Which Surround Speakers to go with Monitor Audio Silver 8's and Monitor Audio Silver C350.

[Marshall Mike]

Another recommendation for Silver FX’s.

For multichannel music, in many cases the rear channels in Blurays/ SACD’s, typically in music concerts, you’re better off with a more enveloping, diffuse soundfield, as it’s typically the crowd and the sense of scale and space of the venue that the rear speakers are achieving, while the music itself is primarily coming from the front array & sub.

So, for example, Hans Zimmer Live in Prague or Stevie Wonder Live at Last are excellent in 5.1 with rear FX’s.

Also in 5.1, with the FX’s, they’re mounted a little higher than directional speakers: approximately eye height while standing. This adds to the sense of scale and space and works really well for music.

When this would be less successful is if you wanted to go Atmos later, because the FX’s would be too close, and could compete with, rather than complement, any ceiling mounted Atmos speakers.

But for 5.1, they come highly recommended…

View attachment 1652345

Its maybe just the picture, but they look quite high up on your wall. Is that 2' above head height when seated? If not, I would lower them.

 

[Hoku]

Its maybe just the picture, but they look quite high up on your wall. Is that 2' above head height when seated? If not, I would lower them.

They’re at eye height while stood, which is what the MA manual recommends. And in practice it’s spot on. You can’t have them too close to your ears when wall-mounted as it ruins the effect.

For directional speakers in the corners of a room, the height would be lower: at ear height while seated.

But as it is, the sense of scale they create is such that I feel no need for Atmos height speakers, with a genuinely room filling sound.

 

[Marshall Mike]

They’re at eye height while stood, which is what the MA manual recommends. And in practice it’s spot on.

For directional speakers in the corners of a room, the height would be lower: at ear height while seated.

But as it is, the sense of scale they create is such that I feel no need for Atmos height speakers, with a genuinely room filling sound.

Weird, is that the 7G manual for your silvers?

Both my older 5G silver and current gold manuals state 2' above head height when seated. I'm 6'2 and if I mounted mine at eye level they would be far too high when seated.

If you can accommodate 5.1.2 with your AVR then I would recommend it, it really adds another dynamic to the listening experience. I couldn't go back now.

 

[anden2000]

Hi, I'm having trouble deciding on side speakers for my 5.1 system. I have Monitor Audio Silver 8's for the front and a Monitor Audio Silver C350 for the centre, recently purchased. I currently have some Kef Eggs for the sides but want to upgrade. I'm going the Monitor Audio route and have been looking at second hand Gold GR10's, Silver 100's, Silver 50's and Apex 10's. Yup, I'm all over the place.
I have a Yamaha RX-A3060 driving it all.
I really want the best sound possible to listen to music without spending thousands. I even bought some of those SACD's which went out of fashion really quickly, like Betamax.
Any recommendations would be gratefully received. Thanks, Mike

Would it be possible to mount the surround speakers at least a few feets to the left and to the right of the sofa, at or some distance above listening height?

If yes, I would suggest bookshelf speakers.

I have Silver FX side surrounds and Silver 1 rear surrounds (which are in between Silver 50 and 100 in size). The FX has wide sound dispersion and is easy to mount and fit, but it is a notably smaller and thinner-sounding speaker than most bookshelf speakers. The difference between FX and Silver 1 is obvious in how well they can reproduce things like voices. Surround sound isn't just birds and whistles, it's also voices, roars, vehicles, explosions and other full-range sounds. So if you can reasonably well fit Silver 50 or even 100 without having them end up just 1-2 feet from someone's ears, I'd say go for it.

But if no, then FX might be more suitable. And then try to keep reasonable distance to it by mounting it high enough so it won't blast unproportionally into someone's ears.

Edit: Now I noticed that you mentioned music rather than movies. I'd say that just strengthens the case for bookshelves.

 

[Hoku]

No, my FXv2 is 6G.

Any lower and they’d be too close to my ear, especially as I tend to sit off centre on the sofa, so I’m closer to one speaker than the other. so I’d be able to localise the effects, which I want to avoid.

