I like your comment about those in the “know” to educate others without looking down on individuals that are less knowledgable about certain technical aspects of the given subject. I guess what I’m saying is share your knowledge for the greater good. Thanks, John
Couldn’t agree more with your attitude about keeping civil, opening dialogue and discussion, and assisting the less knowledgeable gain a better understanding of audio. I know I sure am learning much just after a few of your posts. Thank you.
Yes, I do enjoy this addition to the initial review. It lends another dimension to be considered. As for a dimple on a surface-it also creates more surface area.
The Monitor Audio Silver 100 7G reminds me of one of the classic speakers designs from 50 years ago - The Dynaco A25. Also and 8" 2-way with a low-ish 1.5Khz crossover to a dome tweeter, it stood as a benchmark for bookshelf speakers for years, challenged mostly by the KLH 17, the Advent (more bass, not as good upper end), and a few years on, the ADS L-500 (awesome speaker, but delicate). Time, techniques and materials have changed, but the essential goodness of that basic design remains. Thank you for your reviews, I get quite a lot from them.
Small Speakers, Small Rooms. Many small speakers (e.g. those in the LS3/5a and LS-50 tradition) are voiced for small room, nearfield listening. Larger speakers are generally voiced for farfield listening. N.B. The point at which the direct sound level and reflected sound level are equal in an acoustic space is called the critical distance. Inside the critical distance the soundfield is dominated by the direct sound; outside the critical distance, the reverberant field is louder - contains more acoustic energy - than the direct sound level. In a typical listening room 1200-2500 ft3 (40-80 m3) the critical distance from source to listener is typically 3ft (1m) or less.
This is a great way to respond to comments- really enjoying these. Creating some order out chaos (and lack of decency) that sometimes tends to occur in the commenting section and great information. Thanks John.
And regarding the dimples... in ports it is to help port chuffing.. on the drivers it is to ad strenght and also change the breakup frequency and behaviour on the drivers. :)
Hi John. Hearing you talking about the room again I was thinking about your recent headphone reviews that talked about one of the advantages of headphones being that they factor out room characteristics. Having tinkered with headphones (mainly low cost) quite a bit recently I am amazed at how much difference changing the pads (and pad pressure etc.) can make to all aspects of the sound. It's like the space between the ear and the ear cup is like a room but in miniature and can be manipulated to a reasonable degree.
Just an FYI, the monitor audio silver series is significantly less expensive in the UK/EU compared to USA. In the US you might find better value with something like the polk reserve series.
Thank you John. You're doing a fine job. Being helpful and nice to people in the comments shouldn't have to be said, but it doesn't hurt to remind people that that's how you want it in your environment. Take care
I have an Audiolab 6000A Play and after hearing about the new update to Play Fi that is now available (became available on 22 Sep) for the Audiolab / Android phone combination discussed in this video, I downloaded and installed it this morning and gave it a quick test by streaming via Play Fi and Tidal, Jean-Michel Jarre's album Oxygene. Worked perfectly with no gap and no need to have to transfer the playback to achieve this. Fantastic!
Great video again! If i may i do not think your view counts were depending on the product, i think you really step up the quality and the connection to your audience lately. Do not give me wrong all your videos were very good but your new format is really top notch! Thanks John!
Hi John, I really love your comment about "lifting everybody up" regarding criticising others. Far too much of the latter around. Imagine the world we would live in if we did lift everyone...I really enjoy your reviews and opinions, along with others. Keep sharing!
John another excellent video Keep doing what you are doing, I learn more from your videos, and your positive attitude than other reviewers And another reason why I like this channel more than the others , is because of the variety of speakers and amps Not just what the majority likes Thanks
Don’t take comments too seriously. Sometime things come off different than intended or they’re self absorbed jerks. I appreciate your attitude. You do a good job that’s different than tech analysis which both can contribute to a balanced view.
Awesome as always John ! Please consider the Monitor Audio gold or Platinum bookshelf speakers for review. I have owned many, many M.A. levels & Models through the years. Best regards, Mike
Phew - I have the standard silver driver and walnut veneer version and was wondering if I was missing out. If it's just the colours that differ, I can live with that. Thanks for putting my mind at ease
Dimples. Dimples on golf balls and speaker ports smooths turbulence, decreasing friction (friction converts kinetic energy to heat, so less energy is available to support velocity)(. This allows sustained velocity in the first case and reduces port noise in the second. Dimples on speaker cones improve rigidity and reduce standing waves on the diaphragm. N.B. you'll also find dimples or bumps on some auto rear view mirrors to reduce wind noise.
Love the videos. Always good to learn things and love the golf ball comment as I am a PGA Professional. Dimples make a huge difference to the aerodynamics of the ball, deeper dimples make the ball fly lower,
I'm another happy owner of a pair of monitor audios, and would always click if something about the brand appears. In my opinion they give a lot more than others often for less money, at least here in Europe. Another thing they do (sorry, Q-acoustics) is making something you like to look at every day. It's of course just my opinion.
We home demo'd a pair of Q acoustics speakers and both loved the sound so much but we just couldn't get past their looks. Call us boring but we're brown box with a black grille kind of people. We both quite liked the look of these green beauty's though!
