I owned the Gold 60s a few years ago. got them Brand new. Sold them about a year later or so. personally, I think they ain't a bad speaker. My 'system' then wasn't sufficient to get the most from them. (accessories, wires, placemnet, etc)
Monitor Audio has a tough hill to climb. their market share isn't very big, and they have stiff competition on the Brittish front, and elsewhere.
they took a very long time to run in, like JRs. I remember that part especially. they sure could play loud though. their finish was nice too. I wasn't thrilled with their tech support... they take a long time to get back to you IF they get back to you.
Some of their lesser models get high praise, and not much press is avaiable on the upper models... though I don't feel that is a slight on the produts. Just the way it is. I see MA as many other speaker lines that also dwell in less of a spotlight. doesn't mean their not good... just not popular... or don't have much market share.
Lastly, I will say, that for the 4K price of a pair of monitor Audio units... they are also in a terrifically competitive market. that might have something to do with it too. |
How did you find them for sibilance.I have been looking for a monitor style speaker with good detail,musicality & that elusive PHRAT.I have tried everything with my Silverline SR V-17 version III ,,wonderful speaker but huge sibilance issues.One of the British reviewers with a good reputation(I think it was Al Gold) remarked on the clean rendering of sibilance with the GR-10 ...so given the driver & crossover from midrange to tweeter would be the same I would think this aspect may be similar.I wish I could take the three or four speakers I am now consideraing & have them for a couple of hours one evening.I am sure there is one out of the lot that would be good on the sibilance. |
I had a OK system when I had them... but no peripherals. No wires no filters... no pc's. and not much of a pre... come to think of it my system sucked then.
Sibalence wasn't always an issue after I found out about the cable TV grounding scheme was causing it.. course i sold all that... I think the issue of their eff rating at 90-91 db. played more than a little part there. i've never had speakers that were of themselves, sibalent.
higher eff speakers will surely show off that issue even if its minor... all the more so. Upstream gear, wires, etc. Wtih high eff speakers... you'll hear it all better... well, you'll sure hear what's there to hear... better.
the Ground loop bug a boo sibalence is an electronic issue which affects one area of the sound... all of it... we just hear it usually in the upper mids and low treble areas. it does affect it all though... just harder to hear elsewhere.
on the whole, I'd say though... not much. thing I didn't care for much was they didn't have the botom end I was expecting... not close. I'm not trying to trash them here... more it's about taste. I like a cloth or at least paper tweeter... even a ribbon.. over metals. Mostly. Same way with other cone drivers... metal can and does work in some applications... I, however if given the choice, will mostly opt for fiberous cones. Just my preffs. no real great reason why. |
Did you actually have overt sibilance like SSSSSSS even Ch overly emphasized because your cable TV was not gounded properly?. I have cable to my Internet only as I have a satellite TV system. It is hard to imagine that could get through as I have Monster Cable filters on my TV & computer. Then there is all the power conditoners I tried prior to just finding some Audioprism quietlines & installed a Oyaide plug made the most difference along with some beefy power cords from Black Sand.None of these changes or experiments made any difference to the sibilance.
Presupposing there are some grounding issues ,say with my cable system feeding my computer modemĀ
.how would one go about detecting & eliminating this problem? The whole sibilance thing seem to come upon me suddenly so it may be some "upgradesĀ to the amplifiers the cable company did about that time is feeding some sort of noise into my AC system.
That would really be crazy making with all the changes I have made to get rid of this problem, however if it were something like that ,it sure would be gratifying to be rid of it. In the interim I ended up vastly improving my system overall. Your tips on this would be most welcomed.
Bill |
1 MA speakers... check out the Platinum line... just saw some inkling about them in the Stereophile CES 07 show report... online now.
2 Ground loop issues. Esiest way to remove the ground loop is to remove the ground. Usually lifting the ground at the service pole (where ALL Sat & cable grounds wind up) is easiest. Not the safest... but the easiest. Check out the threads here on Ground loop issues.
