Monitor Audio Silver 3i Speakers
- Thread starter Andyman
- Start date
I'll post pics later, but they look like nice high end speakers. They sport a really nice cherry cab with an artsy grill, bridged inputs for bi-amping, and fancy looking drivers with copper/gold domes.
I played them briefly against my ADS L810 s and EPI 500s and they held their own in the mids and highs, but obviously gave up some lows to systems 10x their size with much bigger woofers and passives.
All in all though, I'm pretty impressed and will give them a spin inside on tubes, but expect that they may need more than 5 watts to really shine.
I played them briefly against my ADS L810 s and EPI 500s and they held their own in the mids and highs, but obviously gave up some lows to systems 10x their size with much bigger woofers and passives.
All in all though, I'm pretty impressed and will give them a spin inside on tubes, but expect that they may need more than 5 watts to really shine.
I bought the RS6 a while back, and don't think I'll need another set of speakers. I love them. I really wasn't interested in the until the dealer auditioned them for me. I was looking at much more expensive speakers and thought he was trying to "up-sell me." I REALLY preferred the Monitor Audio speakers, so then I asked "OK, what do they cost?" He told me the price and I asked if there was a matching center channel. The rest is history...
Art K.
The Voodoo You Do!
I've never owned MA speakers but always appreciated their sound. The older Silver Series were very nice, to my ears. Less and less folks on these audio boards seem to like MA. I haven't changed my mind. Some of their speakers can be a bit bright but when well matched very few of their offerings aren't wonderfully engaging.
JohnMichael
Super Member
In my room I have struggled with my RS6's. I was recently shopping for speakers and heard some fuller mid bass than I had achieved with the RS6's. So I got busy moving them around to eliminate the thinness I was unhappy with from the suckout. I did find their sweetspot.
My love/hate relationship is now firmly in the love category. I have achieved a level of musicality I had heard in the dealers showroom when I auditioned them. I now know why they rated a Class B rating in Stereophile.
My love/hate relationship is now firmly in the love category. I have achieved a level of musicality I had heard in the dealers showroom when I auditioned them. I now know why they rated a Class B rating in Stereophile.
Mystery
constantly upgrading...
I have MA 301 bookshelves and they have so good imaging and stereo separation that I've never heard in any speaker of that size or even double that size.
I can stand next to left speaker and listen stereo from right speaker clearly.
Most other speakers I have, if I'm close to one side, it's hard to hear the other side.
RS6 are much bigger and must be even better.
I can stand next to left speaker and listen stereo from right speaker clearly.
Most other speakers I have, if I'm close to one side, it's hard to hear the other side.
RS6 are much bigger and must be even better.
Polarbear
Super Member
Same story here. I got my GS60's in Jan of this year and it took me at least a few months to get them properly positioned. Oddly enough, how I have them goes against almost anything I've read on speaker placement (long wall, about 12' apart). Before getting them in the sweet spot I almost gave up and sold them. Sure glad I didn't!
Moved them downstairs and while they're playing, it's pretty obvious they need more than 5 watts of tube power to shine as anything more complex than small combo music just doesn't fill out. Playing "Time Out" now and the piano sounds OK, but not spectacular.
They are just basically perched on the A7s down here and have to admit, it's pretty ironic how the monster A7s ger so much louder than the 3is. The a7s rarely get past 9:00, but the 3is are up to about 2:00 at lower volumes..
Pics below...
This one shows it perched on the corner of the A7 for perspective
They are just basically perched on the A7s down here and have to admit, it's pretty ironic how the monster A7s ger so much louder than the 3is. The a7s rarely get past 9:00, but the 3is are up to about 2:00 at lower volumes..
Pics below...
This one shows it perched on the corner of the A7 for perspective
Attachments
Andyman,
I have the Silver 5i's, the big brothers to your 3i's. Right now they are my main listening speakers, paired with the MA FB210 sub. These older Monitor Audio speakers are of very high quality and were made in Britain back in 2001. They have subsequently shifted manufacturing to China.
They do require a bit of power with only 89db of sensitivity. My Fisher 800B drives them very nicely. They have a very balanced, pleasing sound.
A friend of mine just bought a pair of Gold GS20's - beautiful speakers, very high quality build. Same Monitor Audio sound as my Silver 5i's. Definitely a noticeable step up, but nothing dramatic.
Here's a pic of my Silver 5i's and the Gold GS20's during a comparison test we were doing:
I have the Silver 5i's, the big brothers to your 3i's. Right now they are my main listening speakers, paired with the MA FB210 sub. These older Monitor Audio speakers are of very high quality and were made in Britain back in 2001. They have subsequently shifted manufacturing to China.
