Price Paid:  $0.00

Summary:

I bought the speakers in late 2000, brand new from my ex-boss who was a hi-fi shops owner at an unbelievable price. I have listened to the speakers almost everyday and one conclusion that I can write here is MAGR60 is the best ever speakers I have ever listened to. Although not having ,say, high-end hi fi system with the likes of Krell, mark Levinson, McIntosh etc, the speakers really raise the overall performance of my system. Clarity is beyond words, treble is crispy and the bass is not that deep which is excellent. I believe that although the speakers had been discontinued by MA for MA Gold Signature, the legacy of excellence and supremacy of the speakers would remain forever. So far, they are the best things I have ever bought till........ Give them a listen, if can't afford them, GR10/GS10 is more that adequate.

Strengths:
What else can I say???????

Weaknesses:
Zilch

Similar Products Used:
B&W, Tannoy, PMC, Naim, Linn

newsman

Overall Rating
 2 of 5

Value Rating
 3 of 5

Used product for
3 Months to 1 year

Visitors rate this review
3.44 of 5, 16.00 votes

Price Paid:  $3200.00 from Tweeter Group

Summary:
Around the time I bought my first “hi-end” Polk speakers I heard a pair of Monitor Audio Silver floor standers that floored me with their clear highs and balanced quality to their sound. At that time these speakers where positively out of my reach. Fast forward 3 years. I could afford better speakers. I quickly discovered that dealers in my area would not provide in-house demo, but I did arrange extensive private sessions. Driven by my ear and still having warm memories of Monitor Audio speakers I once heard, I picked GR60 in gorgeous rose mahogany finish as my ultimate choice; a perfect gift for myself on Christmas. That’s when the roller coaster started. a)It took 4 weeks for MA to deliver GR60’s over to me, rosemah apparently not something US dealers stock – I was thrilled with exclusivity. Once they arrived, I set them up in my room – to my horror the midrange driver on the right speaker was resonating and not producing any sound. Speakers where defective; it happens, so my dealer placed an order for another pair. b)A month later a new pair arrives. I bring them home – set them up. I notice a big shiny spot on a side of one of the speakers about 9’’ long and 6’’ wide. I tried to rub it out – until we figured that it was a blob of lacquer on top of the speaker finish. Upon closer inspection I noticed several small 1-2’’ scratches in the area – apparently speakers got scratched at the factory and the area was covered up with a layer coat in poor attempt to fix the damage. How do I know this happened at the factory? Speaker was double boxed with factory tape on both boxes. c)My dealer was very apologetic and spend a great deal of time getting a hold of local MA rep. A week or two passed by before my dealer negotiated with the rep to order yet another pair of speaker. A month goes buy and I get a third pair of GR60. These where a good pair – good finish, good drivers, nothing was missing I could finally set them up in my room. ….. Ah the clarity! I can finally hear them in MY room. Speakers imaged with pint point accuracy, soundstage is there. I haven’t heard a speaker that can reproduce cymbals and drum dish splash with such realism and speed. Midrange was strong and uniform. One thing that I liked about GR60s is how well all four drivers where integrated with each other. Seating at the listening position I could not tell which driver produced which sound. All the professional reviews of GR60 applauded this ability and I conquer. Finally bass was fast although not very deep. But again bass is well integrated with the rest of the range so I could omit this wrinkle. Well, this is the overall characteristic of the GR60 but how did they reproduce music? In my opinion these speakers where made for classical music and movies. With classical through GR60 term “bandwidth” comes to mind. There was never any sign of strain at the most demanding passages, speaker was always keeping it together and soundstage never got compressed. Triangles and brass instruments where singing and hanging in the air. However, I noticed that notes in the upper frequency range tended to stand out and sometimes live in their own space. After months of ownership I started to learn that MA’s flagship speaker tend to favor upper frequencies – something that I did not notice in my 4+hr of dealer demo. Through GR60’s, female voice has the same sparkle and life as cymbals, although somewhat on a cold side. Sometimes “s” would become harsh with female singers which was unexpected considering overall smoothness of the tweeter. After a while though, I noticed fatigue associated with these recording, something I never experienced before with what I consider to be a warm front end. Moving onto small scale instrumental music, steel string guitar sounded very realistic through GR60, but sometimes it again tended to stand out from other instruments playing on stage, like drum or lower notes of piano. One of the disappointments to me was the fact that I could not make Monitors to reproduce classical guitar. Through them, nylon string still sounded like steel strings, even on SACD recordings. It’s not that I was hearing the effects of metal tweeter, my Polks had metal tweeter as well, but after months of listening to GR60s I noticed consistent metal coloring that it added to everything it played. Unfortunately this “steel” character made overall listening experience non-involving, even sterile. What’s more, with extended listening I discovered that Monitors where fatiguing to my ears. Finally, GR60 do not have the last word in micro resolution. Things like singer smacking her lips, fingers touching a string or Rachel walking up to Dekker on the track 2 of the Bladerunner CD are tamed down and sometimes missing all together… p.s. Even my third pair had a small problem. Cabinet veneer produced white powder in the grooves of the wood. Wiping speaker with provided cloth made powder disappear only to appear in a weaker consistency 4-8 days later. Bummer.

