betty boop Posted April 12, 2007 Posted April 12, 2007 Following the suggestion by a couple on here ausnew and joz, decided to pop by CAV today to check out hte monitor audio gold signature GS60 floorstander. Only ever heard upto the silver series before so was good to check out the gold signatures http://www.monitoraudio.co.uk/product.php?...&product=12 http://www.pymblehifi.com.au/MonitorAudio.htm Was really quite amazed in the build quality of these. fit and finish and build is nothign short of amazing for the money. Was told the entire speaker, cabinet drivers etc is still made by MA in the UK. had a short listen to a few tracks hooked upto MF A5CD and A5 integrated. Really liked the very even handed soudn of it with the midrange having a nice sound to it and top end very clean as with the bass. didnt spend too much time listenign as my ears still not hundred percent folowing the flu. noticed a few reviews.. http://www.monitoraudio.co.uk/page.php?pag...7&review=12 http://www.ultraaudio.com/equipment/monitor_audio_gs60.htm A speaker I'll have to do a bit more listenign to I reckon.
Stephen Muir Posted April 12, 2007 Posted April 12, 2007 Also listened to these at CAV several weeks ago - was very impressed but am going to wait for new AVR to listen in conjunction with 5.1 set (sub RSW-12 as gold series sub supposedly not in Australia), would like 7.1 but think room is too small. Am hoping to audition with HDMI 1.3 AVR - New Cambridge Audio due mid May otherwise will wait till Denon XX08. Want to find out more about CA AVR but have difficulty finding info - doesn't help that I have forgotten model number (not 640R but newer).
mizu Posted April 12, 2007 Posted April 12, 2007 I purchased some MA Silver fronts and center recently. I love the Gold and have my eye on them as an upgrade in future times (unless the newly announced Platinums are much different in anything except for price). Nice aesthetics too with the contrast of rounded teardrop (oildrop?) shapes on the piano black. I didn't go with the RSW-12 sub though b/c I couldn't find out much information about it and ended up buying the SVS SB-12+ which was much cheaper. Peter from DeepHz was an excellent help.
betty boop Posted April 12, 2007 Author Posted April 12, 2007 interesting to hear your thoughts guys, didnt see the rest of the 5.1 complement stephen, whats the center and surround like in quality and price I wonder. thanks mizu on the heads up on the platinum series found something on the net http://www.electronichouse.com/article/mon...platinum_range/ look like a cut up in spec and quality from the gold signature series again, a big hike up in price as well, out of my league I think as theyd be us prices. still cant get over the quality of the gold signatures.
Curious Posted April 12, 2007 Posted April 12, 2007 still cant get over the quality of the gold signatures. Sounds to me like someone is falling in love... if it gets any worse Alebonau, a purchase may well be necessary Cheers, Curious
Cody Posted April 12, 2007 Posted April 12, 2007 very nice i havent listened to those specifically but have listened to others in their range in the past and have always liked the "sound" of MA (not dissimilar to Mission in my opinion), plus they always look great and seem to be well made and finished. i suspect Al they would match your paradigm centre quite nicely......
Stephen Muir Posted April 12, 2007 Posted April 12, 2007 The Platinum series was showcased at CES. There is a photo of the floor standers and bookcase/stand mount at http://blog.stereophile.com/ces2007/011007platinum/ I prefer the aesthetics and price of the gold series. The Platinum will have a ribbon tweeter - the first for MA who have spent years developing their gold C-CAM tweeter. Don't know whether this change will work for them. There are no surrounds included in Platinum series just the two in the link and the centre in the earlier link. The Gold series surrounds (GSFX) seem a good versitile surround speaker: (MA Quote).."The speaker's slim-profiled angled baffle design incorporates no fewer than three driver pairs. When used in monopole mode to reproduce discrete side or rear channels, its front-firing 6 1/2 -inch RST® II bass/mid driver and gold C-CAM® tweeter come into play, delivering an accurate wide bandwidth sound-field to complement perfectly a front-channel GS speaker combination. The GS FX in dipole mode uses two side-firing pairings of 4-inch C-CAM® bass/mid driver and gold C-CAM® tweeter combined with the tailored output from the front-firing bass/mid driver to provide wonderfully diffused yet tonally precise surround effects."
