Monitor Audio produces some of the most diverse and affordable speakers in the consumer audio market. Recently, the British manufacturer introduced its sixth-generation Silver series of loudspeakers. Like other Monitor product series, the newly announced Silver series provide users with a choice of floorstanding, bookshelf and home theater speakers.
Available in the U.S. from its North American distributor Kevro, the Silver series provides a choice of nine models that feature contemporary industrial designs.
“We've created a new visual character in the Silver series,” notes Dean Hartley, technical director, Monitor Audio. “Adopting a 'less than more' approach, we have evaluated every component and redesigned from the ground up.”
The company points out that part of the Silver series' design process included the use of precision laser scanning equipment from the National Physical Laboratory to ensure proper cabinet bracing.
Internally, the Silver series features new versions of Monitor's proprietary C-CAM drivers. Constructed from a ceramic-coated aluminum/magnesium alloy, the rigid material aids the speakers in producing undistorted sound across the frequency spectrum.
“The result [with the C-CAM drivers] is significantly reduced distortion and a cleaner, more faithful reproduction of the music, whatever your choice of listening,” says Hartley.
Monitor Audio Silver Series Models
Starting with the bookshelf Silver 50 and Silver 100 loudspeakers, Monitor says these products are engineered to deliver “impressive scale and dynamics thanks to powerful drive unit magnets and large 32mm voice coils that generate tight, punchy bass.”
The Silver 50 incorporates a 5 1/4-inch C-CAM woofer and 1-inch Gold-Dome C-CAM tweeter, while the Silver 100 features a larger 8-inch C-CAM woofer. Both speakers utilize bass-reflex cabinet designs, and Hartley adds the Silver 100 is a, “serious audiophile speaker.”
Stepping up into the floorstanding models, Monitor offers the Silver 200, Silver 300 and Silver 500 speakers.
The Silver 200 is hybrid 2.5-way design that features the company's HiVe II ports, dual 5 1/4-inch C-CAM drivers and a 1-inch Gold C-CAM tweeter. The three-way Silver 300 features a dedicated 4-inch midrange driver that includes an “under hung” voice coil and motor system, and a pair of long-throw woofers mounted in a slimline cabinet.
Rounding out the floorstanding models, the three-way Silver 500 employs dual 8-inch C-CAM woofers, along with a dedicated 4-inch RST midrange driver and a 1-inch Gold C-CAM tweeter.
Moving into the home theater category, the Silver series features the Silver FX surround speaker. This speaker can be flush mounted on side or rear walls, and it offers a choice of dipole and bipolar operation. The Silver FX incorporates dual 1-inch C-CAM tweeters, along with a 6-inch C-CAM woofer.
Monitor says the line provides a choice between the Silver C150 and Silver 350 center-channel speakers. The C150 employs twin 5 1/4-inch C-CAM woofers, along with a 1-inch Gold Dome tweeter setup in a 2.5-way sealed box system.
The larger C350 uses a three-way, four driver configuration that complements the Silver 100, Silver 300 and Silver 500 speakers, and Monitor explains the vertical orientation of its midrange and tweeter axis ensures directivity across the entire soundstage.
Finishing up with the Silver series of products is the Silver W-12 powered subwoofer.
Monitor states the W-12 employs a 12-inch woofer, along with a 500-watt Class D amplifier, and on-board DSP filtering. The sub also includes Monitor's Automatic Position Correction (APC) that eliminates problematic room acoustics, and a 32-bit micro controller that prevents the subwoofer from being overdriven.
