Super Mon Mini Review! Better than my Focal Kanta No1 at 1/4 the price?
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- Опубликовано: 10 сен 2024
- Discord Link: / discord
Mon Acoustics Super Mon Mini: monacoustic.us...
Jay's Iyagi Review: • EARGASM for Audiophile...
Manufacturing Process: • Video
Preamp & Power Amplifiers
Denafrips Hestia: www.vinshineau...
Kinki Studio EX-P7: www.kinki-stud...
Kinki Studio EX-B7 mono blocks: www.kinki-stud...
Hegel H190: www.hegel.com/...
Source: Bluesound Node 2i
www.crutchfiel...
(all music is hi-res streamed from Tidal)
DAC: Denafrips Ares II or Venus2
www.vinshineau...
Speaker & Power Cables: Maze Audio Ref4
www.mazeaudio.c...
(rest in peace Kent)
Interconnect Cables:
Analysis Plus Oval One RCA
Oyaide Tunami Terzo XX V2 XLR
analysis.plus/...
Your results may vary based on your ears, room, and associated equipment.
**Pinned Comment, Addendum**
A few things didn't make it into the video, like how these perform when used for TV duty. I used them in my upstairs rig fronted by an Emotiva TA2 or Hegel H190 that were fed signal from an LG C1 OLED. I watched the full first season of House of the Dragon as well as played over 100 hours of video games (tales of arise). They performed insanely well and as you would expect had stunning dialogue clarity making a center channel optional or in my case not needed at all. They staged wide & tall and will be awesome for anyone who's music system doubles as TV duty.
I will definitely send you one once I get some review samples in!
Hey what's up Thomas, that would be awesome, I think this combo could be amazing!
@@NemoPropaganda I think you will be very suprise what speakers it will pair well, it will be like no other tube amps you have ever tried 😁in terms of power.
@@ThomasAndStereo oh man, I look forward to that, who doesnt like power!!
Nice to see a fullrange driver speaker that works! The driver is from markaudio same as Sibelius and a lot of DIY designs. The tweeter only kicks is at 6.8khz, that's probably why you liked voices so much: no crossover in the 1-4khz voice region! Same reason may lead to a sensation of more detail as highs will be less apart from the high mid the brain has an easier time to figure out what's going on and this obliates less detail.
It would be nice they made them sealed to be used with subs only, possibly high passed to get better power handling and scale.
wow that's a really high crossover, I had no idea that was the case.
with the exception of a few subwoofers, this is probably the first time you've made me this curious about the sound of a monitor. well said!
they're worth an audition, I look forward to these becoming more popular so people can hear them. It won't replace a full size speaker if you want that full sound but for certain listereners there is nothing better at this price.
Never heard of these, glad you got them in for review man! These look so well designed and clearly they really perform! Great review and addition of what to pair with it for subs, super helpful.
Love seeing what's out there!
I have been a subscriber for a little while now... I just absolutely love your reviews... So down to earth and you are such a straight shooter...LOVE IT😉👍
thank you for the kind words my bro!
👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻 great job with equipment matching and comparison….👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
This is a great review. Proof that you don't need crazy video editing stuff. Subscribed.
aye! welcome aboard my man!!
Wow! Thanks for putting this on my radar bro! Didn’t even know about this brand but this seems like a home run!
A new bookshelf to put on the radar for you is the “Point Source 10” by Andrew Jones from Mofi. He’s no longer with ELAC and these bookshelves are 40 lbs each, and $3600/pair.
You got me on to these bookshelves + sub and prior to that I was only into floor standars (still am btw) but you’ve expanded my horizons! Thank as always!
no way, those are too big for my taste :)
These speakers look absolutely gorgeous.
This brings to mind the late great Arnie Nudell who designed the Infinity IRS V and the Genesis I ultra high end speakers. He had said the most important thing in a speaker is the tweeter. And when you get that right, all else falls into place.
Great Review..... Interesting Build.
These look pretty cool. AMT's are pretty hit or miss, but when they're correctly implemented they can be sweet. I've been surprised with where CNC machining is at these days we're not seeing more aluminum alloy cabinets as it becomes a cost effective solution. There's so much potential, one reason Magico is such a special speaker. First thing I thought of was the Rythmik subs as they can certainly get up into the low midrange with ease. Won't be giving up my Kanta No2's any time soon, but these look like an awesome solution for a small to medium sized room. I'd be interested to hear them with a good tube amp as well.
