FANTASTIC little things!!! MISTRAL DT-307s

[PinkFloyd]

I was looking for a smallish pair of speakers for my bedroom TV / system and came across (quite by chance) the Mistral DT-307S.

There is VERY little about these on the net so it was a bit of a gamble buying them blind.... I feared that they may be cheap and nasty and sound like turd.

I was absolutely STUNNED when the package arrived, the WEIGHT of it instantly told me that I had just spent £99 very wisely

By the way.... I'll get to the source before I say any more..... this guy is selling them at a crazy price of £99 Mistral DT-307 the RRP "is" £358.80 as I discovered when I phoned the distributor (ADS worldwide) www.ads-worldwide.net/products/dt-307s.php and ADS currently have them on offer for £155.99

Anyhoo.... I paid the car parts dealer on ebay his £99 asking price and pulled the lever.... I would either get a lemon or hit the jackpot..... Jackpot time I think!!

They came EXTREMELY well packaged (a box within a box type thang) and when I unpacked them and first set eyes on them I was in LOVE! I have always fancied a pair of Scandyna minipod but have always found them a bit rich on the wallet for what they offer.

Blow me down with a feather, these Little Mistral speakers not only LOOK better than the micropods, they also SOUND better and are TWICE as heavy! (4 kG per piece!! 8 kG in total)

I cannot type this in fast enough 'cause £99 is an insanely cheap price for quality like this!

Kevlar bass / mid cones, silk tweeters, cast chassis.... all the "shiny" trim you see is METAL (NOT plastic) the feet are solid aluminium.... the build quality is phenomenal.

The company that are selling these are shooting themselves in the foot (BIG TIME) with their lack of "info".... I mean, just look at the info on their website: www.mistralaudio.com/2_series.html The bare minimum of information.

They do some beautiful looking large speakers which you can see on their main page: www.mistralaudio.com/index.html but, again, the minimum of info.

Can't complain though as their failure to promote their products has seen me bagging "possibly" the best bargain I have secured in audio land this year

These are INSANELY good quality and they are up there with the Very best "pod" type speakers when it comes to sound quality... possibly the most stylish I have come across too.... they look like little sculptures (as opposed to square wooden BOX) and it is quite amazing the sound that comes out of them.

Imaging "superb", sensitivity "superb", weight and depth "superb", clarity "superb", detail "superb".... I can't fault them! Sure, they don't do "sub" bass but as a pair of bookshelf / mini speakers they are the best I have heard in MANY a year and, certainly the most stylish.

The "box" they come in states that they are designed in Japan / made in China.... a very nice box, does what it's supposed to do..... protects the speakers in transit. There is NO user manual, there is no specifications... all you get are the speakers and two lengths of (terminated with gold plated banana plugs) speaker cable..... top quality cable and plugs but two 0.75M lengths of terminated cable is about as much use as a chocolate fireguard...... they could have dispensed with that and maybe added a bit of blurb about the design etc.

The "official" handling capacity, from what I can make out (what the distributor told me) is 40 watts RMS..... means nothing at all, these speakers are SENSITIVE and will rattle your windows with a 25 watt amp

I was driving them earlier with a Yamaha AS-700 (CD17KI Sig source) and they were absolutely fantastic for their "size"..... I have now installed them in the bedroom TV / DVD / Audio / SKY (relaxing in bed) system and am driving them with the new AUNE X-Series amp.... I will do a full review of the Aune Mini amp soon.... and it's just such a nice listen

£99 folks...... I don't usually come straight out with a "grab it if you can" type first impression of a product but this is one of these RUN (don't walk) as fast as you can and GRAB before they disappear type things......

You will thanks me for it, I promise you.

Here's a photo of one of the Mistrals in my bedroom TV rig.....



The Aune mini amp is superb (BTW)..... I am going optical out (from the SKY dish) into the Aune mini DAC and mini DAC out into the Mini amp..... The NAD T585 (another great bargain!) goes straight into input 2 of the Aune Mini amp...... Fantastic little bedroom rig

The X-series Aune mini amp / DAC (on foam as they don't come with feet fitted, a real niggle that is..... please fit some rubber feet! Why do you ship everything without FEET? Nothing worse than a piece of metal sliding about on the deck... FEET please! )

[gommer]

I'm sure i've seen something very similar some 10 years ago. It might have been Orb speakers, , not sure though. Even less sure if they were raved about on TNT-Audio, maybe someone else remembers.

