Monitor Audio Speaker Identification

Hello out there.

Well, I'm new here, and of course I want something...

I recently got a great deal on a pair of Monitor Audio bookshelf speakers and an ASW 100 sub. I realized the seller had listed the speakers using the serial number instead of the model number, so no one looking at the listing likely knew what was going on. Hunting high and low I at first thought they were Studio 2, but the model/serial number label (green) identified them as "Monitor 2-S," and the "S" was handwritten. They have 3/4" gold dome tweeters, and black 5" (?) mid/woofers (not sure if they are metal or not). Unlike the Monitor 2 variations I found on Google Images, these are front-ported. The ports are rather small. The speaker binding posts are set up for bi-wiring/bi-amping, and are correctly spaced for American-style dual banana plugs, which I don't think you can do in the UK, at least not anymore.

I wrote Monitor Audio in the UK, attaching photos. Dan Rogers of Monitor was very responsive, but even he was stymied. He noted that Mo Iqbal, former head of Monitor, was known to create "special editions" of his speakers without issuing any new literature, and suggested they might be examples of this practice. This might explain the handwritten "S" on the labels. He also wondered if they might be home-modded, but these show no signs of having been modified/customized.
Any help will be greatly appreciated.



Cheers!

 

I just saw a pair of these listed on ebay, but the seller doesn't identify the model, or offer any other info (which means they probably don't know). But they're definitely the same, which leads me to believe they have not been modded.

I also came across an audiogon discussion where someone refers to their "Monitor 2.5" speakers. And the "s" on your serial number looks a bit like a 5. But that hasn't led me to any more information. The drivers seem consistent with the "Monitor 2 gold" and "Monitor 9 mk2 gold," among others. So maybe it's an offshoot of that series, rather than the Studios. But I'm just grasping at straws.

The ebay listing is actually what led me here; I was considering buying them. What do you think of these speakers? How would you characterize their strengths and weaknesses?

 

Thanks so much!

I usually love a mystery, but this is driving me a bit bonkers. Let me check eBay and see what you saw. Plus, your suggestion of a "Monitor 2.5" makes absolute sense. The "-" could easily be a "." And yes, the "s" could just as well be a "5". Dan Rogers of MA is flummoxed, too, so I will pass this along.

Thanks again. The game's afoot!

 

I was going to post a link to the ebay listing, but then I thought it might be flagged as spam (a lot of forums don't allow that). But the listing title is "monitor audio ltd bookshelf speakers."

Looking around a bit more, I found mention on various forums of a Monitor Audio "2.5 gold" (or "gold 2.5"). No one posted pictures, but they're described as a 2-way from the 1990s. So, maybe that's it. I was tempted to buy the pair from the mysterious ebay listing, but I think I need to curtail my speaker acquisition habit.

 

Well, they're not top-of-the-line, but they sure sound great!

I did find the link, thanks. The seller has confirmed, as well, that they say "2.5" on the back, though he/she didn't say whether it says "Monitor 2.5" or just "2.5", though the label is green, like mine.

1990s would fit, time-wise.

Thanks!

 

Hi there,
recently I had similar situation with those little MA 200.

 

What was the problem?

 

I could not detect them or find any info on wen about them. At the end I contacted guys from Monitor Audio. Even they could not find any concrete info except couple of references with no further informations. They concluded that it could be special edition which previous owner (Mo Iqbal) liked to produce without any documentation .

At one moment I even started to think maybe they are fake ones, but all visual elements from other MA speakers from that period were present.

I still don't have to much info but obviously I am not the only one with that problem...

 

Who did you talk to at Monitor?

 

I contact them through official website. Guy who replied was Chris

 

It looks like the manufacturers had intended high quality. The speaker terminals are pre-arranged so that bi-amp is convenient. The woofer(s) is arranged so that it can be separately powered. It looks like if the speakers had been used as optimally as designed, then it was a tri-amp kit. It also looks like the manual failed. Now, just guessing, but I supposed that the marketing people wouldn't have published that optimal usage will be really inconvenient; and, along with that, specific information on maximizing the speakers is sure to be missing.

There is actually physical evidence of the speaker engineers intending that their wares be used at top level. That alone evidences good speakers. Also, due to the necessity to actually sell speakers, the absence/compromise of the further application documentation, is expected.

Despite some odd documentation problem, it is clear that the speakers are already rigged for top-level performance, and that's rare. The arrangement of the jacks makes that clear. It is also clear (by same means) they expected that the maximum performance won't be (often) exploited.

After all that, the best I can say is that you have a well made tri-amp kit. It is arranged to replicate a real concert except in a smaller venue, such as your house. It is also arranged for a high resolution treble amplifier, a fairly tone voiceband amplifier, and a placid bass amplifier. That's the sure recipe for a concert. Usually, it would be done in a larger venue. But, the electronic connections for those speakers are arranged to do real concert sound in the smaller venue of a house.

That's just concert sound re-scaled to fit a house. That kit might take 3+ amplifiers to do it; however, most concerts do take at least that much.

 

I also have a pair of these speakers they are 2.5 and if you are still interested un conversating about these speakers please respond

 

Hi, I'm new to the forum, but am interested in learning what you know about the Monitor Audio 2.5's as I've recently picked up a pair, and haven't been able to find much information about them. Any input you may have would be great. Thanks in advance.

 

Pretty much everything I learned is in the posts above. I wound up selling mine to get a larger pair of Bronze BR-2s. Which I love. But It really hurt to sell the 2.5s, and I frankly shouldn't have. They were really special, and I doubt I'll find another pair.

Monitor Audio was as helpful as they could be, and very responsive. They figured out right away that these were Mo Iqbal specials, a great idea he got which he failed to document. They told me they couldn't even find any sales or promotional materials on them. This kind of thing was not unusual in Iqbal's time.

Don't sell them!

 

Thanks for the quick reply and confirmation of the comments in the string. Sorry to hear that you sold them, I've done that myself with other gear and you wind up kicking yourself.

I just picked them up about a month ago, I've spent some time with them and really like what I hear, but I haven't put them into my primary system to give them a proper listen. I just ordered bi-wire cables which should arrive early next week. This should hopefully give me a real taste of what they can do. With such a strong endorsement I will be keeping them!

Thanks again for the reply.

 

Don't waste your time and money on biwiring. The drivers in the speakers are connected internally via the crossover, so unless you pull the crossovers out, you are accomplishing nothing electronically. There's a good explanation here: http://www.biline.ca/audio_critic/mags/The_Audio_Critic_26_r.pdf The article is called "The 10 Biggest Lies In Audio". Lie No. 7 is called "The Biwiring Lie". Specifically, the "superposition principle".