Monitor audio gold gx 50 vs what

[newlash09]

Hello all..I have been searching for speakers to pair with my bluesound power node for quiet some time now. And after traveling 280 kms today. Managed to do some auditions. It involved monitor audio silver 6, gold gx 50 and dali sensor 5. I came away impressed with the tight bass and crystal clear highs of the gold gx 50.

Now to audition other speakers from qacoustics, especially the concept 20 & 40, or b&w 685 s2 or kef L's 50. I might have to travel similar distance.

Since I am impressed with the gold gx50's, can I buy them straight away. Or will I miss something by not auditioning the other above mentioned speakers. Thanks for your time and advice..

 

[CnoEvil]

Or will I miss something by not auditioning the other above mentioned speakers. ..

My advice....always audition whenever possible. You should no more buy Hifi without hearing it, than you should buy art without seeing it.

 

[TomSawyer]

Or will I miss something by not auditioning the other above mentioned speakers. ..

The answer will either be yes or no!

I can't answer the question for you because our taste is different and so I can't know which speaker you will think is best.

Regardless, if you can you should audition the others. If you do end up with the GX50s don't look at it as a waste of effort but more a way to avoid nagging doubts as you listen to your lovely new speakers.

 

[nopiano]

The replies above are seconded. It is worth the effort!

 

[adamrobertshaw]

I auditioned my GX50 against some Proacs but that was about five years ago.

If I went back to the same dealer ship now the competition they stock would still be Proac (based on driver size and price).

But I've learned some lessons about the GX50.

They need crisp current from a quality amp, room to breath, take a while to burn-in and to my ears are better single wired.

 

[Leeps]

Much of this is subjective because it's down to personal taste, but after about 6 months of living with them, I couldn't learn to like the GX50's. Believe me I wanted to, because they looked stunning in the flesh. First impressions were very favourable, but as I listened to more and more music I knew well, I realised they somehow managed to make everything feel like it was happening in the next room, rather than the one I was in (when compared to other combos I'd owned previously). Formerly exciting tracks sounded lifeless and 'meh'. And they couldn't get piano timbre right either. The more I listened to them the more faults I seemed to discover (not in their build quality mind you, which was awesome - they are a truly beautiful speaker to behold).

The same was true with movie Blurays: I had the partnering GXC150 centre speaker, which again was a magnificent speaker to look at, but sadly managed to suck all the excitement out of movie soundtracks. My former MA Radius R270HD floorstanders / R250HD centre were far superior at this particular task, in movie soundtracks and multi-channel music.

My personal feeling is that with the Golds, you're paying for components that may be expensive to make (the ribbon tweeter), but actually don't sound anywhere near as exciting, dynamic and timbre-wise, as accurate (especially with piano) as their cheaper Silver siblings. My choice would be the Silver 1's every time. My ideal MA speaker would be the GX50 cabinets (to look at) with the Silver 1 mid/bass driver and tweeter (to enjoy listening to).

In the end I bought the Ruarks in my signature, 8-10 year old speakers which outgun the GX50's in dynamics, timing, naturalness, voices and excitement despite the fact that their comparatively simple components were much cheaper to make and even new, would have been around a third to a half of the price of the MA golds. Which is why I'd heartily recommend demonstrating as many speakers as you can before pulling the trigger, and never assume that more expensive must be "better", because so often it just isn't the case.

But if YOU like them, go for it, but just audition plenty of other speakers first.

 

[abacus]

The Gold series were completely updated in 2015, therefore any reviews or observations before this will not be relevant.

Ribbon tweeters are quite popular in studio monitors, as they provide quite a smooth uncoloured flat response, which can feel unnatural when compared to ordinary tweeters, however if you compare the sound to the real instruments that they are reproducing, they normally sound more accurate than normal tweeters. (Hence probably the reason you found them brilliant in the test)

As has been said above, always listen first though.

Hope this helps

Bill

 

[newlash09]

Will surely take the effort to audition the remaining speakers as advised. Have already lined up KEF for tomorrow. Thanks again.

 

[Andrewjvt]

I just want to add that although the gold 50s sounded good to you - they may have just sounded the best out of a bad bunch of speakers. Tou need to compare to other brands in the same room really.

I dont want to put you off monitor audio but ive also found them bad speakers.
To me the gold 50 i listened to at superfi compared to kef r series also sounded like a blanket was over the speaker.

But thats just my opinion it should not mean anything as sound is different to everyone ao go with what your ears tell you.

 

[plastic penguin]

I get really pissed off by the Monitor Audio bashing they get on here. A few years ago, many had said the older Silver range could sound bright and edgy. Now the newer Gold ranges sound veiled. Really? How can a large manufactuer, who've been making speakers for 40 years, get it so wrong and be at polar opposites of the frequency range?

When I purchased the Pulse people (a few on here and dealers) were suggesting my RS6s and Leema couldn't work as a musical whole. Wrong! Wonderful combo.

I have to concede, though, MAs need good amplification to hear them at their best, and as I haven't heard the OP's amp I couldn't say whether it would do justice to the GX50s.

Heard the GX100s with a Cyrus set-up at a dealers and it sounded quite impressive, but it was in isolation. How they'd stack up with my amp, again, couldn't say with any real confidence. That's me just being very honest.

With the right amp, however, MAs will sing as good as any speaker within their respective price bracket.

Whinge over.

 

[TomSawyer]

Just to contribute to the balance of views, I have MA Golds (300s) as my hifi speakers and I love them. I know better than to recommend something just because I like it, but they're definitely worthy of consideration in anyone's shortlist.

To add insult to injury, I drive them with Cambridge Audio electronics - again often maligned both individually and as a combo. The veiled comment doesn't resonate with me at all. If I was to criticise them it would be that they expose poor recordings for what they are but in return dazzle with good ones.

 

[Andrewjvt]

The gold 50s sounded veiled in direct comparison to the kef r100s using a roksan kandy k2 amp in the demo room at superfi in birmingham. The 2 shop assistants also mentioned it even though i liked monitor audio.

At that stage i liked monitor audio speakers and did not know about kef r series.

I do not think that the monitor audio gold would sound veiled in isolation though just in the same way the kef r700s sounded veiled to me in comparison to atc scm 40s

 

[CnoEvil]

....the same way the kef r700s sounded veiled to me in comparison to atc scm 40s

This I can easily believe and not just because of the price difference.

I don't think there is any speaker around its price that gives such speed accuracy and detail....but...

The downside is that the rest of the system has to be up to scratch, including the Source. Your good recordings will never have sounded better and your bad recordings will be shown up for what they are.

If this is what you are after, there is no better place to put your money, but it isn't for everyone.

 

[Andrewjvt]

....the same way the kef r700s sounded veiled to me in comparison to atc scm 40s

This I can easily believe and not just because of the price difference.

I don't think there is any speaker around its price that gives such speed accuracy and detail....but...

The downside is that the rest of the system has to be up to scratch, including the Source. Your good recordings will never have sounded better and your bad recordings will be shown up for what they are.

If this is what you are after, there is no better place to put your money, but it isn't for everyone.

Yes what i love some will hate and amp will play an important role also.

Over the weekend in london i had a chance to listen to devilalet phantams in stereo and to me it sounded like a car with the boot open at the beach. Now some people say they think it sounds great. The expert 800(or 200) was a different sound altogether though.

All only my opinion to be taken with a pinch of salt.