[pcourtney1]

can also now confirm what great value these Mistral speakers are, mine arrived via UPS early this morning, we needed some piano black speakers for our newly decorated dining room, we have a an old oval ten seater dining table made in Denmark, black ash finish, really nice to look at, but looking tired after 5 house moves and a bit banged up, so we decided to be a bit stupid and get our local paint man to restore them and finish them in - you guessed it - "Piano Black"

I quickly set them up and let the Squeezebox play my party playlist all day so that when I got home tonight they would have at least 12 hours burn in. The amp was set to -30dB, loud enough and I went to work.

My neighbour then called me about lunchtime and asked why he had not been invited to the party, hey ho

Well I'm home now and they sound oh so good, not as good as my Rogers db101 when comparing Whitney Houston or Mariah Carey with both speakers, but not far off, and they look really sweet, the missus is pretty happy with them too, so thanks for the steer Mike, they are great little speakers, and very stylish too



Rogers db101 side by side Mistral



The Mistral DT-307S side profile and front on



The Rogers db101 side profile and front on

When the db101's first came out they were £400 quid in 1996, I snagged a pair for my old girlfriend at the time, we were packing all our gear to go to Miami for 2 years, she had a gig as the headline act for several cruise ship companies, and the Yamaha monitors we used to playback her stuff were just too big and heavy, so we bought these "toasters" as they were affectionately known.

They have been around the world a few times, and are pretty much the best "small monitor speakers" money can buy if you want to hear vocals as close to the live version !

I can vouch for them because we have been in many studios rehearsing, and whilst she was singing I would be recording, we would then stop after rehearsal and listen to it, trying to improve her act as we went along, to hear her live, and then via the db101's was very rewarding for me, and countless times we were asked where did you get those speakers, the response being "well they are made by a small British company called Rogers, they also happen to be a supplier of speakers to the BBC" , sadly they went skint a few years later

Some blurb if anyone is interested from this guy, who obviously knows a thing or two, because he is spot on with his assessment, and I quote

"Somehow, Rogers have got the mix just right. Whether I chose the smoky sound of Linda Rondstadt singing jazz, Karla Bonoff or Mary Black with more "folky" material, or such divas as Annie Lennox, the presentation was nothing short of tremendous. Male vocals were also well presented; the greatest test for me has always been BBC Radio 3's presenters: Any chestiness and the product's too bass heavy. Any undue sibilance and the highs are too sharp. But here they were just right, almost as if I was listening to them right before me. Commendation indeed"

www.hi-fidelity.com/reviews.htm

the Mistral's don't quite get to vocal prowess of the db101's, but then who cares for casual listening in the kitchen or office, the Mistral's remind me of Superlux and what they can produce for £30 pounds is beyond belief, I think Mistral are in the same league with these beauties !


My old girlfriend by the way was Maria Morgan
mariamorgan.biz

She recently sang Appeared in LES MISERABLES in concert at the O2 Arena on Sunday 3rd Oct. 2010

[xerxes]

when comparing Whitney Houston or Mariah Carey

I find the best speakers for comparing these two are very small speakers preferably situated on another continent.

[PinkFloyd]

Any ideas on what the Mistrals are made from Paul? Whatever it is, it's VERY heavy and dense (give them a rap with your knuckles) one "source" mentions MDF but I doubt these are MDF, WAY too heavy!

Wait until you've had a good few hours on them, they really do loosen up and begin to fizz, I cant stop fondling them, they are gorgeous little things.

Trying to figure out how to get under the bonnet (for a peek)... The drivers are either glued into position or maybe a bayonet lock type of thing.... whatever it is these things are pretty much DEAD... no rattles, no buzzes.... turn them up and place your ear on them These are VERY well put together!

Nice quality drivers too, the 4 inch driver is Kevlar with rubber roll surround and the tweeter is a silk dome type.... have a close look at the tweeter, it's a good 'un Get a torch and shine it into the rear port, you can see a bit of the internals.... you will also note that the port is "meshed" deep inside the enclosure.

