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Monitor Audio Apex A10 Speaker Review

Rate this speaker:

  • 1. Poor (headless panther)

    Votes: 108 62.1%
  • 2. Not terrible (postman panther)

    Votes: 60 34.5%
  • 3. Fine (happy panther)

    Votes: 3 1.7%
  • 4. Great (golfing panther)

    Votes: 3 1.7%

  • Total voters
    174
Surprisingly poor performance for the brand and price and another bat response curve for our collection:

View attachment 422984
Is it poor though?
The bat curve is no doubt intentional as it gives an exciting sound (fatigue not a consideration) that probably suits action movies. The lack of bass is not an issue as a sub will often be deployed. Distortion is good within its limits.

For the intended customer base and use case it’s a job well done. Also it will be used with AVRs a lot of the time so there’s every chance that EQ will address commenting balance issues.
 
I have a set on my work desk so I might be biased.
First: I recognize the bright sound.
Second, the retail price has gone up quite a bit during the last years. However: in the Netherlands they now cost €600 a piece, this used to be €540. $750 seems a too high price tag.
I bought mine second hand as good as new for €400 a pair. If you want these (for WAF or other reasons) you might consider searching for them on a second hand site or hifi shark.
Third: Monitor Audio gives the option for a subwoofer, the Apex ASW12. There is also a center speaker, the Apex A40, available, making it possible to set up a 5.1 set.
Last: the white version seems to discolor to yellowish in direct sunlight (fyi).
 
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Is it poor though?
The bat curve is no doubt intentional as it gives an exciting sound (fatigue not a consideration) that probably suits action movies. The lack of bass is not an issue as a sub will often be deployed. Distortion is good within its limits.

For the intended customer base and use case it’s a job well done. Also it will be used with AVRs a lot of the time so there’s every chance that EQ will address commenting balance issues.
It is not mainly that tuning which makes it bat̵d to me, but rather combination of directivity, resonance and distortion issues combined with that high price.
 
Nice to see a speaker review again, thank you.

Shame it's a poor one, especially for quite a lot of money. Perhaps tucked into a home theatre setup that brightness would be more appealing? (not my area).
Very nice 'bat' profile though :)
 
It would be more useful if Amir reviewed any of their actually reportedly good speakers, such as the Silver 7G series and above rather than some crap lifestyle product that clearly doesn't match Monitor's reputation. I'm certainly not interpreting this review as indicative of the quality of the Monitor brand on the whole.
Agreed. Monitor Audio speakers are consistently good.
The thing is, Amir generally tests what people send him.
 
It is not mainly that tuning which makes it bat̵d to me, but rather combination of directivity, resonance and distortion issues combined with that high price.
Agree that resonance is a flaw. I’m not saying it’s a great design just that it probably demos well and the build and looks will appeal to many. Overall a decent product, not a particularly decent speaker, not a bad one though.

Edit to add: I disagree that directivity is poor. It’s nice and wide and not too uneven.
 
Edit to add: I disagree that directivity is poor. It’s nice and wide and not too uneven.
For me its too uneven considering the compact size of the drivers and loudspeaker:

1737558768684.png
 
Visually very interesting, was hoping for better based on the thought put into the design. Although I don't think the woofer should have exceeded the inside the silver area. Makes it look the woofer is being barely contained in the enclosure.
 
Monitor Audio wants the public to perceive them as an 'audiophile' brand so it's disappointing to see them release a speaker like this. It will be interesting to see how this does commercially as this is a competitive space with some good alternatives.
 
It’s interesting that the preference score is so high with EQ and a sub. In most home theater environments you get EQ and a sub, and the trade off for aesthetics can be very important.

The original 3” Bose Acoustimass home theater setups were so popular for that very reason. Heck, soundbars are even less intrusive in the environment since you have no speaker wires to deal with.
 
This is a review, detailed measurements and listening tests of the Monitor Audio Apex A10 "lifestyle" speaker aimed for home theater applications. It is on kind loan from a member and costs US $750 each.
View attachment 422958
The A10 is absolutely gorgeous for this class of speaker (shown without the cover). It also feels exceptionally solid and has by far the best mount mechanism I have seen for this type of speaker:
View attachment 422959
Different mounts are provided for stand vs wall or ceiling mounting, making it ideal for wall and ceiling applications for Atmos surround applications.

The finish is excellent and the woofer has nice pattern which adds to feeling of the speaker being "high end."

Let's measure it with our Klippel NFS to see if the performance matches the looks/construction. If you are not familiar with my speaker measurements, please watch this tutorial:

Monitor Audio Apex A10 Speaker Measurements
As usual, we start with our family of frequency response measurements:
View attachment 422960

Well, that is disappointing. We have a dip in midrange, followed by multiple resonances and then elevated treble response. Variation is as much as 7 dB between midrange and upper treble. There is some directivity error as well despite the modest size of the woofer. Probing using our near-field response we can see both the midrange droop and uneven treble response:
View attachment 422961

The resonances are likely caused by the port and woofer in the 1 and 2 kHz.

I would avoid floor bounce with thick carpet to somewhat tame the issues with on-axis:
View attachment 422962

As is, you are going to have a rather bright, colored speaker in your room:
View attachment 422963

Power handling is excellent at 86 dBSPL but strain was both audible and measurable at 96 dBSPL:

View attachment 422964

View attachment 422965
The issue at 2 kHz should have been identified and resolved specially since it is third order.