Nice review Nemo
I remember seeing in the not so perfect translation of their website, it said isobaric woofers and you are the only reviewer to mention it. I have the Mark Audio drivers and they are really nice
honestly I thought the rear driver was a passive radiator loading the port until I saw the manufacturing process lol so it did take some digging to fully understand the design and what was actually going on.
I'd wager that the Closer Acoustics Ogy would give these a run for the money. And they're much prettier. The manufacturing process is even more impressive. They have a 1/4 wave transmission line in the same size.
I've never heard of those but just looked them up. Personally I don't think they're prettier, the smile port bothers me lol, but beauty is in the eye of the beholder :)
@@NemoPropaganda Fair! But the corian finish is killer! More speakers should have that over veneer. It's so durable and nice.
An AMT tweeter that Nemo likes? I must've had too much to smoke! What you describe is why I like their implementation. This one sounds like a mini-marvel and one I definitely will check out. I'm super curious on how something from ML, Ascend or Philharmonic would compare.
I think most comparisons would be a similar story, the mon would have a thinner midrange but better vocals. It's just a limitation of the size.
Nice on work this review.
thank you bro!
The URL no longer functional BTW.
which URL? I just checked the product link and discord link, both working.
The one linked below the vid to the speakers.
@@NemoPropaganda
Sup bro - Did you get a chance to try them with a pair of KC62s?
I don't think I did.
Awesome review! Being so small were these able to fill your room with sound or did it leave you wanting more. Thanks for all the great reviews!
It was able to fill my room just fine though the midrange never felt full or thick like it would on something larger. It's a fantastic speaker but I wouldn't put it in a larger room, these guys really need a middle moddle maybe around $4-$5k.
You said that you used the high pass of the JL audio sub to the speakers. Would you say that high passing this speaker improves its performance, since the small drivers don't have to move as much by trying to reproduce deep bass?
I didn't notice any increase in performance, maybe if I was really pushing them to the limit they would play louder with high-pass but the JL highpass option is more for quick and easy subwoofer setup with perfectly blending.
Great job bro! 😎👍
How about using these for surrounds in a home theater setup?. Would you recommend these for that?.
Yes of course though they would be very expensive surrounds and mouting could be an issue as they are fairly heavy. Instead I would suggest the Arendal 1961 bookshelf.
I liked your review Nemo - how does the Super Mon Mini compare to the KEF LS50 Meta? Sorry if I missed that comparison. It seems like it would be a clear performance competitor, even with the $400 price gap.
neither speaker has a lot of bass but the LS50M has a fuller sound overall, both speakers have a similar sound but from the midrange on up the Mon Mini is more natural, more resolving, images better, etc... Mon Mini's midrange up to treble is closer to $5k+ terrirotory but obviously not as full of a sound due to the small size.
fantastic intriguing review... to say the least! what about depth, soundstage, horizontal and vertical dispersion/presentation? i had the Quad S2 and Elac Carinas (both with a similar tweeter to the Super Mon Mini) and ended returning them. presentation lacked depth and height and sweet listening spot was way too small. the lack of depth and height, particularly with jazz, classical and in general more un-compressed dynamic music was too apparent for my taste. i wonder how these are in that respect...
thanks!
Hi Mastro, I listen to more modern music so I can't really comment on that. I just don't have the data points on what Jazz or Classical should sound like on a proper system.
@@NemoPropaganda hey! thanks for your response! you did have the kef ls50 meta for a while. how do you compare them in terms of a more natural presentation and soundstage, for example. have had the metas for 3 months and like them quite a bit; soundstage is really nice, wide. wonder how the Super Mon would compare...
@@themastroiannis LS50 Meta is a great speaker, it's going to have more bass than super mon mini and a fuller sound overall. Aside from that the two speakers actually have a similar sound, ls50 meta has a fuller midrange but mon mini has better vocals, both have very good treble sepparation but mon mini is better. Both stage well but mon mini stages taller.
@@NemoPropaganda hey! thanks so much for your response! really appreciate it.. hmmm....tempting speakers they are!
Audioholics reviewed this speaker too .