Conditioning devices as a rule do not address it. Cables, gear, etc... don't either.
finding the origin of the problem, if it's not the CATV or SAT, is simple. Just start unplugging. What I did was just turn off everything BUT the power to the audio system at the breaker box then just turn one on and listen... another person will make this effort easier. taking a few minutes in between engaging breakers is good too. When the sibalence returns, Violin! You'll know what circuit it's on. Just see what is plugged in on that line. I'd bet it's either PC, telephone gear, a battery charger for a cell phone, or a Sat/CATV receiver. If it's still present with all the breakers off but the stereo... go outside and lift the ground. Sometimes you'll have to give it a few minutes to clear out completely... but it'll be better right off.
there are transformers that go inline onto the cable itself and are cheap which do work... if i can remeber the name I'll post the link... it'smade by Dayton and can be had from parts express.. $10 each. Worked for me... or you can lift the ground from your gear using the little cheater plugs which prevent the ground on the power cord from making contact in the receptacle. Lots of ways to address this problem.
Los of things introduce junk into the houses power. PCs, modems, wall wart (transformers, like on PC accessories, speakers, scanners etc.).
I lifted the ground on my cable then had some issues later on...with it reloading info and such. I got a fiber optic system entirely. Phone, web, & TV. Verizon FIOS. they added a battery back up... that was the first thing I disconnected. they are big trouble in a good stereo system. I know. I had a uninterupted power supply once before. Never again... well, unless it's full wave.
oh, and I got rid of all my Monster wires except some M1000 ICs which I use on a TV. I can't give them away. But mine are like six or seven years old. they are probably better these days most likely.
Good luck |
Thanks ,I will start to toy around with some of those ways & means of elimating the ground.There are enough things to do that something should show up along the way,if there is a grounding issues that is.
Thanks again
Bill |
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Regarding sibilance ...
I have GS 10s, Arcam FMJ CD/Pre/Monoblocs.
When I tried Nordost Red Dawn ( rev II ) speaker cables,
the sibilance was painful. Bottom of the line Kimber speaker
cables, or better, 14/2 romex ( solid copper electrical wire ),
and the tweeters are smooth as silk, very articulate.
I went back and forth 20 times -- how could $800 speaker
cables sound significantly worse than romex, at 12 cents a foot?!
Well, they did. |
Most folks don't know about Home Depot being a high end audio store. Ssssshhhh.
|
How did this go from MA GR's to 14/2 romex?
Fact is,MA has a long awaited Platnium series coming sometime in early summer. |
I'm from kelowna too.
I just ordered the gs 20's and the matching center channel speaker.
I paid 3600 for all three speakers.
I think this was a good price.
I went to the store expecting to buy b&w's twice the price.
The monitor audios sounded much better to me.
I also tried totem, tannoy, kef's. |
Hi Jim...Did you buy them in Kelowna or go down to the coast? What type of equipment do you use with the 20s?I finally settled on some Tyler Acoustics Signature monitors however one developed a tweeter or crossover problem during the fist 200 hours which is break in time manifesting in a rsy sound coming from the tweeter. I decided to send the other speaker back to as I was not sure it was functioning properly either .Right now Tyler is doing some upgrades for me including rewiring them with premium grade speaker wire which is the same Analysis Plus that I am using to biwiring them & some Cardas binding posts as some feel these two relatively inexpensive upgrades make a significant difference since the drivers he uses etc are world class & appear in speakers costing 2 to 4 times the full retail price .I think I may have gotten a bad element in the crossovers since they were new along with the drivers. These speaker have a stellar reputation & Ty is one of the real gentleman in the business so I know he will check everything over very carefully prior to sending them back. I then have to decide which of two amps I have on hand sounds the best with them ,the Rogue Audio Tempest II tube integrated or the Portal Panache solid state .I will then sell the other one.
I would be curious to how the 20s sound with your amp & front end that
Bill |