KeithL Posted April 13, 2007 Posted April 13, 2007 Heard these playing at Secher Audio and I also liked the build quality on these. I wasn't specifically there to buy speakers so didn't have an extended listen to them but what I heard was very nice.
betty boop Posted April 13, 2007 Author Posted April 13, 2007 still cant get over the quality of the gold signatures.Sounds to me like someone is falling in love... if it gets any worse Alebonau, a purchase may well be necessary Cheers, Curious hehe it was love at first sight hehe seriously the piano black GSD60s I saw at cav looked sensational. been very few speakers I've seen with the build/fit & finish of those but yeah bit more listening required I think to come to anymore conclusions.
betty boop Posted April 13, 2007 Author Posted April 13, 2007 very nice i havent listened to those specifically but have listened to others in their range in the past and have always liked the "sound" of MA (not dissimilar to Mission in my opinion), plus they always look great and seem to be well made and finished. i suspect Al they would match your paradigm centre quite nicely...... funny you say that as felt both in looks and sound felt them a bit of a spiritual sucessor to my mission 753s. and yes certainly like the sound of what I heard. the bass nice and clean not bloated or boomy. yeah if buying hope a good match for my paradigm centre as a lovely thing would hate to have to loose it. good to hear your thoughts on this range of MA gear DG especially seing you own same speakers as me.
betty boop Posted April 13, 2007 Author Posted April 13, 2007 The Platinum series was showcased at CES. There is a photo of the floor standers and bookcase/stand mount at http://blog.stereophile.com/ces2007/011007platinum/ I prefer the aesthetics and price of the gold series. The Platinum will have a ribbon tweeter - the first for MA who have spent years developing their gold C-CAM tweeter. Don't know whether this change will work for them. There are no surrounds included in Platinum series just the two in the link and the centre in the earlier link. The Gold series surrounds (GSFX) seem a good versitile surround speaker: (MA Quote).."The speaker's slim-profiled angled baffle design incorporates no fewer than three driver pairs. When used in monopole mode to reproduce discrete side or rear channels, its front-firing 6 1/2 -inch RST® II bass/mid driver and gold C-CAM® tweeter come into play, delivering an accurate wide bandwidth sound-field to complement perfectly a front-channel GS speaker combination. The GS FX in dipole mode uses two side-firing pairings of 4-inch C-CAM® bass/mid driver and gold C-CAM® tweeter combined with the tailored output from the front-firing bass/mid driver to provide wonderfully diffused yet tonally precise surround effects." interesting reading stephen, thansk for the link. I think though very smoothly finished I too probably prefer the asethitics and defintely the price of the gold signatures instead. interesting to see monitor audio demoing with MF A5 gear at CES, that looks like my MF A5CD just in shot
betty boop Posted April 13, 2007 Author Posted April 13, 2007 Heard these playing at Secher Audio and I also liked the build quality on these. I wasn't specifically there to buy speakers so didn't have an extended listen to them but what I heard was very nice. ah forgot secher sold MA. thansk for the reminder newtown and for your thoughts on these. I'll probably have a listen to these there as well as different surroundings to cav
betty boop Posted April 13, 2007 Author Posted April 13, 2007 hmm interesting, found this sub site of monitor audios jsut for the gold signature series, plenty of nice pics there http://www.goldsignature.co.uk/links.htm the rose wood finish sure looks nice !
ozcal Posted April 13, 2007 Posted April 13, 2007 ah forgot secher sold MA. thansk for the reminder newtown and for your thoughts on these. I'll probably have a listen to these there as well as different surroundings to cav Sold a lot of MA over the years and the finish has always been superb.The cabinet work has always been done in house and Mo Iqbal , MA's owner , always took great pride in this aspect of his speakers.As for sound quality well MA was always the darling of the British mags and they have imo produced some truley outstanding speakers with great value for money but like all companies they have produced some stinkers too. It looks as if the current crop are to a very high standard in performance terms.I know a very good home for your Missions AL . Gordon
betty boop Posted April 13, 2007 Author Posted April 13, 2007 Sold a lot of MA over the years and the finish has always been superb.The cabinet work has always been done in house and Mo Iqbal , MA's owner , always took great pride in this aspect of his speakers.As for sound quality well MA was always the darling of the British mags and they have imo produced some truley outstanding speakers with great value for money but like all companies they have produced some stinkers too.It looks as if the current crop are to a very high standard in performance terms.I know a very good home for your Missions AL . Gordon hi gordon, thats good to know re the heritage of these speakers. its good to see some things of quality still being produced and maunfactuers putting effort with attention to detail thats so evident with these speakers. great value for money too I agree. re my missions, hehe can you believe they're potentially already spoken for if got somethgin else. but good to know there possibly is a good home for them some place. they are quite old but still in good nick and love em I do
ozcal Posted April 13, 2007 Posted April 13, 2007 hi gordon, thats good to know re the heritage of these speakers. its good to see some things of quality still being produced and maunfactuers putting effort with attention to detail thats so evident with these speakers. great value for money too I agree.re my missions, hehe can you believe they're potentially already spoken for if got somethgin else. but good to know there possibly is a good home for them some place. they are quite old but still in good nick and love em I do Just had a thought ,the other brand that may be owrth having a listen to is Castle.Finish on all the Castle speakers is of a similar standard to MA and their top of the range Howard has always had a very strong following with music lovers : http://www.castle.uk.com/pages/classic_howard.htm. Gordon
betty boop Posted April 13, 2007 Author Posted April 13, 2007 Just had a thought ,the other brand that may be owrth having a listen to is Castle.Finish on all the Castle speakers is of a similar standard to MA and their top of the range Howard has always had a very strong following with music lovers : http://www.castle.uk.com/pages/classic_howard.htm.Gordon thanks for that gordon. the castle howard certainly a goodie. with beutifull cabinetry etc build and finish. I think there is some sad news about castle though. I believe they are either about to fold or have an uncertain future, remeber reading somethgin along the lines recently. which is a pity given the quality of product produced. Not sure if htere is any further news on the companies future.