They do require a bit of power with only 89db of sensitivity. My Fisher 800B drives them very nicely. They have a very balanced, pleasing sound.
A friend of mine just bought a pair of Gold GS20's - beautiful speakers, very high quality build. Same Monitor Audio sound as my Silver 5i's. Definitely a noticeable step up, but nothing dramatic.
Here's a pic of my Silver 5i's and the Gold GS20's during a comparison test we were doing:
Attachments
Andyman,
Here's the specs on your 3i's in case you don't have them. You have to go back in time to Monitor Audio's website on the Wayback Machine to see them:
http://web.archive.org/web/20011226151925/http://monitoraudiousa.com/products/silver/index.html
Silver 3i
The bookshelf of the Silver Series, the Silver 3 employ the same proprietary gold dome tweeter as the other members of the Silver family, providing for total delicacy in the high frequencies.
Though delicate, these musical tweeters are fast and accurate. With 1st and second order break-up well above 28kHz, you'll never hear the ring and distortion associated with other metal dome tweeters.
This versatile speaker also features the newly developed 5 1/4" bass-mid driver mounted in a front ported cabinet for in-cabinet or near wall installation.
The Silver 3 offers all the attributes and merits of a true British hi end speaker system at a fraction of the cost, and has been designed to maximize your Home Theater as fronts, rears effects or both. As a great added benefit, when you turn off the video, the Silver 3 transform into an audiophile grade loudspeakers with all of the depth and out of box imaging of speakers much more expensive.
5 1/4" Bass/ midrange driver
Precision glass re-enforced nylon chassis
C-CAM (Coated Ceramic Aluminum Magnesium) Cone
1" C-CAM Gold dome tweeter
Bi-wireable, gold plated terminals
Compact size
Front Ported design
Optimized for free field or boundary positioning
2-way system
Specifications:
Frequency Response * 45Hz - 25KHz + 3dB
Sensitivity (1W@1M) 88dB
Maximum SPL (per pair) 107dB
Nominal Impedance 8 ohms
Power Handling 100 Watts RMS / 150 peak
Recommended Amplifier 30 - 150 Watts
Cabinet Alignment Front Ported
Dimensions inches (H x W x D) 15 3/4 x 8 x 8
Weight Each 13 lbs
Finishes (Real wood book matched Veneer) Natural Cherry, Rose Mahogany, Black Oak
* Measured in IEC listening room (77CuM)
Here's the specs on your 3i's in case you don't have them. You have to go back in time to Monitor Audio's website on the Wayback Machine to see them:
http://web.archive.org/web/20011226151925/http://monitoraudiousa.com/products/silver/index.html
Silver 3i
The bookshelf of the Silver Series, the Silver 3 employ the same proprietary gold dome tweeter as the other members of the Silver family, providing for total delicacy in the high frequencies.
Though delicate, these musical tweeters are fast and accurate. With 1st and second order break-up well above 28kHz, you'll never hear the ring and distortion associated with other metal dome tweeters.
This versatile speaker also features the newly developed 5 1/4" bass-mid driver mounted in a front ported cabinet for in-cabinet or near wall installation.
The Silver 3 offers all the attributes and merits of a true British hi end speaker system at a fraction of the cost, and has been designed to maximize your Home Theater as fronts, rears effects or both. As a great added benefit, when you turn off the video, the Silver 3 transform into an audiophile grade loudspeakers with all of the depth and out of box imaging of speakers much more expensive.
5 1/4" Bass/ midrange driver
Precision glass re-enforced nylon chassis
C-CAM (Coated Ceramic Aluminum Magnesium) Cone
1" C-CAM Gold dome tweeter
Bi-wireable, gold plated terminals
Compact size
Front Ported design
Optimized for free field or boundary positioning
2-way system
Specifications:
Frequency Response * 45Hz - 25KHz + 3dB
Sensitivity (1W@1M) 88dB
Maximum SPL (per pair) 107dB
Nominal Impedance 8 ohms
Power Handling 100 Watts RMS / 150 peak
Recommended Amplifier 30 - 150 Watts
Cabinet Alignment Front Ported
Dimensions inches (H x W x D) 15 3/4 x 8 x 8
Weight Each 13 lbs
Finishes (Real wood book matched Veneer) Natural Cherry, Rose Mahogany, Black Oak
* Measured in IEC listening room (77CuM)
Hey Steven,
You are welcome to come listen to my Silver 5i's! I'm just across town from you. See you at the next RCA meeting.
Greg
RetroSquad
New Member
Hi - I have the opportunity to get a pair of 3i that look clean BUT - one tweeter missing. Any thoughts on who / where to find another? thanks Chris
malden
Addicted Member
I've searched high and low for a 5i tweeter, same as 3i, I even sent an email to Monitor Audio but no luck.
