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Tema o zvucnicima koji imaju i izgled i zvuk, engleski prefinjeno i detaljno a opet prijatno uz odgovarajuci ostatak sistema.

 

Na svim poznatijim forumima postoji zasebni fan club Monitor AUdio zvucnika, treba ga biti i ovde

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Licno sam slusao zvucnike iz Bronzane, Srebnre i Zlatne serije i svaki je nudio puno u svojoj klasi a opet i nesto vise od modela ispod.

 

Koristim seriju RX zvucnika za stereo i surround uz BR za zadnje kanale.

 

Ovog puta dajem opis stereo para koji koristim Monitor Audio RX2 a na dalje nadam se da cemo zajedno naprviti jednu lepu temu punu druzenja i deljanja hifi iskustva.

 

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For some time now, the Silver RX series from Monitor Audio has been hot. Awards, comparison wins, positive reviews and more turned it into a major market player. Of course they aren’t perfect—there are no such products—but they don’t cost much especially given the technologies that have been applied and the sound they produce. Certain details are thus worth pointing out. One cannot suppress the impression that everything possible at the budget was done on these models including parts previously reserved for their more expensive lines. Take the drivers for example. Earlier those appeared in the Gold and Platinum series respectively (the gold-plated C-CAM tweeter and ceramic composite coated mid/woofer).
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The unusual mid/woofer mounting trickled down directly from the Platinum series and bolts the driver not to the front baffle but clamps it with a bolt from the back to additionally stiffen the enclosure and minimize vibration. The first company to use this type of mounting at least on a broader scale was Magico whose front baffles are metal [incorrect – Phil Jones for one used this scheme many years prior to Magico in the Boston Acoustics Lynnfield project – Ed.]. Magico of course is an ultra hi-end company who can afford to go the extra mile. The Monitor Audio RX2 is dirt cheap in this context. Here such solutions are astonishing!

 

In addition to the usual reference system, this review also used the Leben CS-660P power amp, Music Hall’s CD 25.2 front end, the Black Stork turntable with 3Q tonearm and Air Tight PC-1 Supreme cartridge and the Thorens TF 309 with Denon DL-103SA pickup.


Sound: I used the following discs - Kenny Dorham, Quiet Kenny, New Jazz/JVC, JVCXR-0049-2, XRCD; Julie London, Julie is her name. Vol.1, Liberty/EMI Music Japan, TOCJ-90014, HQCD;  Paco Puente, Dance Mania, RCA/BMG, BVCJ-37436, K2 CD; Nat King Cole, After Midnight, Capitol Jazz/EMI, 520087, SBM CD; Bill Evans, Peace Piece and Other Pieces, Milestone, M-47024, 2 x LP; Kraftwerk, Tour the France. Soundtracks, EMI, 591708, 2 x 180g LP.
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If I had to characterize these loudspeakers relative to the other three models in this series—the Dynaudio DM 2/6, KEF iQ30 and Xavian Primissima—I’d say that the Monitor Audio is as well balanced as the Dynaudio and puts out bass which extends even lower than the KEF but offers equal treble excellence. From the Xavian it inherits the ability to cast big virtual sources without overexposing the bass region. Without such references, I’d simply call the RX2 well balanced, very clean and with fully defined frequency extremes. That’s really something. The sound detaches from the boxes and we appreciate how the extra rigidity of the enclosure undermines boxy colorations. This reminded me of Harpia Acoustics speakers at higher prices. The Monitor speaker had a similar timbre and the sound de-correlated from the speakers just as easy. This was beautifully apparent on Julie London’s Julie is her name mono album. The sound was vast, not compressed into a thimble and arrived from slightly behind the midline between the speakers. Nothing pointed to the fact that in truth the sound arose from two boxes on either side of this window. Everything emerged from a black background between them.

 

The sonic scale was really big. Interestingly, a similar size of the instruments was shown by the far smaller Dynaudio DM 2/6 while neither the Xavian nor KEF were as convincing. And, the Monitor Audio could do even more. Its larger mid/woofer showed its mettle over the smaller ones of the competition. Finally Physics paid back. The RX2 better differentiated between disc dynamics and recording techniques. When switching to the XRCD disc Quiet Kenny by Kenny Dorham, it was obvious how this technology produces a much warmer sound. The London disc issued on HQCD wasn’t worse, mind you. The XRCD was simple warmer and silkier.
 
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Only after I’d spun Nat King Cole’s After Midnight did I fully appreciate how this speaker’s resolution is above average. My copy of this disc is nothing special, no premium Japanese pressing or equivalent. But I am not buying any other (perhaps I’ll splurge on vinyl some day). That's because this standard version has such a splendid sound already. I attribute that in equal parts to Michael Cuscuna’s remastering brilliance and the Super Bit Mapping technology. This slightly forgotten technique for converting 24-bit recorded word length to 16-bit Redbook was one of Sony’s finest developments. Due to proper shaping of quantization noise, it allows 16-bit material to dynamically approach 20 bits without any decoder. The loudspeakers showed this off nicely and we applauded the Sony engineers responsible (whoever they were).
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Again, Monitor Audio’s Silver Rx2 very astutely differentiated between recordings. When those were slightly shrill, they were shown accordingly like my recent Dance Mania addition by Paco Puente. That’s a 1958 hot mambo album recorded in Living Stereo and now remastered in 24-bit K2. It’s explosively dynamic but also bright. This warrants a short discussion because it defines how this speaker will be perceived in the audio salon. There is no rounded over treble, no warmed-up midrange. Description by negation perhaps isn’t the most flattering but at times the most apt. The upshot here is the large amount of information from the upper midrange and midrange. I defined it as non-warm and non-round in the negative because it cannot be called bright or sharp. But on poorer recordings, that’s how it will be perceived. In error I think.


