Monitor Audio Platinum 3G

[AdamG]

Yeah, instead it's page after page of childish bickering with barely a mention of said speakers. ASR at its worst.

Good point. Next time hit the report button so a Moderator can come and look see what’s going on.

Thread has been restored to its previous state before two members hijacked This thread for pages and pages of off topic content. Both members have been permanently thread banned. Issued Warnings and had dozens of posts deleted. We apologize for the inconvenience and interruption of your conversation. Please carry on with your discussion of the Monitor Audio Platinum 3G.

 

[AdamG]

But when someone claims another speaker is better than the mentioned speaker here, we need to know why it’s exactly better

Start a separate thread and drop a link to that conversation here. Rather then taking over a thread for pages and pages of off topic discussions about other speakers.

 

[franknorris12]

I will not take a Monitor Audio Silver nor a Gold. The great measurements on the Silver don't translate to real sound. Silver sounds like any speaker on it's price level. The Gold sounds better, but it is a bright sounding speaker and needs EQ to tame that treble. Nevertheless, the current MA Silver line with it's own sound defects, is more accurate sounding and has better PRAT than Kef's R line. I will choose the Silver over an R even as I consider the Silver a subpar sounding speaker.

You should clarify which generation of Golds you're referencing - the 5G are not at all bright. Rich & warm is a more accurate description

 

[Bozon]

You should clarify which generation of Golds you're referencing - the 5G are not at all bright. Rich & warm is a more accurate description

I was refering to Silver 7G and Gold 4G. I haven't heard the Gold 5G but if they fixed the high treble level that should be a very good speaker as the 4G was (except for the bright sound signature)

 

[franknorris12]

I was refering to Silver 7G and Gold 4G. I haven't heard the Gold 5G but if they fixed the high treble level that should be a very good speaker as the 4G was (except for the bright sound signature)

The Gold 5G are excellent and they must have fixed the treble as it's definitely not a bright speaker.

Am curious to read comparisons between the Plat 3G and Gold 5G to see if the substantial cost difference is worth it.

 

[Albert Dagger]

The Gold 5G are excellent and they must have fixed the treble as it's definitely not a bright speaker.

Am curious to read comparisons between the Plat 3G and Gold 5G to see if the substantial cost difference is worth it.

These are the only measurements I found of the Monitor Audio Gold 300 (5G): https://www.stereophile.com/content/monitor-audio-gold-300-loudspeaker-measurements
I couldn't find measurements for the Gold 200 (5G) speakers, which I own and sound a bit different in the bass department. The 300 has bigger drivers so there are obviously some differences. I'd love to be able to answer your question, but I haven't found reliable measurements of the Platinums, nor I have listened to them. I am very curious to know why Monitor Audio speakers are not reviewed or measured as widely as other brands. I do find them to be good, so I'm puzzled by this lack of interest. On ASR, there's only one review for a small Silver speaker...

 

[Penelinfi]

I know people don't tend to put much into recorded speakers, but

Silver Gold 200 Platinum 200

Oh and look a comparison vs Canton

You can also listen to the Hypen. But there's no comparison so limited use I guess.

Edit. Wait a min while I figure out my phone's clipboard....

 

[Bozon]

The Gold 5G are excellent and they must have fixed the treble as it's definitely not a bright speaker.

Am curious to read comparisons between the Plat 3G and Gold 5G to see if the substantial cost difference is worth it.

I think they should be. A local store close to me has all the new lines of MA and they currenly have great promotions on Golds. The entry Gold 100 is about USD $1.468 including the sales tax (19%). They have the new PL 300 3G but it is expensive $15.819 with tax.

I am planning go to take an audition tomorrow as I will have some spare time. Last time I went there tried the PL100 II. I really loved that speaker.

 

[Bozon]

I went today to audition the new Golds 300 5G and Platinum 300 3G. They are no longer bright but neutral with some warm touches.
We tried it with Hegel H390 (Gold 300) and a combination of a pre/dac CA Edge NQ and a very big Hegel power amp (don't know the model) the Platinums

With Hegel the image and clarity was sharp and focused but the warm was too much for my taste. The salesman suggested me to try with the Roksan Blak instead. With the Roksan the excessive warm vanished and the sound signature was totally neutral. However, the image and clarity difused notably with that amplifier. The store only had Roksan, Hegel and Cambridge Audio as available test electronics.

Both lines Gold and Platinum are very good. However, I felt that the Golds weren't an upgrade over my current Cantons 7K. I believe that the Cantons are better at least on the store conditions vs my home.

With the Platinums the history was different. I felt that they have the same neutral-warmish sound signature but the bass was much deeper and textured than the Golds. They offered me a great discount on the Platinums and also they offered me to take care of reselling my Cantons. That sealed the deal. Tomorrow they will deliver to me the new Platinums 300 and take the Cantons to sell on the store.

To be honest, I still believe the Cantons are fantastic speakers and very close with the Platinum's SQ but the deal they offered me was so amazing that I could not pass at that price (I prefer not share it here but if someone wants to know can PM me).