Could anyone recommend pairing these with a KEF KC62 sub? Ina small room
that's how I have mine in my living room, Hegel H190, Supermon Mini, and KC62 sub.
Soundwise ,how do the super mon mini compare with the psb imagine mini?
are you a current owner of the imagine mini and considering an upgrade? If so what amp are you currently using?
@@NemoPropaganda current speakers B&W DM-14 .....amp Outlaw RR2160.....looking for a smaller footprint.
@@markpitula1556 hmmm, that is a big speaker, imagine mini are discontinued for a long time now but the two are very different. The imagine mini have a fuller sound and more forgiving of connected equipment, I think they'd sound great with the Outlaw. The mon mini are a little more picky, I do not think that would be the best pairing honestly. Some other small speakers that are really great are the RBH 5i, Totem Bison, and Fyne F500SP, maybe one of those can be a good fit for you? My review of the Totem Bison is not out yet but it should be up in a couple weeks, it's absolutely fantastic and I did test it with the outlaw. My review on the Fyne & RBH speakers are live if you want to look at those. Hope that helps!
Does this change your view on AMT Tweeters when donde correctly? A while back I suggested reviewing Martin Logans 35XTi since no reviewer has done it and you mention that you didn’t like AMT tweeters and didn’t see yourself reviewing any speaker with them. I think when donde well AMT tweeters have no match. IMO
No not really, I still would prefer non AMT designs, this one isn't really a traditional execution as the Mark Fenlon driver is running near full range and crossing over around 7khz so the tweeter isn't handeling all that much and most of highs are coming from the driver.
BooooM !
Have you reached out to RSL speakers about the new speedwoofer 12S that's going to be released in the next month or so?
yeah but I don't know if I will review it, it's pretty big.
I would stick with the Buchardts everyday!
as would I and that's exactly what I've done, S400 has been my daily driver this entire time :). The Mon Min is technically better in a lot of ways but also a bit niche where the S400 is a great all around performer.
Any thoughts on comparison with the original LS50 with or without Kef sub?
I've only heard LS50 meta which also has incredibly good treble sepparation.
Nemo would you recommend this with a SVS sub? maybe Micro 3000 or SB-2000? what about a separate crossover?
No I think that would have poor synergy. This is an extremely high end speaker, it's just very small so the price can be lowwer, you'll want to use subs like the ones I mentioned in the video.
@@NemoPropaganda Gotcha, will be looking at the REL HT10 like you mentioned. Really wanted to go with SVS though to able to change settings with their app without having to get up lol. I appreciate your fast response and your channel!
@@1xtra299 I'm quick like a bunny, yeah I love SVS but synergy is more important for the supermon mini.
Really nice review. Can you please briefly describe the finish to me? I have ridiculously sensitive eyes, and as much as I would love to try these- speakers that are glossy are my ocular nemesis and I'm having had time discerning (especially the front) if these are blinging too hard for me. Thanks in advance and keep up the great work!
They're brushed aluminum, satin but not too shiny. IIRC they have a pink anodized faceplate available, which is a bit over the top IMO.
hop in the free discord and I'll send you some pics. Essentially the front looks like typical machined aluminum while the sides are more of a matte or sand blasted look though somewhat textured.
I literally just got thru reading Audioholics’ review earlier and they described this as “warm” with “recessed treble”. How did you guys come away with such opposite impressions? Or am I misunderstanding you both?
I've had the speakers for nearly 3 months and put over 250 hours on them in 3 different rooms and using 5 different amplifiers. I believe Audioholics describes the sound almost solely based on the measurement and doesn't spend as much time listening as I do so I'm not surprised they got it wrong. At the end of the day Audioholics is a media company. You can even see on the livestream Gene says a dip in the impedance response at 5khz would make the speaker hard to drive which was another incorrect assumption he pulled from the measurements and then they see a rise around 150hz in the freq response and call it a warm speaker which again is wrong. Measurements can be dangerous because it gives people a false sense of confidence which can lead to some mistakes. But at the end of the day no reviewer is perfect and everybody makes some mistakes sometimes. I hope he corrects his statements but that is up to him. 6moons and Jay's Iyagi have also reviewed the speaker if you want to see their opinions.
