Monitor Audio "MASS"

M

Mikesteele63

Audiophyte
I'm considering buying a surround system made by Monitor Audio it is their new compact 5:1. It is supposed to be top notch. Has anyone got this yet ? Is it as great as the reviews ? What amp/ receiver should I pair with it ??and cables ?
 
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Audioholic Chief
I'm considering buying a surround system made by Monitor Audio it is their new compact 5:1. It is supposed to be top notch. Has anyone got this yet ? Is it as great as the reviews ? What amp/ receiver should I pair with it ??and cables ?
I guess top notch is relative. If your set on compact speakers, and these I'd recommend getting the 5.0 and a better sub. Specs indicate down 6dbs at 30hz which will not give much impact. If your not set on compact speakers I highly suggest that you go and listen to as many speakers that you can. Establish a budget and go from there.
 
TLS Guy

TLS Guy

Seriously, I have no life.
I'm considering buying a surround system made by Monitor Audio it is their new compact 5:1. It is supposed to be top notch. Has anyone got this yet ? Is it as great as the reviews ? What amp/ receiver should I pair with it ??and cables ?
No small speaker system like that is going to sound "top notch." Everyone desires it, but if they own one will have to delude themselves they ave good sound.

For one thing in a small speaker like that, the half space full space transition will occur at a very high frequency. For these speakers it means they will be 3 db down by 900 Hz, and 9 db down by 450 Hz, 15 db down by 225 Hz, 21 db down by 26 db down by 125 Hz. Now while the crossover will attempt to correct this, it won't do by much, as the impedance is stated at 8 ohms. You would have to drop the impedance very low indeed to compensate for this. Every 3 db of boost double power requirements from the amp. So even if you attempted to compensate for this any 4" driver is going to go up in smoke long before any useful correction for baffle step loss is achieved.

Yet the recommended crossover is 80 Hz, so I think you can see there is an enormous frequency gap. This is the physics of why those "lifestyle" mini systems will never be more than toys. The physics is against them being serious reproducers.
 
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