M19s: are they really all that?

[Alien_Shore]

I know this may border on blasphemy here or perhaps I'll get a very predictable answer, but I've been doing a lot of reading about the M19s and seeing how much the things are selling for these days...
A couple of the threads here lead me to believe that even the most minute change to the stock M19 can really impact the sound of them (e.g., iron core inductors in the XO vs. air core replacements). I was beginning to think last night that I could perhaps use some of the gear I have on hand here to put something together that might be close, but it seems daunting. The guy on ebay who sells the new cabinets - has anyone gotten any first hand knowledge of how those work out if you put the 416s and 802s in them? The original XO is really hard to come by apparently...

[Old Guy]

If you did your research well you read about the engineering awards the 19 won. Why is it hard to understand changes made by amateurs often make the product worse? Second guessing some of the best engineers in the world at the time is often a losing proposition,19 crossovers come up periodically, I disagree they are hard to get.

I'd go for an original pair somebody has emptied out over the new ones on eBay Have patience locating parts, good stuff comes to those who watch and wait.

[cradeldorf]

good stuff comes to those who watch and wait.

And know where to look.

And you are correct, that is bordering on Blasphemy.

[Alien_Shore]

If you did your research well you read about the engineering awards the 19 won. Why is it hard to understand changes made by amateurs often make the product worse? Second guessing some of the best engineers in the world at the time is often a losing proposition,19 crossovers come up periodically, I disagree they are hard to get.

I'd go for an original pair somebody has emptied out over the new ones on eBay Have patience locating parts, good stuff comes to those who watch and wait.

Good feedback - thank you for that; great perspective about the non-professional modifications.

And know where to look.
And you are correct, that is bordering on Blasphemy.

This forum certainly is a great addition to a list of "good places to look". I also employ google alerts - they are an easy and powerful way to channel info about topics I'm interested in.

Would you guys consider any of the other Mxx series monitors to be comparable to M19s in terms of price/performance?

[bowtie427ss]

Would you guys consider any of the other Mxx series monitors to be comparable to M19s in terms of price/performance?

Model 14's, in smaller rooms they may actually perform better, absolutely on par with 19's in medium/smaller spaces.