Excellent company. Signed. A. Zombie
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I have a pair of Monitor Audio Studio 6 speakers, and a friend of mine has a pair of Studio 20 speakers from the early 1990's, both are excellent and still sound the same. They are definitely audiophile speakers, very neutral and revealing, and musical. You have to match them properly with the rest of your system because they will show flaws in your other equipment. I also bought a pair of Silver 500 speakers, and they are excellent for the price. The older Studios were made in the UK and the new models are made in China. Because of this the price is a lot lower and more affordable. The quality sems to be the same with newer technology. The cabinets are as beautiful as ever with the veneer of each speaker a mirror image of the other as they always were.
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Excellent zombie thread. 17 years!
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I am very happy with the pl 300s in my 2 channel system
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I tend to agree that Monitor Audio Gold are overpriced , when compared to the Silver series. I personally adore the sound of the Silver 100 7g speakers. At under £800 , they are a beautiful pair of speakers for 2 part stereo systems.
I have an Audiolab cdq 2800 , and 2 x Audiolab Monoblocks, with Arcam sd50 sacd player/streamer. QED silver speaker cables with the Monitor Audio 100 speakers in White. The finish on these is exceptional when compared to Dali. I make my own interconections using Belden 8412.. Seems like a good system for a reasonable price.
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i heard the silver series couple yrs ago and thought they sounded pretty good,,not a bad deal,, |
I checked them out in 1995 and preferred the Mission 753's to Monitor Golds. I bought the Mission and later bought more for various systems. For my tastes, I thought they made some of the best intro to high end speakers. I'm not sure what their current models are, but the 753's and 752's were both very nice $500-$2500 (depending on new or used) floorstanders. I've also read good things about Meadowlark Kestrels in that price range. |
I have GR10s on my desk, and am listening now. I think they are competitive with anything in the $2000 and under class. I prefer them to Revel M20s, Aerial 5, and Paradigm Active 20s, all of which I owned. Very fast, detailed and transparent. Matchups are critical as always, and are usually not optimum in store settings. |
I think that the Monitor Audio Gold series, what you asked about, are over priced for what you get. I have listened to them in a couple of different shops and thought they sounded good but not worth the price. They are in a price range with a lot of other really good speakers. Listen to as many as you can and let you ears decided in the end. Good luck. |
I agree with McFarve4, the S1 is an incredible speaker. If I was looking for one in that price range, that is the one I would choose. When paired with my audio refinement, I was very happy with the sound. |
I have a pair of Gold Reference 20s running off an Aragon Aurum pre and Aragon 8002 amp. Source equipment inlcudes a Cary 303/200 CD player and an oldish Michel Focus 1/Linn Basik/Nagaoka MP50 vinyl set up. The GR20s replaced a pair of the sometimes referred to legendary Celestion SL6Ss. Listening to Classical music and Jazz/fusion mostly. I am very pleased with the sound quality, transparency and imaging of these speakers. They are well engineered and beautifully finished, living up to Monitor Audio's well-deserved reputation for excellent cabinet construction using real wood veneers. I suspect they are designed primarily for the audiophile 2 channel market, but have found their way (in the N. American market in particular) into larger HT systems as well. They are in a different class altogether from the Paradigm/Energy class of gear IMHO. Visitors to my home are 'blown away' by the sound quality, although admittedly most have probably never heard a decent system.
Check out reviews in UK sourced Hi-Fi publications such as Hi-Fi Choice et al.
cheers |
Monitor Audio used to be more of an Audiophile speaker line. Their older
line, the Studio series, were truly wonderful speakers. I have a set of Studio
60's, which was their cost-no-object top of the line speaker. These are
fabulous, fabulous speakers. Coherent, they do the disappearing act --
everything you want. I have been out auditioning lots of high end speakers
and have never found anything like them. They still make nice speakers and
IMO, are a pretty good bang for the buck. I believe they still make their own
drivers. They are now targeting home theater and higher volume. You find
their speakers in places like Good Guys and Tweeters, which costs them in
the audio prestige department. I believe they are very competitive in their
niche and I would suggest an audition if you are shopping in their price
range.
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I have a pair of the S1s from the current Silver series. For $600 these will give anything under $1500 a run for the money IMO. They are quite dynamic and musical all while having detail and top end smoothness. I plan to try the GR10s at some point as I would suspect they offer more of the same...
Audiophile and music lover quality!! |
Could be...
I listened to some Monitor Audio Gold speakers last year at a shop. The shop also carried Paradigm and I found these more to my liking. Even discounted, the Monitor Audios were not a great bargain for the sound I was hearing. They may sound better in the right system.
Some better alternatives in my opinion:
I ended up buying a set of Energy Conniseur C-5 speakers. These seemed to give incredible value for very little money. They fit my budget. After taking them home I ended up putting nerf balls in the base ports, but with this tweak they sound great. Another speaker to consider would be the Dynaudio Audience line. These give a glimpse of the hi-end Dynaudio sound for a bargain price. I liked them, but wanted an 8 ohm speaker (Energy) instead of a 4 ohm (Dynaudio) and the price of the Dynaudios was quite a bit more than the Energy speakers.
Energy is also not mentioned very much in audiophile circles. Let your ears tell you what works for you and the music you listen to in your system. |
I had read about them many years ago in Home Theater Magazine, but don't know of anyone that uses them for 2 channel listening. I've never heard them myself. |
