Silentnet
Super Member
Stage Right by Monoprice Powered Coaxial Studio Multimedia Monitor Speakers.
Say that five times fast, huh? I'll be referring to them as "SRs" going forward, for obvious reasons.
Got these for $100 shipped during a recent sale, so they'll likely be showing up "cheap" on Ebay/Craigslist in quantity in the near future, and failing that I doubt this was the last such sale Monoprice will run.
This first post will serve as a sort of "first impression" and I'll add further thoughts to the thread over the next few days.
Packaging: Minimal but sufficient. Styrofoam corners top and bottom with about 2" of dead space in the inner boxes, then a larger secondary carton around both, no additional padding. Sturdy enough that they should survive normal shipping, but a good solid drop-kick or "oopsie" off the back of the truck might be a problem depending how they land.
Contents: 2 speakers, individually packed, standard 3 conductor power cords (roughly 6 ft each), a manual (very basic, not really needed) and a little sticky sheet of foam feet. Keep in mind you'll need cables, but they're flexible in this regard -- XLR, 1/4" TRS, and RCA are all options. Will take a balanced or unbalanced signal via TRS, balanced only via XLR, unbalanced via RCA. 6.5" woofer with 1" soft dome tweeter. Front Ported. Bi-amped internally, 60 watts on the woofer, 30 watts on the tweeter. Class D amps.
Rear panels have 4 way selector dials for high frequency cut / boost (-2db/-1db/0db/+1db), volume control, power socket and switch. The volume pots are smooth turning, not "notchy". This could make setting the exact same volume on both speakers somewhat difficult. You probably won't want to run these "flat out" -- see listening impressions below. Also have a bright blue LED I'd definitely tape over in the long term.
Setup: Moving the 1/4" TRS connected to a Chromecast audio back and forth from the JBL 305P MKII powered monitors they're sitting on to A/B. I'll probably get a mini-SPDIF cable and try them and the JBLs with the Topping D50 to see if there's a noticeable difference in sound quality vs. the Chromecast built in DAC at some point this weekend. Source is Google Play Music set to high quality. They're about 8 ft from my listening position.
Looks: No one is going to mistake these for $500 speakers. They're bog-standard black vinyl wrapped and the little plastic silver "SR" logos on the front mark them as an unknown from minute one, but at least they aren't tacky / don't have "Monoprice" written all over them. The vinyl is well done, with no weird bubbles or sharp edges. The silver accent rings are metal, drivers held in with little black hex-head bolts. Kevlar drivers looks kinda neat. Overall, not ugly but nothing special.
First Listen: Um. They're sharp. Real sharp. Not in a good way. The JBLs can be a little too edgy for me at times (I do sometimes set them to -2db on the highs and that takes care of it) but these SRs take it to another level. This is with the tweeter controls set to flat (0db). There's also a -1db, -2db... and a +1db setting, just in case you hate yourself or someone near to you. At -2db they're better behaved, but still have what I'd best describe as "stabby moments."
Distance helps -- could see using these in a fairly large room, since being more than 6 feet from them is about the only way I think I could listen to them for any real length of time. Near field (for me at least) is completely out. Desktop use would be ear-murder. If your TV is mounted at least 6+ feet from your usual viewing position and you have room for a couple stands these could be a solid, very inexpensive (at the $100 sale price at least) alternative to a sound bar. Suspect they have enough bass that most wouldn't miss a sub, but it's a shame they don't offer a sub out just in case. Monoprice says they're good down to 50Hz, but I doubt that's flat. Front ported, so you can put them close to a wall without issues. This is probably their biggest advantage vs. the aforementioned JBL 305P MKIIs, which are rear ported.
