Monitor Audio Silver 300 first impressions..

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by Thouston, Oct 13, 2017.

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  1. Thouston

    Thouston Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Mattoon, IL
    Monitor audio did something magical with drivers of the Silver series.

    For less than $2000. a pair they are very good.

    Highs are extended and sweet. The speaker is detailed without being too analytical.


    The mid range is fantastic. Voices are as good as my LS50’s


    The bottom end is full with more control than the Silver 8’s.


    Delivers full range tower impact and scale with stunning resolution and transparency.


    The Silver 300 is a very musical speaker. No brightness at all.


    I could listen to this speaker for hours, with no listening fatigue.


    As much as I loved the Silver 8’s; the Silver 300’s are better in every way.

    You need to hear this speaker.
     
  2. Davey

    Davey NP: Portishead ~ Portishead (1997)

    Location:
    SF Bay Area, USA
    Yea, based on early reports, they are very nice speakers, MA has been making some great speakers in all of their lines for a few years now. I have some Gold monitors, but looking to upgrade to the Gold 300 series at some point, unless I find an amazing deal on a set of Platinum speakers (though the monitors really fit my system and life just about perfectly right now, so I'm not in any rush). The trouble in the US is they get quite a bit more expensive, like many UK products, they are a relative bargain in their homeland, not so much over here where they have to compete in a slightly higher price range. But still, you get a lot of highly engineered speaker value in those packages, and fit & finish is always first rate.
     
    Last edited: Oct 13, 2017
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  3. Thouston

    Thouston Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Mattoon, IL
    I would love to have the Platinum's, but I am not prepared to spend 5 figures for them. I can easily live with the Silver 300's for the next few years. They are a fantastic value at $2000.
    Note: They will overpower a small room. They are a medium to large room speaker.
     
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  4. Davey

    Davey NP: Portishead ~ Portishead (1997)

    Location:
    SF Bay Area, USA
    Yea, I know, I'm not in that > $10000 speaker bracket either, and the new PL II series are even more expensive still, but you can sometimes find a nice used PL200 set for under $5000, and they should get more plentiful as time goes on. That's still a little above what I want to spend on speakers right now, but I could easily do it. Or a used Gold 300 set for maybe $3000. My room really isn't setup well enough for it right now, but I can see moving up to some nice MA floorstanders in the not-so-near future. I've become quite enamored of the ribbon tweeters on my Gold speakers, so there's that too, but until this set of MA speakers I've always been a dome tweeter fan, be it Focal or DynAudio, or a host of others. The newer Platinum II series has moved away from the pure ribbon tweeter and now use a Heil-type Air Motion Transformer (AMT) tweeter (I had a set of Heil tweeters on a set of speakers way way back, they were pretty novel sounding at the time). MA terms their improved version a micro-pleated diaphragm (MPD). That type of design seems to be making sort of a comeback in the high end. The new ones on the MA speakers are speced out to -6dB at 100K, with gobs of power handling and efficiency.


    BTW, which finish did you get?

    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: Oct 13, 2017
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  5. Thouston

    Thouston Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Mattoon, IL
    The black wood grain.
     
  6. Slippers-on

    Slippers-on Forum Resident

    Location:
    St.Louis Mo.
    You know I believe you about the Monitor audio. And here's why. Was at a buddy's house a few weeks ago who is a dealer. He had a party and had about 5 sets of speakers we all swapped in and out. The amp and preamp was one of the new Levinson preamps and a set of the latest Mono Block amps. the speakers where the KEF Reference 5, KEF R900, KEF LS50 Powered monitors, A Pair of Audio Physics Avanti speakers (Germany) and the star of the show, a pair of Monitor Audio PL200 II. The Monitors where that good. Yes...to my ears and others who where there, the Monitor Audio won in the sound department.
     
