tntarheel

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
1 to 3 months

Visitors rate this review
3.00 of 5, 1.00 votes

Price Paid:  $700.00 from audiogon

Summary:
wow. for the $$ these are hard to beat. And the price value is the context of my review- remember these are not Paradigm or Magnapan for another $1K or the "furniture models" like meridian or vienna for $10K more. I ran these with Outlaw 950 and Outlaw 750, Oppo DV-980, and with and without Klipsch RW 10D sub.

So- I have listened to a lot of speakers at friends and was a live sound and studio engineer in another life in another galaxy far far away. I still visit my local retailer once a month just to hang out and listen to cool stuff (Lexicon, Paradigm, Rotel, Anthem). However- my own system before these was Klispch KG 5- no high end audiophile stuff but not chopped liver either.

These speakers are awesome. They have a rich midrange with a lot of detail. I am hearing instrument decays, reverb decays, and acoustic resonance that I have never heard before. Female voices (Bonnie Raitt, Kate Bush, Eva Cassidy) are particularly clear and focused without harshness. Male vocals (Sting, Peter Gabriel, Lyle Lovette) are clear and articulate w/o any "honk".

Treble is really awesome too. Crisp and snappy but not "sizzle". Maybe the bump at 21 khz fits my abused ears but they sound really smooth and delicate. Again tight snappy hi hat work is audible w/o the "sizzle" of some artificial systems.

Bass is also astonishing. Listed down to 38HZ they sound lower- which is a testament to the musicality rather than artificial "tuning" at a low frequency that dominates no matter what note is present. As a matter of fact, I barely need my sub- only for the very lowest octave. However, placement is crucial- I have mine too close, by necessity of my room to the rear wall. This produces a considerable bump in the 140 hz range. The port plugs help but another 10" from the wall would be perfect, rather than the 2db roll off on the pre/pro.

lest you think these are only cool for jazz or light rock. I also loved the tight bass drum punch in Tool's "10,000 Days" and the dense recording of Mars Volta's "Bedlam in Goliath" is MUCH more articulate than before. Other big rock records like U2's "... atom Bomb" and Rush's ultra dense recording "Snakes and Arrows" sound better and "airy-er" Even a primarily acoustic recording I assisted on, Doc Watson's Down South" instantly reminded me of the control room and the "glitches" we "covered up"! Classical music (Dvorak, Husa, Fennell) had great separation and depth.

Soundstage is very good- if not great, a little toe in helps. I love the plinths and adjustable feet- perfect height/angle is there.

Sensitivity is good- no probs driving this with my outlaw 750

Only warning- these NEED about 75 hours to burn in. they sounded good out of the box but stiff, brittle, and lifeless compared to today.

Again at this price an absolute steal. I am happy and will not look for any more upgrades to the fronts.

Strengths:
frequency response/accuracy

bass

adjustments

PRICE!

Weaknesses:
placement is crucial

burn in time required

Similar Products Used:
Klipsch KG 5, KG 3.2, EV Sentry 100a

tntarheel

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
Less than 1 month

Price Paid:  $700.00 from AudioGon

Summary:
Everything I say here is ion the context of the price and value. I'm sure a pair of Paradign's or Revel's for another grand would sound better, and the marquee 10K speakers would LOOK better too. I also am rating these for music only as that is my primary mode. But for 700 bucks, these are a steal. Awesome speakers. I have them bi wired with good cable (BlueJean) to an Outlaw Audio 750 with Outlaw 950 pre/pro and an OPPO DV-980H.

They really have a crisp top end which complement my jaded and abused ears (years in rock bands, live sound engineer, & studio work). The mid range definition, especially on female voices is really spectacular, and the bass is amazing at this price & size.

I heard natural instrumental and voice and reverb decay that I not heard before on my Klipsch KG 5s. Breaths, acoustic ambiance, overtones on drums, etc. that were missing before. I suddenly realized snappy (as opposed to brittle) top end on Peter Gabrie's "So", in your face acoustic realism on Lyle Lovett's Pontiac, and on Doc Watson's "Down South" I heard things I hadn't heard since I was in the studio 20 years ago.

Even more amazing is the bottom end. They are spec'd at 38hz but sound deeper. I bypassed my Klipsch RW10D and barely missed it.Moreover they aren't really tubby and artifical at one frequency to get that illusion. It IS critical to place these guys well. Mine are really too clsoe to the rear wall and as a result have some slight boom at 130 hz. The ports plugs helped a little but I ended up rolling off 2 db with the pro/pro.

They also beneift from burn in. I have about 100 hours now and they sound much more pleasing and accurate than they did for the first 25 hours. The top end was a bit stale at first and the midrange was dry as well. Now they sound incredible.

Strengths:
mid range detail, bass extension, HF smoothness (to my ears)

Weaknesses:
Placement (rear walls) is pretty crucial, burn in time required.

