I have a set of 15i's and 3d printed new grilles that incorporate waveguides similar to the b100 and they work fantastic!! I can confirm this simple change widens and opens the soundstage immensely. They look prettier as well. If you have a 3d printer you can save yourself a ton of money and stickwith the 15i

good comparison, I am thinking of buying the 15i and getting a subwoofer if needed.

Thanks for this comparison video! I also have the 15i's and use them with subs. I had been wondering what the differences are between them and the newer models. Your explanation of the sound differences is just what I wanted to know. I think I will be staying with my 15i's. I get the feeling you are as yet not totally liking the new models sound better than the 15i`s. Thanks again. P.S. I went through a bunch of other bookshelf speakers like others on here did. I tried the Polk R100; EMOTIVA B1+; Elac DBR62 and Unifi 2.0; Wharfedale 12.1; Triangle BRO2 and settled on the 15i`s without hesitation, it wasn't even close.

Here's my take, I have Focal 807W, Triangle Zetas, Dali Opticon 1, Cambridge Audio Minx XL as well as recently adding the ML 15i in an approx. 288 sq ft room and feel the 15i does fairly well in all areas. These are the speakers I kept, sending many others back. Essentially, I have used the Focal 807W with a Hegel amp for quite a few years, swapping gear in and out from time to time. The Focals were the first speakers that gave me most of what I wanted without glaring omissions or issues. I decided that I wanted to downsize everything without giving up too much of what my expensive (relatively) gear gave me. In a nutshell, I like the 15i as a small replacement. I feel it gives me sufficient resolution and detail, depth in the stage as well as sounding smooth but yet exciting enough without being dull or too analytical. The 807W is a better speaker but the 15i does well enough and is small. While I take a hit in stage size, presents less inner detail/textures, the sonic attributes overall are worth it and it presents a smooth listen. I found it has similarities to the Monitor Audio Silver 100 6th edition as to what I liked about it without the dislikes. Both use an Al mid cone driver but different tweeters. I found the Silver 100s really good with sibilance which is how I find the 15i. The Silver 100s were just too punchy for low volume levels as I found myself constantly adjusting the volume. Its upper mids and highs gave too much all at once and kind of homogenized in a way (definitely not for bright amps). The 15i is far better at keeping things smooth and separated but still meaty enough, say dense in a way that my other speakers which use paper drivers do not do, except the Focals. The Triangles are great budget speakers that are very musical with a lightness the Focals and 15i don't have but can be overly sibilant (and some glare). The 15i are more dense, control sibilant passages far better and while more inclined for HT, it is still great with music but it required an adjustment. The 15i is more resolving, similarly detailed and less warm but smooth, with both having good stage depth. The Zetas do bass and lower mids a bit warmer but the 15i looks better with real wood veneer. I was going to use the Zetas to replace the 807W until figuring out if I should buy something small but in the $2K+ range, such as Falcons, Neat, etc. The 15i kind of solved that. Yes, there would be sonic differences and even improvements in areas with more expensive speakers but how much is questionable as to value. And...all the speakers I have play nice with my budget amp that doesn't embarrass itself against the Hegel. Some speakers need alot more power to perform and justify their cost. The limit is in how loud a speaker will go so anything less sensitive may not match well. I don't play really loud music levels anymore and am fine at low to moderate SPLs, say up to 90 dB max at my listening position which with the 15i does so, probably maxing out approx 6-8 watts in my estimation for as loud as I want to go for short time periods. With an amp that pushes approx over 60 watts bursts into 5 ohms, I feel there's enough headroom and I probably use 1 to 4 RMS watts most of the time. From what I gather from reviews and measurements, both the B10 and B100 have been hopped up in the upper mids and highs which is something I would want to avoid. The 15i remains airy enough and is exceptional with human voices. Similar to my Focals I think, with less sibilance too. So, glad I bought them. Probably sell off the rest. So, Main system is a Keces e40 driving using an Aune X8 dac with Sparkos op amp and upgraded PS to the ML 15i on 28 inch stands with good results. Desktop will be a second Keces e40 with a Topping d70s driving the Dali Opticon 1. Not for everyone but if someone wants a smaller system(s), that's one way to achieve it. The Keces E40 is better than alot of $1k+ 2 channel integrateds, lower priced class D and AV amps. The 15i is a good match as well. Kind of scared to try it on the hegel because if the 15i sounds better, that's going to present an issue to selling it...because it weighs 40#!!! Well wishes for your channel's success.

Thanks for your video. I own the 15i speakers and tried the XT B100s for a weekend and found them to be superior for sure but I found them to be fatiguing. Was a bit taken aback because the 15is were never ever fatiguing even at pretty high volume levels. Your thoughts on this? Maybe I’m more sensitive to the extra bump the new ones have. I’m thinking of trying out the B10s.

Thanks for your review. The 15i looks also better! I don’t like an extra sub. Is the bass really thin on the i15? I’m very interested! My room is not that big…

@L Nuclear, thanks a lot for this detailed review. I also saw your review of motion 15i. I had a question, How do you compare motion 15i vs foundation B1 (in terms of bass, mids and highs) in case you have listened to them ? You mentioned about the 15i vs the B10 and B100, which have different construction than the B1, thats why i was checking. Currently B1 and 15i are selling for the same price, so wondering which one to choose. Thanks a lot.

Overall, would you say the difference in sound is night and day when comparing the more expensive B100 to the B10? Thanks in advance and Happy Holidays!

Have you listened to the motion 35xti? I have those and wondered if the 4th generation sounds very different? Would you say it’s similar to the differences you mentioned when comparing the 15i to the 4th generation?

Do you still have these?

Too much waffle..