  7. Davey

    Davey NP: Portishead ~ Portishead (1997)

    Location:
    SF Bay Area, USA
    The PL200 II are amazing speakers, though kind of pricey at $11,495 retail in the US. Not too hard to find some good deals, there are some around now, maybe save a couple or three thousand, but still kind of pricey :)
     
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  8. Slippers-on

    Slippers-on Forum Resident

    Location:
    St.Louis Mo.
    Yes they where absolutely fabulous. Like I said, they where better than all the speakers we had that night, including the Kef Reference. But get this, a buddy who was also there that night invited me to his place a week later. Now I had been to his music room lots of times, but this time he had a surprise for me. I was just blow away by the sound I heard...It was much better than the week before. He had a new DAC....one that's not on the market yet. Lukasz sent him his new "Pacific" DAC that's still in the BET mode to listen to and write a review about. Not even priced yet...my buddy Steve seems to think its going to cost $40K because he said its made to compete with the DCS DAC's and others on that level. Oh I forgot to mention.....Lukasz is the founder and engineer of LampizatOr. So Steves rig consist of "The Dude" Tube preamp....the LampizatOr "Pacifica" DAC, (of course tubes) (before that the LampizatOr Golden Gate DAC) and the Power amp was a pair of CODA mono block SS amps..(just amazing amps) So it was a hybrid system. Speakers are a pair of Legacy Audio "V" speakers with the Wavelet and he also had 6 JL Fantom subs..3 stacked on each side of the left and right speaker. And they blended in absolutely nicely...no boom but just blended in to give that little extra richness to the music. You really couldn't tell they where on. Now that system is one to just sit and listen to for days without getting out your sweet spot.

    But this thread is about the Monitor Audio speakers...and yes they are wonderful speakers....I head the new PL200 II for my self and yes..its a speaker one can buy and say to hell with everything else and say I'm done buying speakers for the rest of my life! They are that good...the new Monitor Audio PL200 II are game changers...so I'm sure the other Monitors are fine speakers as well.
     
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  9. Davey

    Davey NP: Portishead ~ Portishead (1997)

    Location:
    SF Bay Area, USA
    Well put, and I guess we are sending this thread on a bit of a tangent, my fault for bringing up all the other Monitor Audio series, and I apologize to @Thouston for the derailment, but there hasn't been much MA talk around here and they do seem to be making some very nice speakers... my speakers are a few years out of date, 2013 build, but still very nice sounding ... this picture from just a few minutes ago, Broadcast sounding very alluring, as always ...

    [​IMG]
     
  10. loudwizard

    loudwizard Well-Known Member

    Location:
    Texas
    I'd definitely like to hear these as I enjoy my Silver 8s greatly.
    Silver 300s are 8ohm vs the 4 of the Silver 8s...crossovers must have been fairly radically reworked, yeah?

    I think the new Silver series took a step back in the looks department, though - not a fan of the aesthetics of the midrange/tweeter teardrop thing.
     
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  11. Thouston

    Thouston Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Mattoon, IL
    [QUOTE="

    I think the new Silver series took a step back in the looks department, though - not a fan of the aesthetics of the midrange/tweeter teardrop thing.[/QUOTE]

    I thought the same until I took delivery. The teardrop looks much better in person, than the pictures.

    If you enjoy the Silver 8's, you will love the 300's. I do anyhow.
     
  12. Helom

    Helom Forum member

    Location:
    U.S.
    I'm curious, how do the Silver 8s and 300 compare to your Tekton Impacts?
     
  13. Thouston

    Thouston Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Mattoon, IL
    I can't knock the Impacts. They deliver tremendous tower impact and scale. Great slam. They fall a little short on the resolution and
    transparency area compared to the 300's . Also the Silver 300's are better at imaging. I think I made a mistake not getting the upgrade crossover caps and wiring with the Impacts. My next speaker will either be the Impacts, or Double Impacts with the upgraded crossover and wiring. I will definitely be keeping the Silver 300's though.
     