Strengths:
Treble. Fast and got a great bandwidth when it comes to playing many instruments simultaneously. Good imaging and soundstage.

Weaknesses:
Treble – when on certain frequencies it becomes harsh. Even when moved to a better front end such as B&K reference or Krell, microdynamics is lucking contributing to sterile sound. Initially they make you confuse sterile sound for detailed or neutral character. Pool quality control as you can see from my experience. Definitely not worth $5k Monitor Audio originally wanted for these speakers. Speaker finish is not what I expect from a flagship floorstander at this price range.

Similar Products Used:
Sonus Faber Grand Piano Home, Martin Logan Aeon i, Vienna Acoustic speakers in similar price range. Short audition: B&W 805 Signature,B&W 804, Polk LSi 15, Sonus Faber Concerto Home. My equipment: Rotel RCD991 CD player Audiophile Edition, Marantz SR7000 receiver, Sony C555ES SACD source. Monster Cable HR5100 Power Center

Price Paid:  $3500.00 from the good guys

Summary:
What can I say that hasn't been said already.These speakers can play anything with accuracy.Rock ,pop,jazz,classical and movies of any sort.I have the whole gold ref. set.The imaging is great in 2 channel.The singer sounds like it is in the center of the room.The imaging is some of the best I've heard.If you want a speaker that will play only what is recorded without any coloration this speaker is for you.This is a very neutral speaker.You can feel the kick drum with out any boominess.It is clean and accurate. Precision comes to mind and the best decription of these speakers.Each instrument has its own space.I haven't enjoyed music this much for along time subtle sounds in music and movies are clear and defined that you would otherwise miss in other systems.I would highly recommed these speakers to anyone.I have been so impressed by the gold ref.series that I went out and bought the bronze series for my bedroom system.I wasn't even considering a bedroom system before.These speakers are at the limit of the law of diminishing returns.I believe you would have to pay twice as much just to get something 10 to 15% better.

Strengths:
Anything and everything.

Weaknesses:
Slightly expensive,but for what you get it's a bargin

Similar Products Used:
klipsch,paradigm,listened to others b&w martin logan ,jbl,

Price Paid:  $3500.00 from Dealer

Summary:
Forget about B&W, at this price you won't get anything to touch the GR60's. These speakers are as at home playing classical as they are with movies, pop, house and jazz. They have great imaging and space with sounds like symbols just seeming to hang in the air. The bass takes at least 6 weeks to develop, but once it does these speakers rock. They aren't fussy about the amp you use but to take advantage of them, use a good source like SACD or vinyl.

Strengths:
Great sound, rocking bass, will take your breath away.

Weaknesses:
The inserts for screwing the feet into, on the plinth, weren't pressed in properly (they were at angles. I had to use a fly press to put them in properly. It's only a small point but worth getting right.

Similar Products Used:
B&W (over rated and over priced) Sony SACD

Price Paid:  $3100.00

Summary:
I auditioned every price range and type of speaker out there it seemed before deciding on the 60's. I think they are most definitely the best value in their price range, and even some much more expensive speakers are embarrassed by them. Read my review of the B&W 804's which seem to be one of the most popular speakers in this price range, they simply blow them away in depth of soundstage, bass extension and clarity, and neutrality. Many other speakers have a nice wide soundstage and detailed top end like these do, I think they compare well to the B&W 802's mentioned before in this area. They actually embarass the 802's though when it comes to soundstage depth, bass response, and midrange neutrality for half the money. These speakers have a very detailed and forward sound, so if you like a mellow darker sound look at the Dynaudio Contours, but if you are a fan of a sweet and pronouced midrange and crisp but not strident highs these are the speaker for you. They take on much higher end speakers and come very close. They are also some of the most 3 dimensional speakers I have ever heard with layers of sounds precisely placed. I listened to the 20's as well, and they seem to suffer as my previous B&W CDM7NT's did from being a 2 1/2 way speaker that struggles with a bit of midbass exagerration and lack of true low end. The 20's are a great speaker, but the 60's are worth the extra money for sure. Also I have had the best luck toeing them in until they face almost directly at your listening position. I found less toe in reduced soundstage accuracy slightly and reduced the transient punch they do so well. My friend thought I had my sub on the first time he listened because there is plenty of low bass information that is delivered cleanly and with lots of punch. LISTEN TO THESE SPEAKERS BEFORE YOU BUY ANYTHING ELSE! System: B&K Reference 7250 Anthem AVM20 Sony 333es SACD Denon DVD2500 Velodyne sub MIT T2 Biwires Kimber Interconnects

Strengths:
As stated above, they are incredible speakers, I also listened to them with an inexpensive reciever, and they do surprisingly well with lower-end electronics unlike some others that treat such upstream components really poorly.

Similar Products Used:
Auditioned: B&W Nautilus, CDM9NT's, Martin Logan, Dynaudio, Dunlavy, Wilson, Thiel, Revel, and others.