Monitor Audio RS5

[Cypher]

Hello,

any opinions on this speaker ? There are not much reviews on the net. Did What Hifi review these ? Any opinions are welcome 🙂

 

[Anonymous]

Never seen RS5's but I can testify to the RS6's - had mine for a couple of months now I guess and very very impressed.

 

[Cypher]

I heard good things about the RS6. I can't find any reviews of the RS5 on the net. My room is not so big, I was planning to buy the BR5 but the RS5 look so much better. I hope they sound better too.

 

[Anonymous]

[quote user="Cypher"]
I was planning to buy the BR5 but the RS5 look so much better. I hope they sound better too.

[/quote]

You can count on that for sure! Ofcourse they'll sound better, would be a nice choice since they are nice and small.

 

[Cypher]

Nobody has any experience with RS5 ?

 

[Anonymous]

I've had mine for about 5 months now and I am more than happy with them. I too have a small listening room (11' x 14.5') and find that they suit this space perfectly. I didn't even bother listening to the RS6's as I think that they would have been too boomy in such a small room having experienced booming issues with my previous speakers (Tannoy Revolution R3's) and the fact that they cost £150.00 more was another determining factor! I did however demo the RS5's at home which I would recommend to everybody and was amazed at how much better they sounded at home compared to the shop demo which was in a room twice the size and driven by different equipment to mine. During the demo I compared these to the Kef IQ5's and MA BR5's and found the RS5's represented a more open, detailed and mature sound with a rythmic tight base. I also believe that they are cosmetically superior to the BR5's (Real wood veneer/quality base and quality easily adjustable floor spikes). I cannot understand why the BR5's seem to be taking all the accolades when the RS5's are available at pretty much the same price (Paid £400.00 form Sevenoaks sound and vision). The only downside to these speakers and perhaps this applies to all MA speakers is that they take ages to "burn-in" 100 hours+.

I hope this helps but again would stress that a home demo is a must.

Partnering equipment.

Marantz CD63 MKII K I Signature.

Marantz PM66SE K I Signature.

QED Silver anniversary (Bi-wired)

Kimber PJB interconnect.

 

[Cypher]

Many thanks Harwood 🙂 One question ; are they very critical about positioning ? Do they boom when you place them to close to the wall ? I have the BR2 right now and want floorstanders now. I was looking at the Kef IQ5 and the MA BR5 but now the RS5 have my attention. They look so damn good 🙂 Thanks again.

 

[Anonymous]

Hi. I just got the RS1 this morning. Heard them along with the dynaudio 42s and the epos m5. The RS1 are amazing speakers. Have nice bass (not booming) and plenty of detail.

 

[Anonymous]

Hi Cypher. I have mine placed about 35-40cm's from the rear walls slightly "toed-in" and firing down the length of the room which as previously stated is 14.5m long (approx) and have no bass booming issues at all and I also live in a newly built house with part plasterboard walls which is not ideal for room accoustics. You can always use the foam bungs provided to block the rear ports should you have to position them right up against the wall, however in my situation I have no need too and prefer not too as this tends to thin the sound. The Kef IQ5's are front ported which allows them to be placed a lot closer to the rear walls and the BR5's are both rear and front ported so probably would not offer any more positioning flexibility than the RS5's. Apart from the fact that I considered them to be musically superior to the other two they also "fitted the bill" cosmetically i.e. small in stature (only 83 cm high when the plinth is fitted and also not very wide or deep) and with a real wood veneer available in many finishes they really do look the "Dogs b's). I could have gone for the RS1's but would have had to factor in the price of stands which could have made them more expensive than the RS5's overall. To me the RS5's offer the perfect solution between a stand mounting speaker and a large florstanding speakers in as much as the sound is tight and detailed but with a bit of extra body. Get down to your local dealer and get a pair on loan to try in your room, this is going to be the only way too be entirely sure. If you do decide to buy them then perhaps I should be contacting Monitor Audio for some commission!!!!!

Good luck.

 

[Anonymous]

Hi Harwood, you mentioned that MAs take a long time to 'burn in', about 100 hours. Can I understand that it is only after the speakers have 'burn in' that they show their true colours. How then can we ascertain how good they really are during an audition before they have 'burnt in'?

Question for draj2K: Glad to know that you auditioned the MA RS1 and EPOS M5. So how do they compare? And, what kind of music to you listen mostly to?

Thanks!

 

[Anonymous]

The RS1 i thought were a lot lot better than the M5. They had much more bass and detail. At the shop i used an oasis cd as i did not bring my own. But i normally listen to hip hop and rnb. When i connected the rs1 to my amp at home they sounded awesome.

 

[Anonymous]

Hi Thai. Any respectable dealer should ensure that any speaker being auditioned should have been adequately "burnt-in" otherwise they could be losing a potential sale. Many speakers that are used for auditions have been in the shop for a fair while and have been used for demonstration purposes hence are adequately "burnt-in". One way to be totally sure is to take them home for a week, at least that way you'll know yourself that they have had time playing in your company. A good dealer should always allow a home demo. My speakers sounded a bit different straight out of the box compared to the shop's demo pair so I just let them play continuously until the sound took shape. Not a massive difference, but noticable.

Cheers.

 

[Peptdi]

Have had mine for the best part of 4 years, and still not run in as never get a chance to listen to them.