Upgrading from Monitor Audio Silver S8?

[Alexei2004]

Hi,
I am thinking about upgrading from my Monitor Audio Silver S8, which I had for about 15 years. My room is ~4X6 meters. After some reading, I am thinking of getting Musical Fidelity M5si amp, especially if I keep S8s. One issue with S8s is that they are a bit too bright for me. My budget for the speakers is ~up to $2,500. Looking online, I got interested in Dali Oberon 5, Dali Opticon 6, Tannoy XT8F. Not sure if newer Monitor Audio Silver 300 or 500 really represent a significant upgrade. Also, most of these would probably be too big for my room. It does not look like many of these speakers can be demo'ed in Boston. Any thoughts are much appreciated.

 

[kini]

Crutchfield carries a wide selection and bookshelf speaker returns are $10.

https://www.crutchfield.com/g_37900/Bookshelf-Speakers.html#&price=1000-3000

 

[ryanosaur]

Hi,
I am thinking about upgrading from my Monitor Audio Silver S8, which I had for about 15 years. My room is ~4X6 meters. After some reading, I am thinking of getting Musical Fidelity M5si amp, especially if I keep S8s. One issue with S8s is that they are a bit too bright for me. My budget for the speakers is ~up to $2,500. Looking online, I got interested in Dali Oberon 5, Dali Opticon 6, Tannoy XT8F. Not sure if newer Monitor Audio Silver 300 or 500 really represent a significant upgrade. Also, most of these would probably be too big for my room. It does not look like many of these speakers can be demo'ed in Boston. Any thoughts are much appreciated.

Where are you at... Boston?
I have heard good things about Dali speakers in general, but have never heard them. I heard a Tannoy one time while listening to another guys audition... it was nice, but I wasn't in the sweet spot, nor did I have a point of reference to compare it too.
I did very much enjoy my audition of the MA Silver 500s. Had I not been exposed to Philharmonic Audio, I would likely have been an MA Silver owner. At the price range, and to my ears, those were the best of the mass market speakers.
Now that said, I have to try to convert you! I bought the BMRs from Philharmonic, now available through Salk Sound. Even at their current price, these are AMAZING speakers. To me, they easily outperformed everything I listened to in the $2-3K. They are flat, and very neutral speakers.
https://www.audioholics.com/bookshelf-speaker-reviews/bmr-philharmonitor-1
As I mentioned, these are now available through Salk Sound as Dennis had to retire after an unfortunate health scare. I would say these speakers are easily still worth the higher cost and wait!

Happy Hunting!

 

[Grandzoltar]

Having those s8’s for 15 years you must have really enjoyed their sound. I have heard a lot of good things about Dali oberon. But being that you enjoyed the MA s8 so long the silver 300 may be the upgrade your looking for. Since space is a premium the silver 500 may not be the ticket. I own the bronze 6s the silvers we’re out of my reach. But if I could I would have gotten those. Read reviews, compare specs and pick the ones that will suit your current setup the best.

 

[2channel lover]

I like Rynos suggestion of the BMRs...I haven't even heard the BMRs truth be told, but I've heard the man's work thru my Salk Sound speakers (Dennis Murphy handles the crossover design work for Salk)...similar RAAL tweeter and again the crossover work is Dennis. Surprising bass for the size of the speaker I've heard said more than once.

You mentioned the MA Silver you have sounded somewhat bright...If your objective is flat, uncolored reproduction of your music, you should run to the computer and order a pair of BMRs.

As mentioned, I have a pair of Salk Song 3A and they are going to be above your budget, but the BMRs will come in under...FWIW I demoed the MA Gold 300 before I bought my current speakers and the ribbon is not the same as the RAAL that's in the Song 3A, but that's a significant upgrade over the Silver line.

 

[Alexei2004]

Thank you for all the suggestions. BMRs sound fantastic, but it seems like it would take ~120 days to get them. That's probably a bit too much for me, maybe Salk Sound speakers will be my next upgrade if I ever get there )
It seems that I may be able to get slightly used MA Silver 500 pair for less than 2K, which would seem like a really good deal. Does anyone have experience comparing Silver 300 and Silver 500 and S8? Are Silver 500 way too big for 25-30 sq meters room?

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

One more to consider is http://www.ascendacoustics.com/pages/products/speakers/SRM2/srm2.html
They are using very similar( same brand) twitter as BMR

 

[Alexei2004]

Interesting, any idea how these sound? Reviews seem limited. Found couple of video clips, they seem to have an excellent high end extension and very engaging midrange, but low end seems to be a bit lacking compared to floorstanders. I listen to a lot of rock music, not sure this is the best fit?

 

[John Parks]

Interesting, any idea how these sound? Reviews seem limited. Found couple of video clips, they seem to have an excellent high end extension and very engaging midrange, but low end seems to be a bit lacking compared to floorstanders. I listen to a lot of rock music, not sure this is the best fit?

One of the things (aside from great measurements) that the Sierra is known for is its powerful bass. When I had mine, they never failed to impress me and on several occasions, I was sure that my sub woofer was engaged when it was, in fact, off.

 

[Beave]

I've owned several Monitor Audio speakers over the years, and a couple of Ascend Sierra models, so here are some thoughts:

1. Why buy the Musical Fidelity integrated amp? Sure, it's a nice piece of gear. But it's very pricey for what you get. You're paying for name and looks. And it's overkill for a room that size and speakers in your budget range. If anything, cut your budget dramatically for the amp and raise your budget for the speakers.

2. The Monitor Audio S8s are decent but have some flaws. The tweeter can't handle much power without sounding strained at high volumes. The midwoofer and woofer cones have some insufficiently filtered metal-cone resonances that can be audible at higher levels, making the speaker sound piercing. Also, the bass is a little tubby/resonant.