Guest JohnA Posted April 13, 2007 Posted April 13, 2007 They do look good Al and the price is also very good might have to go have a listen damn for that money could easily do a full 7 channel setup with all same speakers
ozcal Posted April 13, 2007 Posted April 13, 2007 thanks for that gordon. the castle howard certainly a goodie. with beutifull cabinetry etc build and finish. I think there is some sad news about castle though. I believe they are either about to fold or have an uncertain future, remeber reading somethgin along the lines recently. which is a pity given the quality of product produced. Not sure if htere is any further news on the companies future. Haven't heard anything in that regard AL , though it would not completely suprise me.They make a great product but it has always been rather old fashioned in it's appraoch , so while the core music lover knows how good the product is the wider appeal compared to superficially more hi-tech products has always been somewhat limited. I really hope we don't loose them as they produce a quality no-bullshit product. Gordon
Stephen Muir Posted April 13, 2007 Posted April 13, 2007 the rose wood finish sure looks nice ! Agree, my favourite finish, but Brett from CAV said only Piano Black and Walnut were brought into Australia - he was the one that also told me the GSW-12 was not brought in. Also like the very responsive sound - bass not boomy but tight, and vocals and percussion so realistic on a deep sound stage. Some feel that they are a bit bright in the mid to high range if driven by the wrong/poor amplifier. Thus important to listen with different amps and sources.
cyberplank Posted April 13, 2007 Posted April 13, 2007 Frank Prowse told me that Black Oak, Walnut and Cherry were all available, if I wanted the natural oak he could get them, but they would take a couple of weeks or so. I have not decided to get them, someone told me he thought they might sound a bit "muddy". I also agreere the Castle, I had a pair about 20 years ago teamed up with a Denon 2CH Amp and a Garrard T/T.
betty boop Posted April 13, 2007 Author Posted April 13, 2007 Haven't heard anything in that regard AL , though it would not completely suprise me.They make a great product but it has always been rather old fashioned in it's appraoch , so while the core music lover knows how good the product is the wider appeal compared to superficially more hi-tech products has always been somewhat limited.I really hope we don't loose them as they produce a quality no-bullshit product. Gordon it was jsut a little article in a uk magazine gordon, sayign they were in strife for the very reasons you mention. woudl be a real pity. hopefully they have a buy out or somethign that saves them.
betty boop Posted April 13, 2007 Author Posted April 13, 2007 Agree, my favourite finish, but Brett from CAV said only Piano Black and Walnut were brought into Australia - he was the one that also told me the GSW-12 was not brought in.Also like the very responsive sound - bass not boomy but tight, and vocals and percussion so realistic on a deep sound stage. Some feel that they are a bit bright in the mid to high range if driven by the wrong/poor amplifier. Thus important to listen with different amps and sources. hi stephen, the guy from cav also mentioned piano black and walnut were the standard colours. I tell you have never liked black speakers but was instantly taken by the piano black which is jsut a sensational finish and they dont charge any extra for it. re other finishes he did say if wanted specifically theyd need to order them which would take time. would need to be added into the next shipment. your spot on re the responsive sound, and the bass nto being boomy was particualrly what I liked, nto over blown, over the top as can be with many speakers these days. both mid range and top end sounded I liked the soudn of with the MF A5CD and A5 integrated I heard them with. but yes very right should be demmoed iwht different amps or what ever anyone intends using with them.
betty boop Posted April 13, 2007 Author Posted April 13, 2007 Frank Prowse told me that Black Oak, Walnut and Cherry were all available, if I wanted the natural oak he could get them, but they would take a couple of weeks or so.I have not decided to get them, someone told me he thought they might sound a bit "muddy". I also agreere the Castle, I had a pair about 20 years ago teamed up with a Denon 2CH Amp and a Garrard T/T. thats interesting to knwo re the natural oak only taking a couple of weeks or so to get cyber.
cyberplank Posted April 13, 2007 Posted April 13, 2007 Well, I could not swear he meant literally a couple of weeks, but he may have known some were on their way or that he could get some. On the other hand they could have been metaphorical weeks! I was only interested in the Natural Oak finish as the others would not look as nice in the room. and I was only talking bookshelf and centre.
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