Black Friday Clearance Sale on Chane (Originally Chase) speakers and subwoofers

I received my 6 M-1s yesterday, got them set up and been listening to them all morning. Here's my initial thoughts:

- I do not like the shipping method, on a pallet with a carrier. Took a full week to arrive. They were totally unharmed (good) but was slow and required someone to be home to receive them. Was hard for delivery person to maneuver (semi truck) in my neighborhood and he wasn't thrilled with helping my wife move them from the street to the house (maybe he just wanted a bigger tip).

- Speakers are very nice looking. Nice clean lines, nothing calls attention to them. Speakers are all black with black grills. There are no logos or identifying marks anywhere.

- Grills are pin/hole mounted. No issues, but felt like care needed when taking them on/off to not bend/break the pins.

- Drivers are impressive looking (with the grills off). Kevlar reinforced woofers, dome tweeter.

- Connections on back are easy. I use banana jacks - no issues. Push in the cap, slide in jack, release cap and it locks in. Recessed location.

- Speakers are neither light, nor heavy but feel substantial and solid. My Emotiva bookshelves are heavier, but these feel about the same as my Martin Logan bookshelves.

- Back of speaker could easily accommodate an external keyhole mount and put these on the wall

- I have front 2 speakers connected to Emotiva USP-1 and UPA-5 Amp, with M&K sub (don't remember model - dual 8" if I remember correct), and placed on wooden speaker stands about 20" from back wall and 12" from side walls. (I also use an Outlaw 975 for theater processing, but 2 channel bypasses the Outlaw)

- Initial thoughts are that they are a bit "bright". However, already this morning they have softened up some (or I'm getting used to the sound). I expect they will continue to improve as they are used and broken in. I may need to rotate them around the room to make sure they all get broken in.

- Sound is nice and clear, dynamic, and efficient (they are louder than my other speakers at the same volume setting). Excellent imaging. I listened to a wide variety of music with them and already appreciate them. I do not have any experience reviewing speakers - but they sound good to me. I'll focus on this more once I feel I have them properly broken in.

- Easily blended with my subwoofer, only very minor adjustment needed.

As noted, I expect these will continue to improve as I use them and am looking forward to cranking up a good movie with them soon.

Here is a quick picture of the speaker with the grill off to help get a feel for size and shape in a real environment

smithz said:

Bruce, hey buddy, what do u thnk now of the M-1's. Want to sale them? Are they getting better? We want to know!! Thanks

Click to expand...

I am due to update everyone - sorry for the delay! Had some other challenges (needed to replace my processor, etc). I owe Craig a call to pay for these gems.

Bottom line - very happy with them and I will be keeping them. I have them set up in 6.1 now and it sounds great for TV and movies. I love having all 6 as identical speakers. When a movie is on - they all just disappear and immerse us in the movie. No one speaker ever calls attention to itself - it is just great sound everywhere.

Regarding music - I think I have them broken in now and they sound very good. I think they are detailed and open with good imaging. I'm not a professional reviewer so I can't tell you how they compare to a variety of speakers... I can only compare them with the few sets I have and I would say they are as good or better than any of the other speaker sets I have. I have this mated to a Emotiva UPA-5 amp (and new Yamaha processor (and the 6th rear speaker uses the Yamaha amp)) and they sound dynamic and clear.

If I didn't know they were this inexpensive, I never would have guessed it. They look, feel, and sound like a much more expensive speaker. For the price, I have no hesitation recommending them. In fact, I would feel the same if they were more expensive - the low price just makes them a no brainer.

I have determined that I need some acoustic treatments now. At very high volumes (these easily crank loud), I think it gets a little mushy and messy... but I blame my room for that. I plan to get some panels on the walls to help.

Here's a few pictures of these speakers in my room (still a work in process). You can see the mount I used on the back of the rear speaker. Made it pretty easy to mount - slides into groove and holds it in nicely. I was a bit nervous that the rear speakers would be tippy on high stands but they are quite stable - no problems.

Next up: new sub and acoustic treatments