These also play CRAZY LOUD. Like, I had to set their back volume controls to a little above 1/4 to get a usable volume range with ChromeCast Audio from my phone, and the JBLs were perfectly usable cranked all the way. The SRs in comparison were scary above ~20% on the slider when turned all the way up, and 20% was louder than I'd ever normally use in the bedroom. To get roughly the same volume from the JBLs they have to be set around 80-90% vs the SRs at 25-30%. I have no idea what maximum volume they are capable of, but there was no audible distortion before I turned things down to avoid making enemies of my neighbors. The main system will doubtless play way louder / cleaner, but the volume from the SRs was quite impressive given their size. (10.4" x 8.3" x 9.8" (265 x 210 x 250mm), 10.5lb each)
They sound a little 'veiled' at lower volumes and really open up / bloom as you turn them up. Sound pretty good at medium/high volumes. Highs are a little shrill but clear at -2db, midrange is clean and clear, bass is impressive for the size of the cabinets. Definitely more bass-forward than the JBLs, but not to the point of sounding unbalanced in that regard. Credit where it's due, apart from the sharpness of the highs they present a classic studio monitor sound signature, very balanced, not boomy or overly mid-forward.
Testin' Music: Foo Fighters, NIN, Nirvana, Queens of the Stone Age, Purity Ring, Grimes, Tove Lo, TV On the Radio, Radiohead, The Birthday Massacre, POLICA, The Dead Weather, Little Dragon, Bonobo, GUNSHIP, Cage the Elephant, Walk Off the Earth, Tessa Violet, Kiiara, K Flay, Run the Jewels, Crystal Castles, Little Hurricane, MSMR, Ghost BC, The Weeknd, Soundgarden, Aesop Rock, Doomtree, Florence + The Machine, Blackmill, The Glitch Mob, SBTRKT, Lorde, Bush, Sylvan Esso, Billy Joel, Earth Wind & Fire, Jimmy Buffet, etc.
So lots of electronic / rap / alt rock, some more pop type stuff, a little indie rock, female vocals, and some stuff my dad got me in to years ago. That's my usual, what I know well from time on my current main system.
The Good (+): Loud as anything this size could possibly be. Play clean at high volumes. Fairly compact. Good bass and front ported, so placement should be fairly easy. Good value at the sale price.
The Bad (-): Shouty / sharp highs; setting the HF control to -2db helps but does not eliminate this. Amps have substantial static/hiss with zero input (nothing even connected), depending (oddly) on volume set at the rear control. Almost no hiss when turned all the way down, minimal when turned all the way up, readily noticeable around 1/2 volume. Audible at its worst over music at lower volume.
Value / Use Cases: Over all, for $100 a pair they certainly aren't bad. VASTLY more competent than "high end" Bluetooth speakers costing $250+. These will absolutely destroy a UE Megablast (or 2) or JBL Boombox for about 1/3 the money (or much less, depending), across the board. Clarity, volume, depth of bass, everything. Granted, these are not portable like the aforementioned Bluetooth speakers, but they also sound way better than the JBL Link 300 Bluetooth / Google Home speakers (which also need to be plugged in) I tried briefly before going the studio monitor route for the bedroom, for less than half the money. Throw the Chromecast Audio on them and the only difference is they don't have Google Assistant built in.
If I had a friend looking for "party" speakers and they had like, $150 to spend, hard limit, a pair of these and a cheap Bluetooth receiver or Chromecast Audio would be really hard to beat unless they were willing to be patient and go the vintage / get stuff off Craigslist / from Goodwill route.
Certainly worth $100 unless your use case requires near-field listening or you're very sensitive to somewhat sharp highs. Then they're painful. For $300 there are obviously better options out there (the JBL 305 MKIIs and many others); if I'd paid $300, or more realistically $250 with a coupon code or something, I wouldn't feel "cheated" but I certainly wouldn't be keeping them.
Conclusion, for now: Not sure if I'll keep these long term, since the JBLs are definitely better (enough to justify the price difference, $220 for a pair really isn't bad) and I have entirely too many speakers already in my tiny one bedroom apartment. I'll give them a few more days at least to figure out what they do well and poorly in greater detail. May keep them in the closet as spares / party speakers, or sell them on locally.
