Monitor Audio Apex Owners Thread

Wanting to make sure I'm not missing something obvious before I return. I purchased the Apex A40 Center From Crutchfield New-In-Box. It came in today and I unpacked it and hooked it up. It immediately sounded like sound was only coming out of the tweeter with no woofer movement. I touched the woofers and there is ZERO movement forward and backwards like a normal woofer does. They are as rigid as can be. Am I missing something? Pretty disappointing 1st experience if this is a QC issue.
 
Wanting to make sure I'm not missing something obvious before I return. I purchased the Apex A40 Center From Crutchfield New-In-Box. It came in today and I unpacked it and hooked it up. It immediately sounded like sound was only coming out of the tweeter with no woofer movement. I touched the woofers and there is ZERO movement forward and backwards like a normal woofer does. They are as rigid as can be. Am I missing something? Pretty disappointing 1st experience if this is a QC issue.
When in doubt send them back, give your dealer a call first and explain and ask for a new replacement
BTW just make sure you record the serial so that you can be sure of the exchange
 
Hi, would the new Denon X2700H be man enough to drive 3 x A40 (LCR), 2 x A10 (Rear Surround) and 2 x MA 265 IDC (Atmos) speakers? Or should I be looking further up the chain? Thanks
 
Hi, would the new Denon X2700H be man enough to drive 3 x A40 (LCR), 2 x A10 (Rear Surround) and 2 x MA 265 IDC (Atmos) speakers? Or should I be looking further up the chain? Thanks

Ideally at least Denon X3700H / Marantz SR6015 or Yamaha RX-A4A (7.2).

The Denon should cost 999£ max so you need to negotiate the price down. SR6015 is very similar machine sharing lot of parts, the small front "display" is big minus though. You are buying receiver the worst time as the prices are sky high now.

If you don´t require hdmi 2.1 connections and 5.2.2 system is all you need then example used receiver like this would do fine:
 
Gasp, thanks for the comprehensive reply.

I am not in a rush to purchase a new receiver and can wait until the prices drop (if they do), as I am still in the middle of converting the garage into my man cave. I need the 2.1 connections as I will be putting a PS5 and occasionally a gaming PC through it and would prefer to remain as future proof as possible.

Are the Denon and Yamaha that you recommend pretty similar in respect to performance, or would you favour one over the other?
 
Gasp, thanks for the comprehensive reply.

I am not in a rush to purchase a new receiver and can wait until the prices drop (if they do), as I am still in the middle of converting the garage into my man cave. I need the 2.1 connections as I will be putting a PS5 and occasionally a gaming PC through it and would prefer to remain as future proof as possible.

Are the Denon and Yamaha that you recommend pretty similar in respect to performance, or would you favour one over the other?

No the performance will be very similar (105w vs 110w). The differences come from Denon having more channels (9.2 = 5.2.4 out of box) and processing (11.2= 7.2.4 with poweramp) where as Yamaha is stuck on 7.2/5.2.2 plus different room correction (Audussey vs YPAO). Yamaha has more hdmi 2.1 inputs (all 7 or what it had) vs. Denon (1 although the rest support some 2.1 features). Yamaha has 5year warranty, Denon 2years unless you buy it from shop like PT which gives you extra warranty. You can read example Denon X3600H review from AVF and also Yamaha RX-A1080 review at AVF to give some idea of the units. However the new A4A has been changed the most as every 10year time Yamaha does bigger change and it was now. Feature wise they will be very similar too. If not in hurry then wait. There could be "black horse" in the competition with Onkyo TX-RZ50 with Dirac Live if you are intrested in tweaking with laptop! Probably comes early 2022 if not end of this year.

MA Apex is similar level to MA Silvers although much older technology, but anyway i would want at least some 1k£ machine to partner them as they are very good speakers still.
 
Has anyone used A10's as atmos speakers?

The brackets look pretty solid for adjustment but I can't tell if they can be angled to 30 or 40 degrees as I would need.

I have a sort of side height setup now with Mass 10's, the mass ball and socket brackets are pretty good for random angles. However I think the Apex 10 would be a better match to base layer speakers, Silver 8's and Silver 1's for surround.

Would be second hand.
I searched the thread and didn't see any discussion about using them like this.

Any opinions?
 
Has anyone used A10's as atmos speakers?

The brackets look pretty solid for adjustment but I can't tell if they can be angled to 30 or 40 degrees as I would need.

