Budget audio, no glory?

Budget audio, no glory? Audiophiles tend to give the stare like "hey, you can ignore what this guy say."

Many look down on budget audio. I don't blame them for they do not have much wow factor. Forget not, we were once started our audio avendure from budget audio, right. There are also blessed people started their system at half a million MYR!!!

Monitor Audio has dogged quite a long awhile. This time, I will share my first impression on Bronze BX2s, entry level bookshelf speakers from Monitor Audio.

I must confess that I did not like old Monitor Audio signature sound, tilted up highs. Thin and weary highs sounded unnatural, the vocal seems to sing a higher key like in Karaoke. While they weren't in similar fashion with the more refined Pro Ac, Monitor Audio has a fuller midrange and bass. It seems at so point in time, speaker companies reinvent themselves. They changed the house sound. In doing so, they hope to gain greater market share. That's why a bright engineer could not be a good business man and vice versa for they look at things at different perspective. Krell and its founder is a clear example.

So, what is the fuss with the rave reviews they garnered? I will soon find out.

A typical 2 way bass reflex bookshelf, 350mm H x 185mm W x 285mm D, weights 5.84kg each. One 25mm tweeter and one 165mm driver in a MDF box going for 1200-1300MYS per pair. The tweeter and driver are Monitor Audio proprietary, not available for third party use. They hold the prices up pretty well, thanks to low cost production facilities in China.

Well, I did not expect much from BX2s. A present speaker will always better than the old speaker in the same price bracket due to the blessing of new technology. It will be different story then if you compare with mid price old speaker with the low price new speaker. The reason I post this is to see if time has pressed the speakers performance. From the spec alone, these entry BX2s highs shoot up to 30kHz!!! 10kHz more than the similar offerings a decade ago. It even bettered Wilson Sophia Mark I!  Lows digs down to 40Hz, that's pretty amazing for its size.

 

Nuff talk, let's get right to the sound. Grandeur is never bookshelf speaker forte, the only speaker I have heard that defy this law of physics is the Sonus Extremas. BX2s were never close to challenge Extremas, we talking about 15 fold price difference. The matter of fact is BX2 has a  bass belie its size, gorgeous. The bass is full and extended. In this regard, BX2s punch above their weight. I was curious how 165mm/6.5 in driver could move so much air and with such authority? Bigger motor behind the driver must be responsible for the bass. A peep behind BX2, the bass driver was locked in place with a rod, a cross head screw was seen at the back of the enclosure. This is an ingenious design to curb resonance. Resonance occurred mostly at the front baffle where the driver is screwed onto the front baffle. The louder the sound the greater movement of the driver hence the greater resonance. Similar priced (less inflation) speakers a decade ago would dream to have a bass like BX2s. BX2s bass beat Mordaunt Short Aviano, a direct competitor. Advancement in efficient production brings about cost reduction that allow a driver of this quality to be made available to budget speakers. 

 

On the highs and mids, BX2s no longer inherit the old Monitor Audio house sound. The highs is thicker and given time (not fully run in yet), will shine. The mids is clean and articulate, no trace of BBC sound. Nope, you do not get the tonality, tonal quality and refinement of the megabucks speakers. Most speaker makers cut corner at crossover. Skimming quality components at crossover is not something new. I am expecting too much BX2s that priced so dearly.

 

BX2s are best driven with solid state electronics, Audiolab will be a fine choice. At 90dB sensitivity and 8 ohm nominal impedance, BX2 will not pose a difficult load to the amp. Monitor Audio has up the game, dollar per dollar, BX2s make an ideal buy for the beginner.