Horizontal response is wider than average which is nice:
View attachment 422966
View attachment 422967
Vertically we have the usual 2-way speaker problem so aim the tweeter at your ear(s):
View attachment 422968

Edit: here is the impedance and phase:
View attachment 422979

Waterfall shows the resonances:
View attachment 422969

And here is the step response for the fans of that graph:
View attachment 422970

Monitor Audio Apex A10 Listening Tests
I listened to the A10 in my far field, main audio system. Out of box, it initially impresses with its exaggerated highs. It is not until you boost the bass response with EQ that you realize what you are missing. I did that with just a crude filter to boost the upper bass resulting in much warmer and more balanced tonality (not shown). Shame the company didn't dial it in this as they would have had a winner on their hand.

Playing content with large amount of sub-bass resulted in very faint response in that region with some distortion. Not surprising then, a subwoofer would be necessary for full range response.

Conclusions
I went into this review super impressed by what this British company had produced in the form of A10 speaker. Alas, measurements showed that it has "showroom tuning" which I suspect is kind of a requirement in this market. I wish like TVs, companies would put in switch for more even tonality. Without it, you have a bright and colored speaker that undermines what it can do. Fortunately with a bit of EQ you can fix the major flaw and have a small, attractive speaker with good power handling.

I can't recommend the Monitor Audio Apex A10 given its performance and high price.

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As always, questions, comments, recommendations, etc. are welcome.

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Amir, thank you for the review I now have two unfavorable speaker pairs in my collection and would like to find a good one. Next time I will use the site and community to find a better speaker rather than buy what's pretty. There was no real measuring info on these Apex10's so I purchased for esthetics (happywife) . I will continue to search for something that sounds better. Thanks again for your time.
 
I went into this review super impressed by what this British company had produced in the form of A10 speaker. Alas, measurements showed that it has "showroom tuning" which I suspect is kind of a requirement in this market.
We were just discussing the endemic showroom tuning problem, as you say it's a certain requirement to sell speakers to the average customer. It's particularly absurd in this little speaker that will be primarily used near a wall/boundary, and often with a subwoofer. And even a bit more ludicrous to see from Monitor Audio, who should know better and are capable of doing better.
 
A couple of notes from me:
- The THD spike looks to be related to woofer break-up. There's clearly something going on at 6kHz with that drive unit. A crossover modification (a notch filter in series, as recommended by Purifi) would likely fix that.
- Improving the LF response would take a driver with a considerably more powerful motor to get Qes (and therefore Qts) down. More motor = more money, and there's only so much they'll spend on a speaker like this.


Chris
 
@Amir Power handling would be better when used with a subwoofer (as intended) so you can set a high pass filter on the speakers. Here in Europe these were pretty popular for use in a moderate surround system in the living room. These speakers don't appeal to (and weren't designed for) the hardcore home theater fan, nor to the high-end Hi-Fi stereo listeners. Still, Monitor Audio should've done a better job as you pointed out.
Agreed. The bright sound with wide dispersion is not at all bad for HT use. But still, ermgh.
 
I should have noted that this speaker was released in 2012. It is still on sale so it must be a good seller.
With only 14cm in depth and a unique/standout design, it makes sense why this would sell. It's perfect for a near-field desktop setup where space is extremely limited. In fact, it's almost without competition at this size (under 20cm in depth) for a passive speaker. As far as I know, only the vintage BBC LS3/5A speakers are similar in depth, but LS3/5A designs are boxy and retro by comparison.
 
This one was on my short list of speakers that are small enough to surface mount on my ceiling and also can be aimed for Atmos. Probably won't be buying for another month or two, but I guess I can take it off my list anyway.
 
With only 14cm in depth and a unique/standout design, it makes sense why this would sell. It's perfect for a near-field desktop setup where space is extremely limited. In fact, it's almost without competition at this size (under 20cm in depth) for a passive speaker. As far as I know, only the vintage BBC LS3/5A speakers are similar in depth, but LS3/5A designs are boxy and retro by comparison.
Except for these speakers have a 4dB peak at 160Hz, where for desktop use you need the opposite, a -4dB (notch) at 160Hz to filter out the bass boost from being on a table-top. Even worse by 2-3 dB if the desktop is near a wall. So super-non-ideal without significant EQ for any desktop use, and a subwoofer will not fix the desk-bounce problem. If the customer is going to aggressively EQ them they might be OK on a desktop. I am guessing most customers using with desktop are not applying EQ, and are listening to one-note bass. Without large EQ, these will sound much worse on a desktop than just about any other use condition.
 
Except for these speakers have a 4dB peak at 160Hz, where for desktop use you need the opposite, a -4dB (notch) at 160Hz to filter out the bass boost from being on a table-top. Even worse by 2-3 dB if the desktop is near a wall. So super-non-ideal without significant EQ for any desktop use, and a subwoofer will not fix the desk-bounce problem. If the customer is going to aggressively EQ them they might be OK on a desktop. I am guessing most customers using with desktop are not applying EQ, and are listening to one-note bass. Without large EQ, these will sound much worse on a desktop than just about any other use condition.
Thanks for pointing it out. It's great that Amir's measurements can bring attention to these things. I'm surprised, however, there was no attempt to apply comprehensive (not just the bass) EQ in Amir's review. It would be interesting to hear how well the speaker responds to EQ. Overall, I think the final rating was a bit harsh - the speaker has a colored sound profile and a distortion peak around 2khz, is it really so bad? I understand we should expect better from these audio companies already, but I commend Monitor Audio for bringing such a unique/innovative product to market in a sea of boxy passive speakers that take up half your desk.
 
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