Thanks for reading (if you got this far), I know it was a lot! Let me know if you have any questions / there's anything else I should include.
Say that five times fast, huh? I'll be referring to them as "SRs" going forward, for obvious reasons.
Got these for $100 shipped during a recent sale, so they'll likely be showing up "cheap" on Ebay/Craigslist in quantity in the near future, and failing that I doubt this was the last such sale Monoprice will run.
This first post will serve as a sort of "first impression" and I'll add further thoughts to the thread over the next few days.
Packaging: Minimal but sufficient. Styrofoam corners top and bottom with about 2" of dead space in the inner boxes, then a larger secondary carton around both, no additional padding. Sturdy enough that they should survive normal shipping, but a good solid drop-kick or "oopsie" off the back of the truck might be a problem depending how they land.
Contents: 2 speakers, individually packed, standard 3 conductor power cords (roughly 6 ft each), a manual (very basic, not really needed) and a little sticky sheet of foam feet. Keep in mind you'll need cables, but they're flexible in this regard -- XLR, 1/4" TRS, and RCA are all options. Will take a balanced or unbalanced signal via TRS, balanced only via XLR, unbalanced via RCA. 6.5" woofer with 1" soft dome tweeter. Front Ported. Bi-amped internally, 60 watts on the woofer, 30 watts on the tweeter. Class D amps.
Rear panels have 4 way selector dials for high frequency cut / boost (-2db/-1db/0db/+1db), volume control, power socket and switch. The volume pots are smooth turning, not "notchy". This could make setting the exact same volume on both speakers somewhat difficult. You probably won't want to run these "flat out" -- see listening impressions below. Also have a bright blue LED I'd definitely tape over in the long term.
Setup: Moving the 1/4" TRS connected to a Chromecast audio back and forth from the JBL 305P MKII powered monitors they're sitting on to A/B. I'll probably get a mini-SPDIF cable and try them and the JBLs with the Topping D50 to see if there's a noticeable difference in sound quality vs. the Chromecast built in DAC at some point this weekend. Source is Google Play Music set to high quality. They're about 8 ft from my listening position.
Looks: No one is going to mistake these for $500 speakers. They're bog-standard black vinyl wrapped and the little plastic silver "SR" logos on the front mark them as an unknown from minute one, but at least they aren't tacky / don't have "Monoprice" written all over them. The vinyl is well done, with no weird bubbles or sharp edges. The silver accent rings are metal, drivers held in with little black hex-head bolts. Kevlar drivers looks kinda neat. Overall, not ugly but nothing special.
First Listen: Um. They're sharp. Real sharp. Not in a good way. The JBLs can be a little too edgy for me at times (I do sometimes set them to -2db on the highs and that takes care of it) but these SRs take it to another level. This is with the tweeter controls set to flat (0db). There's also a -1db, -2db... and a +1db setting, just in case you hate yourself or someone near to you. At -2db they're better behaved, but still have what I'd best describe as "stabby moments."
Distance helps -- could see using these in a fairly large room, since being more than 6 feet from them is about the only way I think I could listen to them for any real length of time. Near field (for me at least) is completely out. Desktop use would be ear-murder. If your TV is mounted at least 6+ feet from your usual viewing position and you have room for a couple stands these could be a solid, very inexpensive (at the $100 sale price at least) alternative to a sound bar. Suspect they have enough bass that most wouldn't miss a sub, but it's a shame they don't offer a sub out just in case. Monoprice says they're good down to 50Hz, but I doubt that's flat. Front ported, so you can put them close to a wall without issues. This is probably their biggest advantage vs. the aforementioned JBL 305P MKIIs, which are rear ported.
