Monitor Audio

[outsider]

After becoming fed up with the quality control of certain internet-only speaker companies, I decided to go see what the local brick-and-mortar stores had in the demo rooms....

First off I tried out some DefTechs, but wasn't impressed. Sure, they sounded good, but not any better than what I already have.

Then I had the salesguy switch over to a pair of Monitor Audio RS-6. WOW. For a $1000/pair speaker these were impressive. Unfortunately I forgot to bring any of my own demo material, so I wasn't able to give them a good listen.

Anyway, the reason I am here....I'd like to know what people who have owned Monitor think of them. To me they appear to be well-built with quality components, and a high level of quality control.

 

[RMK!]

After becoming fed up with the quality control of certain internet-only speaker companies, I decided to go see what the local brick-and-mortar stores had in the demo rooms....

First off I tried out some DefTechs, but wasn't impressed. Sure, they sounded good, but not any better than what I already have.

Then I had the salesguy switch over to a pair of Monitor Audio RS-6. WOW. For a $1000/pair speaker these were impressive. Unfortunately I forgot to bring any of my own demo material, so I wasn't able to give them a good listen.

Anyway, the reason I am here....I'd like to know what people who have owned Monitor think of them. To me they appear to be well-built with quality components, and a high level of quality control.

I have spent a lot of time auditioning speakers including several Def Tech models, Paradigm Ref and Sig series, B&W 700 and 800s, Martin Logan’s, Vienna Acoustics, Sonus Faber and MA Silver and Gold series. In the final analysis, I preferred the MA's. They are a well made very conservative (boring ) looking speaker and the sound is perfect for my eclectic taste in music but I have also found them to be great for HT. The recent Stereophile review of the RS 6 says it all.

 

[Tomorrow]

After becoming fed up with the quality control of certain internet-only speaker companies, I decided to go see what the local brick-and-mortar stores had in the demo rooms....

First off I tried out some DefTechs, but wasn't impressed. Sure, they sounded good, but not any better than what I already have.

Then I had the salesguy switch over to a pair of Monitor Audio RS-6. WOW. For a $1000/pair speaker these were impressive. Unfortunately I forgot to bring any of my own demo material, so I wasn't able to give them a good listen.

Anyway, the reason I am here....I'd like to know what people who have owned Monitor think of them. To me they appear to be well-built with quality components, and a high level of quality control.

Hi outsider,

I, too, would like to audition MA speakers. Where did you hear them? Thanks. (I'm on the Oregon coast.)

 

[RMK!]

Hi outsider,

I, too, would like to audition MA speakers. Where did you hear them? Thanks. (I'm on the Oregon coast.)

Magnolia/Best Buy are an authorized MA dealer. The seem to generally have the RS series for demo but the GS are a special order item.

 

[Tomorrow]

Magnolia/Best Buy are an authorized MA dealer. The seem to generally have the RS series for demo but the GS are a special order item.

Thanks, RMK!

I'll have to find a BB. The only Magnolia we had (that I was aware of, and it was 70 miles away from me) vanished when BB bought them out. It's pretty rural out here in Oregon, lol.

I'm headed to Washington state next week. Maybe I'll find one on the way. I feel a Google search coming on......

 

[Geno]

I've had my MA setup for a year now...got 'em at Good Guys just before they folded. If you like classy English woodworking (as opposed to black vinyl particleboard) these are the real deal. I couldn't be happier.

 

[RMK!]

Thanks, RMK!

I'll have to find a BB. The only Magnolia we had (that I was aware of, and it was 70 miles away from me) vanished when BB bought them out. It's pretty rural out here in Oregon, lol.

I'm headed to Washington state next week. Maybe I'll find one on the way. I feel a Google search coming on......

Just go to the Magnolia AV site and use the store locator. There appear to be several in Oregon inside of the BB stores. You might call first to see if they have the MA's for audition. My closest store did not.

 

[KrisJ]

I think the regular Magnolias may carry them but I have yet to see MA's inside the Mini/Mag-Best Buy

 

[Tomorrow]

Just go to the Magnolia AV site and use the store locator. There appear to be several in Oregon inside of the BB stores. You might call first to see if they have the MA's for audition. My closest store did not.

Thanks again.

I found one near Portland (Beaverton) that carries the entire Silver line. They also have commercial sales of MA products in Oregon. I'll be auditioning them next week

 

[j_garcia]

What internet brands did you have problems with (if you don't mind saying)? Most of the brands I know and have dealt with will usually bend over backwards to take care of their customer base.

 

[outsider]

What internet brands did you have problems with (if you don't mind saying)? Most of the brands I know and have dealt with will usually bend over backwards to take care of their customer base.

I have had no problems with the customer service.

And when I say quality control, I don't mean build quality. The quality control I'm talking about is in the voicing of the speakers. Speakers that are from the same series that don't match; speakers that are the same model, but may have been made a few months apart that don't match.
Physically, they look the same, but as far as timbre, they don't sound the same.
Maybe that's normal of many speaker manufacturers....


The main reason for my post was to find out what people thought of Monitor Audio. When I first heard them over the weekend I was very impressed with the sound and build quality, I was just curious who had owned them, or had any experience with them. As of now I am leaning towards getting a pair of the Silver RS6, but first I need to take some demo material into the dealer and get them to leave me alone for a while....

 

[Josuah]

Well, in that vein, I have Monitor Audio Silver S8s, LCR, and Sfx speakers. I think you may find they don't match as perfectly as you'd like either. It's something that is very hard to accomplish with different driver arrangements and cabinets even if you use the exact same drivers.

I did find having the LCR vertical helped a little in more closely matching the S8s, but I think the LCR has higher Q than the S8s. And the Sfxs sound very different at times, especially in the vocal range. Measurements of the RS6 and related speakers from HT Magazine would indicate you're not going to find they sound the same at all just based on anechoic response.

BTW - I have the S8 crossover at 80Hz, and the LCR/Sfx crossover at 110Hz.

 

[outsider]

so long as they match somewhat I'll be happy.
My previous experience had L/R speakers that didn't match the center, or each other.
I'm definitely going to look more into these speakers based on the reviews I've read in both Stereophile and Home Theatre Mag.

 

[Josuah]

That sounds somewhat strange. I don't know your level of experience, but are you sure it's not the room or level setup that's at fault rather than the speakers?

 

[Xsound]

If you really want to insure that your speakers match, you may want to try Wharfedales Opus line. They are a little more expensive than MA's silver line. Wharfedale produces the drivers for the opus line in pairs, and each driver pair is designed and tested to amtch within 1 db across the entire operational range. They then register each driver and it's performance and keep that info on file should a driver ever need to be replaced in a speaker. This way they will be able to find another driver with almost the exact same sonic characteristics.

Surely this information is useful in make certain that whole speaker systems match as well.

 

[outsider]

That sounds somewhat strange. I don't know your level of experience, but are you sure it's not the room or level setup that's at fault rather than the speakers?

I've been around long enough to know when 3 speakers sound nothing alike. I did question my ears enough to hook my old Bostons (which I am trying to replace) to make sure I wasn't crazy, or that it wasn't a receiver issue. The Bostons matched each other perfectly.

Thanks Xsound for mentioning the Wharfedales. I'll look into those, too.

I also discovered yesterday that there's a local dealer for Focal.JMLabs home speakers. Seeing as how I love my Focal car speakers, I'm going to have a look/listen sometime soon....