In my previous home and system I had MA Apex A10’s mounted on stands in the corner of the room. As each speaker was sufficiently far away from the MLP, ear height was fine. But because I had a corner sofa in my current place, again anyone sat in the corner would be too close to the speaker, so directional speakers wouldn’t work so well. There just wasn’t enough space between the seating and the speakers. So the FX’s work really well with the limitations of the room.

So I like the sound field they produce as they are. It doesn’t have quite the same “zing” as directional speakers, but, together with the front array, they produce a much larger sound field than my previous setup and they draw less attention to themselves, which I think on balance helps with the immersive feel of a movie or music concert.

And they have much more midrange muscle and bass than my Apex A10’s did, in that respect especially they’re a significant upgrade over the Bronze FX’s.

But as you say, with Atmos they wouldn’t be ideal as they would compete with overhead speakers. I have no desire to get into Atmos. I’m very happy with my setup as it is now.

And as for music, as I mentioned above, most music Blurays only use rear speakers for the sense of space of the venue and the crowd, which suits the FX’s diffuse nature.

The only recording I have where this isn’t the case is a Bluray Audio of Beck’s Sea Change. I believe this was originally recorded with SACD in mind, so the effects, including rear effects, are creative and discrete. But that’s pretty rare.

Certainly having owned both directional and bi/dipole set ups, for music, there are no disadvantages. The difference between each speaker type is more noticeable with panning effects in movies.

 

[MikeFSS]

Another recommendation for Silver FX’s.

For multichannel music, in many cases the rear channels in Blurays/ SACD’s, typically in music concerts, you’re better off with a more enveloping, diffuse soundfield, as it’s typically the crowd and the sense of scale and space of the venue that the rear speakers are achieving, while the music itself is primarily coming from the front array & sub.

So, for example, Hans Zimmer Live in Prague or Stevie Wonder Live at Last are excellent in 5.1 with rear FX’s.

Also in 5.1, with the FX’s, they’re mounted a little higher than directional speakers: approximately eye height while standing. This adds to the sense of scale and space and works really well for music.

When this would be less successful is if you wanted to go Atmos later, because the FX’s would be too close, and could compete with, rather than complement, any ceiling mounted Atmos speakers.

But for 5.1, they come highly recommended…

View attachment 1652345

Thanks for the tip. It's looking like I'll be going for the FX's as quite a few people have mentioned it. I've also noticed the Hans Zimmer Live in Prague has been recommended. I am now feeling the need to buy that.

 

[MikeFSS]

Would it be possible to mount the surround speakers at least a few feets to the left and to the right of the sofa, at or some distance above listening height?

If yes, I would suggest bookshelf speakers.

I have Silver FX side surrounds and Silver 1 rear surrounds (which are in between Silver 50 and 100 in size). The FX has wide sound dispersion and is easy to mount and fit, but it is a notably smaller and thinner-sounding speaker than most bookshelf speakers. The difference between FX and Silver 1 is obvious in how well they can reproduce things like voices. Surround sound isn't just birds and whistles, it's also voices, roars, vehicles, explosions and other full-range sounds. So if you can reasonably well fit Silver 50 or even 100 without having them end up just 1-2 feet from someone's ears, I'd say go for it.

But if no, then FX might be more suitable. And then try to keep reasonable distance to it by mounting it high enough so it won't blast unproportionally into someone's ears.

Edit: Now I noticed that you mentioned music rather than movies. I'd say that just strengthens the case for bookshelves.

Oh bugger. I was edging towards the FX's, now I'm back to not being sure. It's a shame I can't try both at home.

 

[rccarguy2]

Thanks for the tip. It's looking like I'll be going for the FX's as quite a few people have mentioned it. I've also noticed the Hans Zimmer Live in Prague has been recommended. I am now feeling the need to buy that.

Try tripoles also

 

[Hoku]

…I've also noticed the Hans Zimmer Live in Prague has been recommended. I am now feeling the need to buy that.

