Monitor Audio

Cinergy Home Cinema System

From US$30,000 RRP
Systems are designed based on optimum output and room requirements.

Enveloping darkness, the smell of popcorn, larger-than-life images and thunderous surround sound – there's nothing like the magic of cinema. And it's all the better if you can choose what is showing and when in the comfort of your own home. If you've ever dreamed of owning a proper home cinema, you'll know there's more to it than buying an off-the-shelf solution and hoping for the best. While some excellent products are available, if you want to achieve adrenaline-pumping excitement, it's not quite that simple.

Sure, a huge screen is part of the equation, but you'll also need the right speakers and amplifiers to achieve realistic sound levels. Indeed, a well-planned and executed home cinema system will rival many commercial ones, if not entirely put them to shame. With over fifty years of experience and an award-winning portfolio of products, British speaker specialist Monitor Audio has created a turnkey solution range of cinema speakers and amplifiers.

Packages can be tailored for the size of the room, topping out with the THX Dominus. The closest approximation to a public cinema venue, this is designed for rooms with a 20-foot viewing distance from the screen. Monitor Audio's Cinergy system is THX Ultra Certified and built to achieve true cinema reference volume levels. Rather than being an off-the-shelf solution, it is available through select cinema designers, where it can be tailored and properly installed to achieve its full potential.

CINEMA CINERGY

The Cinergy 100 is the smallest speaker of the range and can be installed either in-wall or on-wall. Mounting brackets, isolation pads, isolation feet, spikes and port bungs are included. The latter can be used to tailor in-room bass response in conjunction with EQ profiles on Monitor Audio's installation amplifiers.

Its mid-tweeter array (MTA) pod is rotatable, enabling horizontal or vertical positioning to accommodate different use case scenarios. The tweeter comprises Monitor Audio's proprietary high-frequency transducer, which features a low-mass pleated diaphragm with a surface area claimed to be eight times larger than that of a traditional dome tweeter. The midrange driver boasts high power handling, sensitivity, and wide directivity. It features Monitor Audio's C-CAM cone, which is claimed to provide great clarity.

The bass driver is a high excursion design with a 75mm voice coil. It sports Monitor Audio's rigid diaphragm technology (RDT II), comprising a composite sandwich structure made from ultra-thin low-mass skins. This is bonded to a honeycomb Nomex core material, making it extremely light and strong, while the rear skin is made from woven carbon fibre material. Monitor Audio claims the new design reduces distortion by 8dB above 300Hz, making it the lowest distortion cone in the company's history.

The more expensive Cinergy 200 sits in the middle of the range and can also be installed as an on-wall or in-wall speaker. It features a D'Appolito speaker array with a rotatable mid-tweeter-mid array (MTMA) pod and dual bass drivers, as opposed to the single midrange and bass drivers of the Cinergy 100. It's said to produce greater sound pressure levels and comes supplied with brackets, isolators, and port bungs. The largest Cinergy 300 sports an identical driver array to the Cinergy 200 but in a larger cabinet. The modest increase in size is said to give more extended bass. It can be installed in-wall or as a free-standing speaker with the accompanying plinth.

As its name suggests, the Cinergy Sub15 uses a new 15-inch driver with a 75mm diameter overhung voice coil and a single layer of edge-wound winding. It's a departure from usual subwoofer manufacturing principles, which utilise a four – or even six-layer voice coil. The lower mass of the single voice coil yields tighter and punchier bass. It is claimed to go all the way down to 17Hz in free space without bungs, at -6dB. Due to its slim dimensions, it can also be installed in-wall or as a floorstanding subwoofer and is accompanied by a full range of accessories, including brackets and isolation feet.

THX AMPLIFIERS

With the exception of the Cinergy Sub15, which must be matched with Monitor Audio's IA750-2 power amplifier, cinema designers and their clients are free to choose their own amplification. However, Monitor Audio offers its own range of THX Ultra-certified installation amplifiers, creating a turnkey solution for designers and installers and removing much of the guesswork. Despite their minimal proportions – the largest is just 2U – these installation amplifiers are designed to drive the Cinergy range of speakers to cinema volume levels.

To achieve this, the company turned to Danish Amplifier manufacturer Pascal. The collaboration resulted in custom amplifier modules based on Pascal's UcD technologies and DSP processors to optimise the speaker's response. Thus, they created a range of installation amplifiers that could not only drive the Cinergy speakers but also support their architectural speakers.

The range incorporates four amplifiers – the IA750-4 Multi-Channel Cinergy Amplifier (4x750W 4/8 ohm or 2x1,500W with power share), the IA125-4 General Purpose Amplifier (4x125W 4/8 ohm or 2x250W with power share), the IA60-4 General Purpose Amplifier (4x60W 4/8 ohm or 2x250W and 1x250W with power share) and the IA750-2 (2x750W 4/8 ohm or 1x1,500W with power share). The IA750-2 is primarily designed to power the Cinergy Sub15.

All models include DSP, which can be accessed via a web configuration tool. They also support Power Sharing so that amplifier channels can be rerouted in the configuration tool, eliminating the need to bridge channels. They are equipped with unbalanced and balanced inputs (via a Euroblock/Phoenix connector) and 12V trigger input/outputs and support two wall-panel volume controls. All models feature Wi-Fi and can be used as a local access point. Monitor Audio also offers Crestron, Crestron Home, RTI, and Control 4 drivers.

