Monoprice Monolith 15" THX Ultra Review

[shadyJ]

At last, it is here: our review of Monoprice's monster subwoofer, the Monolith 15" THX Ultra! This 130 lbs. beast might look like it's all muscle, but there is at least as much brains as there is brawn in this design. As we found out during our evaluation, there is a lot more to this sub than mere loudness, and to see what we discovered, read our in-depth review: Monoprice Monolith 15" THX Ultra Review. Monoprice managed to create a buzz about their subwoofers, and we at Audioholics were regularly asked when we were going to review these subs. Earlier this summer we dealt with the 10” and 12” subwoofers in the aforementioned review, but now it’s time to turn our attention to the heavy-hitter, the Monolith 15” THX Ultra.

After many requests from our readers, and quite few delays, we have at long last brought you our review of Monoprice’s flagship subwoofer, the Monolith 15” THX Ultra. As was promised at the end of our Monolith 10” and 12” THX subwoofers review, we finally got a chance to review Monoprice’s full Monolith THX subwoofer line. The 10” and 12” impressed us with their no-nonsense, heavy-duty designs, and we expect the same but even more so from the 15”. The Monolith subwoofers entered the market sporting THX certification and and very respectable set of performance measurements that made people take notice of their seriousness of being a very real competitor in this fierce market. Can the Monolith 15” THX Ultra deliver on the promises made by its smaller brothers? Let’s find out...

READ: Monoprice Monolith 15" THX Ultra Subwoofer Review

 

[KEW]

Since you didn't mention price:
$1300

Not bad for such a capable 15" sub!

 

[ack_bak]

Thanks for your review, I have owned dual Monolith 15's in my dedicated 250sq ft (1999 cubic sq ft) theater room for about 5 months now and I love these subwoofers. Previous subs include quad sealed DIY 15", Hsu VTF-15H, and several different SVS and eD variants. I have never owned a subwoofer with this type of sound output and your review is spot on. You won't get boomy bass with this subwoofer. I have yet to experience any noticeable port chuffing, You get very tight, linear bass at all frequencies. I have grown very fond indeed of the sound signature of these subs and highly recommend them.

And you can't just look at some charts and measurements either, you really need to experience one of these vs say an SVS, PSA, or Hsu sub. I think Monolith has a winner for sure and I am hoping to get several more of these over the next year or so.

ShadyJ, if you have contact with Monolith please beg them for an 18" version or perhaps dual 15" ported version

 

[ack_bak]

Since you didn't mention price:
$1300

Not bad for such a capable 15" sub!

I was able to take advantage of a crazy sale earlier this year and bought dual Monolith 15's for under $2K shipped. Hoping for another one of those deals so I can grab 1-2 more!

 

[lovinthehd]

Anyone else turned off by the logo on the driver? That's what I'd ask Monoprice to do, have that as an option at least if not just gone.

 

[shadyJ]

ShadyJ, if you have contact with Monolith please beg them for an 18" version or perhaps dual 15" ported version

I have asked Monoprice if they are considering an 18", and they said that they are not. An 18" with this kind of build would be too heavy. However, if there was enough demand for such a sub, I am sure they would reconsider...

 

[snakeeyes]

Anyone else turned off by the logo on the driver? That's what I'd ask Monoprice to do, have that as an option at least if not just gone.

A little like having the white lettering of your tires facing out instead of in. Very 80s style but it’s behind the grill.

 

[snakeeyes]

I like the black oak look. Very heavy sub to move around though. Good thing you already know your rooms sweet spot when you are setting it up.

 

[lovinthehd]

A little like having the white lettering of your tires facing out instead of in. Very 80s style but it’s behind the grill.

LOL I used to have the white lettering turned to the inside with my tires! I do use grills on all my speakers/subs, tho.

 

[WhiteCoatGeek]

How does it compare to Rythmik FV15HP and PSA V1510 comparing price, aesthetics and performance?

 

[snakeeyes]

How does it compare to Rythmik FV15HP and PSA V1510 comparing price, aesthetics and performance?

Another reviewer did a review here of the Rythmik back in 2011.

https://www.audioholics.com/subwoofer-reviews/rythmik-fv15hp

 

[ack_bak]

How does it compare to Rythmik FV15HP and PSA V1510 comparing price, aesthetics and performance?

I think you will find that these subs compare very closely to each other across all those areas. If you can find a better deal on one vs the other you should buy it.

 

[shadyJ]

How does it compare to Rythmik FV15HP and PSA V1510 comparing price, aesthetics and performance?

