| Morel Nova 5.1 Home Theater System |
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| Home Theater Loudspeakers Speaker Systems | |
| Written by Brian Kahn | |
| Thursday, 01 May 2003 | |
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At $999, the Nova 5.1 speaker system is the entry-level micro system from Morel, Israel’s leading loudspeaker company. The satellites in this system are tiny metallic half-spheres that can be mounted anywhere a softball would fit. For less than a thousand bucks (USD), you get five satellites that can fit into the smallest of spaces, and a powered 10-inch subwoofer. While this is becoming more and more common, it is still rare to find speakers in this size and price class that don’t sound like an AM radio broadcast coming out of a drugstore clock-radio. In the U.S., the Morel name is not as widely known as it is in Europe, where it has a considerable and heralded reputation. Morel was founded over 25 years ago in Israel’s southern region and has been a leading provider of OEM speaker components in Europe since that time. In the U.S., Morel offers a variety of different SoundSpot speaker systems, which are visually identifiable by their spherical enclosure. The LI-1 SoundSpot satellites are the entry-level speaker in the SoundSpot line. Their metal half-sphere enclosures feature a three-and-one-half inch coaxial driver with a three-quarter-inch voice coil, double magnet system. The tweeter driver size is a half-inch and has a half-inch liquid cooled voice coil and neodymium magnet. The speakers are specified at 100 - 20kHz and 88 dB sensitivity. The metal half-sphere can be ordered in a variety of colors and sits on a small circular stand. The back of the sphere, opposite the driver, features small binding posts that will take spades, pins or bare wire. The RS-10A SoundSub is a powered subwoofer with a single 10-inch driver with built-in 60-watt amplifier. The cabinet measures 18.7 inches wide, 15.7 inches high and eight inches deep. The black cabinet is reflex-loaded, with a side-firing port. The specified usable frequency range is 20-140 Hz and the rear panel features high- and low-level inputs and outputs, continuously adjustable volume and crossover, auto on/off switch, and a two-position phase switch. Set-up I first set up a pair of satellites and the RS-10A in my two-channel system. I placed the satellites on a pair of taller Vantage Point stands. Due to the extremely small size of these speakers, it may be necessary to use taller than usual stands to get the tweeters positioned at ear height. I positioned the stands six feet apart and three feet from the front wall, with the SoundSpots toed in slightly. Ultimately, I used the line-level inputs on the SoundSub. More on the setup on my home theater rig later in the review. |
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