Nice job. You have a pleasant voice to listen to. I have a room virtually the same size as yours. There’s more to the way a room loads bass than just its dimensions. 1951 construction, solid wood floor with space under it. Three doors, one that leads outside. All this allows bass to escape but the floor can act like a passive radiator if the speakers aren’t decoupled. I have 1st generation Canton Vento 7’s with three 7” drivers and a -3 at 48hz rating. I like them very much. I listen to mostly mid 60’s early 70’s classic rock. 50’s and 60’s jazz and blues. Favorite current artist is Lydia Loveless. “Real” is her masterpiece but sound quality is only okay. Only listen to LP’s and CD’s. Never have streamed or downloaded music. Just RUclips with headphones. I’m 60 and still living in the past. One day I guess I’ll have to change at least to listen to music in the car. Thanks again.
Love your channel. Especially the ‘how to’ content. Regarding your comment about audience and not reviewing lesser known brands like Q Acoustic, I for one would appreciate a breadth of reviews, it’s only through these one attains a breadth of knowledge. I am however slightly biased, as I am thinking of buying the Concept 50’s and value the insights provided by channels such as yours.
I am a amature speaker designer / builder . After a year of pondering about the colour for my latest build I finally decided on British racing green about two months ago ( Kobra black forest green ) it looks great and I'm happy cool branded speakers like this get the look .... 😊
Really enjoy the "more thoughts" videos! Thanks! Appreciate the clarification of " side by side" comparison and as suspected, you are comparing them simultaneously "In the room where it happens", versus from memory. "Side by side" at some audio stores ends up having different speaker models at all manner of different spacing in width off center and even height sometimes as they "demo" A to B. The positions can be over a meter in difference between the models for setup, which makes critical comparisons difficult. Decent stores will take the time to let you hear the models from the same position as John does when doing comparative listening. Releasing a "Silver Edition" that's green is a bit confusing. They could have been released as " Monitor Audio 50 yr Anniversary Edition in British Racing Green", but that would be a mouthful for John to say as well.
I just found out myself when I sent the video to my tv with soundbar & subwoofer 😊 On the laptop: silence. On my headset: suggestion of bass. On the tv: rrrrrumble !
Gedday john how are you mate.. I have been watching, and have subscribed to this channel for a few years now. Your advice you bring to me and other Am/Pro Audiophiles is a send and its the way you even present it. There are A FEW other reviewers that carry the same ethos with professionalism and insight… Ps.. I have somewhat the same music tastes ( trance DnB even Acid trance - nudging 50 myself.. i even have a few Neil Diamond albums 🤫😅 ) T Y..that people like you giving no pun sound advice can be grounded in a mature forum. Cheers john
Hi John....From the world of consumer research evaluation, your side by side comparison is best described as using a "sequential monadic" evaluative technique. This means you evaluate one set of speakers, remove them, then evaluate the second set of speakers and compare the two when you're done. Moreover, this one at a time process is considered to be the optimal protocol. Thought you'd like to know. Cheers!
first of all, thanks for the vid! A bit connected to the subject: I am using a Gold200 4g for 3 years now. I've tested these with musical fidelity m6si, marantz pm7000n, and rega elex-R. What I've learned from this journey is testing your boxes with as many amps as possible - really pays off! MA's are not easy to drive in IMO. It's the base that needs to be controlled - amps with poor design might fail on that. Moving from marantz to rega was surreal - same boxes, same placement. Musical fidelity - is simply not my taste. I have two more amps I'd like to try out with these boxes: accuphase e380 and a CA edge A... And yes, Monitor Audio ROCKS! :)
Would be really interested in your further discussions on large speakers and small rooms. I heard the Silvers and they sounded great in the demo room, but am still on the fence as to whether they’d suit my small listening room at home.
I be one of the 1st audio reviewers to happily admit , i have learned so much from the subscribers , Together we are so much stronger ! The more we know 🌈 😆 Thanks John
I never heard of audio monitor speakers till one day I went to an estate sale actually it was two days after the state sale everything was free there's a pair of monitor audio RS6 Towers so I gladly took them it looks great I hook them up when I get home I was blown away sound awesome if you had a curtain up you think they were Giant I love them I hook them up to my Counterpoint sa12 amplifier any luxman preamp they're wonderful thanks for doing this excuse me inspired
Could you do a side by side comparison of every generation of Monitor Audio Silver? Most manufacturers don't have this kind of explicit continuity within their product lines, so it might be interesting to see how they've improved over the years. Just an idea if you happen to have time for it in the future.
It would but very tricky, because of vintage speakers age, even if you could buy them all 2nd hand. Manufacturers have to make products they think more people will buy. With music presentation tastes change over the decades. In the 1970s Rock & Reggae fans would want bass heavy speakers My 1980s B&W large bookshelf speakers were very bassy with high end detail which suited my love of dancy pop music 🎶🕺💃😀🇬🇧
All fair points and well made, as per. BUT two other considerations are price and aesthetics. I recently bought a pair of Q Acoustics Concept 40s for a bargain basement £500. They are slim and attractive. They happen to sound nice. I couldn't get a combo of bookshelf and speaker stands that sound as good for anything like £500 - especially given the horrendous cost of attractive stands! Plus the bookshelf/stand combo happens to be bulkier and more intrusive.
