What Hi Fi Sound and Vision
06 JUL 2009
B&W MT-25
The MT-25 is top-notch in its own right, and even tastier now rivals like the KEF KHT3005SE are rising in price
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Style speaker package Product of the Year 2009
This package from B&W is a testament to the vital importance of system matching.
Like ingredients in a meal, components can bring out the best, or the worst, in each other.
The MT-25 is a prime example: it uses the acclaimed M-1 satellites, partnered to a subwoofer that received 'only' four stars when it was reviewed alone, back in July.
Compared with rivals, the ASW608 was found to lack outright bass depth. However, the combination of elements in this package produces a superlative performance that's more than the simple sum of its parts.
Compact satellites rely heavily on an accompanying subwoofer to fill out their delivery, so integration is even more vital than usual, and it's here that the B&Ws are so successful.
Fast, articulate, punchy sub
The sub is fast, articulate and punchy, but its best feature is how seamlessly it blends with the satellites. It's so well integrated, in fact, that you don't notice it – a huge achievement.
Then there's the M-1 satellites. Their precision, detail and insight is class-leading, and makes them as impressive with music as they are with movies.
The complete system produces an overall presentation that's almost flawless.
See our style speaker package Best Buys
There's terrific detail, attack and dynamics, lending excitement to action scenes like the car chase that opens Quantum of Solace, but it also has the low-level dynamics and resolution to do justice to the emotive dialogue in a film like Rachel Getting Married.
The MT-25 is also the best of its type with music. The subwoofer has all the agility, flexibility and resolution to do justice to tricky basslines.
True, wiring the satellites is fiddly, but given the list of positives, we're prepared to accept one little negative – this package is a star of a style system.
Watch our Awards video of the B&W MT-25
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