Thoughts on / experience with Monitor Audio MR2

killdozzer

killdozzer

Audioholic Samurai
I have an audition for a second hand Monitor Audio MR2 (a bit older model as seen in the picture).




I would love to hear your experiences and opinions on this model.



Specs says it goes very low. I find that hard to believe. But, even if it's 50Hz, it goes low enough for a small room.

Frequency Response

42 Hz — 30 kHz

Sensitivity (1W@1M)

90 dB

Nominal Impedance

6 ohms

Power Handling (RMS)

100 W

Recommended Amplifier Requirements

30 — 100W

Bass Alignment

Bass reflex - Front ported

Drive Unit Complement

1 x 6.5" MMP II bass/mid-range

1 x 1" C-CAM Gold Dome tweeter

External Dimensions (Including Plinth (H x W x D))

350 x 185 x 250 mm (133/4 x 75/16 x 913/16")

Weight (each)

5.6 kg (12.3 lbs)
 
KenM10759

KenM10759

Audioholic Samurai
I wouldn't expect them to be bad, but I also wouldn't expect them to wow me. They've been discontinued, and I doubt they're as good as the MA Bronze 2 which appear to be a similar, current product.
 
Dmantis10

Dmantis10

Audioholic
Monitor Audio speakers in general sound a lot like B&K speakers. They have a beautiful Mid Range and crystal clear high end. The bass always seems nice clear and flat response with no humps.
It's been a long time since I heard the MR2's but if memory serves me correctly they are a beautiful sounding speaker.
The current models are so pleasing to listen to. I love the entire line. We are a Monitor Audio dealer and I keep checking them out and thinking about moving to a full 5.2.2 Atmos system with them. I currently have Def Tech Mythos 5.2.2 system and they are extremely hard to beat. Music and movies are equal in performance and I hate that they are so good as trying to buy new speakers usually ends up with me re falling in love with my Mythos ST's.
BUT they Monitor Audio Silver 300 and 500 WOW me every single time I listen to them. The Silver 100 Bookshelf speakers are absolutely amazing. With a JL subwoofer you have one hell of a 2 channel listening experience.
I can't say enough on how good Monitor Audio speakers are. Just writing this is juicing me up to want to take a pair home and do a full shootout with my Mythos ST towers.

I say just buy them, enjoy them and if you somehow end up not liking them you can re sell them probably for exactly what your about to pay for them. If you like warm beautiful clear detailed sounding speakers I can't see you not liking them.

Let us know what you do man.
 
killdozzer

killdozzer

Audioholic Samurai
@KenM10759 I think they've been just replaced by a similar line that is right beneath bronze. Bronze has also been updated.

@Dmantis10 fair enough of you to say you're a dealer, I'll take what you write with a grain of salt, but I do thank you for your short overview.

I need solid bass on a tight budget, MR2 is going for 150$ and if they sound good, I'm going for it. This is for my nephew, it's: small room, desktop config. deep EDM bass, but nice sounding none the less, hopfully with some years in front of them...

I also wanted to pick something that can go on stands later on and play a bit more seriously. Front ports were a big deal as they will go close to the wall in the beginning. I'm trying to get him hooked and I know I'm going to hell, but... he'll have some "audio bliss" moments.

A Yamaha AVR with 2x50 into 8 will drive them at first. It should be enough for a childrens room.

I just hope the guy kept them well.
 
killdozzer

killdozzer

Audioholic Samurai
and I doubt they're as good as the MA Bronze 2
Weeell... I got him the Bronze 2 then, but the previous model;):D

Can I use plain speaker wire for jumpers? The guy lowered the price because he couldn't find both jumpers.

LATER EDIT; three jumpers out of four he couldn't find.
 
killdozzer

killdozzer

Audioholic Samurai
In the end, a simple system consisting of these two speakers and a Yamaha AVR cost me 260$. I could've done better if I had the time, but you know how youngs are; I kept getting a message or two a day from him asking have I found something.

Now I want to help him with trinkets; connecting cables, perhaps even spikes for the boxes… that much I will help him with.

But when I see people asking 308$ for speaker jumpers (yes, for those 4 2-inch long connectors you use when you don’t want to bi-wire),it blows my fuse.

Not only that, but the cheapest I could find are 30$ (THEE cheapest). We have a chain of stores similar to radio shack, perhaps slightly fancier. You can buy a lot of components and pieces for DIY. Funny thing is, a store like this is selling 1k speaker cables.

Even if you are a “1k speaker cable guy” wouldn’t you want to go to a shop where you sit in a recliner, someone takes your shoes of and changes cables in front of you while you “choose”.