I have a sort of side height setup now with Mass 10's, the mass ball and socket brackets are pretty good for random angles. However I think the Apex 10 would be a better match to base layer speakers, Silver 8's and Silver 1's for surround.

Would be second hand.
I searched the thread and didn't see any discussion about using them like this.

Any opinions?
Hi,

I used a10s as front heights they angled down enough to reach mlp around 3m away. They definitely made the front sound stage bigger but if I'm honest not as good as in ceiling for atmos.

Cheers
 
I was going to use a10s but ended up with kef t101. They work brilliant
 
Hi,

I used a10s as front heights they angled down enough to reach mlp around 3m away. They definitely made the front sound stage bigger but if I'm honest not as good as in ceiling for atmos.

Cheers
Thanks

We can't do in ceiling due to asbestos in the ceiling, we plan to board over or acoustic treatment over.

I used to have front heights and then moved them back to side heights and that was a big improvement.

I measured up and the A10's are a bit big, probably I'll stay with the mass 10's until we can do something about the ceiling or find another way.
 
I was going to use a10s but ended up with kef t101. They work brilliant
A local dealer showed me those when they came out, we both immediately said "atmos speakers"!

Do they really achieve 80Hz low end, seems unlikely?
 
I was recommended them buy a few people on this site and found a few installers using them. So they severed a purpose for me. Being white i just screwed them straight to the ceiling. I cross them over at 100 which is what i was told to do.
 
I was recommended them buy a few people on this site and found a few installers using them. So they severed a purpose for me. Being white i just screwed them straight to the ceiling. I cross them over at 100 which is what i was told to do.
I was thinking to build them into a sound cloud acoustic panel they are slim enough or maybe two one for front and one for rear.
 
I wonder if the MA Apex A10 would be a worthwhile upgrade from Q Acoustics 7000i, from what I've read they sound promising. The QA look smart and sound great but I know bookshelf speakers would be more capable. Unfortunately it wont be possible to accommodate anything too large. The A10 aren't much bigger than my QA 7000i and from reviews sound like quality with a greater frequency range. If the A10 Proved to be an upgrade I may have to use one as a centre channel too as the A40 seems too large to fit the middle shelf of my TV stand.
 
I wonder if the MA Apex A10 would be a worthwhile upgrade from Q Acoustics 7000i, from what I've read they sound promising. The QA look smart and sound great but I know bookshelf speakers would be more capable. Unfortunately it wont be possible to accommodate anything too large. The A10 aren't much bigger than my QA 7000i and from reviews sound like quality with a greater frequency range. If the A10 Proved to be an upgrade I may have to use one as a centre channel too as the A40 seems too large to fit the middle shelf of my TV stand.

For sure it is! Monitor Audio Silver 50 (7G coming soon) is another small option. However not as compact as A10 which comes with the table stand which also works as wall bracket and you can buy them single. Apex speaker stands are super expensive so either high (50-60cm) and wide (2-2,5m) av-cabinet or wall mount them! The driver technology is from older Silver range so sound and build quality wise big step up from QA 7000i sats! Your Tannoy sub is bit limited what it can do with movies, depending of your requirements you may want to look something better in future to give you even greater weight/depth and impact making the Apex system sound larger aswell! Your Sony receiver is getting bit old with 1.4 hdmi connections. One thing that caught my eyes as i was looking it specs, it has D. Range Compression set as "Standard" by default. Turn it "Off" from the Audio Settings menu if you haven´t yet!
 
For sure it is! Monitor Audio Silver 50 (7G coming soon) is another small option. However not as compact as A10 which comes with the table stand which also works as wall bracket and you can buy them single. Apex speaker stands are super expensive so either high (50-60cm) and wide (2-2,5m) av-cabinet or wall mount them! The driver technology is from older Silver range so sound and build quality wise big step up from QA 7000i sats! Your Tannoy sub is bit limited what it can do with movies, depending of your requirements you may want to look something better in future to give you even greater weight/depth and impact making the Apex system sound larger aswell! Your Sony receiver is getting bit old with 1.4 hdmi connections. One thing that caught my eyes as i was looking it specs, it has D. Range Compression set as "Standard" by default. Turn it "Off" from the Audio Settings menu if you haven´t yet!
Thank you for reminding me to update my signature with my new SVS SB-1000 Pro subwoofer. While I have the upgrade bug but can't manage large bookshelf speakers I wondered if there's any better quality compact options and saw mention of the A10's. DRC has been turned off in the receiver.

