Monitor Audio Gold 50 issue/question

[Rendupm]

Hi, question related to amperage capability and bass output.

I have recently purchased MA Gold 50 to replace a Sonus Faber Principia 3. They are connected to my Marantz SR5012 in my 24sq living room, sitting in bookselves . In general these are great speakers better than SF Principia in most aspects but, I am missing bass. During the discussions with the shop owner before purchase, he claimed that I should not worry about bass/scale because these speakers where able to produce a big bass similar to my Principia 3. Well, I see a major difference in scale. The shop is very far away and I did not have the chance to test them.

Yesterday, I mentioned to the shop owner the issue about the scale. Well, his explanation was that my av receiver was not able to handle them because of amperage output (not Watts, but amperage). He is selling also an Anthem MX310 and he claims that if I change the amp, then I will get the bass that I want from these speakers. I seriously believe he is not correct, he is not trying to full me either but, he is just convinced that these MA Gold 50 really produce the bass he claims. I believe he never actually heard them because the box was sealed, brand new.

Questions.... are these statements correct regarding amperage output? If yes, is it possible to increase the amperage by setting my receiver output from 8ohm to 6ohms? Would I really see a significant change in bass/scale if I change the amp?

Any other thoughts, opinions or recommendations to improve bass? Since this was a good deal for about 700 pounds I would prefer to avoid returning them. I have seen that MA has discontinued this model and I have the impression that it is because people did not actually see improvement from silver 100 to Gold 50 exactly for the reason described.

 

[davidf]

Firstly, check wiring is in phase, and check your amplifier settings. If you use the amps EQ, you’ll need to re-run the auto setup for it to be working properly with your speakers.

Your receiver won’t really see much difference between 6 and 8 ohms.

Do you want my honest opinion? If that retailer sold you those speakers knowing the rest of your system and told you not to worry, then tells you the AV receiver isn’t good enough for the speakers when you go back to him with an issue, you’d be a fool to listen to them further.

 

[Rendupm]

Thanks, he did mention that I would only get the best of these with better amp (nothing new...). However, on the bass side he maintained that these speakers were able to produce significant bass/scale.

The question is really on the explanation regarding "amperage" output and its major effect on bass. I believe this would not be a game changer in this respect, would it? I mean. if I change amp, I will improve overall sound in many ways but probably not much in bass/scale which to me it is limited by the speaker itself. Is this right?

I usually listen to music in stereo mode without sub.

Any other ways to increase bass ? Isoacoustics supports, foam isolators, bi-amp, impedance amp settings, etc.?

 

[davidf]

I can’t speak for the dealer, and based on their way of doing things, I wouldn’t dare to, but I have heard many speakers in the past that lacked bass because the accompanying amplification just wasn’t good enough. In particular, the older KEF Reference range tended to lack bass when the amp wasn’t up to the job, which made a lot of people think the models were bright/forward/harsh etc. All it was was the lack of proper demonstration.

 

[MUSICRAFT]

these speakers were able to produce significant bass/scale.

Gold 50's do like strong amplification. We used our pair of Gold 50's a few weeks ago with Peachtree Audio's nova300 and the Gold 50's showed that they can punch above their weight.

Btw, and fwiw all things being equal i wouldn't have a two channel system without a subwoofer/s. Imo, a subwoofer is the most important component.

Anyway, why not ask if it would possible to have the MRX 310 sent to you to try in situ.

 

[Rapscallion]

Hi, question related to amperage capability and bass output.

I have recently purchased MA Gold 50 to replace a Sonus Faber Principia 3. They are connected to my Marantz SR5012 in my 24sq living room, sitting in bookselves . In general these are great speakers better than SF Principia in most aspects but, I am missing bass. During the discussions with the shop owner before purchase, he claimed that I should not worry about bass/scale because these speakers where able to produce a big bass similar to my Principia 3. Well, I see a major difference in scale. The shop is very far away and I did not have the chance to test them.

Yesterday, I mentioned to the shop owner the issue about the scale. Well, his explanation was that my av receiver was not able to handle them because of amperage output (not Watts, but amperage). He is selling also an Anthem MX310 and he claims that if I change the amp, then I will get the bass that I want from these speakers. I seriously believe he is not correct, he is not trying to full me either but, he is just convinced that these MA Gold 50 really produce the bass he claims. I believe he never actually heard them because the box was sealed, brand new.

Questions.... are these statements correct regarding amperage output? If yes, is it possible to increase the amperage by setting my receiver output from 8ohm to 6ohms? Would I really see a significant change in bass/scale if I change the amp?

