Monitor Audio’s Bronze 100s shoot for the stars… and miss by a surprising margin.
Monitor Audio Bronze 100 : Read more
Monitor Audio Bronze 100 : Read more
Monitor Audio Bronze 100
- Thread starter What Hi-Fi?
- Start date
eoc69
Well-known member
Sounds like these speakers haven't been burnt in yet, new speakers need a minimum of 100 hours burn in. I be surprised if a company such as monitor auto would release such poor sounding speakers to market.
Dampyrino
Active member
I don't understand this review, the first hands on February was completely different, now reading this review sounds like this pair of speaker are really a mess. Is it really possible that monitor audio missed this generation of speakers?
manicm
Well-known member
manicm
Well-known member
Dampyrino
Active member
Is it possible that this review has been done without going over the 100 hours of speakers utilisation?
JR_
Active member
It´s possible that Monitor Audio decided not to advertise as much cause of the virus and we see the stars will drop cause these reviews are all about who keeps paying the site. There is many great products which has been given 3stars in the past. I feel sorry for people who pick products reading these. Go listen and compare speakers yourself lettin your ears be the final judge.
Hifi News had very different tone for Bronze 100 including measurements which shows fairly flat response nearfield.
Hifi News had very different tone for Bronze 100 including measurements which shows fairly flat response nearfield.
Dampyrino
Active member
Well, the truth is that I've already bought the monitor audio bronze 500 😀
Djdaveyj
Well-known member
I too have bought the Bronze 500 and it is fabulous. The whole speaker, not just the tweeter, took 3 days to run in. Before which yes, they lacked bass and had coarse treble. But now they have real energy and presence without being harsh at all and the bass is super tight and tuneful. I registered here to make this point, as has been said before, it's a shame that people miss out on a great speaker because of a misleading review. I would go to the HiFi News review for a more accurate picture. WHF's review is about the 100 but it shares the same tweeter and midrange/bass unit so I believe my comments are relevant. I use a vintage Krell amp and Michell TT with Meridian CD player. This is my first MA speaker for 15 years, previously using older speakers - such as Magneplanar, Martin Logan and Acoustic Energy - just to give some context. Go have a listen !
Dampyrino
Active member
Well, I like it too. I love the sound, it's airy and I like also the look of this speaker.
Audiot
Well-known member
Absolutely correct. These kind of reviews are empty subjective impressions. There's also ample possibility for conflict of interest to occur
It's easy to give any speakers any score nowadays when it is based on subjective experience, because all hi-fi speakers sound more or less good enough.This is why places like audiosciencereview are eating outlets like whathifi for breakfast when it comes to the value placed on their reviews. Sure WhatHi-Fi comes up first in google more often and will hit MA wallet hard, but if MA believes it has a good product, it should just send it to Audiosciencereview and should it do well on objective tests, the audio community will spread the truth and that review will trump this one.
WhatHiFi Go objective, with measurements or fade into obscurity.
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Audiot
Well-known member
Have you ever considered that your ears/brain simply grew accustomed to the sound? The only way to confirm this is with objective measurements when new and after 100 hours as you say.
There's never any conflict of interest, nor any effect on editorial from anything going on in the sales department. A cursory 'investigation' into finding any correlation would prove that.
I'm curious why you would say that, Audiot? Such a completely unfounded comment seems very unfair on a team of people who are just doing their jobs, and obviously it's potentially libellous.