Anyhoo, glad you like them Paul I think they are a VERY good buy @ £99.

[PinkFloyd]

Sept 10, 2011 3:48:14 GMT xerxes said:

when comparing Whitney Houston or Mariah Carey

I find the best speakers for comparing these two are very small speakers preferably situated on another continent.

I totally agree with that Owen!

[PinkFloyd]

BTW.... he is also selling these Mistral speakers for £49 www.ebay.co.uk/itm/White-Glossy-Bookshelf-Speakers-High-Quality-Speakers-/370477866648?_trksid=p4340.m263&_trkparms=algo%3DDLSL%252BSIC%26its%3DI%26itu%3DUCI%252BIA%252BUA%252BFICS%252BUFI%252BDDSIC%26otn%3D8%26pmod%3D250762348814%252B250762348814%26po%3D%26ps%3D63%26clkid%3D2678143710560649382

[pcourtney1]

Sept 10, 2011 3:48:14 GMT xerxes said:

when comparing Whitney Houston or Mariah Carey

I find the best speakers for comparing these two are very small speakers preferably situated on another continent.

your funny, the point for me was to test the Mistrals with some female vocals, to see how well they coped with the high notes which always catch out cheaper made speakers, can you suggest any female artists that have a wider vocal range than Mariah ?

[PinkFloyd]

can you suggest any female artists that have a wider vocal range than Mariah ?

Cecila Bartoli

[pcourtney1]

Sept 10, 2011 9:25:04 GMT PinkFloyd said:

Any ideas on what the Mistrals are made from Paul? Whatever it is, it's VERY heavy and dense (give them a rap with your knuckles) one "source" mentions MDF but I doubt these are MDF, WAY too heavy.

it's just layers of mdf Mike

www.iqsmarterhome.com.au/products/speakers-hifi-and-5-1/style/mistral-307-s/

but it must be a really densely packed and heavy mdf I guess
Peter

[PinkFloyd]

Sept 10, 2011 10:56:07 GMT pcourtney1 said:

Sept 10, 2011 9:25:04 GMT PinkFloyd said:

Any ideas on what the Mistrals are made from Paul? Whatever it is, it's VERY heavy and dense (give them a rap with your knuckles) one "source" mentions MDF but I doubt these are MDF, WAY too heavy.

it's just layers of mdf Mike

www.iqsmarterhome.com.au/products/speakers-hifi-and-5-1/style/mistral-307-s/

but it must be a really densely packed and heavy mdf I guess
Peter

I saw that too Peter but I think they've got it wrong.... I would be more inclined to go with the "composite resin" description... tap them with a pen, no way is that MDF.... if it "was" MDF it would take them ages to layer it all into that shape and it would be a very costly "skilled" job.... nope, I am 99% certain that these are composite resin enclosures.

[PinkFloyd]

Just imagine how hard that would be to make with MDF.....

[PinkFloyd]

I'll have a scrape about inside one of the rear ports later to confirm what the actual material is

[PinkFloyd]

Napa acoustics also sell them $299 minus the "mistral" badge and they too say they are "hand craft multiple layers MDF construction".... hmmmm

www.napaacoustic.com/Speakers.html

[PinkFloyd]

"In 2009, Napa Acoustic has entered into an agreement with Mistral Audio to represent Mistral Audio in the USA. Mistral Audio has more than 10 years of experience in designing and producing high quality speakers, vacuum tube amplifiers, and professional mixer amplifiers. Their high end audio products are well recognized all over the world for creativity, reliability, and creditability. Moreover, Mistral Audio’s research and development team continues to offer innovative audio products, which always exceeds expectation."

[PinkFloyd]

www.stereophile.com/content/napa-acoustic-big-sound-small-packages

[PinkFloyd]

Half way down the page.... www.ultrahighendforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=209&t=1736&start=24

[pcourtney1]

more likely it is HDF Mike

www.fordaq.com/fordaq/Price/Ty_S-Pc_89-L0_3550-Ac_Q/Engineered-Panels-High-Density-Fiberboard---Hardboard-(HDF).html

very popular in Russia for all sorts of high quality furniture, and very very heavy !

