Klipsch MCM (Late 1970s–2016)
The MCM name covers a family of Klipsch professional cinema loudspeaker systems that spans several decades. It has been applied to very different products over that time. The vintage line, the late-1970s MCM-4 through MCM-8, was a horn-loaded, reflex bass cabinet system. A period spec sheet says the bass cabinet holds four K-43 15" drivers, with four inputs for separately amplified crossover sections. A 1977 dealer listing in Recording Engineer (October 1977, p.45) touted the system's efficiency at 99 dB average SPL from a 1-watt input, with maximum output of 124 dB on the low end at 300 watts continuous.
The modern era of the MCM is better documented. The MCM-1900 system was sold from 2013 to roughly 2016, going by the 2013 catalog data. It was a big surround cinema system: a pair of MCM bass bins, each loaded with four 18-inch KP-684 drivers, plus a KPT-9040 mid-bass horn and a pair of MCM-350 surround speakers. The same source lists frequency response of 38 Hz to 16 kHz (±3 dB), a 145 dB maximum SPL, and 90° × 75° coverage. The MCM-950 steps down from there. It used two bass bins with four 15-inch KP-640 drivers each, the same KPT-9040 mid-bass horn and MCM-350 surrounds, with response of 47 Hz to 16 kHz (±3 dB) and 140 dB maximum SPL. A Mix magazine advertisement from July 1982 (p.73) featured Spyro Gyra's Jay Beckenstein vouching for the durability of his horn-loaded Klipsch MCM system through four years of touring. He noted he had yet to have a significant failure.
The MCM-450 is a compact 2-way surround speaker (55-20,000 Hz ±3 dB, 92 dB sensitivity, 8 ohms, 100 watts program/200 watts peak) with a 5.25-inch K-1136 woofer and K-107-SV tweeter, crossing over at 2300 Hz. A used-unit dealer listing shows a $229 price for vintage stock. Related systems include the KI-962-THX screen channel loudspeaker. It used MCM-type horn-loaded bass and was paired with MCM-450s as surrounds. It is described as not exactly an MCM system but based on the same concept.
One caveat: the MCM-1 through MCM-8 models have similar names but potentially dramatically different specifications. Documentation on the vintage units is thin. There are no crossover details, no production year for the base system, and the original spec sheet gives conflicting impedance figures (16 Ω for LF/HF versus a 4 Ω impedance above 400 Hz). The late-70s units were still being praised by owners decades later for their powerful mid-bass punch.
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