Monitor Audio Silver - Page 2

I found a bunch of photos for the new RS series (www.mafocus.com). Use the link on the left that says Silver RS. There are probably 35-40 pics. I can't wait to hear them. Has anyone demo-ed them in the states yet? I would love to hear your impressions. I am hoping to hear them in the next month.

I am happy to announce that I am the proud owner of a pair of Silver RS6

I picked them up last night. When I ordered my speakers 2 weeks ago, I ordered the S6 in the Rosenut finish. A couple of days later the dealer called me and informed me that this color was back-ordered. Because I loved that color so much I decided to wait. When I went to pick them up yesterday, you wouldn't believe the surprise and amazement when I saw 'RS6' on the box.

I brought them home, connected them to my receiver and turned them on (uncalibrated) and they just disappeared in the room. Once I calibrated them the sound became even better. I thought I loved the S6 but now I am so much more happy with the RS6. I still have some additional tweaking to do since one of them is close to a wall, but they are highly recommended.

One thing that Monitor Audio did with the RS compared to the S is they seemed to have changed the metal grill over the tweeter. It doesn't appear that it needs to be moved anymore.

Now I can't wait to get the rest of the speakers in the RS line

Kevin12586,
Many peolpe have commented in the past that the MA Silver S series needed to be "broken in" before they really came to life. Keep us posted on how the RS series sound after you have logged some hours with them. Thanks.

No problem resperc, but if they are going to sound better than they already do after a break-in period, then my grin will get bigger

The will, it will.

Where did you get them? My local Good Guys say not until the end of May.

Greg

I live in NY and purchased them from a local dealer in NYC

Does anyone have any experience with the SFX surround speaker?

Kevin,

How do you feel the RS6 sounds different from the S6? Did you hear both speakers in the same environment? I was told sonically there shouldn't be much difference just cosmetic changes with the RS line. Just curious how you feel they are different. Thanks.

TNT, honestly they probably sound exactly the same, the specs seems to be the same as well. In my opinion, the RS6 looks a little better than the S6, I am just glad to be getting the newer model as opposed to the S6 for when I begin to purchase the rest of the speakers. If you have the opportunity to listen to both in the same environment I would be curious to know if you hear a difference.

Thanks Kevin.

For those still wondering about matching MAs with a receiver, you should be fine with one that has a high current design. It seems with all of the feedback I have gotten, people are very happy with the sound from MAs when they are matched with high current receivers/amps.

I wanted to bring this thread back and thank everyone's input. I have had my S2's and SLCR center for about 2 weeks now, and it is exactly the sound I was searching for. I had been looking to upgrade my L/C/R for several months now, and couldn't find speakers that had amazing detail that were not bright or harsh to my ears. I went through Paradigm, M&K, B&W, Dynaudio, Polk LsI, Def Tech, Vienna Acoustics, Sonus Faber and Energy among others. Paradigm Studio 20's were close, but to me got a little grating a very high volume levels. I loved the Viennas for music, but they had no excitement for movies. M&K was great for theater, but too forward for music.

I had not even thought of Monitor, but after reading this thread and many reviews, I went out and listened and have found my speakers. These things have great very detailed highs, and a very nice midrange. I can't believe how good they sound for voices. I am not an audiophile, but the best way I can describe it is that I don't feel like I am listening to speakers. If I was blindfolded and spun around, I could not point out where the speakers are both vertically and horizontally. It is almost an airy quality.

I promised myself I wouldn't buy into break-in, but in only about 20 hours of listening, these babies have opened up even more. I am trying to do my tweaks in phases to fully enjoy each one. After about 60 hours of break-in as Monitor recommends, I will try and remove the mesh grills that cover the tweeters, and see how that affects things.

Anyway, I just wanted to share my excitement over these Monitor Silvers and give them a very solid recommendation.

Greg

Redskin,

That is exactly the speaker I am looking for.
Do you find the speaker veiled at all or having a "british sound" to it. I have read many reviews saying they are a little laid back which it sounds like you dont find
Your description sounds just what I like

Redskin,
Glad to hear yo picked up th MA. I also swore I wouldn't buy into the break in thing but mine sound better too.

Hey Chris no need to worry about the British sound thing. There's definately no veil over the MA speakers. I have the silver s10 and LCR center and the detail and clarity is just incredible with tight punchy bass. I wanted a detailed speaker and these are detailed without being harsh. I've read reviews of the silver 8i series being laid back, but with the silver S and new silver RS lines MA removed the veil and kicked up the bass.

Fantastic speakers.

I don't know what a "British sound" is, but I do think the Monitor Audio Silver speakers are warmer than neutral. I wouldn't be surprised to see a bump of a couple off dB in the frequency response under 600Hz. I've found the vocal clarity coming out of the S8s to be superior to that coming out of the SLCR. But only very slightly so once everything is positioned similarly.

I do think that your room will make a significant difference in how you perceive any speaker. My room is 5000^3 feet and my front and center speakers are about 3' to 4' away from the front wall, measured at the driver position. The left speaker is about 6' away from the side wall, with a curtain about 2' away from the speaker. My right speaker is about 15' away from the other side wall, again with a curtain about 2' away from the speaker. I also have the front wall covered in curtains, and a panel trap on the back wall. I sit 12' away from the speakers, and also 12' away from the back wall. There is a riser and a second couch behind my primary listening position.