@@NemoPropaganda not hating on anybody, I’m still a fan of Audioholics (especially Gene), I just found the split opinion strange. I already knew you were right bro lol. Thank you for the thorough reply, it makes a lot of sense that they over-rely on measurements to tell them what they’re hearing, I kinda find that specific reviewer a little too academic, but to each their own.
@@AlsoKnownAsAndrew all good my man, I'll admit questions like this are tough to answer but you're asking a fair question at the end of the day. Over valuing measurements is a common thing consumers do also, some people may look at the 0-60 time of a car and think "oh this is fast" and fail to realize the transmission gearing is so terrible the car still feels slow like older V8 Camaros. If you zoomed out and looked at the whole picture and the relationship of the measurements you certainly can come to some more accurate conclusions but nobody does that, they instead isolate single metrics and try to tell a story from that isolated metric while disregarding many relavent and related factors. Personally I choose to simply disregard measurements and solely rely on real world use so some may say I'm too far on the other side of things but thats just how I roll :)
I'm keen on these little buggers. I've watched the construction video, and they have some really nice crossover ingredients. I'm surprised about the use of a Mark Audio driver though. A low-priced driver but might be decent. Here in Australia, they're AUD$3.5k which is a lot of coin considering the driver used.
I've got AUD$5k to spend on decent bookshelf speakers and there's a lot around. Proac, Harbeth, Elac, Dali. But I do like these. I've got a REL sub so this should provide deep bass...
Not too keen on 4 ohms though. I have a 4 ohm tap on my EL34 SE tube amp but only 12 wpc on a good day. Not sure these will work well at 12 watts available especially since the sensitivity of these little puppies is quite low.. I've got a quite decent class D amp too, so I may have to use this instead...
it's hard to say if the speaker will be a good fit for your tube amp, I wish I could provide more info but I just don't know. Listening habits are a big factor as is the room itself. Personally I would not pair Mon speakers to a class D amp, you want something that can add some body or warmth.
@@NemoPropaganda Quite so Nemo. The more I think about it the more this speaker is a bridge too far considering its price and the cheapish Mark Audio driver. It might pay to look for something more conventional..
@@logotrikes the driver is not a conern, but it is a niche product overall.
@@NemoPropaganda True Nemo. That make of driver is used in the Sibelius floor stander, which garners plenty of support from Tarun, "A British Audiophile", someone I've grown to respect. The Super Mon Mini is a niche product certainly, but I think worth exploring further. I'm so tempted by the many iterations of the BBC LS3/5a, but I probably won't go in that direction.
So, then, the other two speakers which appeal most are this Super Mon Mini and the Elac BS312. Both in my price range and both available in Australia. Both aluminium cased and both with decent crossovers. The problem is, which, if I go that route...? I don't expect others to tell me definitively which way I should go, that's a decision I can only make myself. Nevertheless it's always a good idea to get the opinion of others....
@@logotrikes I have not heard that elac but it is somewhat similar to the supermon mini just less sensitive, what's worse is Elac speakers are always harder to drive than their spec suggest so for sure I would get the Supermon Mini over the Elac if I were in your shoes.
Great review Nemo. Thanks so much for the comparison to the s400 mk II. I’m building a second system that will be for nearfield listening for desktop computing and gaming. S400 mk2 too big for this. Need clear voices for those work zoom calls. I picked up a Burson Funk - Jay Signature edition that I’m hoping will have enough power to drive these. The tiny size and metallic finish should go well together. Maybe add an ares 12 as a dac and then I’m set with a kick-ass nearfield setup.
you gonna have the coolest zoom setup in the world bro!!! 45w at 4ohm, you should be fine :)
@@NemoPropaganda That gives me more confidence. I'm just wondering if I will need a sub, or if in a near field scenario the bass will be enough for me.
@@User_not_found_403 it's hard to say, bass is so personal and every room is different but I'd imagine most people are gong to want a sub with these.
@@NemoPropaganda Hi Nemo - just got my Mon-minis - super dense little bricks of gold. Yes to fill them out with more body ( like my Buchards S400 MK2), I will definitely want to pair with a sub. You gave tons of good pairings in this video, I also watched your video on the KC62s. For my setup, because I live in a small space and want to keep the gear footprint small, I was actually considering a single KC62 (aluminum body too!) to pair with the minis. Only concern, which I believed you mentioned was that because the super mon minis are fast and subs based on DSP might be too slow not integrate well. Any thoughts/opinions on this? - thanks! :)
@@User_not_found_403 nice bro! So KC62 is from a Major brand, if its not a good fit for you then you can return it. I think you shoudl try it out. I enjoyed the KC62 with the super mon mini but I only tested it like that in my upstairs system and that room is just for casual use.
