Audio Quality & Final Thoughts
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| Front View of the MH-500s |
Instruments in classical and instrumental heavy pieces were well represented, and were further enhanced by the aural space created on the soundstage. 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 wasnt quite as lifelike as other speakers such as my own MidiLand S2 4030s, or even the other members of the Monsoon line. 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, I felt that the subwoofer did a fair job of keeping up with the demands of the material, though it couldnt hold a candle to the MM-1000s or even the MM-700s. Larger subwoofers tend to be more effective on subtle and intricate bass effects, so it was apparent that the MM1000 and MM700 had a more refined bass response. Having said that, you just cant get much better bass than what the little subwoofer delivers. Not at this price range and size class.
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| Close Up of a Satellite |
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 youve never heard a flat panel speaker with high directionality, then you havent yet heard the best possible positional 3d imaging from a 2.1 speaker setup. Predictably, compared to the higher end MM-700 and MM-1000 speakers, there was a reduced crispness of sound effects like spent bullet casings falling on the floor, and high energy weapons screaming out their payload. The 3D positional qualities were mostly retained, but again, there was a noticeable difference between the MH-500s quality and that of its predecessors. Gaming didnt 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.
By its own right, the speakers are an excellent set of audio delight. When compared to its forefathers, I feel it does its line justice, but it certainly cant compare to the crystalline quality of the MM-1000s or the guttural energy of the MM-700s. But those two systems are aimed at completely different markets. The MH-500 is an amazing piece of audio equipment designed for the tech savvy audio enthusiast. I wont be replacing my aging MidiLand S2 4030s, whose soundstage remains more impressive, and whos instrumental reproduction and upper-end clarity still hold a nice advantage for their mid-point price, but 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 swimming with otherwise unworthy candidates. Heck, a quick search turned up the MH-500 at an amazing $59.99USD. Now THAT, is a whole lot of music and gaming for not a whole lot of green.
Final Score: 90%
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