rated at 30 watts. The Audio Note's look like a great design. I will keep an eye out for them in the used market.

The B&W while decent for a budget design is not what I'm looking for. I picked them up at a garage sale for $5 and can flip them for $200 or so.
 
thomdp said:
If I decided on the Kef's I would have a European model Harman/kardon HK680 to fall back on which is capable of dropping some series power. It's a really nice sounding amp too.

http://tnt-audio.com/ampli/hk680_e.html

The Arcam is in the process of being sold. It is a little long in the tooth. I intend to replace it with a Marantz CD 5003 or 5004, they can be bought used for less than $200.

The Yarland is a decent budget tube amp, it is a capable amp but as with tubes speaker matching is critical. I like having a tube and solid state amp to switch back and forth with.

The system is in flux no doubt. It's all about finding the right synergy.
Click to expand...

I would reconsider the CD5003 or CD5004 as I don't think either of them sound very good (I owned the CD5004 and currently have a CD6004). There are still some CD6004's around new and they are markedly better. Better DAC chip and output. If you get one be sure to disable the auto standby, Sounds better after a few days on.

thomdp said:
The Yarland is an EL34 amp rated at 30 watts. The Audio Note's look like a great design. I will keep an eye out for them in the used market.

The B&W while decent for a budget design is not what I'm looking for. I picked them up at a garage sale for $5 and can flip them for $200 or so.
Click to expand...

The Audio Note speakers are a default recommendation for Richard for tubes and probably a good one if they could be had. They are very rare and there are a lot of other good speakers.
 
Art K. said:
I would reconsider the CD5003 or CD5004 as I don't think either of them sound very good (I owned the CD5004 and currently have a CD6004). There are still some CD6004's around new and they are markedly better. Better DAC chip and output. If you get one be sure to disable the auto standby, Sounds better after a few days on.



The Audio Note speakers are a default recommendation for Richard for tubes and probably a good one if they could be had. They are very rare and there are a lot of other good speakers.
Click to expand...

You are correct with the recommendation on getting the better CD player. You should always buy the best source components you can afford and then match your amp with speakers.

I think my amps are more than capable with the right speakers.
 
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I picked up a Marantz CD 6004 and a pair of NHT Superones in the past couple of weeks. Here are my impressions of the two.

The Superones were one of the first speakers I bought some 20 years ago. I thought I might want to try them again. They are better than the Bostons but still polar opposite of the brighter B&w's. Excellent detail and separation of instruments but they lack emotion at times.

The Marantz is a very nice player. On all three digital filters the midrange is somewhat bright and brittle. This doesn't lend itself well with the NHT's but it does bring the Sometimes Soupy B&W's to life. I was able to remedy this some with a change of interconnects.

The NHT's sound much better with my HK FL8440 in the front end. The HK can't match the Marantz on detail and resolution but it is warmer.
 
thomdp said:
I have a pair of Boston Acoustics M25's coming tomorrow from Crutchfiled @$359 shipped, scratch and dent. What the hell I'll take a chance on them at that price and a 60 day return policy.

I'm trying to see if I can catch Lightning on a bottle with them. There is a dearth of reviews and talk on the net. They did receive an editors choice award from Hifi Choice a couple years back and they were co-designed by the great Ken Ishiwata!

My current speakers are B&W 601s2's picked up at a garage sale earlier this year for $5.00, Optimus LX 4's and Phase Technology 7T's.

So will I be disappointed or will I have picked up a great little speaker that has flown under the radar? What can I expect? I do think they will best all I have now. Does anyone have experience with them?
Click to expand...
Yes I do. In a word. Awful. Picked up floor models for$500. Got them home and was stunned at how horrible they were. Possibly the worst speakers I have ever owned. Fortunately I returned them and replaced them with yet another pair of Q300s. Night and day.
 
Hey G, 2 1/2 year old thread so don't expect many additional comments. Glad to hear you were able to return the Bostons.
 
cubdog said:
Hey G, 2 1/2 year old thread so don't expect many additional comments. Glad to hear you were able to return the Bostons.
Click to expand...
Lol. I know but it gets me so upset when I think about it I just had to say something. Just venting. Mind boggling how bad they were.
 
In a small space I can see where they would be suitable. They are most definitely challenged with limited bass , limited Dynamic range, and power handling. But with those parameters being understood enjoyment may be had. Listening distance should be less than 3 meters would be my recommendation. Now if the speakers are to be used as background or fill speakers they would be ideal.
 
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