@@conkerman01 Indeed. I guess they have stopped making them so are clearing the warehouse but - at £500 - it feels like the closest I have ever come to theft.
The whole bigger speaker for bigger rooms becomes a little bit redundant when eq from AV recievers is involved or you have something like a miniDSP. There's also small floorstanders I would consider perfectly viable for small room - near field listening like the monitor audio silver 200 7g. i would love your opinion on its the home theater capabilities of the silver series. It has a 3 way center channel and even atmos modules.
I'm slightly torn at the moment - I set up a small streaming system in my back room which is not the largest, it's just a NAD D3020V2 / Bluesound Node 2i / plus a pair of B&W DM600 S3s that used to be rears on a surround sound system. Now the sound quality is decent but i would like to try some better speakers but reading your reviews the MA Silver 100s probably wouldn't work. I auditioned some Linn 109s but they seemed lacking in bass and I thought they were expensive for what is quite an old speaker. Maybe I'll stick with the 600s for the time being but thanks for your reviews.
Having heard many speakers in very small rooms I feel that we are using the wrong term when talking about a speaker's room suitability. While "size" usually does help describe suitability, "voicing" may be a better description. There are plenty of little standmounts that would be far too bass-heavy or thick sounding in small rooms and some rather large floorstanders that behave well in small spaces. Every speaker seems to have been designed to fit a particular sort of room - whether intentionally or not. A bigger concern when determining whether a speaker is well suited to a space appears to be listening distance. Plenty of speakers do not allow their drivers to integrate well or be in phase when sitting too close. Perhaps a little dive into our use of language in future expert interviews could help us better describe the problem.
Hi John Thank you for another great video I am fairly new to this hobby My family bought me a Riga P1 as I wanted to blow the cob webs off my vinyl collection I bought a pair of AudioEngine A5+’s as I had no idea what to buy Recently I bought a Rotel A11 tribute as I can only use as a pre-amp with the CD11 tribute I also bought the audiolab 6000N through which I mostly stream Tidal and network radio stations My question to you is can you or do you have any plan to review any Whatfdale speakers, as I am interested in the Lintons Keep up the good work
Interesting you say monitor audio is a popular company. Because I can't find any reviews of there higher range speakers, gold/platinum. They have absolutely beautiful speakers platinum pl500ii and none of the main reviewers have looked at it, now there replaced. Great video
will you try to do a DIY speaker build? its not too hard. some providers sell pre cut boards and drivers. im just saying it would be awesome to get your thoughts on DIY and possibly get a fun Sunday video out of you.
Just played The Wall, it was glorious! Great to see Dts-play-fi working hard to improve their product... another aspect of future-fi ? How long can updates be pushed I wonder ?
I bought a previous incarnation of the golds a few years ago. I thought they looked good and sounded great. My father then taught me how to listen. They were all upfront with little depth.
@@D1N02 the perks of coming early to a video that was published directly after upload :) and yes sometimes RUclips decided to take forever the high res processing
Love your work John just bought monitor audio bronze 100s so I would also love to see your thoughts on the differences between the bronze silver or gold 100s. There is a significant price differences does that also mean there's a significant quality difference?
Probably the biggest difference is finish, the Bronze 100s are most likely the better choice sound/price wise, I'd expect the Silver to have a bit more controlled sound overall. The next step would probably be the three way Silver towers.
Hi John, not only strength and weight are important for a driver, but especially the dampening capability of the used material. Alan Shaw from Harbeth has some great theories on that subject. Br. Seb
I have a pair of magnepan lrs associated equipment is hege h360, jays audio cdp ps audio perfect wave dac, a friend of mine brought over his bronze 100 I was really surprised at the absolute balance they have much better than my lrs which I have to constantly mess with the subwoofer everytime I switch albums what a pain not so with the 100s yes some recordings need tweaking but no so much with the 100s, I’m selling my lrs and buying the 100s thx Nick
After many years of hunting floorstanders.. both big and small(love small 2 way floorstanders like Proac d20R) i have given up and do now only go for standmount.. And to be fair i will not go back to floorstanders even if i get a huge room.. A well made standmount and 2 good subwoofers just sounds better.. IN MY OPINION. :)
I run these speakers on audiolab 6000a and thinking about jumping to 7000a would this be a good move . I listen to edm reggae and ambient using the internal dac
"We don't know what the room is." Then you can argue too that we don't know what the hearing quality of each individual is. You lose hearing as you age and by all sort of things. Children hear higher frequencies for instance. Just a general remark. ☺️
Hi John. Do you think Monitor Audio 100 7G or Monitor Audio 50 7G would be a good match with Bluesound Powernode? I have the Powernode 2 (60 watt), but planning/consider to upgrade to the latest and newest Powernode (80 watt). Will you review Monitor Audio Bronze 100/50 (6th Generation) in the future? Some says the Bronze and Silver sound very similar. Today I have paired my Powernode with Bowers & Wilkins 707 S2 speakers. The reason I consider Monitor Audio is that they have higher sensivity and you could get them with bigger midrange/woofer driver.