 

[Bozon]

My impressions after burning in the MA Platinum 300 speakers for about 30 hours with my Benchmark LA4/AHB2 pre/power:

Compared with the Cantons 7k. Both have a wide sound stage but the Platinums have a deeper one. Q Acoustics Concept 500 sound stage is still wider (if my memory is still reliable )

The instruments and voices focus are mostly the same.

The bass on the Platinums is better. Goes deeper and feels more "tuned" and detailed than the on 7k.

The Platinums seems to have no issues with room integration. The bass reflex ports are small and looks like the speaker behaves pretty close to a sealed box bafle. On the Cantons this was a little trickier.

Mids and treble feels a little more defined on the Platinums than the Cantons. Both speakers sound very alike on my room FR-wise, however. Both sound natural and real but the Platinums have a smoother presentation. I have the impression that the drivers on the Platinums are better integrated as the FR transitions are flawless and silk smooth. With some live music like Pink Floyd's Pulse album the guitars on the Platinums where breathtaking. I was amazed how real this live concert sounds on the Platinums. I believe the Platinums have the absolute best rendition of that album that I have never heard.

Detail-wise even as the Platinums are smoother they are also more detailed and textured. So they are just "perfect".

Final comment: I feel that I could live with both speakers on my room, they are both great. They are both Reference-grade speakers. They don't have any significant flaws. The Cantons have a small hump on the midbass and a couple dBs higher tweeter level and that's it. Both details are easily solved using an sponge and compensating with using a lower toe-in angle. However, the Platinums have an edge for not having those and for taking detail, bass deeph and smoothess to a higher level. They are like a 7k "version 2.0" where everything that the 7k does great the Platinums take it to an "amazing" level. Is the price difference justified? No it is not. They are maybe 20% better than the Cantons but cost almost 3 times. MA Platinums are speakers for someone that has to have the "best" because it can, not because is needed. But this is not because the MAs don't have the merit, it is because the Canton's value is outstanding.

 

[Smislov]

Platinum 300 3G stereophile

 

[Bozon]

Platinum 300 3G stereophile

View attachment 317906

View attachment 317907

on my room measurements are similar without that bass hump. On the treble zone looks like the peak is intentional to balance it at the listening point. I used some EQ to make that flat.
The speakers have been changing a lot with the burning time. The bass has gained a lot of texture and the upper mids and highs turned even more silk smooth.

 

[thewas]

The Stereophile bass bump is an artefact of the way JA measures loudspeakers, so it should be taken with a grain of salt, see for example here
"The slight rise in output in the upper bass is due to the nearfield measurement technique"
Source: https://www.stereophile.com/content/monitor-audio-platinum-pl300-ii-loudspeaker-measurements

 

[Matias]

Yes, all his speaker measurements have the bump and should be ignored. What stands out imo is the abrupt lateral dispersion fall off around what 12 kHz, and the rising tweeter level. This gives a brightish in room response.

 

[Bozon]

Yes, all his speaker measurements have the bump and should be ignored. What stands out imo is the abrupt lateral dispersion fall off around what 12 kHz, and the rising tweeter level. This gives a brightish in room response.

Agreed!. On my room at the listening point the 12 Khz dip is only -2db with a small toe in. The bump at about 18 khz measured about 2 dB too (the huge bump at 58 hz is my room mode and I am currently working on fixing it with professional treatment). The brightness that I can hear is at 9KHz with a +3 db:

 

[MarcT]

It is not a bad idea for wider radiation when combined with no or a shallow waveguide and usually gives a better directivity match which such tweeters compared to the since the 90s frequently used large mid drivers.

Thanks, sounds like it may offer directivity advantages. But what about mid range transients and impacts, such as drum rim shots, gun shots in movies, etc.? Will the use of a small mid driver reduce mid range dynamic prowess?

 

[Bozon]

John Atkinson's Platinum 300 3G review conclusion:

 

[Penelinfi]

Thanks, sounds like it may offer directivity advantages. But what about mid range transients and impacts, such as drum rim shots, gun shots in movies, etc.? Will the use of a small mid driver reduce mid range dynamic prowess?

Didn't Sony do a demo specifically for their small APM midrange being able to do gunshots etc?

Also, a gun has a hole maybe 9mm and it has no trouble with transients ;--)

 

[MarcT]

Didn't Sony do a demo specifically for their small APM midrange being able to do gunshots etc?

Also, a gun has a hole maybe 9mm and it has no trouble with transients ;--)

Of course, a 9 mm gun has no problem with transient sound production. Are you seriously comparing the dynamic of a speaker driver with a gun powder explosion?

 

[Penelinfi]

Of course, a 9 mm gun has no problem with transient sound production. Are you seriously comparing the dynamic of a speaker driver with a gun powder explosion?

Your original question asks about dynamic drivers and transients of various phenomena including gun powder explosions, aka gunshots
Much of a transient comes through 1 inch tweeters so I'd say the larger midrange is ok.
There's going to be the question of surface area and the effect on sound, and how this may affect the way things sound despite if a similar frequency response and compression handling.