Similar Products Used:
Klipsch Kg5s, Klispch Kg 3.2s, Yamaha NS10.

steelhead52

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
3 Months to 1 year

Price Paid:  $754.00 from New Home Systems, Co

Summary:
I bought the silver series Monitor Audios including the RS6 Towers, RS-FX rear effects, RS-LCR Center, and RSW-12 Sub as a solution to support both Home Theater and critical listening. Initially, I was confused by the plethora of speakers in this price range. Fortunately my son who is a musician with his own studio and has experience installing systems 10 times this price range was able to steer me in the right direction. He dragged me to several specialty shops where I got to hear the best of the best of non custom speakers. I evaluated B&W, Paradigm, Klipsch, KEF, and many, many others including the MA RS8 silvers, Gold and Platinum series. While all the speakers I listened to sounded really good, I kept coming back to the Silver series MA RS6's as having the most realistic bass and mid, with non-fatiguing and natural highs, for the money. I seldom use the sub when listening to CD's except for some movie soundtracks and some classic rock. But for classical and Jazz, all I can say is wow - so natural. Vocals are truly outstanding including high female vocals. The speakers are now fully broken in with about 300 hours on them and they sound great. I'm using a Denon receiver and the towers are bi-wired and bi-amped. I'm using fairly inexpensive Silver Sonic cabling that I'm very pleased with. I'm no expert, but since these are 6 ohm speakers, the extra current seems to really bring these speakers to life. I know when you drop a couple grand on something, most people will want to put a positive spin on their decision. I can only say that is one time where I feel that quality, value, and performance exceeded my expectations. After all was said and done, my son paid me the highest compliment considering the equipment he is used to by saying "Dad, for the money, I would have set up a system exactly like yours". High praise coming from the kid.

freediver

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
1 to 3 months

Visitors rate this review
3.59 of 5, 17.00 votes

Price Paid:  $675.00 from audiogon.com

Summary:
First off I want to address the 2 negative reviews given here.It's obvious that "bubbles" was hearing a pair of these with little or no playing time on them.These speakers do not even START to perform until they have AT LEAST 200 hours on them & MOST definintly sound brittle & sloppy until that time.As for the other reviewer hearing a midbass hump,I can only surmize they were not set up properly.Yes,If they are too close to rear or side walls then midbass is exagerated.I have this problem because mine are set up in a VERY small room.Installing the port bungs in the rear port cured this problem ricky tic!My system consists of a Pioneer Elite VSX-82 surround receiver & a Denon DVD 1920 multi format player.The dvd player is set up on 4 Vibrapods & has a Shakti Stone placed center over the loading drawer,along with a 3-D Stabalizer Mat from Marigo Labs installed .Multi channel & 2 channel analog i/c's are AudioQuest Diamondback,front & center speaker wires are AudioQuest Type 4 & rear speaker wires are Type 2.PLEASE NOTE:When I first got these speakers I was driving them with a Sherwood Newcastle surround receiver that was rated at 100 watts per channel (however at only 22 lbs,it couldn't have very big transformers)but in reality it just didn't have the power to drive & control them.Upgrading to a new Pioneer Elite receiver(weighing a healthy 35 lbs.) REALLY BROUGHT THESE SPEAKERS TO LIFE!Now,how do they sound?ABSOLUTELY SUPERB!!!Bass is DEEP,tight & tonally accurate.Even in my VERY small room there is no bass overhang & no midbass hump.The midrange is just beautiful.On orchestral music, strings have a sheen & body that just melts your ears.Woodwinds are rendered with such perfection you can hear the reeds vibration begin & end.And the highs?If you want to hear how truely wonderfull the treble is on these speakers listen to Mozarts Flute Conceto.If these speakers sounded the way "bubbles" described there's NO WAY ON THIS EARTH I could make it through even a few seconds of this musical masterpece.The flute is ALL about treble.On my system this music SOARS!Every note,every breath the flutest takes is rendered with absolute authenticity.These speakers are so accurate that you can tell how far off the flute the players lips are!!!But don't think these speakers are one trick ponies.THESE BABIES CAN ROCK!!!Crank up Led Zep,RUSH,Dio,Pink Floyd,you name the band it doesn't matter who they are,THEY ARE THERE MAN!So,the bottom line is that these speakers are worth every penny you pay for them & then some!HOWEVER be warned,you need AT LEAST decent electronics & cables in front of them, you need to give them 200-300 hours of CONSTANT use & you need to set them up properly in your listening space or your going to hear the same thing "bubbles"heard.Follow those few simple rules that I provided & you will bask in nothing but MUSIC,SWEET MUSIC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Strengths:
Deep,tight bass.Exquisite midrange.Smooth,extended highs.Fully reveals the good & bad of both recordings & upstream gear!Has the superior resolution & tonal accuracy to bring out the best of the latest SACD's & DVD-A's.

Weaknesses:
You MUST use decent components upstream.POWER really brings these speakers to life.Fully reveals the warts on poor recordings.Need proper set up.Need a LOT of running in.

Similar Products Used:
B&W Dm603s3,Paradigm Monitor 9 v5

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mandatrix

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
3 Months to 1 year

Visitors rate this review
2.67 of 5, 3.00 votes

Price Paid:  $800.00 from magicsound.it

Summary:
really great speakers!

Strengths:
neutral
clear female voices

Weaknesses:
none 4 price

Similar Products Used:
b&w dm603s3, DIY Ciare spkrs