Because I hadn’t reviewed another speaker from this series yet, I reread Krzysztof’s opinion on their RX6 model in our pages. He felt that they could approach sounding too lit up. I had crossed paths with Monitor Audio at many shows and exhibits and thought I knew where his problem was. That’s why I added a comment on tube amps to his review. Now I understood him better. It wasn’t really about adding any valve warmth.

 

The RX2 is simply so resolved and linear that if room issues dry out the midrange or absorb too much bass, this speaker will sound too bright and light. I think that would not be the speaker per se but ancillary and room interaction issues. I confirmed this with the extraordinary Leben CS-660P tube amp and a budget Music Hall CD 25.2. Yes, this valve amp sounded fantastic but, scaled back, cheaper transistor amps were equally compelling. Machines like the iTube FatMan, Xindak A06 and V10, Carat A57 should all partner well. Source selection will be critical too. I tried the Lithuanian Black Stork turntable with Q3 tonearm. Its characteristic quality is a wholesale lack of sharpness or brightness. And that’s exactly how it sounded over the Monitors. Within their budget’s limitations, these speakers passed on the key traits of the turntable. One could of course also deliberately pick warmer digital sources like Xindak’s CD06 or the Audionemesis DC-1 and obtain very good results.
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The RX2 performs in a very linear, mechanically subtracted way that casts large virtual sources with good dynamics. The frequency extremes are fully developed and reproduced without any veiling. That demands appropriate ancillaries. Other manufacturers soften the treble either because their tweeter isn’t good enough or because the tonal balance would shift up due to lacking counter bass. The Monitor Audios have an emphasis in the 600 and 800Hz but one adjusts to and lives with it. The lower bass isn’t as taut as the sealed Xavian’s but this is a bass-reflex system after all. Experiment with wall proximity and perhaps plug the ports with the supplied foam inserts. These speakers won’t perform the same in each room and certain electronics won’t be appropriate. But with the modest RX2 I discovered performance elements of real progress rather than flashy trickery. I found that very satisfying.

 

Description: The Monitor Audio RX2 is a largish two-way bass-reflex monitor. The tweeter is a 25mm gold-anodized C-CAM unit with mesh cover and claimed 45kHz extension. The mid/woofer is a beefy 200mm C-CAM RST equivalent with chrome-plated plastic dust cup imitating a phase corrector set into a high-pressure cast synthetic basket with a large magnet. C-CAM refers to ceramic-coated aluminum magnesium. Those diaphragms use an aluminum/magnesium alloy core coated with a thin ceramic layer on either side. This improves rigidity and damps parasitic vibrations. RST is short hand for rigid surface technology and describes the golf-ball dimpled surface profile. This mid/woofer also eliminates the usually marring frontal driver bolts and couples to the rear baffle instead with a long bolt. The tweeter loads into a shallow wave guide to linearizes the transition to the mid/woofer.
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Nice but modest biwire terminals sit on a rigid plastic plate and metal jumpers are provided inside the speaker’s polystyrene packing. Upgrading to cable bridges from Chord or Wireworld might be a good idea. The crossover mounts to the binding posts from the inside and consists of polypropylene capacitors, an treble air coil and a solid-core coil on the mid/woofer. The rear port carries the HiVe II high velocity acronym to indicate anti-turbulence ridges and carries over from the Platinum Series. Included foam plugs allow for tuning of the bass alignment. The enclosure panels use thick MDF and natural wood veneer is thicker than standard.  The inside runs a horizontal and vertical stiffener and the whole is damped with spongy layers. Available finishes include black Oak, natural Oak, Walnut, Rosenut and high-gloss black or white. Black grills are standard.

 

 

Zelim dobrodoslicu svima i molim da svadje ne bude! :cheers

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Monitor Audio Silver RX8 Speaker System
 

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Price: $4,400 At A Glance: Clean, open, natural detail • Enveloping soundstage • Outstanding fit and finish

Bringing Home the Silver

One benefit that comes from the development of flagship products like Monitor Audio’s Platinum PL300-based speaker system (HT, October 2009) is that the technology often filters down into less expensive models in the manufacturer’s line. Of course, it won’t surprise you to hear that the ribbon tweeters, sculpted cabinets, and leather trim found in that $25,000-plus Platinum set haven’t made it into the $4,400 Silver RX8 system under review here. But refinement, elegance, and most importantly, high value and superb performance are still very much part of the package.

Silvered Cones and Golden Domes
Like all of Monitor Audio’s speakers, the Silver RX models are engineered in Monitor’s facilities in the U.K. and manufactured at the company’s plant in China. The gorgeous Rosenut veneer on our samples is the best simulation of genuine rosewood I’ve ever seen. Magnets buried beneath the veneer hold the grilles in place, so there’s no visible grille-attachment hardware.