Speaker for big or small room. Generally, it's the bass that makes the difference. A small speaker can't generate enough bass in a large room. A large speaker in a small room produces too much bass. It gets too boomy/muddy. Exceptions exist naturally but that's the general rule of thumb.
You mentioned Sonos Amp - have you reviewed it? It's the mainstream future-fi piece that is the obvious competitor to your beloved Powernode. Very keen to hear your thoughts!
New unqualified theory on the dimples here: I guess it is there to diffuse the air and therefore reduce some kind of interference or resonance. But it's monitor audio. So it is probably mainly for looks
Hi John, If I recall correctly, I believe you mentioned in the original Monitor Audio 100 7G Ltd Ed video that it played well at low volumes. But on checking the specs it is an 8 ohm speaker with 87dB sensitivity. This would imply that relatively more wattage is needed to play this speaker. So if it plays well at low volumes compared to similarly priced and/or sized and spec’d standmount speakers, why is that? These specs would imply that this speaker might be harder to drive, no? I would think that the ease at which this speaker can be driven would be dependent on which amplifier you are using with one that has more wattage and higher damping factor being superior. I am interested in your thoughts on this. Thanks. Regards, Richard
Wait. I don't understand the "that video was very popular ". I watch all your videos. And I am an engineer. Not everyone agrees on what is a small room or large. Many say my 15'x24'x9.5' room is large. A great reviewer finally defined his low volume listening at 80dB! I listen at 50dB. 60dB is loud, loud to me. My wife will ask me if it's warm or cold out today. I can tell her the temperature and if it's dry or damp.
Monitor Audio have been using the Dimple effect on the drivers for quite some time. Sure there may be some functionality to it, but is it also just a way to visually distinguish themselves from other brands? Nothing wrong with that, just that I think a smooth driver looks way better and not sure there's any real audio benefit here!
Hi John. How do they compare to the monitor audio gs 10 gold signature. My speakers are monitor audio gs 10 gold signature and i love them . I think it is the best monitor of monitor audio. Hard to beat. Gr André de vries.
Thanks again for a great video! A question I have is when we're referring to "small" or "big" rooms, are we referring to the whole room or the local area of the listening part? I mean if there is a room that's 3x9 but you place the speakers facing the short side? In my mind the effective room is then 3x3 or 3x(the distance of the speakers). Can somebody comment?
Dear John, fast question. First hi fi. Monitor audio silver 100 or kef q350 ? Amp CAMBRIDGE AUDIO axr 100 or ROTEL A11 MK2?........thank you in advance
Late to the party, but this is no competition. The Silver 100 are way better. I once ordered the q350 and sent them back, they're not bad, but they sound a bit thin to me. The Silver 100 are in a different class and what I have in my living room right now. Then again, where I live they are 2 to 3 times more expensive.
This is a very long and wordy video. I have the Silver 100s (and others cuz of surround sound).....The room is 35' x 17' powered by a Denon X3700h, it works great
I like your comment about those in the “know” to educate others without looking down on individuals that are less knowledgable about certain technical aspects of the given subject. I guess what I’m saying is share your knowledge for the greater good. Thanks, John
John Darko, audio therapist. Really like the viewer participation aspect to your follow up vids. Good stuff!
It's great that these videos get into exploring the finer details of enjoying music and listening equipment.
Couldn’t agree more with your attitude about keeping civil, opening dialogue and discussion, and assisting the less knowledgeable gain a better understanding of audio. I know I sure am learning much just after a few of your posts. Thank you.
Yes, I do enjoy this addition to the initial review. It lends another dimension to be considered. As for a dimple on a surface-it also creates more surface area.
Agree totally and the comments share is great. Keep them coming, just going through you previous stuff. Like very much.
The Monitor Audio Silver 100 7G reminds me of one of the classic speakers designs from 50 years ago - The Dynaco A25. Also and 8" 2-way with a low-ish 1.5Khz crossover to a dome tweeter, it stood as a benchmark for bookshelf speakers for years, challenged mostly by the KLH 17, the Advent (more bass, not as good upper end), and a few years on, the ADS L-500 (awesome speaker, but delicate). Time, techniques and materials have changed, but the essential goodness of that basic design remains. Thank you for your reviews, I get quite a lot from them.
These vids are turning into a lesson on ethical commenting but that's a good thing in my eye.
Small Speakers, Small Rooms. Many small speakers (e.g. those in the LS3/5a and LS-50 tradition) are voiced for small room, nearfield listening. Larger speakers are generally voiced for farfield listening. N.B. The point at which the direct sound level and reflected sound level are equal in an acoustic space is called the critical distance. Inside the critical distance the soundfield is dominated by the direct sound; outside the critical distance, the reverberant field is louder - contains more acoustic energy - than the direct sound level. In a typical listening room 1200-2500 ft3 (40-80 m3) the critical distance from source to listener is typically 3ft (1m) or less.
This is a great way to respond to comments- really enjoying these. Creating some order out chaos (and lack of decency) that sometimes tends to occur in the commenting section and great information. Thanks John.
Man, I love this channel. Great work!
