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If you own quality monitor speakers you want to read this new review

Today, my review on the NSMT 20M Armada speaker was just posted on Stereo Times. It will give you all the details regarding way this two piece (Monitor mounted on a band-pass active sub-woofer pedestal) is a superlative full range speaker.

However, if you love your monitor speakers you owe to yourself to read the details that explain the difference between adding a pair of sub-woofers vs. a pair of band-pass sub-woofers, because their effect will transform your monitors seamlessly into a full range system. Not just bass extension, but because of how a band-pass active sub-woofer fills in the power range (lower mid-range/upper bass) and also pressurizes your room so all the ambient cues that create, both power deep accurate bass and a vast panoramic layered sound-stage. I ran a detailed extensive process involving over ten monitor speakers with a pair of excellent sub-woofers compared to the MSNT band-pass sub-woofer pedestals, and every time the sonic "magic" took place that was quite different then using a pair of sub-woofers. If you own Harbeth or other highly regarded British monitors you will be amazed what will take place in your listening room. There is also a detailed explanation that lays out the difference between an active band-pass design and a normal sub-woofer.   Terry London/Teajay
amorstereo
spenav
424 posts
 
A link would have been nice. 
puffball08's avatar
puffball08
311 posts
 
I believe this is the article the OP is referring to.
http://v2.stereotimes.com/post/nsmt-loudspeakers-20m-armada-system-by-terry-london/

Maybe not relevant, but here is an older article about 20Ms.
http://www.stereotimes.com/Speak072711.shtml
thehybridvigor
3 posts
 
My own system looks very similar, KEF LS50s sitting on top of REL T5is, a co-axial standmount sitting on a fast sub.

The best sub position was also the speaker position, the result glorious, a full range sound that is in phase with the superb imaging of the KEFs
mijostyn's avatar
mijostyn
8,570 posts
 
amorstereo, can you supply us with a link?
mijostyn's avatar
mijostyn
8,570 posts
 
Never mind, I found the article. 
What I like; I love the woodwork on the monitor enclosure. The coincident design of the monitor's driver is a great way to design a point source speaker and the woofer/mid cone serves to limit the dispersion of the tweeter which will decrease room interaction. With a first order crossover imaging should be excellent.
What I do not like (as if it really matters); The use of the term "bandpass" to describe the subwoofer which in reality is just a 10 inch driver in a ported enclosure limiting frequency response at the bottom and an active crossover limiting the frequencies at the top. It does not have a complete 2 way crossover so the midwoofer in the monitor is flapping around at low frequencies distorting everything else that driver is doing. An active 2 way crossover would improve the monitor's performance to a large degree.
The subwoofer is too small and light to be able to produce very low frequencies with authority. It's frequency response was taken near field and it could only make it down to  27 Hz. At 12 feet it will be lucky to make it down to 40 Hz. In reality it is a woofer, not a subwoofer. Using 4 of them in a swarm type system might produce better results.
IMHO the system is overpriced. 
Using high quality monitors with subwoofers below is an excellent way of putting together an excellent system at  very reasonable cost but the performance of the subwoofer can be no different than for any other type of main speaker. It is amazing how big a small monitor can get with the right subwoofer. We sold a pile of Rogers LS3 5As this way combining them with RH Labs subs and the Dahlquist DQ LP1 crossover. This was back in the late 70s!
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