Looks matter, but more impor- tantly, the Silver RX’s high-tech genes are evident from the first look at their front baffles. The cones in all of the woofers and midrange drivers are made of C-CAM and use Monitor Audio’s Rigid Surface Technology (RST) cone profiles. With variations, Monitor has used C-CAM in all of its premium speakers over the past few years. It was first developed for turbine blades in jet engines. C-CAM is an alloy of aluminum and magnesium coated under high temperature with a thin layer of pure ceramic (alumina). The result is a strong, rigid, low-mass structure half the thickness of a human hair. The cones also have small, golf-ball-like dimples in their surfaces for additional stiffness. The silver-bullet dust caps at the drivers’ centers resemble phase plugs, but they move with the cone. True phase plugs are fixed to the pole piece at the center of the voice coil and remain stationary while the cone moves around them.

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The tweeter diaphragms are also made of C-CAM. They have a golden appearance but are not made of real gold. (Gold would be too heavy and soft for a tweeter, I would think, even in a thin coating.) Instead, it’s simply a color that Monitor applies during the anodizing process. A touch of golden color on the tweeters is a trademark of Monitor Audio speakers. The company has only broken this chain with the ribbon tweeters in its Platinum line.

Whereas most speakers use screws or bolts to hold the drivers in place from the front, the RX series uses threaded rods that screw into threaded holes at the back of each woofer and mid- range driver. These rods extend to the rear of the cabinet, where connector bolts firmly fasten them. You can see the bolt heads on the back panel. The rods and bolts securely anchor the drivers to the cabinet. At the same time, they act as braces to increase the cabinet’s rigidity.

Two sets of terminals on the back of each full-range speaker let you biwire or biamp the speaker. The plinth at the bottom of the RX8 provides stability for the narrow cabinet. Its feet come with either spikes or soft protective pads. These pads are removable and fell off easily when I moved the speaker around and into position. It’s easy to put them back on, provided you don’t lose them. Monitor Audio might want to consider packing a few extra pads with each speaker.

Apart from the RX Centre and the RXW-12 subwoofer, the Sil- ver RX speakers all are ported. According to Monitor Audio, the three-way RX8’s drivers are specified to cross over at 300 hertz and 2.2 kilohertz, while the RX1’s woofer-to-tweeter transition is at 3 kHz. The RX Centre is a 2.5-way design, and both of its woofers operate up to 500 Hz. One of them rolls off above this, while the other continues on to meet the tweeter at 2.2 kHz.

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The Silver RXW-12 subwoofer is a small but impressive beast with a 12-inch C-CAM-coned driver and a 500-watt RMS (1,000 watts peak) Class D amplifier. It offers all of the usual features: Phase, Power Mode (On/Off/Auto), Frequency (low pass from 40 Hz to 120 Hz, defeatable via a Low Pass Filter switch), a 12-volt trigger, and line-level stereo inputs and outputs. The latter are pass- through only. The sub doesn’t have high-pass filters; that’s a job for your A/V receiver or surround processor. The Level control is conveniently located on top, along with two EQ options: EQ1 and EQ2. Monitor says that EQ1 provides response to 27 Hz at an unspecified down point. EQ2 is similarly specified to reach 21 Hz.

Setup
I positioned the RX8s about 9 feet apart to the left and right of my projection screen. I toed them in toward the main listening position in my 26-by-15.5-by-8-foot home theater studio. When music was on the program, I retracted the projection screen. I placed the RX Centre on a low stand below the screen and set up the RX1 surrounds on stands in the back of the room. I located the subwoofer behind the center speaker. All of the front speakers were 2 feet or more (mostly more) from any adjoining walls, and they fired down the long dimension of the room. The seating position was about 10 feet from the plane of the speakers.

Small changes to toe-in and tilt resulted in subtle but meaning- ful changes in the RX8’s overall balance. I got the best results with a small tilt back (just enough that I couldn’t see the top of the speaker from my center listening seat) and enough toe-in so that I could just see the far sides of the left and right enclosures.

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I didn’t biamp the speakers or use spikes, and I removed the grilles. My review system also included a Parasound Halo A51 amplifier, Integra DTC-9.8 surround processor, Pioneer BDP-320 (for Blu-ray) and Pioneer Elite DV-79AVi (for CD) players, and vintage cables from Monster Cable, Cardas, and Kimber.

Listening: Two-Channel Music
My in-room measurements indicated that the RX8 exhibited an abrupt peak in its response from about 80 Hz to 100 Hz and dropped off rapidly below about 60 Hz. With the RXW-12 sub crossed over at 80 Hz, this upper-bass peak was a bit less aggressive, but it was still prominent. With the sub dialed in and set to EQ2, the low end extended down to a clean 25 Hz. Although the response was clearly well into its bottom-end rolloff by that point, I didn’t hear any sign of doubling. Doubling is second-harmonic distortion where an overdriven driver produces twice the input frequency. This doubled frequency is often high enough in level to mask the fundamental.