  14. Thouston

    Thouston Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Mattoon, IL
    What I like to do Helom, is own two pair of good speakers. I'll put a pair up in the attic, and listen to the other pair for a few months. When I start to get tired (bored) with the pair in the system, I'll swap them out. It is like getting a new pair of speakers, since I forget how the attic pair sound over the months. I love getting new audio gear, and it saves me from having to buy speakers. I know; It is kind of weird, but it works for me.
     
  15. Slippers-on

    Slippers-on Forum Resident

    Location:
    St.Louis Mo.
    Nice!
     
  16. timind

    timind phorum rezident

    I don't find the practice of swapping in different speakers odd at all. I've been doing the same thing for years. It's a way to keep things interesting and fun.
     
  17. Helom

    Helom Forum member

    Location:
    U.S.
    I somewhat do the same with my two systems.
     
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  18. SquishySounds

    SquishySounds Yo mama so fat Thanos had to snap twice.

    Location:
    New York
    MA silver line isn’t a UK product
     
  19. Dhreview16

    Dhreview16 Forum Resident

    Location:
    London UK
    I still like my Silver 8s, which have lasted well. I heard the new range a couple of weeks back when they were doing a joint promo with Roksan gear. They seem competively priced over here, especially around the £1250 or so price.
     
  20. Davey

    Davey NP: Portishead ~ Portishead (1997)

    Location:
    SF Bay Area, USA
    Do you mean that it is designed for another market, or are you referring to the place of manufacture, which I think is China for most of their products?

    I did a quick internet search before posting that comment, and the Silver 300 in this thread seems to be widely available at UK outlets for £1250 price with VAT, which would be $1328 USD without VAT, so I presume that is the UK retail price. But from the limited places I find in the US posting prices, it seems the retail price here is around $2000, which is also the price the OP referenced. So all I intended to say is that the price for this speaker is much more competitive in their home market than in the USA, but maybe that doesn't extend to the old Silver series?
     
  21. SandAndGlass

    SandAndGlass Twilight Forum Resident

    I don't think its weird.

    I use my front main towers for both HT and Stereo.

    I have enough space on each side of the TV for two sets of towers.

    I placed an A/B speaker switch box on top of one of the towers, a push of a button selects the other pair of speakers.

    The current pairs are, Polk Audio LSiM707's and Zu Audio Omen Definition's. The 707's are for listening to laid back sound, while the Omen Definitions are more dynamic and forward.

    When ever I need a change, depending on the mood that I am in or to better match a source, I just push a button.

    Besides, the Polk's weigh in at 99-lbs/ea and the Zu's weigh 75-lbs/ea., I doubt that I would relish lugging these things up and down stairs.
     
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  22. Microbiologycory

    Microbiologycory New Member

    Location:
    Austin TX
    Can someone who owns the Monitor Audio silver 300’s weigh in on if a Simaudio Moon 240i integrated would be enough to power them to reasonable levels? (I have my moon volume limited to about 70db anyway) I bought the Moon used after the Whathifi review gave it glowing reviews, and it is in fact, as good as they say (currently using with MA RX-6 and it’s a pretty good match). I’be been trying to pick up a pair of Spendor A4 as this was the review pairing...but these new MA 300s seem like an easy load (and the Moon amps are underrated for power) and I’m looking for a little fuller sound than I’m getting from the RX-6 (assuming my amp is fully broken in with manufacturer recommended 400 hrs use) thanks for the help.
     
  23. jl151080

    jl151080 Senior Member

    Location:
    Bristol, UK
    I’m having a demo of the 300s at the weekend in my home.

    Is there any particular music you recommend that show them off well?

    I am concerned that they would overpower my room, but i had a consultation with the hi fi store guy at home today, and he recommended the Monitor Audios.
     
  24. SquishySounds

    SquishySounds Yo mama so fat Thanos had to snap twice.

    Location:
    New York
     
  25. jl151080

    jl151080 Senior Member

    Location:
    Bristol, UK
    Thanks, though I should have stated i’m limited to stuff I have on CD (eg Beatles / solo; kinks; Who; Queen; Doors; Pink Floyd etc)
     
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