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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
To me it looks like a cheap, crappy PC speaker.

Then your baseline for "cheap and crappy" is definitely higher than mine.

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I'm surprised, however, there was no attempt to apply comprehensive (not just the bass) EQ in Amir's review.
With anechoic measurements on hand it's a plausible thing to do, but not really best practice given the directivity errors. Amir usually only does 2-3 bands of EQ for reviews at most anyway.

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?
Colored sound profile - not a crime (if it is intentional) but not what's considered good here. Distortion peak at 2khz - yes, that's bad. That's around where the ear is most sensitive, and it was a significant peak even at moderate volume.

I think the rating is pretty fair. It's far from neutral out of the box, it has weak bass even for its size, and it has distortion problems that many cheaper speakers don't.

I mean, you can get 3x JBL 308p for the price of one of these, it's technically superior in every way AND it has amps built in. The Apex A10's got it beat in looks no problem, but Amir's recommendations typically weight sound much more heavily.
 
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Thank you for your review Amir. It is always, for me anyway, the highlight when you test speakers. :)
You say:... "lifestyle" speaker...

Maybe that. Depends on what you put in the definition. I see more lifestyle speakers as having a certain look. They are instantly recognizable with their shape, colors and so on PLUS that they have some flexible functionality. Like this:


Can a lifestyle speaker be passive? Maybe topic for another thread.
I've had a few in the bronze series that I didn't like at all. Usually their bigger floorstanders tend to better.
Like this larger, floor-standing speaker. Seems to be really good: :


 
It’s tricky because people tend to ship cheaper and smaller speakers for convenience and cost. The members are the suppliers of the speakers…
Yeah, if I didn't live on the opposite coast from Amir I would be sending him a number of speakers. I did send one pair to Erin because he was closer but the shipping was still $80 one way.
 
I did send one pair to Erin because he was closer but the shipping was still $80 one way.

Shipping costs have ruined everything. It used to be cheap. So little it was mostly irrelevant. Now it's a deal breaker with lots of stuff you want to buy or send to someone.
 
Monitor Audio wants the public to perceive them as an 'audiophile' brand so it's disappointing to see them release a speaker like this.
Audiophile brands are exactly what I expect to offer mediocre performers in pretty, expensive packages. Not a surprise.

These days a five and a half inch box for $750 should come with two amps, DSP, controlled resonance and directivity, and cleaner default tuning.
 
And the cost does not bother you, and the distortion, which can be bettered with some couple hundred dollar speakers?

These are $1,500 a pair, I just feel you can do a lot better with several much lower priced speakers.
Yes, at that price they are certianly no bargain, however, they are active speakers so if you priced in the amplification at say US$500, thenthe speakers cost $1k. With EQ and a sub they have a high spinorama rating of 8, which is why I gave them a fine rating.

Don't get me wrong, I would not buy them, as I see no reason in today's hifi market to buy anything that doesn't rate as "great" (using Amir's measurements).
 
Hello, I own a pair of APEX 10 speakers, which are mounted directly on the wall with Inakustik cables. I also have a REL TX7 subwoofer to assist with the bass.
The amplifier I use is a Marantz PM 68.

My experience with these Monitor Audio speakers is fantastic, which might be due to the subwoofer.
In terms of cost, it's possible to find better options, but in my case, for wall-mounted speakers, this was the best quality I could get.

Here in Europe (Portugal), the list prices are lower, and even so, the stores usually offer additional discounts at the time of purchase.
 

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What speakers in the 500 or lower range would anyone recommend? I want something that sounds amazing. This will be in my living room 11x11 speakers sit on my mantle which spans on side of room with tv atop on wall. I have a very small sub in one corner of room.
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What speakers in the 500 or lower range would anyone recommend? I want something that sounds amazing. This will be in my living room 11x11 speakers sit on my mantle which spans on side of room with tv atop on wall. I have a very small sub in one corner of room. View attachment 423317View attachment 423318

Amir raved about the Adam T5V at US$400 a pair.

 
Amir raved about the Adam T5V at US$400 a pair.

I have no wires showing and my receiver is an Nad M10 V2. Monitors require different hook ups. I am trying not to drill any more holes. The 2 black boxes on the mantel/ shelf are my current speakers. Martin Logan Motion 4i.
 
Yes, at that price they are certianly no bargain, however, they are active speakers so if you priced in the amplification at say US$500, thenthe speakers cost $1k. With EQ and a sub they have a high spinorama rating of 8, which is why I gave them a fine rating.

Don't get me wrong, I would not buy them, as I see no reason in today's hifi market to buy anything that doesn't rate as "great" (using Amir's measurements).
They are active??
 
What speakers in the 500 or lower range would anyone recommend?
Please specify if you are talking about $500 for the pair for $500 each.
 
Shipping costs have ruined everything. It used to be cheap. So little it was mostly irrelevant. Now it's a deal breaker with lots of stuff you want to buy or send to someone.
It's probably driven by the shift to ecommerce over trad. retail. More demand for parcel delivery = higher prices. Freight to a store and driving it home yourself is much cheaper, but fewer goods are moved that way now, especially electronics.

Result: bookshelf speakers increasing in popularity because it's way less economical to move floorstanders around...
 
Being British I don't like to see a poor showing from a British company here, but I'm not biased! Unfortunately it deserves a low vote due to not being very good whilst also being pretty expensive, it's an easy conclusion!

EDIT: the wide directivity is a plus though, but wide directivity can be found on other speakers too, it's not unique.
 
To be fair, I did have a bit of buyers remorse after I took the picture with headless panther and then started to write the review. :) As I noted earlier, it does have good power handling for this class of speaker and some EQ does it good.
 
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