And regarding the dimples... in ports it is to help port chuffing.. on the drivers it is to ad strenght and also change the breakup frequency and behaviour on the drivers. :)
Hi John. Hearing you talking about the room again I was thinking about your recent headphone reviews that talked about one of the advantages of headphones being that they factor out room characteristics. Having tinkered with headphones (mainly low cost) quite a bit recently I am amazed at how much difference changing the pads (and pad pressure etc.) can make to all aspects of the sound. It's like the space between the ear and the ear cup is like a room but in miniature and can be manipulated to a reasonable degree.
Just an FYI, the monitor audio silver series is significantly less expensive in the UK/EU compared to USA. In the US you might find better value with something like the polk reserve series.
Share your knowledge and learn every day ! Nice show again John !
Thank you John. You're doing a fine job. Being helpful and nice to people in the comments shouldn't have to be said, but it doesn't hurt to remind people that that's how you want it in your environment. Take care
I have an Audiolab 6000A Play and after hearing about the new update to Play Fi that is now available (became available on 22 Sep) for the Audiolab / Android phone combination discussed in this video, I downloaded and installed it this morning and gave it a quick test by streaming via Play Fi and Tidal, Jean-Michel Jarre's album Oxygene. Worked perfectly with no gap and no need to have to transfer the playback to achieve this. Fantastic!
Great video again! If i may i do not think your view counts were depending on the product, i think you really step up the quality and the connection to your audience lately. Do not give me wrong all your videos were very good but your new format is really top notch! Thanks John!
Hi John, I really love your comment about "lifting everybody up" regarding criticising others. Far too much of the latter around. Imagine the world we would live in if we did lift everyone...I really enjoy your reviews and opinions, along with others. Keep sharing!
Big MA fan ! Big Darko Audio fan as well !
John another excellent video
Keep doing what you are doing, I learn more from your videos, and your positive attitude than other reviewers
And another reason why I like this channel more than the others , is because of the variety of speakers and amps
Not just what the majority likes
Thanks
Don’t take comments too seriously. Sometime things come off different than intended or they’re self absorbed jerks. I appreciate your attitude. You do a good job that’s different than tech analysis which both can contribute to a balanced view.
Awesome as always John !
Please consider the Monitor Audio gold or Platinum bookshelf speakers for review. I have owned many, many M.A. levels & Models through the years.
Best regards,
Mike
Phew - I have the standard silver driver and walnut veneer version and was wondering if I was missing out. If it's just the colours that differ, I can live with that. Thanks for putting my mind at ease
Dimples. Dimples on golf balls and speaker ports smooths turbulence, decreasing friction (friction converts kinetic energy to heat, so less energy is available to support velocity)(. This allows sustained velocity in the first case and reduces port noise in the second. Dimples on speaker cones improve rigidity and reduce standing waves on the diaphragm. N.B. you'll also find dimples or bumps on some auto rear view mirrors to reduce wind noise.
Love the videos. Always good to learn things and love the golf ball comment as I am a PGA Professional. Dimples make a huge difference to the aerodynamics of the ball, deeper dimples make the ball fly lower,
I really appreciate your videos. Thank you and keep up the good work!
I'm quite surprised because I really love Q Acoustics. They just need to offer their Concept 50s, etc. with a walnut finish.
I'm another happy owner of a pair of monitor audios, and would always click if something about the brand appears. In my opinion they give a lot more than others often for less money, at least here in Europe. Another thing they do (sorry, Q-acoustics) is making something you like to look at every day. It's of course just my opinion.
I totally agree that a large speaker can also play in a small room. A while ago I had my linn majik 140 in a small room and it works extremely good.
🤗👍😎 JOHN …AS ALWAYS WE APPRECIATE YOUR KNOWLEDGE 🧐AND REASONABLENESS, AND WE HOPE YOU CONTINUE DOING THIS TYPE REVIEW 💚💚💚
We home demo'd a pair of Q acoustics speakers and both loved the sound so much but we just couldn't get past their looks. Call us boring but we're brown box with a black grille kind of people. We both quite liked the look of these green beauty's though!
Nice job. You have a pleasant voice to listen to. I have a room virtually the same size as yours. There’s more to the way a room loads bass than just its dimensions. 1951 construction, solid wood floor with space under it. Three doors, one that leads outside. All this allows bass to escape but the floor can act like a passive radiator if the speakers aren’t decoupled. I have 1st generation Canton Vento 7’s with three 7” drivers and a -3 at 48hz rating. I like them very much. I listen to mostly mid 60’s early 70’s classic rock. 50’s and 60’s jazz and blues. Favorite current artist is Lydia Loveless. “Real” is her masterpiece but sound quality is only okay. Only listen to LP’s and CD’s. Never have streamed or downloaded music. Just RUclips with headphones. I’m 60 and still living in the past. One day I guess I’ll have to change at least to listen to music in the car. Thanks again.
Please do as many Q Acoustics reviews as you are able to, I will watch them all. Same with any Dali reviews.
Love your channel. Especially the ‘how to’ content.
Regarding your comment about audience and not reviewing lesser known brands like Q Acoustic, I for one would appreciate a breadth of reviews, it’s only through these one attains a breadth of knowledge. I am however slightly biased, as I am thinking of buying the Concept 50’s and value the insights provided by channels such as yours.