In terms of deep bass, they are similar, but in mid bass frequencies the Rythmik has a couple dB of headroom, however, the Monolith 15" has so little distortion in mid bass that I would say they are a tie in dynamic range. Pricing is nearly the same. Aesthetics is a more subjective area, but a gloss black Rythmik would be my choice in that area, although there is a $300 upcharge for that. I doubt the PSA sub is in the league of the Rythmik or Monoprice subs, especially in terms of deep bass performance.

 

[TechHDS]

What a beast of a Sub!

Mike

 

[Danzilla31]

Great review Shady J! Really enjoyed in our dialogue back and forth you know just how torn I was between these and my final choice. Very happy with what I went with. But still an excellent choice especially for the PRICE! Man I agree with lovinthehd. That white logo would drive me CRAZY. They should have made it black. Like SVS does it would look a lot better that way

 

[WhiteCoatGeek]

Great review Shady J! Really enjoyed in our dialogue back and forth you know just how torn I was between these and my final choice. Very happy with what I went with. But still an excellent choice especially for the PRICE! Man I agree with lovinthehd. That white logo would drive me CRAZY. They should have made it black. Like SVS does it would look a lot better that way

What sub did you go with?

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

 

[Danzilla31]

The SVS PB 4000's I have a living room not a theater room and the nicer look won out for me. Plus they measure pretty close through the range I needed them for with the Monoprice. But if I was looking for best bang for the buck? I'd be taking a long long hard look at these. for 1300 that's a helluva lottoff sub

 

[Danzilla31]

In terms of deep bass, they are similar, but in mid bass frequencies the Rythmik has a couple dB of headroom, however, the Monolith 15" has so little distortion in mid bass that I would say they are a tie in dynamic range. Pricing is nearly the same. Aesthetics is a more subjective area, but a gloss black Rythmik would be my choice in that area, although there is a $300 upcharge for that. I doubt the PSA sub is in the league of the Rythmik or Monoprice subs, especially in terms of deep bass performance.

Hey Shady not trying to derail the thread just need some quick advice. I'm looking at going to quad subs next year. We've talked about it. I want to go with 2 of the PC 4000's but behind my couches they stand like 47 inches tall. They'll stick out like a sore thumb. I know it's a good idea to generally go with exact subs but looking at the outlaw ultra 13's they seem like they'd be a better idea. 1 not as tall. 2 nice looks. 3 similar amp power and similar frequency output? As far as I can tell? 4 I really like they're dual discount. Would this be possible? Would the PB 4000's work with the ultra's? Also is the discount that big of a deal if you pay for shipping and taxes with the ultra's? Or would they cost the same approximately as 2 PC 4000's? Any advice would be appreciated. The ultra's would be near field being the couches if I understand that term correctly

 

[shadyJ]

Hey Shady not trying to derail the thread just need some quick advice. I'm looking at going to quad subs next year. We've talked about it. I want to go with 2 of the PC 4000's but behind my couches they stand like 47 inches tall. They'll stick out like a sore thumb. I know it's a good idea to generally go with exact subs but looking at the outlaw ultra 13's they seem like they'd be a better idea. 1 not as tall. 2 nice looks. 3 similar amp power and similar frequency output? As far as I can tell? 4 I really like they're dual discount. Would this be possible? Would the PB 4000's work with the ultra's? Also is the discount that big of a deal if you pay for shipping and taxes with the ultra's? Or would they cost the same approximately as 2 PC 4000's? Any advice would be appreciated. The ultra's would be near field being the couches if I understand that term correctly

Hey Danzilla, I think the Outlaw subs would make a fine pairing with the PB-4000s. For the best match, you would want to run the Outlaw subs in 1 port mode with the SVS in 3 port mode; that looks like the best synchronization of their respective tuning points, although it wouldn't be so bad to run the PB-4000s in 2 port mode either, so long as you have the Outlaws in 1 port mode. One thing that makes them easy to pair is that the Outlaws are strictly limited against being over-driven to distortion, so while the PB-4000s do have a bit of a headroom advantage in deep bass, it won't be a problem to push the Outlaw subs a bit harder if you wanted to. A dual PB-4000/ dual Ultra-X13 would be a killer system.

 

[Danzilla31]

Hey Danzilla, I think the Outlaw subs would make a fine pairing with the PB-4000s. For the best match, you would want to run the Outlaw subs in 1 port mode with the SVS in 3 port mode; that looks like the best synchronization of their respective tuning points, although it wouldn't be so bad to run the PB-4000s in 2 port mode either, so long as you have the Outlaws in 1 port mode. One thing that makes them easy to pair is that the Outlaws are strictly limited against being over-driven to distortion, so while the PB-4000s do have a bit of a headroom advantage in deep bass, it won't be a problem to push the Outlaw subs a bit harder if you wanted to. A dual PB-4000/ dual Ultra-X13 would be a killer system.

Awesome! Know I know where I'm going next with subs thanks Shady!