I'm curious why you would say that, Audiot? Such a completely unfounded comment seems very unfair on a team of people who are just doing their jobs, and obviously it's potentially libellous.
tango69
Member
No it wasn't a burn in problem. That's the same what i feel abot M.A. Monitor Audio= Big marketing, with big margin, and in reality the used drivers are cheap chinese drivers with PLASTIC basket! And if 1 driver go bad, the new driver sold so much (in our country) you'd do better if you buy a new one. Don't misunderstood me i was a big M.A. fan, it was a good brand till the 2000's, I have an old R352 that was a good speaker, with big soul, but now it's not that... Nowtime the big margin (profit) which remains with the merchant/traders allows many test writers/reviewers to encourage them to form a good opinion of the product and thus encourage them to buy, but in the reality this profit, what's land by the traders they are saved on the quality of the product, (just take a look on the new gold series ribbon tweeter, fully plastic, the woofer basket also.) and thats not good for the buyers. Trendy outfit, big profit, from this profit they can "buy" good reviews, and cheap cinese plastic product. This is the new directive by the Monitor Audio. I personally newer buy again from this brand. If you buy one
the plastic will be sold to you at a gold price. And it should be realized that plastic has nothing to gain in the audio industry, for maximum design purposes, but not for the drivers/engine, what delivers to you the music. All of the drivers what's used after 2005 it look's like aluminium, but if you look it closer, you will se it's plastic. So its a big scam. Congrats for Whats HIFI
he had the courage to finally describe the reality about M.A.
B.R. ex M.A. fan.
the plastic will be sold to you at a gold price. And it should be realized that plastic has nothing to gain in the audio industry, for maximum design purposes, but not for the drivers/engine, what delivers to you the music. All of the drivers what's used after 2005 it look's like aluminium, but if you look it closer, you will se it's plastic. So its a big scam. Congrats for Whats HIFI
he had the courage to finally describe the reality about M.A.
B.R. ex M.A. fan.
tango69
Member
And to prove myself, here’s a fact about an mr2 speaker, which is the same as what’s on br2s, only without magnetic shielding. Specifically, this specimen broke the plastic basket from the small 300g weight of the magnet, and they wanted to give the replacement speaker as much as a new complete speaker could buy. I don't know if they did it in china when designing a carton drop test, or heat ageing tests, before the start of the production. I don’t think so because it also takes time and money, what is better to spend on the marketing. And if some fails are reported, the M.A. only disclaims responsibility.
stranger556
Member
Ladies and Gentlemen,
first, of all, I would like to express my gratitude to the "What HiFi?" community and the editorial team for years and years of their passionate work in helping consumers and enthusiasts to make educated decisions! I have been reading numerous reviews here - including the one above. I just could not remain silent and would like to contribute ...
Anyway, the moderate review did not stop me from aquiring Bronze 50, especially bearing in mind the initial review of Bronze 100. By the way, Bronze 100 recently got an award as the EISA best value bookshelf speaker for 2020-2021. It is what it is - very good value for the price - for example, in my opinion, Bronze 50 is one of the smallest speakers allowing bi-amping for this size and for this price. By the way, bi-amping works excellent on these and the cross-over seems to be very generous. The amount of details is amazing - again, there may be better speakers, but hardly for that price.
Two comments:
1) about the highs - once you remove the speaker grills away, the high frequency sound becomes substantially better. The grills dampen the highs, especially, sounds from instruments like traingles in the classical music. For me exactly this instrument is a good indicator of how the highs sound.
2) the 2nd generation of Bronze speakers has completely different chassis and mounts - perhaps plastic is involved there as well (hard to avoid plastic these days), but it is a completely different design, than the one (br2s) showed in the previous post. There is a German review of the speaker with more details on the construction - it is actually quite innovative: https://www.lowbeats.de/test-kompaktbox-monitor-audio-bronze-100/
Cheers!
first, of all, I would like to express my gratitude to the "What HiFi?" community and the editorial team for years and years of their passionate work in helping consumers and enthusiasts to make educated decisions! I have been reading numerous reviews here - including the one above. I just could not remain silent and would like to contribute ...
Anyway, the moderate review did not stop me from aquiring Bronze 50, especially bearing in mind the initial review of Bronze 100. By the way, Bronze 100 recently got an award as the EISA best value bookshelf speaker for 2020-2021. It is what it is - very good value for the price - for example, in my opinion, Bronze 50 is one of the smallest speakers allowing bi-amping for this size and for this price. By the way, bi-amping works excellent on these and the cross-over seems to be very generous. The amount of details is amazing - again, there may be better speakers, but hardly for that price.