Harbeth P3ESR?
what about it?
@@NemoPropaganda Think that the Super Mon would be the only small small near field I have heard of that I would consider vs the Harbeth P3- love to have a side by side
@@charleskatz2606 I have not heard the Harbeth but I think the sound would be very opposite.
Same, probably the Harbeth P3ESR XD are warmer and easier, but a comparison would be great.
But nobody is doing that :D
Plus Harbeth is not sending them to almost any YTuber, even A British Audiophile said he asked but they didn't send them.
That is a pretty big statement
thats very kind of you.
worth to compare w the piega coax series.
Aren’t thos like $10k?
@@NemoPropaganda i think that in the states, the 311 is around 5k.
Focal committed two epic fails for me anyway. 1. tioxid inverted dome tweeter, 2. Beryllium tweeter. I hate them both.
I don't hate the sound, I actually like it a lot but it can be polarizing for sure and may need care with equipment pairings. Focal is solid in my book just overpriced for US customers.
I don’t like Focal for making prices so high for America.
same bro :(
@@NemoPropaganda I wanted to be their satellite speakers for surrounds, Focal Dome Flax, but they are 690 each, which is crazy high for what they are. They used to be way cheaper and maybe they still are for non Americans.
Don't buy them new. The refurbs and demos/returns are a fraction of the price. They have refurbs online all the time, and you can buy used on Audiogon. I bought my Kanta No 2's from a dealer that got them from a buyer who was upgrading to Sopra 3's. They were the cream/oak color I loved, the buyer had them for about 3 months, so they were basically just broken in. Mint condition. 40% off (the retail back then was only $10k). I _had_ planned on getting the 1028be's on closeout back then for a couple grand less, and they showed me the Kanta's that just came in. *Sold!*
@@slidetek thanks for the tip!
@@slidetek agree buy them used. I was looking for a 1028 be and ended up with the 1038 be for almost a 1/3 what they were new.
These would probably be bitchin with the new magnepan sub!
I havn't seen that one yet. Only the old DWM panel.
@@NemoPropaganda I think they just debuted it at a few shows recently, apparently they tricked everyone and only had the sub running, but it's so full range that they commented on how good the mids and highs were lol
From word of mouth the new Maggie sub sounds like a speaker. If it's not as much of a load as regular Maggies they might have a hit on their hands. Some tiny speakers to cover the mids and highs might be just the ticket.
@@slidetek I can't find it on their site, do you have a link?
@@NemoPropaganda it's not even advertised or available yet, was just a debut, but I think Jay and Thomas both had a bit on them in their coverage of the Toronto audio show 🤙
Shame you can't get it in Europe (to my knowledge) without horrendous import tex and shipping.
Mon Acoustic ships world wide. Korea has many FTA.
@@newdevilman1167 actually I forgot Korea has no import to Europe. Thank you
DIRECTIONAL BASS
you're fired!
Oh shit! I didn't realize I was working for you, did I forget my smock again?
the front looks like Burmester and chassis likes rainbow platinum, for premium bookshelf speaker to less/poor individual design 🤣🤣
Sorry I don't understand your comment.
It's copied from the Elac BS 312 bookshelf speakers.
this is a wildly inaccurate statement, please do not spread this kind of misinformation.
@@NemoPropaganda Check out the similarity to the BS 312 before you accuse people of misinformation. Jesus!
@@quantumchang4410 The Super Mon Mini is an isobaric design with 3 drivers and a tweeter thats crossed over at a very unorthodox 6800hz, the elac is a traditional 2-way design with only 2 drivers and a tweeter crossed over at a more common 3200hz and is substantially larger. How is this a copy of the elac?
@@NemoPropaganda Boom.
Size difference… 2.5 way vs 2 way… you probably think Porsche 911 is the same car as BMW M3. 😂😂
How about the Revel Performa B15 Subwoofer?
I don't know, IIRC those are long discontinued.