[PinkFloyd]

Sept 10, 2011 12:25:26 GMT pcourtney1 said:

more likely it is HDF Mike

www.fordaq.com/fordaq/Price/Ty_S-Pc_89-L0_3550-Ac_Q/Engineered-Panels-High-Density-Fiberboard---Hardboard-(HDF).html

very popular in Russia for all sorts of high quality furniture, and very very heavy !

Yes, High density fibre board... more like it as the little jelly baby Mistrals don't half weigh a lot for their size, I was expecting quite light weight things but these have been BUILT like brick shitehouses.

I'd love to get inside them to have a better look but barring sawing them in half I see no way of getting in... I wonder if it's a simple capacitor in series with the tweeter or a full blown crossover inside..... anybody here got an X-ray machine I can borrow?

[pcourtney1]

maybe the local dentist that you like so much can help with the x-ray :-)

[PinkFloyd]

Peter, those short cables that come with the speakers are a bit of a bonus as you can use the gold plated 4mm banana plugs on other cables.

They are decent quality twin screw fixing types and they're generally about £2 a pop so, £16 worth of banana plugs here

Get yourself a sharp knife (stanley knife type of thing) and cut the heatshrink off the plugs (a score from front to back will do).... unscrew the two screws, remove the cable and then fit them onto the cable of your choice.

Here are the eight bananas I poached off my Mistral cables:

[PinkFloyd]

Listened to The Wall (Pink Floyd) in it's entirety through this little system today and enjoyed every second of it. NAD T-585 DVD / SACD player > AUNE Mini amp > Mistral DT-307

Quite extraordinary the level of musical enjoyment such a small pair of speakers can give.... I spent the entire length of the album marvelling at Roger Water's vocals, the little 4 inch cones absolutely major on voices, he was projected nicely into the sound stage in a palpable "space" of his own.

Not the most dynamic nor mind blowing listen of The Wall I have ever heard but the small scale listen definitely helps you delve into the midband minutiae and this little rig is quite microscopic when it comes to pulling detail out.

The "voicing" is always crystal clear and never overwhelmed by the rest of the mix.... even on complex passages (such as "Bring the boys back home") you can clearly hear they are singing "BRING THE BOYS BACK HOME!".... it doesn't turn into porridge, like it can on some systems.

Nobody home is presented beautifully by the Mistrals. "I got a little black book with me poems in"..... the emotion, the depth, the voicing, the placement, the hairs on the back of the neck.... all present and correct!

As I say, not the most dynamic, toe curling bassy type listen on the planet but for what they can do, the little Mistrals are up there with the best of them, no doubt about it.

Mine have had about 500 hours on them now (I leave them blasting out all day) and they have definitely improved since day one.... they were a bit thick sounding in the midrange at first but have now worked loose and are as sharp and snazzy as a David Bowie suit.

£99? (NINETY NINE POUNDS?).... I am REALLY glad I took that punt and, Peter, I hope you are equally satisfied with your purchase..... These are little gems and I am GLAD they are not "mass market" 'cause they will always have a "what are they?" type response rather than "oh yeh, I have two pairs of them".....

What are they? simply the most stylish looking mini speaker I have seen. Where can I buy them? You can't

Peter, (I think you already know) you've got a pair of real crackers there..... cherish them

[PinkFloyd]

There we were (a few days ago) trying to find out a bit about these speakers.... now we are page one in Google

www.google.co.uk/#sclient=psy-ab&hl=en&source=hp&q=MISTRAL+DT-307s&pbx=1&oq=MISTRAL+DT-307s&aq=f&aqi=g-b1&aql=1&gs_sm=s&gs_upl=1921938l1925531l2l1926969l1l1l0l0l0l0l250l250l2-1l1l0&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.&fp=2a814981403d5b62&biw=1685&bih=758

[xerxes]

Have you tried the Aune with your main/best speakers?

I tried the little Topping with mine and was very impressed with the results despite the lack of power.

[PinkFloyd]

Sept 13, 2011 20:41:45 GMT xerxes said:

Have you tried the Aune with your main/best speakers?

I tried the little Topping with mine and was very impressed with the results despite the lack of power.

No, I haven't Owen. I am living with the AUNE Mini Amp in the environment it was designed to be in..... I have no intention of stitching it into my main rig.

Mike.