 

I generally avoid equalization in speaker reviews. However, in this case, I used the equalization from the Audyssey system in my Integra surround processor. It compensated for the RX system’s midbass emphasis in my room, with or without the sub. Monitor provides foam plugs to block the front ports, but in my room, that made matters a little worse. However, many surround processors offer crossover settings that you can adjust separately for each full-range channel, plus the subwoofer. I chose a 120-Hz high pass for the main front speakers and an 80-Hz low pass for the subwoofer. The midbass problem was still present, but its level was significantly reduced.

Despite the RX8s’ midbass peak in my room, I spent many enjoyable hours listening to two-channel music with them, without the subwoofer. The bass from these speakers, au naturel, was sometimes overly ripe. Organ could sound a little smeared, and bass transients were a bit soft. But the ear adjusts, and on most program sources, the RX8’s bottom end was impressively powerful and, dare I say, majestic. It may not extend super deep under measurement, and I definitely recommend a sub for full home theater chores. Still, with most bass-heavy music, the ear says that it goes further down, with more power, than any speaker of its size with two 6-inch bass drivers has a right to. As a bonus, the pressure from the front ports will ruffle your trousers.

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At the time of this writing, our audio tech editor hadn’t con- ducted the tests for the HT Labs Measures sidebar. That will tell you how the RX8’s bass measures when it’s free of room influences. I switched on the sub in my room, configured it as described above, and level-set it for the best balance with a wide range of bass-rich music. In this setup, the RX8 and RXW-12 really came into their own. Bass lines tightened up dra- matically. True awesomeness on sub-basement organ frequencies and maximum impact on the most powerful soundtracks is still the province of much larger super-subs. Still, the bass from the Monitor system was as impressive as any I’ve heard in my listening room.

There’s more to music playback than bass, and the RX8 is also a champ elsewhere. Depth is good if it’s present in the program source. Imaging is precise, including the locked-in center images that are a consistent characteristic of my room and setup. The RX8’s neutral midrange lacks any identifiable coloration, and its high end sparkles with detail. It’s a lively, arresting sound, with no false emphasis anywhere.

Close in, my on-axis in-room measurements indicate that the RX8’s response increases progressively at the top end, beginning at about 6 kHz. However, from my listening position, the response through the midrange and highs was admirably smooth to at least 10 kHz, with a gentle rolloff above that point. The speakers still sounded a little too enthusiastic in the treble with bright recordings at high (but not unreasonable) playback levels. The speaker isn’t a shrinking violet, and it won’t hide the flaws of substandard amps, sources, or program material. But with good recordings, the speaker’s clean, open sound knocked me out. Listening to Movies—and More

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Funny thing about symphonic music. Most speakers, including the RX8, don’t do as well with this type of source material in two-channel playback as they do with smaller instrumental ensembles. But with the Silver RX speakers and sub firing on all cylinders, orchestral soundtrack scores sounded spectacular. The system produces a big, generous soundstage on big, generous film scores, including Randy Newman’s Coplandesque music for The Natural, John Powell’s quirky work on Horton Hears a Who! (don’t miss the spectacular “We Are Here†demo-worthy sequence in chapter 28), and Howard Shore’s monumental effort for the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

The Silver RX system also left little to be desired with smaller-scale multichannel concert video discs. Legends of Jazz with Ramsey Lewis: Showcase is a beautifully recorded and varied recording of small-scale ensembles. From vocals to drum kit to piano and instrumental shadings of all varieties in between, the sound through the Monitor system was luscious.

If I have any issue with the system, it’s with the RX Centre. Like all horizontally arrayed woofer-tweeter-woofer centers, its off-axis performance can be uneven. True, the speaker was no worse than average in this respect, and the problem isn’t likely to bother most listeners. But I wish that Monitor—and more than a few other high-end speaker makers—would offer more three-way center designs. That is, center speakers with two woofers flanking a vertically oriented mid/tweeter array. A fully horizontal array of drivers is always a compromise.

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When I turned the RX Centre 90 degrees so that it sat vertically, the whole system snapped into better focus. In particular, dialogue reproduction was more consistent. But you’ll need to make certain that the fuller-range woofer in this 2.5-way design is nearest to the screen. (Hint: As you face the front of the speaker in its usual horizontal orienta- tion, it’s the driver on the left.) I know—a vertical arrangement is awkward. But it’s easier to arrange in today’s flat-panel world than it was in the era of RPTV behemoths.

Once I solved my center- channel concerns and optimized the subwoofer and main-channel response as I described earlier, the Silver RX setup really came together. No single piece of material I auditioned blew me away more than the opening 15 minutes of Star Trek (2009). Music, effects, dialogue, and bass all came together in a spectacular way. Even at the highest playback level I could stand, the sound was highly detailed and never grating.

Conclusions
I spent many long listening sessions with the Silver RX8 system, both with and without the RXW-12 sub. I always found it difficult to shut it off and drag myself back to the word processor—or off to bed. On more than one occasion, I went into the listening room intending to sample a little music and then move on to movies, but I ended up spending the entire session with music—either with the sub or without. When movie time came, I had the same can’t-drag-myself-away experience. I won’t say that the Silver RX system will kill sales of the glorious Monitor Audio Platinum setup I reviewed last year. But I can say that for less than half the price of a pair of PL300s alone, this Silver RX system is a very special value—and an incredible ride.

