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  #1  
07-15-2012, 07:35 PM
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Overview

Item: One set of Monsoon/Sonigistix MH-500 2.1 speakers

Price: $100 <-- that's a steal! + shipping

Condition: Excellent condition. All speakers are in clean like-new condition, and function properly. The sub-woofer was fully dismantled, inspected, cleaned, and serviced by me -- then reassembled and tested one last time.


Description / Why Buy ?

Virtually all computer speakers are low quality, with horrible frequency response curves that look like roller coasters. (Or a decade graphic of the 2001-2010 economy.) In order to clearly hear all high treble, mid treble and bass tones, a frequency response curve should be as flat as possible. Otherwise it's weighted heavy to pitchy/tinny trebles, warbly muffled bass, or simply has tonal values that are inaudible. As is the case with HDTVs and computer monitors, consumers sometimes like over-contrasted quality. However, for any serious audio/video work, such hardware is unacceptable.

These are very rare planar magnetic speakers, circa 2000-2002, and have actually gone up in value over the past decade. Unlike normal 2.0 reference monitors, this is a 2.1 set of speakers. So instead of all sound coming from two stereo speakers, audio comes from two high/mid speakers, and a balanced subwoofer. It makes for both a pleasant consumer-like listening experience, while also being very accurate for audio work, including restoration.

The MH-500 series speakers have true 50 Hz to 20000 Hz frequency playback. It's not just "written on the box" as found with most speakers. The frequency response on these speakers is very even, and very comparable to certified reference monitors. These actually sounds better than most M-Audio models. The only others speakers able to compete with the Sonigistix hardware are the $200+ Harman-Kardon Sound Sticks -- but even those are not as even and flat of a response as the Monsoons.

As one reviewer once wrote: "If these don't sound great in your system, then you don't know what good sound is supposed to sound like."


Photo

This is my photo of the speaker set available for sale. It is NOT a stock image:

MonsoonMH500-web.jpg


Notes

Compatibility: North American 120V power rating. However, anybody in a non-NA country can easily put these on a low-cost power step converter.

Quality Notes: In the interest of complete disclosure, there is one tiny nitpick. This set of speakers has a very minor FM feedback whine, which can only be heard in a completely silent room, when the volume is turned up to louder volumes. It's a tiny high-pitched sound that should not affect your work, does not affect the tonal fidelity, and will likely not even be noticed. In fact, because of the random nature of FM/power-based noise, it may simply be a case of bad luck at this specific location -- meaning the flaw will not exist at your location.

Replacement/Upgrade Note:
The MH-500 series speakers originally came with a "volume puck", but this set was replaced with a straight 2.5mm mini audio cable. The puck is not necessary, and volume can be controlled by the computer OS controls (OS9/OSX, Windows, Linux, etc). The puck was fairly fragile, and would need repairs every 2-3 years, otherwise it could distort audio or drop a channel. It also allowed a user to damage speakers when turned up too loudly, when the OS controls were also cranked up. So it was often more trouble than it was worth.

Shipping Insurance & Refunds/Returns: Insured shipping is available to U.S. addresses. And I will carefully package these in thick cardboard boxes, so that no damage should occur. In the unlikely event damage occurs during shipping, you'll be given information in order to handle the claim with the carrier, and they pay out the claim/refund. As far as returns go, I'm not a retail store, therefore all sales are final. So if you change your mind later on, simply list them on eBay, and sell the set to somebody else.


Why Are You Selling !?


This is simply extra hardware. It's in perfect condition, but is redundant. Rather than continue to store a closet of unnecessary gear, I'm releasing some of it back into the wild, because there are other people who may benefit from actually using it. It's not defective, broken, etc, as you often find on eBay. It's also tested -- REALLY TESTED -- not just "powered on" and assumed functional, as you often find on eBay/craigslist/etc.



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  #2  
07-15-2012, 09:31 PM
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Here's decent article on frequency response curves: http://www.ecoustics.com/electronics...es/131062.html
Good read.

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  #3  
07-15-2012, 10:00 PM
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An excellent review from a hard-to-please audiophile:

Quote:
Introduction & Design

Monsoon is one of the most amazing multimedia speaker companies that I can possibly name. This is a company that has produced two very fine flat panel speaker systems using their planar focus technology. If you'’ve read my reviews of the first two speakers to use Monsoon’s planar focus technology, you will know that the results are often amazingly clear and clean audio quality, precision soundstage reproduction, and superb instrument placement. The only thing that has been really holding them back has been the pricing of the excellent speakers. So it was that Monsoon introduced their MH-500 speakers – featuring a pair of hybrid satellites equipped with both flat panel planar focus technology and traditional cone drivers. This marriage between high-tech and traditional driver systems, in addition to a few other design features, has allowed Monsoon to offer a high-grade audio system.

While many companies, with the exception of Boston Acoustics and a choice few, have been moving towards NXT based flat panel technologies, Monsoon has stayed true to its own superior Planar Focus Technology. Planar Focus relies on heavy neodymium magnets and thin membranes for their precision audio. As such, the technology is inherently expensive. The solution was to use smaller and fewer magnets in each satellite, with smaller membranes, and couple this with a 2.5” midrange cone driver to round out the sound. The bottom end is handled by a compact 4” long-throw woofer in a heavy plastic enclosure.

