Sonigistix Monsoon MM 2000 Review

Author: Anthony Roberts
Editor: Howard Ha
Publish Date: Friday, June 22nd, 2001
Originally Published on Neoseeker (http://www.neoseeker.com)
Article Link: http://www.neoseeker.com/Articles/Hardware/Reviews/mm2000/
Copyright Neo Era Media, Inc. - please do not redistribute or use for commercial purposes.

With the popularity and success of their other speakers – the only truly high quality Flat Panel multimedia speakers on the market, it was only a matter of time before Monsoon released a surround sound flat panel speaker system. Consumer interest was quick when the company announced the MM2000, a surround system featuring 4 flat satellites utilizing Monsoon's Planar Focus Technology.

Thin is In

In the technology world, thin is definitely chic. Monsoon’s Flat panel speakers, through the use of their Planar Focus Technology (PFT), are the only flat speakers that offer the quality that you would expect from a high-end system. These flat beauties produce music based on a similar premise to cone woofers, except that in the place of a cone, a thin polymer membrane vibrates to create the necessary sound waves. Stretched out between powerful magnets, the membrane acts as a diaphragm when electrical currents create a magnetic field that causes the polymer to vibrate and create sound. In addition to looking cool, these flat panels are designed to reproduce sounds at a detail level that surpasses traditional cone speakers. Monsoon speakers are also well known to be highly directional, a boon for 3d positional applications like 3d gaming.

Style Baby!

All the styling of previous models is once again found in this latest model – you can’t but help admiring the beauty of pure flat speakers, and the subwoofer, with its 3 drivers, appears impressive indeed.

At first glance the satellites borrow the same design elements of previous Monsoon models, but on closer inspection one can see that the construction of the neodymium magnets and the backing of the panels appears to have been modified. The satellites are also supported by newly designed plastic stands, instead of the metal stands that came with the MM700. These new stands are confusing because they have a moveable rear leg, but do not appear to allow users to angle the panels beyond a very limited range.

The subwoofer is huge and houses three 6.5” cones – one which acts as the front firing active subwoofer cone, and two of which are side firing passive radiators. We are increasingly seeing the need for heat dissipation on the high powered amps housed in expensive multimedia systems, and sure enough a large heatsink is mounted on the back of the woofer enclosure. Following with all previous Monsoon models, the power supply is housed in the subwoofer – so there’s no huge brick-like power plugs to mess with.

Gone is the famous “puck” controller that came with every other Monsoon speaker. Although cool, the puck lacks functionality; so instead, Monsoon now includes a larger control unit that combines volume control with mute, fader, and bass functionality. And, in a move that is a welcome deviation from most other surround systems, a headphones jack is included on the module. The huge volume knob is a pleasure to use, as are the smaller fader and bass knobs. The huge mute button is easily pressed, and an LED conveniently indicates power/mute status.

Setting it all up

Installation of the system is a snap. The new stands take a little getting used to, but electrical connections are basically the same as with any other speaker set. The front satellites have 10foot long wires, while rear satellites have 20 foot length wires – more than adequate for nearly any multimedia setup. The wires are attached permanently to the satellites, so audiophiles will not have the luxury of replacing the stock wires with hire gauge wiring.

Flat Facts

An interesting side effect of PFT technology is that the satellites tend to have a very distinct and sharp sound. Because the polymer membranes move so much faster then even a small conventional tweeter, the high-end frequencies tend to be very crisp and detailed. This side effect has a negative though: the satellites cannot handle the frequency range that a regular satellite can handle, so the crossover cutoff point is at the 200Hz mark. Any frequencies below 200Hz are handled by the subwoofer. Because sounds above 80Hz can be localized, Monsoon recommends you set the subwoofer somewhere in between the left and right speakers (a generally recommended position, since even 80Hz and below frequencies are mildly localizable, in spite of popular belief).

The other side effect of PFT is that sound is highly directional. Sound only radiates directly to the front and to the rear of the satellites. In fact, if you flip a satellite speaker so that it is parallel with your listening position, the volume of sound decreases to the point you will be convinced the speakers are off. We’re so used to being able to hear sound from the side of a speaker, this effect is really something you have to experience to believe :) Because sound does not radiate much to either side of the satellites, there are fewer reflections off of adjacent objects or walls, and sound appears to be highly directional. The real world effect of this directionality is that the listening sweet spot is a lot tighter, and 3d games will have an incredibly accurate 3d field, while music will appear to be muddled when a listener is outside of the optimal listening position.

Quality that Counts

With 60Watts powering each of the 4 satellites, and another 100Watts dedicated to the subwoofer, I was surprised to find the total output volume of the speakers to be rather low. The speakers are rated to hit 108dB (Max SPL at 0.5m), and they can be pushed to amazingly high volumes, but what is surprising is that the volume knob has to be put quite high in order to reach those volumes. On the flip side, the speakers do not distort when you have the volume past the ¾ mark. In fact, those of you used to setting the volume knob at the usual ¼-1/3 position will be pleased to find that this volume knob actually represents the full spectrum of what the speakers can handle in terms of volume.

I have always liked the sound of Monsoon’s speakers, and this set is no exception. Paired with our Santa Cruz, this set took down the roof with its incredible highs and lively bass. The two passive radiators on the subwoofer, according to Monsoon, are supposed to allow higher bass output without distortion. Throughout our testing, we found the bass to be stable and coherent; even at the highest volume settings. This is some of the best sounding bass I have heard from a computer subwoofer. The versatility of the subwoofer allowed the set to deliver subtle bass notes for realistic instrument reproduction, or pump out outrageous levels of synthetic bass that accompanies hip-hop and dance tracks.

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%

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