MidiLand MK-01
Mark Muschett - Last updated June 14, 2000

Introduction and Overview

On April 26th, MidiLand announced the MK-01, a handy, space-saving wall mounting kit that promised effortless assembly and installation.  The kit was specially designed for use with satellite speaker systems up to ten pounds in weight.  The mounts allow users to reduce desktop clutter and tailor their audio environment at the same time.    The back plate and molded nut is made from a material that MidiLand has called "Platallic", which they describe as a highly durable "plastic metal material".  It's the same material they use in their S4-7100 satellites (pictured to the left).  The shaft is steel and the ball at the end of the shaft appears to be the same Platallic material as the back plate and  molded nut.   The opposite end of the shaft has a 1/4" treaded area that is the standard size for satellite wall mounts.

Installation:

The kit comes mounted on a cardboard backing with a molded clear plastic cover.  It's fully disassembled but assembly is quick and painless, even if you are almost all thumbs.  In my case I was mounting it into drywall.  I measured out the location using a standard tape measure and then used the back plate as a template to mark the hole locations before drilling the holds with a 3/16" masonry bit and tapping in the plugs.  The supplied screws use a Phillips (star) head so most people should have the appropriate screwdriver handy.  The next step is to screw the lock nut onto the shaft then the shaft onto the satellite.  In my case, I installed with both the MidiLand S4-7100 and the much heavier Diamond Audio Technology HPM-4100.   MidiLand's instructions actually say that you should put the molded nut over the shaft before hand but it really makes no difference since it fits easily over the ball.   The next step is to press the ball at one end of the shaft into the socket that is attached to the back plate.  The molded nut obviously has to be over the shaft before you get to this stage.  Its quite a snug fit so you need to be careful not to damage you satellites when pressing it into place.  Once it's in place you screw the molded nut onto the socket, this prevents the socket from opening up and holds the satellites firmly in place.  MidiLand provides a metal rod that fits into holes in the molded nut to allow for easy tightening of the nut.  The satellites can be placed in any of a wide range of positions before the nut is tightened right down.  It's worth noting that between the shaft and the backplate, the satellites end up with their backs about four inches off the wall.  Since most multimedia satellites are not designed to be right against a wall, this will help to keep them in a more acoustically ideal location.    As with any speaker placement, the ideal vertical is at head, or specifically, ear height.  When it comes to width, it really depends on what you are using the speakers for.   Finally, once your satellites are in place, you can do the final wiring.  There is an eyelet on the back plate that you can use to keep your speaker wire right against the wall.  I tested it with 18 gauge wire and it had a bit of room left, so it looks like you could go as heavy as 16 gauge and still use the eyelet.   The one catch is you have to be using standard speaker connections on at least one end of your wires to allow the bare wires to be threaded through the hole.

Summary:

There's really not a lot that can be done beyond the installation to test a speaker mount.  Basically, the system works exactly as advertised and as MidiLand's press material claims, comparable wall mounting kits on the market today are available at an ESP of close to $50.00 and above.  Radio Shack's comparable unit is actually listing for $60 and I am sure if you shop around you can match the price of the $39.99 street price for the MK-01, but you will be hard pressed to beat it with similar quality.   When it comes to nit-picking, the most I can come up with is it would have been nice to have a bit smaller MidiLand logo on the back plate and white headed screws, to match the color of the back plate, would also have been nice.  Some people may also not like the look of back plate and molded nut on their wall.  For most people those are all minor quibbles when you consider what you can gain from a wall mount. That is, ease of placement with ability to perfectly tailor satellite location, and elimination of desktop clutter, all of which can lead to better sound quality.  As I noted before, this MK-01 is not limited to MidiLand's satellites.  The 1/4" tread is a unofficial industry standard so if your satellites have wall mount capability, there is a good chance its compatible with the MK-01. This all adds up to our 3DsoundSurge Surge of Approval and a Silver Medal of Excellence.   You might also be interested to know that MidiLand has special offer on right now.  Anyone who purchases one of their S4-7100 or S4-8200 speaker systems in the US can redeem a coupon that is available with the speaker systems and the MidiLand website for a free MK-01 kit!  You can get the details from MidiLand's recent press release as well as from their website.

Update: The contest associated with this review closed late on the afternoon on July 24th, 2000.  If you got your entry in then its in, so don't worry about that.   As soon as MidiLand lets us know we will announce the winners.   As a reminder, if you are entered into the contest you can win one of the following prizes:

Grand Prize: (1 recipient) S4 7100, ADS-2000, MK-01

2^nd Prize: (2 recipients) MLi-490, MK-01

Runner-Up: (5 recipients) MK-01

Have comments or questions on this feature?
Why not post them in our forum?

Speaker Reviews

Yamaha TSS1 Dolby Digital / DTS 5.1

Sirocco Crossfire vs ProMedia v.2-400

Evergreen RumbleFX force feedback headphones

Jazz Speakers DE-005/DE-006 Digital Audio Decoders

MidiLand ADS-2000

Boostaroo Headphone Amplifier / Splitter

Spectrum Research Theater 2000

Qsound UltraQ

More reviews

All content, design and work is © 2001 - 3D Sound Surge Please respect the copyrights of the articles and writers herein. All copyrights are enforced by 3DSS.  
View the 3DsoundSurge Privacy Statement