Monsoon MH-500 Flatpanel Speaker Review - PAGE 1

Introduction & Design

The MH-500 Boxshot

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 at the sleek price of $99.00.

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 MH-500 Satellites

The satellites are narrower and taller than the MM-1000 or MM-700 satellites, but they still sported metal stands (for which I was grateful). The speakers are covered with metal shielding plates pockmarked with holes so that you can see the semi-silver membrane behind the neodymium magnets. The profile of the speakers is no longer as “cool” because the cone driver bulges out toward the lower rear of the satellites – a trade-off for using the cone drivers, which need larger enclosures in order to produce sound. I found this took away from much of the mystere behind the whole flat panel concept, but it still held some flair for those inclined to aesthetic appeal for their computer peripherals. 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.

Subwoofer Control Panel

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 dimnutive size… there must be some serious components in this thing! The integrated amp is rated at a total of 51watts, 17 of which drive the 4” woofer, 8.5watts each to drive the midrange cones, and finally 2.5 watts each to drive the high-frequency transducers.