Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Advice from Axiom Owners Speaker comparison- Angstrom vs Monitor Audio

I picked up a used pair of Monitor Audio (MA) Gold 50s for the office and moved my Tannoy R1s onto a friend. The past two months i've been playing (A/B switch) back and forth between the MA Golds and Angstroms. Tried posting this earlier but kept getting errors so i'm trying again.

It seems to not like something in the coding of the post. I'll try all the text without any coding.

Quite a number of years ago i searched for some Angstrom speakers (https://www.axiomaudio.com/boards/ubbthreads.php/topics/16404/Re_Another_good_budget_speaker) and landed with the Legatos bought used.
There isn't much info to be found online anymore but some notes on the Angstrom Legatos are listed here in this old ad:
https://www.canuckaudiomart.com/details/649177625-angstrom-legato/
The Legatos are solid, compact enclosures measuring 17.8cm x 35 cm x 26.5cm (7”x14”x10”) ...They are available in solid cherry and cherry veneer over three quarter inch MDF with Angstrom’s unique Acoustic-roc front baffle.
The cabinets have rounded corners and boast a hand-polished finish. They come with removable grilles...
...the enclosures are compact, featuring a 5 inch Angstrom designed woofer.
Its cone is a woven Kevlar material, known for its strength, flexibility and density.
The cone’s surround is butyl and it operates in a cast aluminum basket with double venting.
A solid aluminum phase plug is centered in the cone. Incidentally, this is the same driver used in the previously reviewed $3,900 Obbligatos.
The 1 inch coated tweeter is made in Denmark (Vifa). Its diaphragm is made of fabric and silk.
It’s ferrofluid cooled and features an enclosed rear chamber. ...
On the enclosures’ rear, Angstrom uses a flared, tuned port which is terminated flush with the cabinet. This reduces turbulence and eliminates port noise.
The Legatos can be bi-wired or bi-amplified and Angstrom recommends that the Legatos be at least bi-wired. The four terminals on each enclosure are gold plated, five way binding posts machined from solid brass.
A few words about the Acoustic-roc used in this design. It’s formulated from 70% St. Laurent cement and 30% cellulose fibre and is three quarter inch thick. Employed here to overcome resonance problems with which all enclosures are plagued, the material virtually eliminates vibration and it also acts as a resonance isolation barrier in this design (Acoustic-roc is also used in the Obbligato design,

I’ve had these Angstroms for about 7 years but have long wanted to get some Monitor Audio speakers after hearing them many years ago. Problem is a few things like where would i put them? Cost, etc. I eventually decided on getting the bookshelf versions instead of floorstanders.
From an audio perspective, i found the floorstanders to be a bit bassy and LONG pondered what they might be like as a three way design instead of 2.5. Presently MA does sell three way design units but not for their bookshelf speakers.

Possibly my panacea is a 3 way bookshelf, maybe Kef?

The Comparison Review:
Speakers were switched using A/B (not blind). I checked for level matching and the speakers were within 1dB using pink noise as the reference. The location of the speakers were in my office so there may be slight differences in the stereo presentation which i tried to ignore when listening for sound characteristics, but the stereo presentation was relatively minor. I was not trying to evaluate soundstage.

Angstrom Legatos
–still the King of Anemic Clarity
-clear midrange, accurate, sometimes sharp, harsh and sibilant like treble set too high
-bass is anemic, punchy with hard kickdrum but no oomph
-vocals clear, sharp but sometimes sound a bit hollow, natural
-everything is so precise you can almost hear each driver on its own, not as blended together well a sound
-far better for acoustic performances




Monitor Audio Gold 50s
-Immersive depth of sound field with weight
–midrange more suppressed, less detail, smooth
-bass has oomph, as much as MA I remember, overpowers the midrange a bit, blurs out details
-tweeter is nice, smooth, more seamless integration with bass, makes the overall sound have more depth all around
-definitely a step up from the R1s
-better for low volume music, warmer sound, more complex music where cannot hear minute details

OK, I clearly have not been paying attention. When did MA start using ribbon tweeters ?

I believe with the advent of their Platinum series so it's been awhile. With that also came their first 3-way designs mainstream for tower speakers. I have heard the Platinum series but likely would need something in their less expensive lineup and then need to replace something in one of the many rooms of sound.

Those MA speakers are gorgeous.

Wharfdale has 3 way bookshelves that are highly regarded for a lower entrance price if you are curious.

Btw, what amplification are you using?

The speakers run off my Rotel RA-05 SE.

I got the MAs for a pretty good deal on CanuckMart, excellent seller. I've long wanted a pair of MAs but after buying these bookshelves, i think i'm more set on wanting a pair of floorstanders instead.

As for 3 way bookshelves, i had a pair of Kef Reference line speakers offered to me for about the same price as the MAs, though this was sometime a year ago when i wasn't looking at buying. I wish i had at least taken up my friend's offer to listen to them.
https://ca.kef.com/speakers/hi-fi-speakers/rseries/r3.html

Took at look at Wharfedale. Haven't seen their speakers since my university days.
They do have some interesting 3 way 'bookshelves' but as i mentioned to a friend recently, there are a few sizes of bookshelf speaker classifications (informally). These Wharfedales are the largest size which although they could fit on a bookshelf, they really are half way to a full size floorstanding speaker, just missing the bottom half.
The only ones i could consider for the office would be the Evo 4.2 but i think even those are a bit too large.
https://www.wharfedale.co.uk/evo4-2/

A 6.5" bass driver gets too big for 'bookshelf' sized speakers IMO. These MA Gold 50s have a 5.5" midrange/bass driver and it puts out plenty of rich sound. I specifically avoided the larger Gold 100s knowing that the biggest difference was size in the box and drivers. If you were using these in a full room for HT or something then sure, i see the application, but for the office i'm looking for more 'standard' size bookshelf speakers. The Kefs that i was offered fit that bill. They were an older pair (not the newer R3s linked above) and used a smaller driver compliment than the current R3s.

That Monitor Audio is gorgeous!

I have listened to the Wharfedale Lintons, KEF R3s and the Harbeth 30.2s. The Lintons and R3s are nice, but the Harbeths have the magic midrange. They go surprisingly low, in room, and the highs are wonderful. They do not suffer from anemia.

They are coherent and the best stand mount speakers I've ever heard for under $18,000.

You may want to audition a pair.

PS If you can get a pair of 30.2 Anniversaries, go for them. WBT binding posts, upgraded capacitors and wiring.