If sound is only coming out of one speaker, I can pinpoint it. My soundstage is also recognizably at the level of the drivers. I am using a Yamaha RX-V1400 for my pre-amp and an Outlaw Audio 7100 for my amp. Alesis DEQ830 equalizer sits between. In the beginning (when my sound was much worse) I was running only the RX-V1400.

I am not sure how much time I have on my Silver RS6, but I continue to love them more and more. And to think, these were actually recommended by my dealer, I was all set to buy some PSB T65, everyday I listen to my speakers I know I made the right decision.

I am amazed because I have heard the MA Silvers described as bright, neutral, and laid back. Most people usually associate a speaker with the same or similar characteristics. What does that say about the MAs? I think the Silvers offer much in the way of performance for the price.

It is a little bit difficult to see but here is a review that shows the measurements of the S6.
http://www.audio-ideas.com/reviews/l...silver-6s.html

I am a little surprised that MA discontinued the S2 and S10. They both seem to get alot of high praise.

Basically they're revealing either upstream componentry or the source. They are that resolving and neutral. In some ways I preferred the S6 to my current Veritas or OB1s. They are really a wonderful speaker for the money and far better than they should be.

Isn't that a good thing, to get more product than you paid for?

Anyone know how they compare to the Ascends?

Chris,

Just as others have said here, I wouldn't worry about it being too laid back. They are really detailed, but you need to listen for yourself. If you love the sound of Klipsch, these probably will sound a little laid back. Also, be careful when you read the reviews (I know that I read everyone that I can get my hands on). Here is an example. Stereophile has a review of the S2 which is for the most part very positive. There is one line that says "Over the Monitor Audios I kept going for a drier mix, with more of the cardioid feed apparent, than I did with the Dynaudio Confidence C4s I reviewed back in March. What sounded right on the S2s lacked enough envelopment over the more neutrally balanced Dynaudios " I am not sure what a cardoid feed even is, nor do I care to , and from that statement I am not sure which speaker has the advantage, but here is the point. The Confidence C4's are $16,000 a pair towers . C'mon now, why even make that comparison.

Bottom line, go listen. I think everyone is looking for not too bright, and not too laid back. What speaker delivers that to your ears should be the one you go with. Besides, auditioning is fun. In some ways I am sad the search is over. Oh well, maybe it is on to a subwoofer upgrade.

Greg

I am pretty sure the only reason they did not continue the S2 and S10 is economies of scale. These were the only two speakers in the line that had 7" drivers in them. By eliminating them, Every speaker has the same 1" tweeter and 6" drivers in different forms. It kinda sucks, but a reality in the business world. That was part of my thought process with going with the S2 over waiting for the RS1. I liked the sound of the larger bookshelf over the S1. Who knows, maybe the RS1 will sound even better than the S2, but I liked what I heard, and am happy with my decision.

Greg

Yeah, Monitor Audio's Silver line is a great value. Perhaps they have stopped the S2 and S10 products because they are planning on refreshing the line soon.

MA has already announced the speakers in their RS lineup, so if there is a 7" driver coming, it will be in another form.

The Gold reference series is undergoing a change next year I believe.

I really doubt the current S and RS sound that much different. I personally have not heard the RS but everyone in MA says they sound very close. MA seems to change their sound little from speaker to speaker.

Oh and about the cardoid. That is the main artery from the heart that goes to the brain.

Hey Redskin
Since you and I are both considering the MA SFX or Axiom QS8 surrounds I thought I'd let you know that my dealer has a pair of the MA SFX surrounds he's going to let me borrow for a weekend. I figure I'll order some Axiom QS8 surrounds too and see how the two compare.


Me too my S10 are just incredible speakers.

Legairre

Legairre,

That would be great. With the RS line coming out, I know we would be able to get the SFX at comparable, if not better pricing than the QS8. I would be curious to see if the QS8 timbre matches the Monitors. I believe the SFX might have deeper extension, so if you could also see if that makes a difference. Very cool.

Thanks
Greg

Has anyone paired thier MA silvers with an Arcam reciever? Originally I looked at the usual Denon, HK and Marantz but Arcam seems to get glowing reviews. Is 70-wpc enough to drive an RS6, RS1, and RS center?

s6's very bright, but s8's neutral to laid back. I think that the extra woofer takes the midrange over.

I've never heard the s6, but I did get to audition the s10 against the Paradigm Studio 100 v.3 side by side with teh same gear. To my ears the Paradigm was neutral while the s10 was very detailed by comparison, but some of you may call this bright. Too me bright means "ouch" while detailed or foward means the highs are extended without beign fatiguing and I can listen at high volumes without getting that headache I've gotten after listening to some speakers. I now own the s10 and find them to be very detailed, but never fatiguing.

The s10 has two 7" woofers and one 6" mid-range and is the big brother to the s8, but to my ears it's not a neutral or laid back speaker. If anything I'd say it's foward/detailed because voices(especially female), piano, guitars solos, aucoustic guitar all seem to extend beyond the rest of the instruments almost like they are close to me than the other instruments. The s10 seems to emphisis the higher frequencies without being painful.


So is the s6 an "ouch"?