Loving the bass Easter egg in the 'intermission' screens… ❤
I am a amature speaker designer / builder . After a year of pondering about the colour for my latest build I finally decided on British racing green about two months ago ( Kobra black forest green ) it looks great and I'm happy cool branded speakers like this get the look .... 😊
Really enjoy the "more thoughts" videos! Thanks!
Appreciate the clarification of " side by side" comparison and as suspected, you are comparing them simultaneously "In the room where it happens", versus from memory. "Side by side" at some audio stores ends up having different speaker models at all manner of different spacing in width off center and even height sometimes as they "demo" A to B. The positions can be over a meter in difference between the models for setup, which makes critical comparisons difficult. Decent stores will take the time to let you hear the models from the same position as John does when doing comparative listening. Releasing a "Silver Edition" that's green is a bit confusing. They could have been released as " Monitor Audio 50 yr Anniversary Edition in British Racing Green", but that would be a mouthful for John to say as well.
First question/answer was what I was looking for. Thanks.
I really thought your transition from comment to comment was just a silent graphic. Had to listen through headphones to hear the rumble! Nice touch.
I just found out myself when I sent the video to my tv with soundbar & subwoofer 😊 On the laptop: silence. On my headset: suggestion of bass. On the tv: rrrrrumble !
Gedday john how are you mate..
I have been watching, and have subscribed to this channel for a few years now. Your advice you bring to me and other Am/Pro Audiophiles is a send and its the way you even present it. There are A FEW other reviewers that carry the same ethos with professionalism and insight…
Ps..
I have somewhat the same music tastes ( trance DnB even Acid trance - nudging 50 myself.. i even have a few Neil Diamond albums 🤫😅 ) T Y..that people like you giving no pun sound advice can be grounded in a mature forum.
Cheers john
New Bowers 706 or 705 review maybe soon John? Would be great to see where they fall into this bunch of stand mounts you've reviewed so far.
Hi John....From the world of consumer research evaluation, your side by side comparison is best described as using a "sequential monadic" evaluative technique. This means you evaluate one set of speakers, remove them, then evaluate the second set of speakers and compare the two when you're done. Moreover, this one at a time process is considered to be the optimal protocol. Thought you'd like to know. Cheers!
You have to hit the Golds....they are amazing!
first of all, thanks for the vid! A bit connected to the subject: I am using a Gold200 4g for 3 years now. I've tested these with musical fidelity m6si, marantz pm7000n, and rega elex-R. What I've learned from this journey is testing your boxes with as many amps as possible - really pays off! MA's are not easy to drive in IMO. It's the base that needs to be controlled - amps with poor design might fail on that. Moving from marantz to rega was surreal - same boxes, same placement. Musical fidelity - is simply not my taste. I have two more amps I'd like to try out with these boxes: accuphase e380 and a CA edge A...
And yes, Monitor Audio ROCKS! :)
You'r the best, Darko.
Would be really interested in your further discussions on large speakers and small rooms. I heard the Silvers and they sounded great in the demo room, but am still on the fence as to whether they’d suit my small listening room at home.
I have ( for now) Monitor Audio 300 Silver in a small room,and I think they sound great.I do use a Sub because I wanted a touch more bass .
My reason liking Monitor Audio is i can actualy listen to them at my nearest hifi shop in South Africa and they don't stock Q Acoustics.
First set in the USA given to Jon of VanL Speakerworks to upgrade crossover components!
Would be great to hear what you think of the Bronze 100!
I be one of the 1st audio reviewers to happily admit , i have learned so much from the subscribers ,
Together we are so much stronger !
The more we know 🌈 😆
Thanks John
I never heard of audio monitor speakers till one day I went to an estate sale actually it was two days after the state sale everything was free there's a pair of monitor audio RS6 Towers so I gladly took them it looks great I hook them up when I get home I was blown away sound awesome if you had a curtain up you think they were Giant I love them I hook them up to my Counterpoint sa12 amplifier any luxman preamp they're wonderful thanks for doing this excuse me inspired
Could you do a side by side comparison of every generation of Monitor Audio Silver? Most manufacturers don't have this kind of explicit continuity within their product lines, so it might be interesting to see how they've improved over the years. Just an idea if you happen to have time for it in the future.
I’m sure he has all those speakers just lying around the house 😒
It would but very tricky, because of vintage speakers age, even if you could buy them all 2nd hand. Manufacturers have to make products they think more people will buy.
With music presentation tastes change over the decades.
In the 1970s Rock & Reggae fans would want bass heavy speakers
My 1980s B&W large bookshelf speakers were very bassy with high end detail which suited my love of dancy pop music 🎶🕺💃😀🇬🇧
All fair points and well made, as per. BUT two other considerations are price and aesthetics. I recently bought a pair of Q Acoustics Concept 40s for a bargain basement £500. They are slim and attractive. They happen to sound nice. I couldn't get a combo of bookshelf and speaker stands that sound as good for anything like £500 - especially given the horrendous cost of attractive stands! Plus the bookshelf/stand combo happens to be bulkier and more intrusive.
Concept 40s are a HUGE bargain at the moment.
@@conkerman01 Indeed. I guess they have stopped making them so are clearing the warehouse but - at £500 - it feels like the closest I have ever come to theft.