THE ROOM

Brothers Alex and James Simmons, owners of Sound Electronic Integration, have a medium-sized cinema room in Moorabbin (VIC), which is where I had the opportunity to spend extensive time auditioning this system. It features a full Cinergy System fit-out with a 140" screen, including a Sony VPL-XW7000ES, madVR Envy Extreme, and Anthem AVM90 processor. It has three C200s for LCR duties built into a baffle wall, driven by an IA750-4 power amplifier (4x 750W). Four C100 speakers are used for surround and surround back duties, while four Monitor Audio PLIC2 speakers are used for Atmos. The surround and Atmos channels are powered by four IA125-4 amplifiers, delivering 250W to each channel with power-sharing. Two Cinergy 15 Subwoofers are placed at quarter points behind the front baffle wall and powered by an IA750-4 amplifier with 1,500 watts per channel.

Finished in matt black, Cinergy speakers are designed to blend in rather than draw attention to themselves. Be that as it may, they're beautifully built with an attention to detail that you won't typically find in such speakers. The C100s are on the larger side for a surround speaker, with an impressive driver array, while the C200s are downright imposing. The choice of speakers is less about 'flag-shipping', I was told, and more about getting the right solution for the room.

Meanwhile, the electronics are incorporated into an equipment rack outside the cinema room. Aesthetically speaking, the amplifiers are quite eye-catching and undoubtedly high-end – the brochure photos simply do not do them justice. More surprising is the fact that this amount of amplification resides within a single rack, along with all the video equipment and processor.

SHOWTIME

Producing cinema-like volume levels, the Cinergy System creates a huge soundstage that expands beyond the confines of the room. Huge dynamic swings are its greatest strength, with tactile bass that makes for an exciting listen. While this system ticks all the boxes for a cinematic listen, it takes things a step further by revealing a level of detail that few other systems can match. It's also surprisingly musical for a home cinema solution.

With the Atmos soundtrack on the 4K Ultra-HD Blu-ray of Maverick, the opening chords of the iconic theme song create a huge front soundstage with a great sense of width that extends beyond the room's walls. As the soundtrack kicks into gear, Monitor Audio's heritage in music shines through. While I often find ribbon drivers fatiguing, I have no complaints with those in the Cinergy speakers – the soundtrack sparkles without sounding shrill, while the drums create tight, hard-punching, visceral bass.

Moving to the valley scene, the Hornet jet engines are delivered with all the ferocity you'd expect in a high-end commercial cinema. The boom of the engines hits hard, leaving you grinning like a Cheshire cat. Then, as the Hornets make their way towards the valley, the rumbling of those engines can be felt in the chair, placing you right in the cockpit. As the action heats up, the Cinergy system creates a massive soundstage that ignores physical boundaries. Meanwhile, the tonal cohesion of the speakers makes for smooth, authentic pans.

The system delivers such a sense of space, detail, and cohesiveness that I find myself looking over my shoulder to see if someone has snuck into the room. It is no less present in the Atmos soundtrack of No Time To Die. As Safin makes his way through the forest, the sound of the wind and the forest is easily made out, creating a wonderful sense of air. There is also great dimensionality to the soundfield. As Safin goes towards Madelaine Swan's home, music pours from the home into the surrounding countryside. As he enters the house, there's a huge increase in volume, and you're aware that the music is being blasted. I've heard this effect on many systems, including my own, but I can't recall it being rendered so clearly as it is now.

Meanwhile, the dialogue is delivered with startling clarity. Safin's mumbly tones are made out with ease, while there's a sense of range and clarity to Madelaine's mother's accent that I'm not accustomed to hearing. Even more impressive is the level of detail that the Cinergy reveals. As Safin ascends the stairs to Madelaine's room, I'm able to make out the dialogue pouring from the television, which is yet another first for any home cinema system that I've heard.

Despite being a few years old and lacking an Atmos soundtrack, the DTS-HD Master Audio on the 4K Blu-ray of Dunkirk is demo-worthy. The opening of the movie is punctuated by silence, which can be just as engaging in a well-designed cinema room free of background noise. It seems to stretch on forever before it is punctuated by machine gun fire. Although I know this scene well, the sheer sound pressure levels and dynamics that the Cinergy system delivers had me flying out of my chair. At higher volumes, the sound of the machine gun fire tearing the wooden gate to shreds is terrifying, as are the sirens in the Stuka Dive bombers. This system has more than enough volume to make your viewing experience uncomfortable, so you have plenty in reserve, should you choose!

THE VERDICT

Monitor Audio's new Cinergy system over-delivers on its promises. In the hands of an authorised cinema designer, it serves up blistering volume levels with lightning-fast transients that punch you in the chest. It is a dynamic, thrilling listen that really gets the adrenaline pumping. It also creates a wonderful sense of space, with the walls often disappearing and objects easily tracked around the room.

This system has the ability to dig deep into the soundtrack, revealing the smallest of details that slip past most systems. It's also one of the most musical theatre systems I've heard. The only criticism I can find is that the HFT drivers that make the sound so revealing could appear a little bright if not correctly tuned. This is something that your system designer will be able to sort, as it's certainly possible to get a balance of detail, clarity and dynamics without it sounding fatiguing.

This is about as close as it gets to a turnkey real cinema sound experience at home. It's made even more versatile with its range of flexible installation options for installers. While it costs a pretty penny, once the lights dim and you're immersed in the scenes and soundtrack of your favourite movies, the investment will become worth every cent. Just don't forget the popcorn!

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