 

Specs

Speaker: RX8
Type: Three-way, floorstander
Tweeter: 1, C-CAM dome
Midrange (size in inches, type): 6, RDT/C-CAM
Woofer (size in inches, type): 2 x 6, RDT/C-CAM
Nominal Impedance (ohms): 4
Recommended Amp Power (watts): 50–175
Available Finishes (all): Black Oak, Walnut, Natural Oak, Rosenut, Black Lacquer, White Lacquer
Dimensions (W x H x D, inches): 10.9 x 37.9 x 15.25
Weight (pounds): 47.9
Price (veneers): $1,750/pair
Price (Black or White Lacquer): $2,000/pair

Speaker: RX Centre
Type: 2.5-way, center
Tweeter: 1, C-CAM dome
Midrange (size in inches, type): 6, RDT/C-CAM
Woofer (size in inches, type): 6, RDT/C-CAM
Nominal Impedance (ohms): 6
Recommended Amp Power (watts): 40–125
Available Finishes (all): Black Oak, Walnut, Natural Oak, Rosenut, Black Lacquer, White Lacquer
Dimensions (W x H x D, inches): 19.7 x 7.4 x 7.9
Weight (pounds): 21.1
Price (veneers): $675
Price (Black or White Lacquer): $800

Speaker: RX1
Type: Two-way, surround
Tweeter: 1, C-CAM dome
Midrange (size in inches, type): None
Woofer (size in inches, type): 6, RDT
Nominal Impedance (ohms): 6
Recommended Amp Power (watts): 25–80
Available Finishes (all): Black Oak, Walnut, Natural Oak, Rosenut, Black Lacquer, White Lacquer
Dimensions (W x H x D, inches): 7.32 x 12.32 x 9.43
Weight (pounds): 15
Price (veneers): $675/pair
Price (Black or White Lacquer): $800/pair

 

RXW-12 Subwoofer
Enclosure Type: Sealed
Woofer (size in inches, type): 12, C-CAM
Rated power (watts): 500 RMS (100 peak)
Connections: Line-level in/out
Crossover Bypass: Yes
Available Finishes: Black Oak, Walnut, Natural Oak, Rosenut wood veneer; Black Lacquer, White Lacquer
Dimensions (W x H x D, inches): 13.4 x 13.4 x 16.13
Weight (pounds): 49.6
Price: $1,300 (Lacquer Finish: $1,550)

 

HT Labs Measures

L/R Sensitivity: 90.5 dB from 500 Hz to 2 kHz

Center Sensitivity: 90 dB from 500 Hz to 2 kHz

Surround Sensitivity: 88 dB from 500 Hz to 2 kHz

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This graph shows the quasi-anechoic (employing close-miking of all woofers) frequency response of the RX8 L/R (purple trace), RX Centre center channel (green trace), RX1 surround (red trace), and RXW-12 subwoofer (blue trace). All passive loudspeakers were measured with grilles at a distance of 1 meter with a 2.83-volt input and scaled for display purposes.

The RX8’s listening-window response (a five-point average of axial and +/–15-degree horizontal and vertical responses) measures +1.27/–3.99 decibels from 200 hertz to 10 kilohertz. The –3-dB point is at 52 Hz, and the –6-dB point is at 46 Hz. Impedance reaches a minimum of 4.37 ohms at 152 Hz and a phase angle of –40.55 degrees at 84 Hz.

The RX Centre’s listening-window response measures +1.39/–4.30 dB from 200 Hz to 10 kHz. An average of axial and +/–15-degree horizontal responses measures +1.29/–5.14 dB from 200 Hz to 10 kHz. The –3-dB point is at 72 Hz, and the –6-dB point is at 59 Hz. Impedance reaches a minimum of 4.09 ohms at 195 Hz and a phase angle of –38.88 degrees at 103 Hz.

The RX1’s listening-window response measures +0.76/–3.38 dB from 200 Hz to 10 kHz. The –3-dB point is at 64 Hz, and the –6-dB point is at 56 Hz. Impedance reaches a minimum of 4.48 ohms at 186 Hz and a phase angle of –45.78 degrees at 106 Hz.

The RXW-12’s close-miked response, normalized to the level at 80 Hz, indicates that the lower –3-dB point is at 33 Hz and the –6-dB point is at 23 Hz. The upper –3-dB point is at 105 Hz with the Low Pass Filter switch set to LFE and EQ-2 engaged.—MJP

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Bravo za temu, inace koristim Br 5 za front i BR lcr kao centralni ia trenutno sam u potrazi za brfx kako bi kompletirao sistem. Inace  kada sam ja kupovao zvucnike i uzimajuci u obzir budžet kojim sam raspolagao Monitor audio me je kupio kao sto Vlade kaze svojom prefinoscu, kvalitetom izrade i nekom elegancijom koju poseduje kako u izgledu tako  i u samom zvuku.Vise im prija neka laganica, jaz, pop i sl.  od nekog zesceg roka, hevi metala itd ali ja sam prezadovoljan  uz napomenu da kad pored AVR Yamahe 773 legne u sistem i neki Marantz 7003 ili 7004 ocekujem da se br5 tek pokaze u pravom svetlu u stereo varijanti. Sve preporuke

 

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Monitor Audio Gold Signature GS 20 Speaker System
 
Melodious metal.