Highly recommended.

It’s a shame there aren’t more movie soundtracks produced this way.

I saw Zimmer myself in Birmingham. Not quite Prague I know, but the same set.

The Bluray is an awesome reminder of that concert, and at least I have control over the volume. Mr Zimmer likes it LOUD!!! Birmingham almost blew my brains out.

But considering it’s a live concert, it’s beautifully made, shot & mastered.

 

[Marshall Mike]

Its my go to reference disc. Wish I had seen him in Glasgow on the last tour.

 

[MikeFSS]

Its my go to reference disc. Wish I had seen him in Glasgow on the last tour.

Just bought it on BluRay from Amazon. I look forward to testing that.

 

[DavidT]

The Hans Zimmer in Prague concert has been shown on Sky Arts recently.

 

[P Adams]

I’ll second getting the FX surrounds as well. We’ve been using Silver RXFX surrounds as side surrounds in a 5.2.1 setup for a few years now. Silver RX8 floorstanders and an RXW12 sub finish the system. Jester1066 also helped us in deciding to change our smaller RX centre for the C350 centre and it’s been a revelation! It all sounds great for movies and music concert Blu-rays

 

[Hoku]

One thing I'm a little, ahem, baffled about, with the MA Silver FX speakers, is the really odd change in specs between the 6G and 7G.

I own the 6G, and their specs are in room (-6db) 60hz - 35khz

Whereas the 7G are quoted as (also -6db) 81hz - 35khz.

And yet the drivers are the same size, and the only difference in cabinet size is 10mm less width on the 7th G.

One of the reasons I like the FX's is their solid midrange and upper bass, especially as I crossover at 60hz all round (my front speakers sound much better at this slightly lower crossover point, and my 6th G rear speakers can handle 60hz beautifully), so this either seems a bit of an error, or a deliberate difference in tuning with the more modern speaker.

If the specs are correct, I'd be inclined to hunt down a 6G version if I was shopping for this type of speaker.

 

[MikeFSS]

One thing I'm a little, ahem, baffled about, with the MA Silver FX speakers, is the really odd change in specs between the 6G and 7G.

I own the 6G, and their specs are in room (-6db) 60hz - 35khz

Whereas the 7G are quoted as (also -6db) 81hz - 35khz.

And yet the drivers are the same size, and the only difference in cabinet size is 10mm less width on the 7th G.

One of the reasons I like the FX's is their solid midrange and upper bass, especially as I crossover at 60hz all round (my front speakers sound much better at this slightly lower crossover point, and my 6th G rear speakers can handle 60hz beautifully), so this either seems a bit of an error, or a deliberate difference in tuning with the more modern speaker.

If the specs are correct, I'd be inclined to hunt down a 6G version if I was shopping for this type of speaker.

Thanks very much for your input. I keep going from the FX's, 6th Gen as I can't afford the 7th to the Silver 100's, again 6th gen. My main reason is to get the best sound from the music point of view so I'm still researching before I press the button.

 

[Marshall Mike]

Thanks very much for your input. I keep going from the FX's, 6th Gen as I can't afford the 7th to the Silver 100's, again 6th gen. My main reason is to get the best sound from the music point of view so I'm still researching before I press the button.

Why don’t you try and get a pair of each to demo at home? Even if you buy both second hand and sell the ones you decide against.

I’m not sure how many retailers will have 6g left in stock anyway, so used may well be the only option.

 

[Khazul]

I use Silver 50 (6G) as surrounds (on stands) just because my room layout made the fx somewhat impractical. The rest of the system is 300 for fronts and C150 for center just because the C350 was too big to fit where it needed to.

I find them to be perfectly good as surrounds - just like any other bookshelf/standmount regularly used for the purpose.

If my room shape+layout suited the FX then I would have gone for those instead, but perfectly happy with the resulting localization of sound and match with the others.

Different acoustics at different locations in the room seem far more significant than timbre differences between the speaker types especially with all crossovers at 80Hz and the AVRs DSP doing its thing.