13:22 @Darko when looking for the 6000A Play the rear looks not as in the video?
The whole bigger speaker for bigger rooms becomes a little bit redundant when eq from AV recievers is involved or you have something like a miniDSP. There's also small floorstanders I would consider perfectly viable for small room - near field listening like the monitor audio silver 200 7g.
i would love your opinion on its the home theater capabilities of the silver series. It has a 3 way center channel and even atmos modules.
Andrew Robinson did a nice review of the 100 7g with the center channel a few months ago.
I'm slightly torn at the moment - I set up a small streaming system in my back room which is not the largest, it's just a NAD D3020V2 / Bluesound Node 2i / plus a pair of B&W DM600 S3s that used to be rears on a surround sound system. Now the sound quality is decent but i would like to try some better speakers but reading your reviews the MA Silver 100s probably wouldn't work. I auditioned some Linn 109s but they seemed lacking in bass and I thought they were expensive for what is quite an old speaker.
Maybe I'll stick with the 600s for the time being but thanks for your reviews.
Having heard many speakers in very small rooms I feel that we are using the wrong term when talking about a speaker's room suitability. While "size" usually does help describe suitability, "voicing" may be a better description.
There are plenty of little standmounts that would be far too bass-heavy or thick sounding in small rooms and some rather large floorstanders that behave well in small spaces. Every speaker seems to have been designed to fit a particular sort of room - whether intentionally or not.
A bigger concern when determining whether a speaker is well suited to a space appears to be listening distance. Plenty of speakers do not allow their drivers to integrate well or be in phase when sitting too close.
Perhaps a little dive into our use of language in future expert interviews could help us better describe the problem.
Hi John
Thank you for another great video
I am fairly new to this hobby
My family bought me a Riga P1 as I wanted to blow the cob webs off my vinyl collection I bought a pair of AudioEngine A5+’s as I had no idea what to buy
Recently I bought a Rotel A11 tribute as I can only use as a pre-amp with the CD11 tribute
I also bought the audiolab 6000N through which I mostly stream Tidal and network radio stations
My question to you is can you or do you have any plan to review any Whatfdale speakers, as I am interested in the Lintons
Keep up the good work
Interesting you say monitor audio is a popular company. Because I can't find any reviews of there higher range speakers, gold/platinum. They have absolutely beautiful speakers platinum pl500ii and none of the main reviewers have looked at it, now there replaced. Great video
will you try to do a DIY speaker build? its not too hard. some providers sell pre cut boards and drivers. im just saying it would be awesome to get your thoughts on DIY and possibly get a fun Sunday video out of you.
Yes, the New DTS play fi on audiolab 6000a play is now gapless, tested with dark side of the moon :)
Just played The Wall, it was glorious! Great to see Dts-play-fi working hard to improve their product... another aspect of future-fi ? How long can updates be pushed I wonder ?
I bought a previous incarnation of the golds a few years ago. I thought they looked good and sounded great. My father then taught me how to listen. They were all upfront with little depth.
You could say he ruined them for you. Sometimes ignorance is bliss! 🙃
I personally like to explore brands that I hadn’t heard of yet + I think they’re absolutely gorgeous. That’s why I clicked 🙂
So the speakers have bungholes for TP. They are great Cornholios!
Btw are you saving the planet by uploading the video in 360p or is RUclips just very slow today?
@@D1N02 Plus there's no amplified sound 😅
@@D1N02 the perks of coming early to a video that was published directly after upload :) and yes sometimes RUclips decided to take forever the high res processing
That’s a lot of excellent points John
Love your work John just bought monitor audio bronze 100s so I would also love to see your thoughts on the differences between the bronze silver or gold 100s. There is a significant price differences does that also mean there's a significant quality difference?
Probably the biggest difference is finish, the Bronze 100s are most likely the better choice sound/price wise, I'd expect the Silver to have a bit more controlled sound overall. The next step would probably be the three way Silver towers.
@@poopinmahpants I have the MA Silver 300 6G as my mains in my home theater.
So, John yeah they are beautiful to look at and I'll have to take your words for it on how good they sound. Are you going to review the Ohm 1000?
Hi John, not only strength and weight are important for a driver, but especially the dampening capability of the used material. Alan Shaw from Harbeth has some great theories on that subject. Br. Seb
Do the silver 100’s really justify twice the price as the bronze 100’s?
I have a pair of magnepan lrs associated equipment is hege h360, jays audio cdp ps audio perfect wave dac, a friend of mine brought over his bronze 100 I was really surprised at the absolute balance they have much better than my lrs which I have to constantly mess with the subwoofer everytime I switch albums what a pain not so with the 100s yes some recordings need tweaking but no so much with the 100s, I’m selling my lrs and buying the 100s thx Nick
Not sure about the speaker brand. I think de design is quite unique and beautiful.
Absolutely
After many years of hunting floorstanders.. both big and small(love small 2 way floorstanders like Proac d20R) i have given up and do now only go for standmount.. And to be fair i will not go back to floorstanders even if i get a huge room..