Monitor Audio has the metal thing down. I remember thinking that after my first encounter with a pair of Monitor Studio speakers in the mid-1980s. In those days, metal drivers had a reputation for adding an annoying metallic zing to the sound, but the Monitors were as sweet as could be. Over the years, Monitor continued to hone the technology; even now, when there are a lot of great-sounding speakers with metal drivers, to my ear, nobody does it better. Monitor's current product range includes a healthy selection of custom-install models and the heavy-metal contenders, which run from the entry-level Bronze, the Silver, the Gold, and up to the flagship Platinum speaker lines.

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Going for the Gold
For this review, I went for a set of Gold Signature speakers and the matching GSW 12 subwoofer. Yes, the metal drivers are the stars of the show, but I'd like to tell you first about how these speakers look and feel. My samples' Santos Rosewood veneers were stunning. Monitor puts extra effort into selecting matched wood sheets cut from the same log section to assure color and grain consistency for each pair of speakers. In addition to rosewood, the Gold Signatures are available in walnut, cherry, and high-gloss piano black (with no extra charge for any finish). The level of fit and finish really is well above par for speakers in the Gold Signatures' price class. The GS 20 towers come with hefty cast-metal plinths and the most well-thought-out leveling feet I've seen. They're rubber rimmed to pamper hardwood or tiled floors; and, if you have carpets or rugs, you can screw the supplied spikes into the feet. If you're as tweaky as I am, you can use the included bubble level to precisely level the speakers. The speakers' imaging focus was a tad more precise after I had dialed everything in just so.

Audio Alchemy
To get me up to speed on the technology, Monitor sent along some literature elucidating the virtues of their C-CAM (Ceramic-Coated Aluminum Magnesium) drivers. The 1-inch dome tweeter looks like gold, but the color comes from the ceramic coating. The aluminum-magnesium alloy was developed for use in jet engines, but, thanks to its exceptional stiffness-to-weight ratio, the C-CAM tweeter raises the frequency of its breakup mode beyond that of more conventional designs and extends the speakers' high-frequency response enough to satisfy audiophile dogs (claimed to be 43 kilohertz).

The midrange and woofer cones are formed by a proprietary two-stage, high-pressure molding technique. Look closely at the drivers, and you'll see that the cones have, well, dimples—hundreds of them. I suppose the engineers thought the word dimples didn't fully communicate the importance of their breakthrough, so they dubbed the indentations RST (Rigid Surface Technology). Whatever. The dimples are said to significantly increase cone rigidity, which frees up the engineers to use thinner and therefore lighter C-CAM cones. They tell me the dimples—er, RST—minimize the driver surface's standing waves that would otherwise propagate across the cone. Their explanation of the result: cleaner, more detailed sound, just from a bunch of dimples.

The GS series' 6.5-inch midbass driver features a bullet-shaped solid-aluminum phase plug. Say what? I've seen lots of other speakers that use phase plugs to smooth the drivers' frequency response and improve dispersion, but some are fabricated from thin, hollow plastic or metal, while Monitor machines their plugs out of a solid aluminum bar. This makes them less resonant than the lightweight versions and improves power handling by better dissipating heat buildup that could otherwise compress dynamics.

The GS FX is a different sort of dipole/monopole surround speaker. You can switch the modes manually (front panel) or—this is the really cool part—remotely via 12-volt trigger. So, if you can program your pre/pro or A/V receiver's trigger-voltage outputs, the GS FX will effortlessly select dipole mode for wide-open, spacious surround with movies and more focused monopole sound for multichannel music. As another bonus, the GS FX is a three-way design, with a front-firing 6.5-inch bass driver and a 1-inch tweeter—plus a pair of side-firing 4-inch mid drivers and 1-inch tweeters. When you use the speaker as a monopole, only the front-firing drivers are active; in dipole mode, the side drivers and just the front woofer are active. Monitor calls the GS FX "ambidextrous," meaning you can configure it as right or left "handed" during installation, and that's important because it allows the drivers aimed toward the screen to be in phase with the front speakers. You can also adjust its tweeter level with a three-position switch.

The GSW 12 features a 12-inch C-CAM driver, an amplifier rated at 600 watts, and digital signal processing to provide four preset EQ curves labeled Music, Movies, Dynamic, and Impact—along with a 10-band graphic EQ. That adjustable EQ can facilitate smoother bass in your room, especially if you or your dealer knows how to use a spectrum analyzer. I didn't, but I still managed to significantly improve the bass with my trusty RadioShack sound-pressure-level meter. The various settings, volume, and phase controls are all accessible by the top-mounted panel or via the GSW 12's remote control. That's admirable, but, since the display is located on the sub's top panel, you have to walk over to the GSW 12 to see what's going on. Duh! On the upside, the sub is finished to the same high standard as the Gold Signature speakers.

