Related Articles

Music on the MM2000 was exquisite. When set up properly, the system is rated from 35Hz to 20kHz for a multimedia environment; which we interpret to be a close range setting – under those conditions you can hardly tell that the subwoofer is handling frequencies up to (and a little beyond) 200Hz. The high-end was extremely detailed and lush. The speakers threw a coherent soundstage with excellent stereo separation and a superbly isolated center stage. In some tracks, the vocalist literally appeared to be suspended just beyond the speakers, right where they ought to be.

Monsoon doesn’t give out any efficiency or Signal-to-Noise specifications, but quiet interludes were extremely well represented thanks to the very low level of background noise.

So what kind of flaws does the system have? I classify these speakers as the type that some people will love, and that others might find lacking. The high-end frequencies are detailed, but they are sometimes so crisp they have a surreal quality that might be disturbing or unnatural to some users. I know of several people who become tired listening to flat panel speakers due to their high end being too shrill. The midrange is also not as full as you would find in another set such as the BA4800’s, so some tracks had an empty quality that others commented on.

Of all those possible complaints, only the fatigue was an issue for me. A close friend of mine listened to the speakers for hours on end without a single complaint of fatigue, so this type of thing is a very personal experience.

In movies, the speakers performed well but not exceptionally well for this price class. Explosions and bass effects were stunning, but the overall soundstage lacked finesse, and pans across speakers were not perfectly smooth. The lack of a center channel speaker was not a problem, thanks to the directionality of the speakers, which gave the phantom center a palpable realism. Given the performance of the speakers in music, we were actually quite surprised that the movie sound stage lacked the solidity that we were expecting. We also found that we had to set the volume very high to get the kind of volume we normally use to test movies.

In games, we had to also tune up the volume quite a bit. Once the volume was set properly, we were able to game quite contentedly. The MM2000 make GREAT gaming speakers because of its strong bass performance and due to the directionality and crisp audio. With games that have good 3d positional audio, the difference between the MM2000 and a conventional cone based speaker set is quite startling. You will notice an immediate increase in positioning and accuracy that will make your games all the more immersive.

Finale

The MM2000 is a long awaited addition to the Monsoon flat panel family – and for those who have been waiting, I can attest that the wait was worth it. For music lovers, the speakers breath life into many different music genres by delivering on the quality that Monsoon first established with their MM1000. For gamers, the guttural joy of fragging and the enjoyment of in-game aural immersion is quite a treat. As a movie speaker set, the MM2000 falls slightly behind some of the lower priced alternatives on the market in terms of soundstage transparency, but not in terms of delivering a very solid phantom center. The price, at $299US MSRP, is a little steep, but word on the street is that the speakers are going for around $249. The MM2000 favours comparably against the Klipsch 4.1s, and are in my eyes an even better value, thanks to their unique look, great quality, and lower pricing. The two will ultimately be ranked up amongst the other $200+ heavy hitters, but between the Klipsch and Monsoon MM2000, the former is probably a stronger movie set, while the latter ekes out just ahead on music quality.

These speakers are easy to fall in love with. I’m more a music person on the computer, and the high-end of these speakers do wonders for some of the material I like to listen to while working. The subwoofer is one of the best, if not THE best, that I have ever tested in multimedia speakers. That makes MM2000 a godsend for someone who has been criticizing flimsy subwoofers since the inception of multimedia audio. In fact, I’m reluctant to send ‘em packing back to Monsoon. That’s how great they are.

Overall Score: 91%

send article   hardware newsletter   article comments (168)   print

Submit our article to: Digg this! del.icio.us