A well made standmount and 2 good subwoofers just sounds better.. IN MY OPINION. :)
I run these speakers on audiolab 6000a and thinking about jumping to 7000a would this be a good move . I listen to edm reggae and ambient using the internal dac
It would be a good idea to enjoy what you have and stop worrying about it.
"We don't know what the room is." Then you can argue too that we don't know what the hearing quality of each individual is. You lose hearing as you age and by all sort of things. Children hear higher frequencies for instance. Just a general remark. ☺️
John Darko, Audio hardware reviewer and Internet etiquette activist.
Hi John. Do you think Monitor Audio 100 7G or Monitor Audio 50 7G would be a good match with Bluesound Powernode?
I have the Powernode 2 (60 watt), but planning/consider to upgrade to the latest and newest Powernode (80 watt).
Will you review Monitor Audio Bronze 100/50 (6th Generation) in the future? Some says the Bronze and Silver sound very similar. Today I have paired my Powernode with Bowers & Wilkins 707 S2 speakers. The reason I consider Monitor Audio is that they have higher sensivity and you could get them with bigger midrange/woofer driver.
Hey! So have you tried powernode with Silvers?
please do gold 200
Speaker for big or small room. Generally, it's the bass that makes the difference. A small speaker can't generate enough bass in a large room. A large speaker in a small room produces too much bass. It gets too boomy/muddy. Exceptions exist naturally but that's the general rule of thumb.
You mentioned Sonos Amp - have you reviewed it? It's the mainstream future-fi piece that is the obvious competitor to your beloved Powernode. Very keen to hear your thoughts!
If Sonos would just up their game with high-res, it would be game over. What are they waiting for? (Same with Spotify!)
New unqualified theory on the dimples here:
I guess it is there to diffuse the air and therefore reduce some kind of interference or resonance.
But it's monitor audio. So it is probably mainly for looks
First comment was the question I needed answered. Maybe the Gold 100 Or 200 is next? Cheers
Hi John, If I recall correctly, I believe you mentioned in the original Monitor Audio 100 7G Ltd Ed video that it played well at low volumes. But on checking the specs it is an 8 ohm speaker with 87dB sensitivity. This would imply that relatively more wattage is needed to play this speaker. So if it plays well at low volumes compared to similarly priced and/or sized and spec’d standmount speakers, why is that? These specs would imply that this speaker might be harder to drive, no? I would think that the ease at which this speaker can be driven would be dependent on which amplifier you are using with one that has more wattage and higher damping factor being superior. I am interested in your thoughts on this. Thanks. Regards, Richard
Wait. I don't understand the "that video was very popular ". I watch all your videos. And I am an engineer. Not everyone agrees on what is a small room or large. Many say my 15'x24'x9.5' room is large. A great reviewer finally defined his low volume listening at 80dB! I listen at 50dB. 60dB is loud, loud to me. My wife will ask me if it's warm or cold out today. I can tell her the temperature and if it's dry or damp.
Vivat nettiquette!
Monitor Audio have been using the Dimple effect on the drivers for quite some time. Sure there may be some functionality to it, but is it also just a way to visually distinguish themselves from other brands? Nothing wrong with that, just that I think a smooth driver looks way better and not sure there's any real audio benefit here!
Laurence Dickie is a genius acoustic engineer
Mkbhd occasionally does some dope tech videos with expensive gadgets... You can also do something like that isn't it? Like with some wilson speakers.
The picture on your Samsung tv looks like the cover art for the project pitchforks ep trialog. Not sure if it is or not.
Hi John.
How do they compare to the monitor audio gs 10 gold signature.
My speakers are monitor audio gs 10 gold signature and i love them .
I think it is the best monitor of monitor audio.
Hard to beat.
Gr André de vries.
Would love to see a review done by you of Amphion Argon 3s.
Thanks again for a great video! A question I have is when we're referring to "small" or "big" rooms, are we referring to the whole room or the local area of the listening part? I mean if there is a room that's 3x9 but you place the speakers facing the short side? In my mind the effective room is then 3x3 or 3x(the distance of the speakers). Can somebody comment?
I would prefer the copper drivers in a standard finish.
I'm planning to get a pair for 100 7G along side marantz 40n amp. Do you still have marantz review unit? Do think its a good pairing? Thanks :)
Do the gold 100 ( ebony finish
Yes they are available in the ebony finish and they look gorgeous.
Dear John, fast question. First hi fi. Monitor audio silver 100 or kef q350 ? Amp CAMBRIDGE AUDIO axr 100 or ROTEL A11 MK2?........thank you in advance
Late to the party, but this is no competition. The Silver 100 are way better. I once ordered the q350 and sent them back, they're not bad, but they sound a bit thin to me. The Silver 100 are in a different class and what I have in my living room right now. Then again, where I live they are 2 to 3 times more expensive.
Is this audiolab sounds better than the cxa81 from cambridge ? Thanks. Still good vids
Where do you buy your sound panels from ?
His whole room is treated. See past video's.
I think it’s from Vicoustic. A Portuguese company. But I’m not 100% sure anymore.
He has a whole video about his room treatment.
Cheers
Be the sponge and not the stone 🧠✌️
This is a very long and wordy video. I have the Silver 100s (and others cuz of surround sound).....The room is 35' x 17' powered by a Denon X3700h, it works great