3. Each new version of the Silvers improved over the previous ones, so the new ones are definitely better. The Silver 8 or newest Silver 300 are probably the best of them all. The Silver 10 had too much midbass emphasis. The Silver 500 is probably overkill for your room size.

4. The Phil BMRs are better than any Monitor Audio Silver series speaker I owned.

5. The Ascend Sierras are probably most comparable to the Silver 8 or newest Silver 300. They're all fairly neutral. The Monitor Audios might win just a little in bass extension. The Sierras probably win in bass definition. The Sierras have more inert cabinets. I haven't compared side-by-side between a Sierra tower and a Silver 8 or 300, but I'd guess the Sierras are a bit better in most ways. The Monitor Audios have some metal cone resonances that, while far better suppressed than in the older S8 model, might still be audible on some material.

 

[ryanosaur]

I have not heard the S8s, so cannot offer a comparison. Silver 500 to 300... they both performed admirably... I could have happily owned either.
The BMRs do outperform the MAs... and based on many conversations... the Sierra Towers with Raal upgrade are very good speakers... but many I know have opted for the BMR over those. The critique I have heard is that the Sierra Bass is a little thin.

Unless your speakers are straight up dead... looking at Salks offerings is something you should consider. The BMRs that Dennis designed with help from Paul Kittinger, now being produced by Jim, truly are the real deal. They are worth waiting for!

 

[Alexei2004]

Which amp would you pair with BMRs?

 

[D Murphy]

Which amp would you pair with BMRs?

Anything that can pump out at least 80 clean watts per channel. They're not a difficult load to drive.

 

[ryanosaur]

Which amp would you pair with BMRs?

I chose Outlaw 2200 monoblocks. They work great and give the potential to clear reference level peaks.

 

[Alexei2004]

OK, I contacted Jim to start building my pair of BMRs! I may run these initially with my Emotiva A-300 amp, but we'll see, it is still 4 months away. Thanks for all the suggestions!

 

[Swerd]

OK, I contacted Jim to start building my pair of BMRs!

Congratulations! You are going to love these speakers. And they're absolutely worth the wait for them to be built. They are probably the best speakers you've never heard of.

Reviews:
James Larson on Audioholics
https://www.audioholics.com/bookshelf-speaker-reviews/bmr-philharmonitor-1

And my own listener's impressions
https://forums.audioholics.com/forums/threads/bmr-road-trip-kickoff.111717/#post-1254900

 

[ryanosaur]

OK, I contacted Jim to start building my pair of BMRs! I may run these initially with my Emotiva A-300 amp, but we'll see, it is still 4 months away. Thanks for all the suggestions!

Swerd said it best. Congrats. Keep us posted!!!

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

One issue with S8s is that they are a bit too bright for me.

If the S8 is accurate like I think it is, then any other accurate speaker will probably also sound “bright” to you.

I think something like a Yamaha RX-A1080, A2080, or A3080 with a nice 7-band Parametric EQ (PEQ) might fix the brightness problem.

You can reduce the 10.1kHz, 12.7kHz and 16kHz bands by 0.5dB increments to create a “warmer” sound. Unless bass is already too much, you can slightly increase the 49.6Hz, 62.5Hz, 78.7Hz, and 99.2Hz bands by 0.5dB increments to also create a “warmer” sound.

Or something with auto Room EQ (YPAO, Audyssey, Dirac, ARC) might also be able to improve the “bright” sound be automatically reducing the treble (10-20kHz).

 

[Beave]

ADTG, the Silver S8 was fairly neutral, but with a very 'rough' response.

The entire Silver S series had a reputation for being bright, but measurements showed the tweeter level wasn't elevated.

I think the brightness came from other factors, things that can't be EQ'd out:

1. There's a directivity mismatch between the midwoofer and the tweeter.
2. The midwoofer has some metal-cone resonances that aren't sufficiently filtered out by the crossover. They can make the sound bright and piercing at times. People have often mistakenly blamed the tweeter for this.
3. The tweeter is dirt cheap and doesn't have any heat sink. Its sound gets 'hardened' quickly with increasing sound levels.

Check out Stereophile's measurements of the S2, for example. The overall on-axis response is anything but bright, but yet the speaker can sound bright.

https://www.stereophile.com/content/monitor-audio-silver-s2-loudspeaker-measurements

 

[ryanosaur]

ADTG, the Silver S8 was fairly neutral, but with a very 'rough' response.

The entire Silver S series had a reputation for being bright, but measurements showed the tweeter level wasn't elevated.

I think the brightness came from other factors, things that can't be EQ'd out:

1. There's a directivity mismatch between the midwoofer and the tweeter.
2. The midwoofer has some metal-cone resonances that aren't sufficiently filtered out by the crossover. They can make the sound bright and piercing at times. People have often mistakenly blamed the tweeter for this.
3. The tweeter is dirt cheap and doesn't have any heat sink. Its sound gets 'hardened' quickly with increasing sound levels.

Check out Stereophile's measurements of the S2, for example. The overall on-axis response is anything but bright, but yet the speaker can sound bright.

https://www.stereophile.com/content/monitor-audio-silver-s2-loudspeaker-measurements

As I understand it, the Silver line as available now is much improved. How much, I suppose, is as subjective as anything else. Knowing what I do today, I would not change the speakers I have for anything mass market near that price range. To me, the BMRs at Jim’s pricing are still tower killers for anything close.
If flat and accurate implies a touch of brightness that is not part of the room itself... eq it between 1500 and 3000. No more than -1.5dB right at 2k worked well for me... then a gentle recovery back to the regular curve above and below that frequency. Worth a try if you haven’t...