I see what you mean about the cost including stands. To keep L,C,R in line I'd have to consider wall mounting all three. The silver 50 7G look quite smart. It may be worth spending more on the likes of MA as a future investment with the space I have.
16303468951282661092432044602152.jpg
 
Thank you for reminding me to update my signature with my new SVS SB-1000 Pro subwoofer. While I have the upgrade bug but can't manage large bookshelf speakers I wondered if there's any better quality compact options and saw mention of the A10's. DRC has been turned off in the receiver.

I see what you mean about the cost including stands. To keep L,C,R in line I'd have to consider wall mounting all three. The silver 50 7G look quite smart. It may be worth spending more on the likes of MA as a future investment with the space I have.
View attachment 1562811

Nice that you have bought SVS! Notice if you want to save some money you can get the Silver 50 6G which is soon discontinued for 299£ - 375£ as new ex-display. Richer Sounds sold them single for 250£, but now they have only pairs listed for 450£. SSAV has lot of them in different finishes and the price is super low. The center channel C150 is quite compact aswell and can be wall mounted (sealed design). If you buy third Silver 50 it should be upright vertical similar to L/R, so you would need to wall mount tv higher on wall.

However there is no wall bracket for Silver 50 so you would have to use those clamping ones from Amazon which aren´t pretty.
 
I upgraded from the Q7000i’s and it is def worth the upgrade. I did actually go for 3 Apex A40’s at the front and have the A10’s as surrounds. Looks like you could mount the left and right on the wall nicely but the centre could be an issue as the A40 is pretty large.

DFC5F7FB-BB10-4F26-BD6D-F6F45AC0976B.jpeg

F9B7292A-A058-4CE6-A9D3-8EA1FD432452.jpeg
 
@Gasp3621
Thank you for the link, the Silver series gives very interesting food for thought. I'm hesitant wall mounting on the opposite wall to save having to clear everything out of the way. On the other hand the wall does give me more space.

@markb1980
That's a really nice looking setup, it must sound great.

My new SVS has been excellent so far, plenty of bottom but more range it seems. Trying out the auto standby at the moment.
 
I have a Denon X2700H with 3 a40's and a pair of a10's for rears and it sounds well. I've not yet added a pair of atmos but would guess that it should't be a problem.
 
A local dealer showed me those when they came out, we both immediately said "atmos speakers"!

Do they really achieve 80Hz low end, seems unlikely?
Hi

Sorry for the late reply - I’ve got these as surround backs and I don’t know how they’re quoted at 80hz - they’re 120-150 more realistically. The MA Mass Gen 1 speakers did manage to get to 80hz
 
Hi

Sorry for the late reply - I’ve got these as surround backs and I don’t know how they’re quoted at 80hz - they’re 120-150 more realistically. The MA Mass Gen 1 speakers did manage to get to 80hz
Thanks for the info, much appreciated.

I'm sticking with the Mass 10's for now but considering a fabric acoustic ceiling with the Kef's built in. I'd need to do something about my subs though to have a high enough crossover.

I wonder if the bigger flat Kef's go lower.
 
Currently have a10s has anyone moved to a40s on frt and found them better for 2ch music also would it be worth adding a 2 h amp over the denon forr music or are these not worth it.
 
Hi

Sorry for the late reply - I’ve got these as surround backs and I don’t know how they’re quoted at 80hz - they’re 120-150 more realistically. The MA Mass Gen 1 speakers did manage to get to 80hz

I have the Apex set up, A40 centre and the rest A10's, running it with a Denon x3500H and Audyssey calibration reports all my speakers as 40hz, I have manually set the cross over at 80hz all around.
B3A204C2-FBD6-4651-8453-1BA3A2B5C7F2.jpeg
38DA8D93-175D-459A-885B-6B594F91D06C.jpeg
706CD0FC-5AEE-4E97-B291-C83E0E653B5F.jpeg
055BB778-32BD-411C-AC30-DD4AE3B65BDC.jpeg
EAC0F5DD-A1B7-430F-BB2D-8BEF7B61F239.jpeg
 
Last edited:

The latest video from AVForums

Is 4K Blu-ray Worth It?
Subscribe to our YouTube channel
Back
Top Bottom