Any other thoughts, opinions or recommendations to improve bass? Since this was a good deal for about 700 pounds I would prefer to avoid returning them. I have seen that MA has discontinued this model and I have the impression that it is because people did not actually see improvement from silver 100 to Gold 50 exactly for the reason described.

I don't know the full specifications of the equipment but I had a quick look and basically those types of amplifiers have no power capabilities.
Most quality Hi-Fi is for instance say you have some 8 ohm speakers that handle 100 Watts each then you will need to find an amplifier that can output at least 200 Watts into 4 ohms as most manufacturers quote this.

I would always recommend going much more but with the added risk of blowing up the system by going to maybe 400 Watts each and just not using all the power as I find that the amplifier has better control of the drivers.

It is all physics V=IR and W=IV and then you add music and it all becomes very complex as speakers are one of the few instances where you get negative resistance.

 

[Rendupm]

Thanks for all the comments and recommendations. In addition, I am also going to try to bi-amp with my current amp to see if it makes any difference. Otherwise, will consider changing amp at some point.

 

[gasolin]

Have you set the front to small on the amp?

 

[Rendupm]

Audyssey initially set as large but I changed to small with crossover 40hz.

Usually in all my previous speakers I could listen to music without sub which gave better performance since my sub is very basic. With these however I need to use stereo +sub mode.

 

[abacus]

Are you sure they lack bass , or is it just a more accurate bass, as its possible the bass on your old speakers was just flabby, thus giving the impression of more bass.
NOTE: Most bookshelf speakers are not designed to go on a bookshelf, (In spite of there description) but are designed to be stand mounted out in the room, so it may be worth doing this to see if this adds the bass you need.

Bill

 

[Rendupm]

All you are stating is correct, the bass is more accurate and not colored which in turn could make it sound thinner. But, I still feel something's missing specially at lower volumes.

Actually I really like everything else from them, so it is only a small "but" that I am trying to improve.

 

[gasolin]

Did you mention you have a subwoofer?

 

[Rendupm]

Yes, it is a very basic one, and it is stuck behind tv so it definitely shouldn't be the star of the show. I actually did not use it with my previous speakers in stereo mode, only for movies. Now I use it for both at 40hz crossover.

 

[gasolin]

Is it your first bi wireable speakers ? Do you use the metal between the terminal ?

In the video they sound bright, the balance isn't perfect, another thing is that they only go down to 55hz (might be -6db) mabye 40hz is to low evene when 55hz might be at -3db,, mabye try 50hz, crossover should be at -3 or -6 db from both speakers so the bass from both speakers won't enhance the frequency to much (or to little) .

Here they say If you know your speaker’s frequency range, set the crossover point roughly 10 Hz above the lowest frequency your speakers can handle cleanly (thats not at all 40hz with a pair of ma gold 50)

Tips for Setting the Crossover Frequency of a Subwoofer

How to set the right crossover frequency between a speaker and subwoofer to achieve the smoothest sound possible.

www.svsound.com

Second video still bright but better bass than video 1

If speakers are bright you need to turn it a bit down since the highs can make a speaker sound bright and thin even when the bass is good, there simply is an unbalance between the highs and lows

Have you considered trying thin cable for the highs and thick for the lows like QED xt25 for the highs and Xt40 for the lows or even supra classic 2.5 for the highs and classic 6.0 for the lows

Can you borrow an amp with better control higher current like Elac Elex-R, Hegel with above 100 watt pr channel,rotel RA-1572 or mabye a Marantz PM7000N

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aza6B5X-Otc

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=msJ4Z_RVEno

 

[Rendupm]

Thanks for all info and recommendations. Just one remark, please note that your first video is on silver series a bit different.

Regarding cables, I will go little by little starting biamp with cables I have.

I will also try changing crossovers as suggested. However, it is important also to take into account the Audyssey measurements result. This sets crossover based on the actual reading of system 's output vs theoretical frequency response. In my case it actually set them as large "full band" so I changed to 40hz. Next step in my amp is 60hz. I can try this and see if it works better.

The amp option will be my last resort but will be in the list. I may try to borrow one from a friend.

Thanks again for all the tips, it looks like it's going to be a fun weekend..

 

[Hawkwind16]

Monitor audio gold 50s are great but do lack bass

 

[gasolin]

Consider these speakers

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3wt1JqQHpE8

 

[Ingres3225]

I’ve got the MA Silver 100s and was disappointed with their lack of bass at first but, after a month or so, they suddenly started to give me what I wanted- it really was an incredible difference!
So my advice would be to give it a bit more time before you change anything...