Monitor Audio- Gold or Silver? (1 Viewer)

[BrianSmith]

Hi Folks,

Has anyone had the chance to compare the MA Gold series vs. the Silver? I don't have a look dealer so I can not evaluate them.

The Silver series fits comfortably in my budget while the Gold series is slightly out of budget.

I can stretch for a the golds if the difference in $ is worth it. What do you guys think?

Also, would you characterize the MA speakers as forward or bright?

Thanks in advance!

-Brian

 

[Tim Morton]

I have some older MA700 from monitor audio and they sound nice. But are you sure you want to buy a speaker without listening to it first?

 

[Khoa Tran]

I listened to a pair of Monitor Audio gold floorstandings at my local dealer, he had them setup with a pass lab amp(x200? i think, 9000 bucks) and a really expensive cd player which i forget the name.
I didn't like the sound, it was very harsh and after a few minutes it started to give me a headache. Not my kind of speaker, i would recommend you listening to the speakers before purchasing.

 

[BrianSmith]

I live in small town so I have to drive seveal hours to the nearest dealer for any audio auditioning.

I'm trying to narrow down my audition list so I don't have to drive all over the place.

The feeling I am getting is that MA speakers are bright. I am after a speaker that does not produce listener fatigue (such as the Wilson 5.1s I owned at one time).

-Brian

 

[Tim Morton]

The Monitor Audio is NOT a bright sounding speaker at all. I have had mine(with the gold tweeter) for almost 8 years and have NEVER thought of it as bright. before that i had some Celestions (also with a metal dome tweet) and i never comsidered that to be a bright speaker until I hooked it up to a cheap yamaha cd-player..but with the purchase of a nicer denon cd-player most of that brightness was gone. But if you are looking for a more mellow speaker, my brother has some B&W 603's that to me sound warm and colored...definately not bright, and would be a good choice IMO for buying without listening.

 

[BrianSmith]

I DO plan on listening to some speakers but first I want to narrow my choices down so I can decide which dealers I need to visit.

The Polk LSi series looks like it might be worth an audition. People seem to like them.

 

[Evan S]

I didn't like the sound, it was very harsh and after a few minutes it started to give me a headache.

So many questions come to mind. First, were the speakers broken in?, second what kind of room were they placed in? Dealer setups are notorious for being far from optimal to showcase speakers. I have heard the MA Gold line and think they are exceptional speakers that are detailed without a hint of brightness, and this was hooked up to Anthem electronics (AVM-20 and MCA-5 Processor/Amp combo) that are far more Mid-Fi than the electronics you heard them on.

I have to go on the assumption the speakers weren't broken in yet. Tweeter fatigue would be most evident on a new pair of speakers. Brian, don't rule anything out until you listen for yourself. What may sound like sweetness to me could sound like nails on a chalkboard for another HTF member. Let your own ears decide.

 

[Peter $ Jay]

I have listened to the GR-20's and consider them to be a bit on the bright side especially when powered by solid state amplification. They become noticeably warmer and more well-rounded when hooked to a tube amp. However, the difference becomes less noticeable after the speakers have burned-in properly (about 100 hours or so). As to Gold vs Silver, I haven't heard the Silver 9's but based on pubished reviews I would say if you can swing the extra bucks go with the GR-20's.

Good Luck.......Peter

 

[Adil M]

I have heard both. The Gold speakers are far superior and musical sounding. The silver's sound good, but are clinical sounding. They are boring. I'd buy Gold bookshelves before silver towers.