These also play CRAZY LOUD. Like, I had to set their back volume controls to a little above 1/4 to get a usable volume range with ChromeCast Audio from my phone, and the JBLs were perfectly usable cranked all the way. The SRs in comparison were scary above ~20% on the slider when turned all the way up, and 20% was louder than I'd ever normally use in the bedroom. To get roughly the same volume from the JBLs they have to be set around 80-90% vs the SRs at 25-30%. I have no idea what maximum volume they are capable of, but there was no audible distortion before I turned things down to avoid making enemies of my neighbors. The main system will doubtless play way louder / cleaner, but the volume from the SRs was quite impressive given their size. (10.4" x 8.3" x 9.8" (265 x 210 x 250mm), 10.5lb each)
They sound a little 'veiled' at lower volumes and really open up / bloom as you turn them up. Sound pretty good at medium/high volumes. Highs are a little shrill but clear at -2db, midrange is clean and clear, bass is impressive for the size of the cabinets. Definitely more bass-forward than the JBLs, but not to the point of sounding unbalanced in that regard. Credit where it's due, apart from the sharpness of the highs they present a classic studio monitor sound signature, very balanced, not boomy or overly mid-forward.
Testin' Music: Foo Fighters, NIN, Nirvana, Queens of the Stone Age, Purity Ring, Grimes, Tove Lo, TV On the Radio, Radiohead, The Birthday Massacre, POLICA, The Dead Weather, Little Dragon, Bonobo, GUNSHIP, Cage the Elephant, Walk Off the Earth, Tessa Violet, Kiiara, K Flay, Run the Jewels, Crystal Castles, Little Hurricane, MSMR, Ghost BC, The Weeknd, Soundgarden, Aesop Rock, Doomtree, Florence + The Machine, Blackmill, The Glitch Mob, SBTRKT, Lorde, Bush, Sylvan Esso, Billy Joel, Earth Wind & Fire, Jimmy Buffet, etc.
So lots of electronic / rap / alt rock, some more pop type stuff, a little indie rock, female vocals, and some stuff my dad got me in to years ago. That's my usual, what I know well from time on my current main system.
The Good (+): Loud as anything this size could possibly be. Play clean at high volumes. Fairly compact. Good bass and front ported, so placement should be fairly easy. Good value at the sale price.
The Bad (-): Shouty / sharp highs; setting the HF control to -2db helps but does not eliminate this. Amps have substantial static/hiss with zero input (nothing even connected), depending (oddly) on volume set at the rear control. Almost no hiss when turned all the way down, minimal when turned all the way up, readily noticeable around 1/2 volume. Audible at its worst over music at lower volume.
Value / Use Cases: Over all, for $100 a pair they certainly aren't bad. VASTLY more competent than "high end" Bluetooth speakers costing $250+. These will absolutely destroy a UE Megablast (or 2) or JBL Boombox for about 1/3 the money (or much less, depending), across the board. Clarity, volume, depth of bass, everything. Granted, these are not portable like the aforementioned Bluetooth speakers, but they also sound way better than the JBL Link 300 Bluetooth / Google Home speakers (which also need to be plugged in) I tried briefly before going the studio monitor route for the bedroom, for less than half the money. Throw the Chromecast Audio on them and the only difference is they don't have Google Assistant built in.
If I had a friend looking for "party" speakers and they had like, $150 to spend, hard limit, a pair of these and a cheap Bluetooth receiver or Chromecast Audio would be really hard to beat unless they were willing to be patient and go the vintage / get stuff off Craigslist / from Goodwill route.
Certainly worth $100 unless your use case requires near-field listening or you're very sensitive to somewhat sharp highs. Then they're painful. For $300 there are obviously better options out there (the JBL 305 MKIIs and many others); if I'd paid $300, or more realistically $250 with a coupon code or something, I wouldn't feel "cheated" but I certainly wouldn't be keeping them.
Conclusion, for now: Not sure if I'll keep these long term, since the JBLs are definitely better (enough to justify the price difference, $220 for a pair really isn't bad) and I have entirely too many speakers already in my tiny one bedroom apartment. I'll give them a few more days at least to figure out what they do well and poorly in greater detail. May keep them in the closet as spares / party speakers, or sell them on locally.
Thanks for reading (if you got this far), I know it was a lot! Let me know if you have any questions / there's anything else I should include.
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