Monolith 10'' average user review

Truthslayer

Truthslayer

Full Audioholic
So let me start by saying i picked these up while on the hunt for a new sub for my son. When i saw an ad for two new 10'' subs for $400 each + shipping. I contacted the gentlemen and offered him $300 each seeing that he was in the next town over. He graciously excepted and even delivered them to me. He informed he did open one box to inspect them. Seeing that he works at a local high end audio company i had no issues in trusting him. Transaction was flawless. Great guy and would do business with again without a doubt.

So i set these subs in a 2.1 system, being ran by a Parasound Halo P5 preamp. This is set up in the basement in my getaway room. (which is quickly becoming my favorite room in the house ) Room is 16x16x9 so not very big, but works for my needs.
Front speakers are a simple two way with a 15'' eminence driver with a 1 1/2 compression driver in a horn wave guide. Being powered by my Anthem amplifier. With this system i have a 18'' EV sub which is great down to 40hz then drops off like a rock.
Everything is hooked with all XLR balanced connections. This is strictly a music system.
Mains crossed at 70hz, Ev running from 80z to 40hz and the monoliths 60hz and below. Might seem like odd crossover points, but it works well this way in this room.
I spent close to three days getting it all dialed in only using a db meter, test tones, and various musical tracks. So not the most perfect way to get it dialed in, but it works.

I will start with the negatives, seeing that there are only a couple.
Gain on the subs has to be at max, never had to do that with any other subs, even my EV is set at 0. preamp sub level 0.
Using the subs auto on/ stand by mode is almost useless. You have to turn up the volume a good bit to get them to activate. And after about 5 to 10 minutes of no low freq content they will disengage.
So i have to set them to always on, still have to turn up the volume a bit to get them to activate, but once they do, they will stay active even at low volumes for any length of time. Not wanting to leave them on all the time, i have them plugged into wall plug switches. That way i can just flick them off when not in use and flick them right back on when ready for action.

Now the good. Needless to say, most of you probably already know, these are built like a tank.
I have to say, i never expected this much bass and quality to come out of these little woofers. No fancy audio terms here, these are very tight, quick and sound very clean. If you were blind folded you could easily be fooled into thinking these were sealed boxes until some ULF's kicks in, then you know their ported. I have not noticed any port noise except when setting up and running test tones to get dialed in.

I listen to various genres of music and so far very pleased with what i am hearing. But what really shocked me was when i decided to listen to some drum tracks WOW. If you have never listen to this on your system you owe it to yourself to have a go.
I set my pre at about the 9;30 position and let it rip. By the time it was over, i felt like i had been in an all night bar fight. But was grinning ear to ear the whole time. I think my boy wishes he had gone ahead and took these. But he will wait for the 12's to go back on sale once they are back in stock.
Needless to say, in spite of having a couple negatives on the subs. I am very impressed. I would recommend these easily, especially for $600 i paid.
I know this review is not technical i feel people have already posted all the technical parameters of the subs. So i just wanted to give an honest user review from a pure listening standpoint.
 
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Truthslayer

Truthslayer

Full Audioholic
UPDATE- Just thought i would give a quick update after about 3 to 4 weeks of break-in.
The couple of negatives i had are now gone. Never was to much of a believer in electronics breaking in, however now i have to say. With these subs, there is some truth to it.

Now the subs kick on with auto/on as they should be doing without having to crank it up to get them to activate.
A couple days ago all of the sudden the subs got extremely loud. So now i have been able to back down the subs gain to right near zero.
A little more tweaking on the crossovers and got the phase dialed in perfect.
Needless to say, these little monsters are pretty impressive.
So today i sold my HSU ULS-15-mk2, i plan on getting either the Monolith 12'' or 15''.
I know some are thinking i should be getting an SVS sub, but I've had them in the past and they are fine subs.
I just think the Monoliths are a better deal when you consider the price to value ratio. Also it would appear they are beginning the process of sending replacement plate amps or subs instead of having to send in the entire subwoofer.
Sorry for the long winded update.
 
S

shadyJ

Speaker of the House
Staff member
UPDATE- Just thought i would give a quick update after about 3 to 4 weeks of break-in.
The couple of negatives i had are now gone. Never was to much of a believer in electronics breaking in, however now i have to say. With these subs, there is some truth to it.

Now the subs kick on with auto/on as they should be doing without having to crank it up to get them to activate.
A couple days ago all of the sudden the subs got extremely loud. So now i have been able to back down the subs gain to right near zero.
A little more tweaking on the crossovers and got the phase dialed in perfect.
Needless to say, these little monsters are pretty impressive.
So today i sold my HSU ULS-15-mk2, i plan on getting either the Monolith 12'' or 15''.
I know some are thinking i should be getting an SVS sub, but I've had them in the past and they are fine subs.
I just think the Monoliths are a better deal when you consider the price to value ratio. Also it would appear they are beginning the process of sending replacement plate amps or subs instead of having to send in the entire subwoofer.
Sorry for the long winded update.
The ULS-15 mk2 is very different from the Monoprice subs. It has a more sensitive driver so not even the Monolith 15" has quite as much as mid-bass output as the ULS-15 mk2 although it comes close. I would really be aiming for the Monolith 15" as a replacement for the ULS-15 mk2 so as to avoid disappointment. Also, be prepared for the size and weight of the Monolith 15", it is an absolute monster, and I am not just talking about performance. It can not be safely lifted by one person. If you are going to be carrying it up or down a flight of stairs, you will need a shoulder dolly type lifting system with another person.
 
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