Two comments:
1) about the highs - once you remove the speaker grills away, the high frequency sound becomes substantially better. The grills dampen the highs, especially, sounds from instruments like traingles in the classical music. For me exactly this instrument is a good indicator of how the highs sound.
2) the 2nd generation of Bronze speakers has completely different chassis and mounts - perhaps plastic is involved there as well (hard to avoid plastic these days), but it is a completely different design, than the one (br2s) showed in the previous post. There is a German review of the speaker with more details on the construction - it is actually quite innovative: https://www.lowbeats.de/test-kompaktbox-monitor-audio-bronze-100/
Cheers!
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Inetman
Member
I'm sure the What HiFi review of the Bronze 100 was an honest one. Looking at the speaker's specs the thing that glares out at me is the diminished thickness of the cabinet walls, from 18mm on the Bronze2 to 15mm on the Bronze 100.
I have not heard the Bronze 100 and cannot comment on how they sound, I depend on what HiFi (trusted to me) and other site's reviews before purchasing an item.
I wish Monitor Audio kept the Bronze2 speakers as they are excellent performers. Maybe they could have kept them as a Legacy type product in the Bronze lineup and maybe embellish them a bit with wood veneer instead of a wrap and maybe upgrade the cross over with better parts, or just keep them how they are ( that is best )
I have the MA Silver 100 which has an 8" driver and is supposed to be more upscale than the Bronze2 in sound and quality. I've listened to both side by side in my system. Though they are tonally similar, I always prefer the Bronze2 speakers. I have compared the Bronze2 to other bookshelf speakers I own (Klipsch, Dynaudio), NHT. The Bronze2 always stands out to me as a better performer.
I purchased the Elac B5.2 based on What HiFi review of them plus they are on sale now for around 200$. We will see how they go...
I have not heard the Bronze 100 and cannot comment on how they sound, I depend on what HiFi (trusted to me) and other site's reviews before purchasing an item.
I wish Monitor Audio kept the Bronze2 speakers as they are excellent performers. Maybe they could have kept them as a Legacy type product in the Bronze lineup and maybe embellish them a bit with wood veneer instead of a wrap and maybe upgrade the cross over with better parts, or just keep them how they are ( that is best
)I have the MA Silver 100 which has an 8" driver and is supposed to be more upscale than the Bronze2 in sound and quality. I've listened to both side by side in my system. Though they are tonally similar, I always prefer the Bronze2 speakers. I have compared the Bronze2 to other bookshelf speakers I own (Klipsch, Dynaudio), NHT. The Bronze2 always stands out to me as a better performer.
I purchased the Elac B5.2 based on What HiFi review of them plus they are on sale now for around 200$. We will see how they go...
XDM
Member
I came here to say that What Hi-Fi's review of these is correct.
After listening to it, I also wouldn't recommend the Monitor Audio Bronze 50 (Monitor Audio Bronze 6th generation) either. There's something wrong with the tuning of the Monitor Audio Bronze 6th gen.
The midrange is recessed and the treble is shrill/aggressive/harsh. I'm not the only one with that experience. Check out this YouTuber's comments under his video on the Bronze 100 it's bigger brother:
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2OFisqWtG8&feature=emb_title
(he calls them bright, sharp, shouty) .
I'll quote some of his comments which he left below the video review to clarify, which aligns perfectly with my own experience:
After listening to it, I also wouldn't recommend the Monitor Audio Bronze 50 (Monitor Audio Bronze 6th generation) either. There's something wrong with the tuning of the Monitor Audio Bronze 6th gen.
The midrange is recessed and the treble is shrill/aggressive/harsh. I'm not the only one with that experience. Check out this YouTuber's comments under his video on the Bronze 100 it's bigger brother:
(he calls them bright, sharp, shouty) .
