Upgrade from Monitor Audio Mass 5.1

techdiver

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Hi,

I have a small room as shown in the image attached (forgive the crude image) which has a 77" Sony A80J OLED and an existing Monitor Audio Mass 5.1 System (original one - MASS 1G | MASS 5.1 | Monitor Audio) running off a Denon AVR-X2200W, with a pair of JBL Control One speakers ceiling mounted for Atmos. On the image the square mark the monitor audio speaker positions and the circles are the JBL ceiling mounted.

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I recently upgraded the TV and am now toying around with the idea of upgrading speakers. I have come across a Monitor Bronze package with RS here - MONITOR AUDIO BRONZE 50 5.1 AV speaker bundle. I'm not a massive expert on audio or speakers in general but was wonder at that price (€1,199/£999), would these be a significant upgrade? Also I'm assuming I should also upgrade my atmos speakers. I was thinking of going with something in ceiling like these - Monitor Audio Pro 65 ( Each).

Any advice would be really appreciated on this.
 
Well you are definitely going to hear difference, but is it big enough vs. what you have in your mind is tough to say. I haven`t heard the Gen1 Mass, but Bronzes yes and i would definitely jump on those especially if you like the MA sound. If you can visit the RS IE then call them and ask could you listen the Bronze 50 and C150 with subwoofer so it wouldn´t be total blind buy.

The FX speakers which comes with this package can´t be wall mounted in corners, so either you mount them on rear wall leaving 1feet each side to side walls or the same but on side walls. You need to mount them roughly on seated ear height as you have atmos so both effects doesn`t come high up.

If you feel the Mass speakers works ok as surrounds in the rear corners then you could upgrade only the front three and subwoofer. The surround speakers doesn´t need to be necessarily from same range (or brand even) and as you have so small room it would be understandable as the Mass 10 is quite compact sized. Of course the FX speakers wall mounted will be great too as they are bipole design so it can create bit more cinemafit feel spreading the bubble. I think it comes down can you mount them the way i mentioned or not. If not then keep the Mass at rear.

As you already have the JBLs for atmos i would live with them for now (no matching requirements anyway!) and put the money in to better subwoofer as we don`t really recommend the package woofers. RS will swap it if you ask and you can mention that you have been offered SVS SB1000 Pro for 575£ so -10% discount. They usually price match. I don´t know how much they take off removing the W10 sub. This is of course assuming you would be ok with the idea. SB1000 Pro is very compact sealed sub ideal for small room and packs quite a punch! It`s also phone app controlled and comes with 5year warranty (W10 has 2years). It will sound and perform lot better than the W10. SVS has been building woofers since 90s and ideally you would want product from company that specializes in woofers. If it would be my money i would stick with the JBLs and Mass speakers at ceiling & rears and use the money in new front three + subwoofer. If the SVS costs too much i have few other cheaper alternatives which are still better than W10.

 
Thanks for the reply.

In the image above there is no wall immediately on left (same side as the door) as there is a small home office space there. On the right the current mass speaker is mounted on the side wall pointing towards the seated position (the couch is tight to the rear wall so I know that's not ideal for acoustics). I can mount the FX a foot in from the right side wall if needs be. Would the be a good step up from the mass rears?

Thanks for the advise again.
 
Hmmm could you post real pictures of your room so we can see it better? Picture taken from near tv. You can upload them here and delete later or you can send to me via private message (i can´t share them to anyone). Would get much better idea then.
 
I have some Mass 1's that I use for atmos, I used to have Bronze 1's for atmos but they didn't fit properly when we moved house. So I've compared the Mass 1 and the Bronze 1, the Bronze is definitely better but not "wow, night and day" better.

The Bronze handles a bit more power than the Mass so for front three speakers it might be worthwhile. I think the Bronze and Mass 1 tweeters are the same, they certainly sound very similar.

Now when I upgraded my Bronze 1 surrounds to Silver 1's that was a big improvement.
 
Thanks for the reply.

Stepping up to the Silver 50's (silver 50, silver C250 & Silver FX) would cost £1773 vs £613 that I can get the bronze 50's (Bronze 50, Bronze C150 & Bronze FX) .

That's out of my price range at this time.
 
Investigate the reviews of the new Bronze range, I think they narrowed the gap between Bronze and Silver in the recent update.
 
Any of Monitor Audio's newer speakers over the original Mass (even though they are and were very accomplished) will be a step up in performance so long as your amplifier is up to the job. If you're wishing to keep the speakers compact, even jumping to Apex range will be a significant step up in audio quality over the Mass. My only concern would be that Denon amplifier as it will quickly become the weak link in the chain
 
Hi,

So I have been in constant contact with Gasp3621 who has been invaluable in guiding me. I purchased the Monitor Audio Bronze 50s, C150 Centre and FX speakers.

Gasp3621 pointed out that the sub as part of the full 5.1 set (MONITOR AUDIO BRONZE 50 5.1 AV speaker bundle) from Richersounds wouldn't have been much of a step up in quality over my old mass sub, so I decided to just purchase the speaker sand look for a better sub. After advice from Gasp3621 once more I settle don the Monolith V2 10in from monoprice.

I got the speakers plus a couple of FIX-M wall mounts for €797. I got the Monolith directly from monprice for €640 (€799.99 + 20% discount), so all in for speakers and sub was €1,437.

I have everything installed and setup and am very pleased with the lot.

Once again a big shout out to Gasp3621, a top member who spent countless amount of time answering my endless questions!
 

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