Thread: Monitor Audio GS10 Speaker

Monitor Audio (MA). the speaker manufacturer is renowned for its high quality loudspeakers that has not only won many awards and earned several grand reviews. but has also responded to the recognition by consistently reinforcing their position as one of the leaders in the market. They have to this day, expanded on their success while taking its legacy ahead into their latest line of speakers including the GSlOs.

OUT OF THE BOX
At the first glance the GS10 (Gold Signature 10) displayed an unmatched golden glow - a sheen that'll compel you to possess it at the first sight. The drivers, accentuated with burnished aluminium formed an elegant figure of eight with the golden tweeter and the wave-gUide at the centre of the two circles. In contrast to
the aluminium is a black lacquered veneer with the piano finish. And the highlight is the size of the speakers which is optimum ie small enough to fit perfectly on any universal stand and big enough to provide sufficient bass frequency extension.

TECHNOLOGY
Owing its expertise and infrastructure to 35 years of experience in the domain, Monitor Audio is a one-stop shop when it comes to manufacturing loudspeakers. Their research and development is based on patented design principles - like the HiVe II (High Velocity Reflex Port) and the CCAM (Ceramic Coated Aluminium/ Magnesium) in this case - that have been incorporated into their products. The HiVe is a port design that features a straight, elongated circular port designed to accelerate airflow in and out of the cabinet.

In a speaker cabinet, a port's critical function is to enhance the bass frequency response that directly affects its final performance. Low frequencies are the least directive and need proper channelisation with optimum speed for the best results. If not treated so, they tend to overpower the overall performance of the speaker making it boomy or muddy. The HiVe serves the same essential purpose of moving the air in and out at a much quicker rate than the ports in other speakers
that result in a more powerful bass.

Monitor Audio was the first company to employ an aluminium magnesium alloy (CCAM) for the dome, which was used in its first speaker, the R852MD. Since then. they have been using it in all their loudspeaker designs. The alloy prOVides for reduced mass and increased stiffness, which results in a smoother frequency response and a wider dynamic range. Apart from this technical tweaking, the folks at MA have paid attention to detail in the basics, which is evident with the sturdier and a rock solid cabinet. Without much ado, we picked out our CDs and made ourselves comfortable in our couch.



PERFORMANCE
Like all the other bookshelves we started off by placing the GS10s about 3 feet away from the rear wall and side walls and approximately 8 feet apart from each other. But looking at the rifled port, we just had a feeling that the distance of 3 feet was a little too less and we were right as when we played the track "Poor Boy" from the 'Sheffield/Xlo Test' CD. the music was sounding a tad bloated. We immediately corrected the position of the stands by shifting them by around two feet in front while keeping a distance of 5 feet (approx) between the walls and the speakers.

This was the perfect placement for the speakers in our auditioning room, as this time, the same track was rendered with optimal depth and fullness along with sufficient presence in the sound. Further into the song, a good saxophone solo gave us a glimpse of the GSlOs ability to reproduce sounds with warmth and equal crispness. We felt the omnipresence of the resonating Hammond organ tone throughout the song. Not many transducers are able reproduce these details that the GSlO did effortlessly.

When we played "Message Of Love" by Jimi Hendrix. the GSlO was not only able to execute the finer nuances of the track from each lick of the guitar to every hit
on the cymbal flawlessly but was also able to perform this task with impressive smoothness. The CCAM drivers moved back and forth with good control without displaying any signs of an overdrive or any strain as it effortlessly conveyed all the heavy guitar patches and equally heavy vocals throughout the track. We then played AR Rahman's

'Sivaji', a Tamil album that is abundant with shimmering high frequencies, grounding low frequencies and loaded with some really exciting vocal arrangements. like most of his albums. To get a taste of what GSlO could handle, we raised the volume until our studio started reverberating to its power, yet the GSlO did not let the imaging slip even by a nanometer. It held its ground and maintained the soundstage and all the instruments with the key vocals in their respective places. And we are glad to announce that the GS10 won the challenge. The speakers provided ample warmth, but we missed a little shimmer in the highs as some special effects like delays used in some of the tracks were lacking in intensity. However, what was endearing was the GS10's excellent transient response with crisp and sizzling snares and other percussions.