I'll quote some of his comments which he left below the video review to clarify, which aligns perfectly with my own experience:
stranger556
Member
That's a very interesting and detailed review! The key question is whether you bi-amped (not bi-wire) those, because that's where these shine. I tried in both regimes and can say that the difference is really substantial and with bi-amping they sound way better.
XDM
Member
99% of consumer don't have the gear needed for true bi-amping. It's completely unrealistic to design a speaker that sounds overly bright/harsh for all but 1% of users.
mahobe
Active member
Hi all. This is my second post ever. I wanted to add my two cents on how reviews work on (some of) us. First of all: I am a 45 years old musician. However I do not consider myself "an audiophile". I have been listening to music since I was a kid in all sort of speakers. My main setup at home until a couple of weeks ago was a Yamaha aventage receiver with 30 years old American 12"woofer JBLs. I perfectly know this is not good for many here in this forum, and probably impacts the respect my opinion gets. However, I can tell you the sound is more than decent. I also have a studio with decent monitor speakers, and other monitors for live instruments. My colleagues have been playing in all sorts of speakers that I also have the chance to listen to over the years. In sum, I can easily realize when a speaker does not represent a piano or a guitar correctly. My first post in this forum was a few weeks ago asking for advice on what speakers to buy. I was considering buying Oberons 7, which I had heard in a shop after reading WHF reviews, which was my first contact with them. These speakers have been awarded consistently in this website for the last few years as "speaker of the year" in their price range. Their review is suprinsingly excellent. After I saw this I started to look for other reviews of these speakers. In general, all good. In parallel, I have to say also that the advice I received here was to change my "old" AVR receiver (bought four years ago), and that being an AVR receiver would not be good for the Oberons. I came back twice to the shop where I listened to the Oberons for the first time. I thought that something was wrong with me because I wanted to like them and to fit what I read here in WHF with what I was hearing. There was no way I could be convinced by them live. In particular, the "deep" bass was extremely confusing for me, totally unclear in terms of notes. But the definitive problem was in the mids, completely opaque. For some, this would mean "realistic". For me, it was just that: opaque, sad, or whatever. I was very frustrated because there were not alternatiives in this price range. When I was about to leave again, the owner (which wisely had no personal opinion on ANY speaker) offered me to listen to the Bronze 500. Long story short: they are at home now. These speakers have absolutely nothing to do with Oberons at any level. Build construction, weigh, and -above all- SOUND is way way better. I REALLY recommend those hesitating to go to a shop and have a listen. Bass is not only deep but defined, and when you put them 1:1 with Oberons you will realize that the latter (rated 5 stars by WHF and consistently speaker of the year) seem like a toy compared to Bronze 500. But not happy with my impression and still reading all the marvelous yearly comments from WHF about Oberons, and even having already bought the speakers, I went to other two shops to benchmark my impressions. They confirmed to me what I had realized by myself about the "confusing"bass in the oberons and my impression on mids. One of the shops even had the oberons and not the MA. I really cannot understand how the Bronze 100 (which I did not listen to) could be that different. By the way, my AVR drives them perfectly, though I have to say that they seriously change for better when you turn volume up. In other words, what I mean with this long story and the personal path I went through in this acquisition is: who are the reviewers we read? Where does money from these sites come from? How old are the colleagues that state opinions on forums? what kind of music do they listen to? Go and have a listen to the Bronzes. I have them, I compared them, and I feel I can speak: these are awesome speakers by themselves, and much more if you consider their price. Don't trust everything you read.
stranger556
Member
I perfectly agree with you - although I enjoy reading the reviews (and this website is really a good source for that), but I am always searching for the frequency response graphs and try to make an objective comparison. I do hope that this rather technical way of comparing speakers would become the golden standard - although the subjective (amusement) part and the opinions are still helpful in some cases.
And yes... two thumbs up for your questions on marketing - they are extremely relevant!
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