CES 2008

His name is Adam Shaw-Cotterill. He works for Audio Partnership, parent company of Mordaunt-Short. He's got some long, fancy title, but his job is to take care of his customers. Don't let his doey eyes fool you. He's not so innocent, not so safe. In fact, he's an absolute firecracker, burning and burning and ready to explode. He wants to tell you about a loudspeaker. He wants to tell you about the all-new Mordaunt-Short Mezzo 1. And he'll waste no time about it. Words rush from his mouth like bells and whistles from the Las Vegas Hilton Casino. It's almost too fast to keep up. But you will keep up because he'll make you want to keep up. You'll get excited with him and for him, realizing that he loves this loudspeaker, that he loves what this loudspeaker does and what it means.

What it does is utilize much of the technology of Mordaunt-Short's flagship Performance Series speakers, but at a much more affordable price point. And what that means is that Mordaunt-Short can become more attractive to more people, bring more music to more people.

"We're absolutely fanatical about getting costs as low as possible for our customers, without sacrificing performance."

The attractive Mezzo 1 costs an attractive $500/pair. It was designed with two purposes in mind: To act as a satellite in a home theater system or—as I would use it—as a stereo bookshelf speaker for a smaller listening room. At its heart is Mordaunt-Short's new Aspirated Tweeter Technology, trickled down from the company's Performance Series. The ATT tweeter employs "scrupulously designed structural moldings with strategically positioned vents which help turn rear radiation into diffuse field energy."

I don't know. It kinda looks like a wacky hash pipe to me.