Back to the point, even radio shack style store doesn’t have cheap jumpers.
 
KenM10759

KenM10759

Audioholic Samurai
Just use whatever speaker wire you have going from the amp to the speakers for jumpers. It's the same signal as if you ran dual speaker wire all the way from the amp.
 
Kvn_Walker

Kvn_Walker

Audioholic Field Marshall
Just use whatever speaker wire you have going from the amp to the speakers for jumpers. It's the same signal as if you ran dual speaker wire all the way from the amp.
So much this. The signal loss from an extra 3 inches of speaker wire will be almost impossible to measure and totally impossible to hear. Gold-plated, quantum-tunneled, cryogenic-tuned, thousand dollar interconnects for a 3 inch run is money best used for your nephew's college fund.
 
Kvn_Walker

Kvn_Walker

Audioholic Field Marshall
If you absolutely must buy jumpers, this is what I got for my Revel's since the previous owner was bi-amping them and had lost the OEM ones:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Tuneful-Cables-Audiophile-Basic-Speaker-Jumpers-Improve-B-W-s-Sonics-Cardas/331934257655?hash=item4d48d2d1f7:g:vhgAAOSwIgNXqgjB:sc:USPSFirstClass!23608!US!-1&_sacat=0&_nkw=speaker+jumper&_from=R40&rt=nc&_trksid=p2380057.m570.l1312.R1.TR4.TRC2.A0.H0.Xspeaker+jum.TRS1

I chose these because the leads were already tinned and $12 is a pittance for the convenience, but some folks like banana plugs or spade jumpers. Personal preference.
 
killdozzer

killdozzer

Audioholic Samurai
@KenM10759 @Kvn_Walker Thank you both very much. (I like the college remark, Kvn, fortunatelly I still live in a country where good students get non refundable scholarships, and my nephew is a real A-student).

I wasn't concern about sound quality, but for some, unfounded obviously, reason, I thought that if speaker wire touches both binding post and the wire that continues to the next pair of posts, that it would represent a heavier load. I can't shake that feeling however irrational it may be. I still have a feeling that two wires for each speaker going all the way from the amp, represent a heavier load.

Thank you for setting me straight. I don't really need jumpers, but wanted to make everything neat for my nephew. Then I decided to terminate cables myself, but first attempt went south when I couldn't find nice budget spades. I still intend to give it a try, but I'm getting connectors second hand. Screw all this 50$ for four spades.:D

The speakers are rated 6ohm and I didn't know will this give hard work to the amp. Not that it should, but I was overcautious.

In the end it all sounds pretty good for a 260$ budget. My ears needed some break-in time after my speakers, because everything from this budget now sounds broken and thin... as if one driver is not working at all.

I will say this; shame on Monitor Audio for hyping those numbers. No bass comes from these boxes compared to far more conservatively rated KEF's. I had to push for bass, turn up all knobs and there was still very little. I raised it in the Dolby sound processor, I raised it on the amp Bass knob... very little and a funny thing; there was a rather small sweet spot for bass. Which shouldn't be the case. But as soon as you raise your head 4 - 5 inches higher than the tweeter, bass would dim noticeably.

When sitting in the right place and not asking for bass, they played very nice. Now that I have two pairs of speakers at home for instant comparison, I could easily detect what is, I believe, described as softer sound. My impression is that the midds are milder, not accentuated and this gave the feeling of a softer sound. Highs are not that "crystal" either, so it's easy to leave the speaker on for a long time.

This is not the sound I would go after. Lows often sounded "nasal". Like someone with a cold when speaking.

Knock test was not all that quiet. But the end result is nice and the faults I listed are not very pronounced.
 
killdozzer

killdozzer

Audioholic Samurai
1534326995343.jpeg

This is me applying the double side adhesive to the spikes for the speakers decoupling.
 
killdozzer

killdozzer

Audioholic Samurai
EEEEEEEEjj!!! I don't have insulation stripper, but I found the way to remove insulation without loosing one single strand of copper:
1534333164746.jpeg

Warming up a knife that is not sharp (dull, is it?). Not too much to make black ends, but enough to go through. The end of insulation gets neatly welded.

On an unrelated note; these are the hidden benefits of this type of insulation removal; you can prepare your lunch at the same time:

1534333772357.jpeg

Some Amatriciana will do nicely, thank you.
 
killdozzer

killdozzer

Audioholic Samurai
Very nice speakers. I must admit, it was hard judging them at first. Everything sounds thin and bad after my speakers.

I had to break in my ears to see these really have nice, enjoyable sound. I think getting these as your first set up is really good. Far beyond anything I got. Hope he like sit.
 
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