807Monitor.4.jpg

Sounds Like Victory
I sat spellbound as the Monitors, pardon the expression, totally dissected the Saw DVD's truly hellacious thrills. The squishy wetness of the disgustingly dirty floors, the actors' nervous breathing, the ominous score, and the sheer ickiness the mix conveys will get the palms of any gore-o-phile sweating in no time. In the quieter scenes, the movie depends on borderline-subliminal sounds to keep the tension up, and that's where the GS' resolution paid off in spades. For high-impact home theater jollies, I popped on the newest 007 flick, Casino Royale, and cranked up the volume to more fully savor the soul-satisfying roar of Bond's Aston Martin. Yeah, baby. The Gold Signatures didn't disappoint.

The surround mixes on the Doors Strange Days DVD-Audio disc clued me in to all sorts of stuff I'd never heard before, like the hand claps on "Unhappy Girl." And Jim Morrison's vocals, hard-mixed to the center channel, sounded like he was ready to jump out of the speaker. The DVD-Audio treatment makes this old music sound new again.

Arcade Fire's Neon Bible CD unfurled a gigantic soundstage filled to the brim with throbbing orchestrations and angelic choirs. With a subwoofer as potent as the GSW 12, lines like "The sound is not asleep/ It's moving under my feet" were literally true. The majestic 500-pipe organ in the Saint-Jean-Baptiste Church in Montreal that opens "Intervention" was well represented in all of its glory. The Monitors' rich balance didn't prevent the GS 20s from highlighting guitarist Elliott Sharp's fleet-fingered fretwork on his Sharp? Monk? Sharp! Monk! CD. His amazing Dell Arte Grande Bouche acoustic guitar invoked the playful melodies of Thelonious Monk's piano. It's a strange and wonderful album.

That said, it was the unhyped tonality of the Gold Signatures that kept me coming back for more. If you're looking for über detail and sparkling highs, I'm not so sure if these speakers will light your fire. The Monitor Gold Signatures sound the way they look: elegant, sophisticated, and thoroughly modern. And that sounds like a winning combination to me.

Highlights
• Drivers with dimples—you've got to love that!
• Remote-controlled subwoofer—the couch-potato special!

 

At A Glance: Monitor Audio Gold Signature GS 20 Speaker System

807Monitor.2.jpg

Subwoofer: GSW 12
Connections: Stereo line-level, in and out; LFE in and out;12-volt trigger input
Enclosure Type: Sealed
Woofer (size in inches, type): 12, ceramic-coated aluminum/magnesium alloy cone
Power Rating (watts): 600 RMS, 1,000 peak
Crossover Bypass: Yes
Available Finishes: Santos Rosewood, Walnut, Cherry, Piano Black
Dimensions (H x W x D, inches): 15.3 x 15.3 x 16.6
Weight (pounds): 61.5
Price: $1,799

These listings are based on the manufacturer's stated specs; the HT Labs box below indicates the gear's performance on our test bench.

Speaker: GS 20
Type: Two-and-a-half-way tower
Tweeter (size in inches, type): 1, ceramic-coated aluminum/magnesium alloy dome
Mid/Woofer (size in inches, type): 6.5, ceramic-coated aluminum/magnesium alloy cone
Woofer (size in inches, type): 6.5, ceramic-coated aluminum/magnesium alloy cone
Nominal Impedance (ohms): 6
Recommended Amp Power: 40–150 watts
Available Finishes: Santos Rosewood, Walnut, Cherry, Piano Black
Dimensions (H x W x D, inches): 36.4 x 8.1 x 11
Weight (pounds): 45.3
Price: $2,999/pair

Speaker: GS LCR
Type: Two-way
Tweeter (size in inches, type): 1, ceramic-coated aluminum/magnesium alloy dome
Mid/Woofer (size in inches, type): -
Woofer (size in inches, type): 6.5, ceramic-coated aluminum/magnesium alloy cone (2)
Nominal Impedance (ohms): 8
Recommended Amp Power: 40–150 watts
Available Finishes: Santos Rosewood, Walnut, Cherry, Piano Black
Dimensions (H x W x D, inches): 8.1 x 22.1 x 9.1
Weight (pounds): 27.5
Price: $999/each

Speaker: GS FX
Type: Three-way, dipole/monopole surround
Tweeter (size in inches, type): 1, ceramic-coated aluminum/magnesium alloy dome (3)
Mid/Woofer (size in inches, type): 4, ceramic-coated aluminum/magnesium alloy cone (2)
Woofer (size in inches, type): 6.5, ceramic-coated aluminum/magnesium alloy cone
Nominal Impedance (ohms): 6
Recommended Amp Power: 40–100 watts
Available Finishes: Santos Rosewood, Walnut, Cherry, Piano Black
Dimensions (H x W x D, inches): 12.2 x 15.4 x 6.3
Weight (pounds): 25.3
Price: $749/each

Ratings: Monitor Audio Gold Signature GS 20 Speaker System

Build Quality: 94 Good
• Elegant, furniture-grade real-wood veneers
• Beautifully crafted inset metal rear panels

Value: 94 Good
• Sophisticated woofer and tweeter designs
• Monitor doesn't charge extra for any of the four finish options

Features: 94 Good
• The GSW 12 sub's 10-band graphic EQ offers room tuning for smoother bass response
• The GS FX features flexible dipole and monopole dispersion and nifty equalization switches

Performance: 93 Good
• High-resolution sound without over-hyped detail
• The GSW 12 rocks my socks off like nothing I've heard near its size and price

Ergonomics: 96 Excellent
• The remote-controlled GSW 12 sub makes setup tweaking a breeze
• Triggered switching between dipole and monopole dispersion on the GS FX surround speakers is even cooler

Overall Rating: 94 Good
Don't for a second let the Gold Signature series speakers' modest dimensions lead you to doubt their home theater gravitas. These stealthily proficient speakers are terrifically capable designs.

