hprbn111

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Visitors rate this review
1.00 of 5, 1.00 votes

Price Paid:  $2500.00 from sevenoaks

Summary:
3 ways floorstanders with 2 bass units per speaker, these are excellent for their size/price. Few things need to be done to hear the studio 60 sound at their best, but boy do they sound good after this. First, the supplied spikes are best kept away from the speakers, I suggest screwing firmly and for good some M8 bolts instead of using those spikes and use some other non-screw alternatives such as wooden cones and nordost spikes system (I prefer the wooden stuff for more naturalness), the reason for this is that the spikes screw through the whole width of the base of the speaker and therefore pick up all the vibrations of the bass chamber, it makes everything sound blurred. the other thing is bi-amping, the results are a lot better when doing so, they must have been designed for this purpose. I have also noticed that the studio 60 benefited a great deal from stacking up isolating platforms under them but on the other hand, they behaved very well sitted close to a side wall. Actually, I found they were insensitive to how close they were sitted to a side wall, excellent news for those who have a narrow listening room. One last thing, as they are very transparent, you can tune the whole system just by changing the speaker cables and this is a good thing as you don't need to spend a lot to fine tune the whole thing, better spend on a cable than spend on a new equipment. Now for the sound. After doing all the above and lived with these speakers for 4 years, these are the second best speakers I have heard in my whole life. I have been to many hifi shows and tried many speakers costing up to 3 times. I've heard few wilson watt/puppies, some wilson benesch, most BW nautilus range, aerial, few KEF reference, some dynaudio confidence and more. Only the avantgarde trio (costing 6 times more) were better and they surely should be. The first thing I noticed when I first heard them was the total lack of boxiness (4 years later, I'm still amazed) and the lack of euphony of the cabinet accross most of the whole audible range, then I noticed the powerful and very crisp bass, these speakers have no right to produce such a high quality bass for their size and price, but they do and all the better for us who own a pair, the rest builds on the above and it's just as good, transparency is first rate and so is the amount of details available, holographic effects is on the menu too and so is the rest. I could go on forever talking about all the different sonic aspects, but I bought these to listen to music and this is what comes out of them, they are utterly musical and this is what counts. I would recommend them without hesitation. NB: I contacted monitor audio to ask them why they had stopped making them and they told me that they cost too much to keep their production running. One last thing: do not go thinking that the new gold 60 are replacing the studio 60, they are not. They don't even sound as good as the studio 20se (latest model)

Strengths:
excellent treble ( that gold tweeter is really something ) and amazing bass down to the lowest octave, utterly transparent. Excellent musicality overall, great fun.

Weaknesses:
not the best midrange around as it can be hard at times unless partenered carefully, avoid forward/lean/bright sounding associating equipments.

Similar Products Used:
Wilson watt/puppy 6, KEF reference 2.2 and 4.2, BW Nautilus 802, 801 AND 800, Dynaudio C2, Aerial acoustics model 6, wilson benesch ACT 1 and avantgarde trio

Price Paid:  $3550.00 from Alberta high end sho

Summary:
I was lucky, with Monitor Audio's (Canada) help, to find a set of these still available from a high end store in Alberta. They were demos I'm sure but in perfect shap with no scratches, etc. The finish is the Piano Rosewood which is unbelievable. The guy that put these finishes on these speakers retired so MA no longer sells speakers that look like these. The top of the speaker is angled like a cathedral. They are probably one of the three best looking speakers I have ever seen. Add to that a sound that is spacious, transparent and clear and you have an incredible speaker that you will never want to part with. They blend well with and actually sound like my ribbons which, although I never thought I would, I have moved to the sides. The MAs actually do have a ribbon like sound that is never harsh. The music just hangs in the air where it's supposed to.

Strengths:
Both beautiful sound and appearance.

Weaknesses:
Original price was close to $10,000 but they can be had for a lot less now.

Similar Products Used:
Ohm, Newformresearch ribbons.

Price Paid:  $3000.00 from Barcelona

Summary:
Natural sound.. The most incredible tweeter I've hear!.. I use a tubes equipment and I play mostly vinyl.. I attack them with a pair of 25W Manley monoblocks with EL84 military Sylvania tubes, and with a Jadis DPL preamp.. and the wonderfull Cardas Golden Cross cables!!..

Strengths:
Superb finished rosewood piano lacked!!

Weaknesses:
Any!!

Similar Products Used:
Audiophysic Libra

Price Paid:  $7500.00 from Sound Images, Inc.

Summary:
The very best speakers I have ever heard and I auditioned at least 20 different speakers. Within the last six months, the dust covers fell off. Monitor Audio sent me upgraded drivers -- totally new design. Unbelievably, the speakers sound twice as good. While they could sound a little hard at times, they are now more relaxed. But at the same time, the speakers are more detailed, more open and fuller sounding. I just purchased two Graaf GM 20 amplifiers and the speakers sound velvety, detailed, deep, and articulate. I could not be more impressed. When I listen to Ben Webster, his sax is positively present in my living room. If I put on Nine Inch Nails, the speakers give me all the slam I can handle. If I put on Frank Sinatra, his voice sounds rich and natural. Since buying the Studio 60s, other speakers sound terribly muffled.

Strengths:
Articulate, open, mesmerizing

Weaknesses:
none

Similar Products Used:
KEF 104s

Price Paid:  $11000.00 from England

Summary:
Outstanding music reproduction, beautiful cabinets. Worth the money.

Strengths:
Extraordinarily detailed, very musical, great imaging. Very efficient, so huge amplifier not required. Use high quality sources and electronics. I use Proceed PMDT, AVP and AMP 5, with Transparent Audio cables. Upon listening to my Studio 60's, local high audio store decided to carry Monitor Audio. You cannot do better for the money. To beat these, you have to move up to Eggleston Andras, Pipedreams or Wilson stuff.

Weaknesses:
None really. Could go a little lower in bass response, but certainly a full range speaker. Very revealing of poor recordings. Speaker base needs to be larger and heavier.

Similar Products Used:
Mirage M3, Thiel 2 2, have listened to many other systems.