The speakers are covered with metal shielding plates pockmarked with holes so that you can see the semi-silver membrane behind the neodymium magnets. Certainly no one else makes speakers with this type of aggressive stylism.

Unlike previous models, each of the new satellites now connects to the main subwoofer unit using heavy DIN cables. I would venture a guess and say that the newer design is to accommodate bass management of the 2.5” drivers, in relation to the bass settings on the subwoofer.

Speaking of the subwoofer the first thing you’ll rant about is its ridiculously small size, even smaller than the woofer that comes with the Boston Acoustics BA-635s, and easily as small as woofers that come with some sub-$60 systems. It was with some surprise, then, that we found the subwoofer to be amazingly heavy, far heavier than you could possibly suspect from its diminutive size…. There must be some serious components in this thing! The integrated amp is rated at a total of 51 watts, 17 of which drive the 4” woofer, 8.5 watts each to drive the midrange cones, and finally 2.5 watts each to drive the high-frequency transducers.


Design & Audio Quality

The infamous volume puck makes its appearance once again with the MH-500. This small controller gives you smooth analog control of volume, and doubles as a quick mute control at the touch of a single button. Bass control is located on the subwoofer, though, as I noted with the DIN cables, I suspect that bass controls also affect the midrange cones built into each satellite. The MH-500s, strangely, lack a power switch, and instead rely on auto-power off.

The nice thing about the combination of cones and flat panel technology is that the best of both worlds are brought together in order to provide an excellent sound experience. The thin membranes in Planar Focus technology allow for some amazingly clear audio, but they also tend to falter when it comes to delivering mid and low range sounds, which is why some reviewers may have described previous Monsoon flat panels as being a little thin sounding. I was eager to see how well the hybrid satellites would hold up to my tests, because I was worried about whether Monsoon could pull off another winner while keeping the price tag lower. But I need no’t have worried, because the MH-500’s are nothing short of extraordinary.

I tested the speakers using a suite of varying material ranging from classical Bach to high energy techno. Slower rhythmic R&B beats, instrumental- and vocal-heavy material rounded out the test. Throughout my tests, I was minded that the speakers had a nice level of detail and high-frequency clarity. Vocals were nicely centered and had nice tonal accuracy, though I felt there was a noticeable lack of upper end detail when the subwoofer was pushed past the halfway mark. The subwoofer was surprisingly capable, and produced a nice bass line to accompany the mid and high end audio. The subwoofer wasn'’t capable of fairly representing the lowest end frequencies, so subtle bass tones were sometimes lost, but those frequencies it covered, it did so aggressively and without signs of struggling. Bravo, and a nod to the heavy little subwoofer that could.

High impact and high-energy style music came through with alacrity and excitement. I found I could blast the speakers to their very near their limits and not encounter any audio defects, though the speakers could not play as loudly as others that have come across our desks. Quick and blunt bass was amazingly powerfully when the subwoofer was cranked, and I was caught up in rush jams like Alice Deejay’s “Back in My Life”. The sound stage on the MH-500 is impressively represented. Sugar Ray’'s “Spinning Away Sinned Ego” threw a soundstage with amazing depth and breadth, almost wrapping around the listening in its intimacy, and though other material had less stellar effects, the sound stage was nonetheless satisfactory to me.

Audio Quality & Final Thoughts

Instruments in classical and instrumental heavy pieces were well represented, and were further enhanced by the aural space created on the sound stage. Instruments had a way of standing out from the music and making themselves very present, very noticeable. I found that the piano and string reproduction wasn'’t quite as lifelike as other speakers such as my own MidiLand S2 4030s. Taken in perspective though, the MH-500 is not in the same price class as either of these two other speakers, and thus far they tromp nearly everything else in this price range for instrumentation.

Slow jams had no problems either, and speakers smoothed right through the various songs that I threw at them. I was delighted that the subwoofer managed to crank out bass that defied its size – even on songs heavy with ultra low bass. Larger subwoofers tend to be more effective on subtle and intricate bass effects. Having said that, you just can’'t get much better bass than what the little subwoofer delivers. Not at this price range and size class.

In games, the speakers reproduced sound effects with great clarity and high energy. I was pulled right into the games and thought the subwoofer did an excellent job of providing that extra oomph on impact and other explosive sounds. Thanks to the highly directional nature of the Planar Focus technology, these speakers also had superior 3D imaging for 3D-enabled games (particularly of the variety that employs HRTFs). If you'’ve never heard a flat panel speaker with high directionality, then you haven’t yet heard the best possible positional 3D imaging from a 2.1 speaker setup. Predictably, compared to higher-end, there was a reduced crispness of sound effects like spent bullet casings falling on the floor, and high energy weapons screaming out their payload. Gaming didn'’t suffer from these slight changes, because at no point did I find myself being jarred from a gaming session from less than stellar gaming effects. This may not thrill like a system with a sub packing more low end oomph, but there is no doubt that this is a great gaming speaker set.

These new Monsoons are definitely worth a look. Flat panels are cool, and Monsoon gives you a piece of Planar Focus technology at a price closer to the budget market.

Final Score: 90%

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