 

HT Labs Measures: Monitor Audio Gold Signature GS 20 Speaker System

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L/R Sensitivity: 88 dB from 500 Hz to 2 kHz

Center Sensitivity: 88.5 dB from 500 Hz to 2 kHz

Surround Sensitivity: 83 dB from 500 Hz to 2 kHz

This graph shows the quasi-anechoic (employing close-miking of all woofers) frequency response of the GS 20 L/R (purple trace), GSW 12 subwoofer (blue trace), GS LCR center channel (green trace), and GS FX surround (red trace). All passive loudspeakers were measured with grilles at a distance of 1 meter with a 2.83-volt input and scaled for display purposes.

The GS 20's listening-window response (a five-point average of axial and +/–15-degree horizontal and vertical responses) measures +1.63/–1.86 decibels from 200 hertz to 10 kilohertz. The –3-dB point is at 47 Hz, and the –6-dB point is at 41 Hz. Impedance reaches a minimum of 5.29 ohms at 172 Hz and a phase angle of –41.44 degrees at 86 Hz.

The GS LCR's listening-window response measures +1.25/–3.39 dB from 200 Hz to 10 kHz. An average of axial and +/–15-degree horizontal responses measures +1.05/–4.52 dB from 200 Hz to 10 kHz. The –3-dB point is at 89 Hz, and the –6-dB point is at 70 Hz. Impedance reaches a minimum of 7.08 ohms at 193 Hz and a phase angle of –36.91 degrees at 96 Hz.

The GS FX's three-face averaged response measures +1.05/–5.61 dB from 200 Hz to 10 kHz. The –3-dB point is at 77 Hz, and the –6-dB point is at 64 Hz. Impedance reaches a minimum of 4.60 ohms at 463 Hz and a phase angle of –43.57 degrees at 84 Hz.

The GSW 12's close-miked response, normalized to the level at 80 Hz, indicates that the lower –3-dB point is at 61 Hz and the –6-dB point is at 50 Hz. The upper –3-dB point is at 156 Hz using the LFE input with the controls set to Flat.—MJP

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  Dobri zvuÄnici. Posedovao sam rs 8. U kombinaciji sa Naimom  Nait 5 mk2 svirali su fenomenalno.  Od drugih sluÅ¡ao sam gx 200 koje sam upario za sluÅ¡anje sa Supernaitom.

Dugo sam razmišljao da li da ih kupim ili ove sada što imam.

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  • 9 months later...

Nikada nisam posedovao MA ali su za moj ukus uvek bili pri samom vrhu, a i odliÄna zavrÅ¡na obrada ne odmaže. SluÅ¡ao sam viÅ¡e modela Bronze i Silver serije i ovi drugi su na mene ostavili posebno dobar utisak, pogotovo RX6 sa NAD preamp,amp,cd kombinacijom. Sve je tu, dinamika, detalji, toplina, težina... Prosto nisam imao Å¡ta da zamerim zvuku. RX1+NADC356 takoÄ‘e odliÄan zvuk. I uvek se pitam da li su oni ljudi koji tvrde da su zvuÄnici do 500€ obiÄna konfekcija ikada Äuli dobro uparene Silvere 1 ili 2 npr. Verovatno nisu. Poslednji susret mi je bio sa najnovijim Silver 2 na NADC326 i Audiolab CDP, i to je po meni bio fail. Slaba kontrola, nedefinisan bas... pretpostavljam da prosto mora jaÄe i bolje pojaÄalo da ukroti one 20-ice... A i za to im skidam kapu, Å¡to i dalje prave poveći bookshelf model, vrstu u izumiranju.

 

I eto tako, ja bih da se pridružim fanclubu iako ih nemam. :)

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  • 2 months later...

Imam BX2 vezane sa onkyo avr 609, ali razmisljam o nekom integralnom pojacalu, ne znam sa cim ih upariti. Npr kao sto HK i JBL rade odlicno.

 

Meni ista kombinacija radi odliÄno. MA zaista nudi mnogo za dati novac. Onkyo je druga priÄa, problemi sa HDMI ploÄom (odnosno dts procesorom) su srozali status brenda, teÅ¡ko da bih opet pazario. 

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On July 28, 2016 at 22:02, gvlada said:

Прелепо изгледају... то ту стоји само као украс или ? :)

To je moja omiljena kutija.. pustim je po nekad, odusevim se pozornicom, detaljima, koje ovi malisani imaju.. Moracu ih prodati..ili mozda se predomislim, pa ih prebacim u neku sobicu, ali kad pomislim da ih retko slusam, ne isplati se da sakupljaju prasinu.. :roll:

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