Monitor Audio News

Star of the Show

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Monitor Audio were last week proudly awarded a 'Star of the Show' award for the newest range - the Shadow series launched at the CES 2012 show in Las Vegas.

"As the international media partners for the show, our team of experts have spent the week scouring the rooms of the Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas for the hottest audio products unveiled at CES 2012." stated by What Hi-Fi? Sound and Vision magazine "We’ve been spoilt for choice, with products ranging from a dinky £150 DAC/headphone amp, to an intriguing new take on an AirPlay music system and the most amazing-looking high-end speakers."

The winners were presented with their awards by What Hi-Fi? Sound and Vision Editor Dom Dawes.

Full details on our new award-winning Shadow series will be launched on the website shortly.

To read the complete article on the CES 2012 awards see: http://www.whathifi.com/news/stars-of-ces-2012-the-winners-revealed

Lustrous new Piano Ebony Finish for Gold GX

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Monitor Audio aficionados will know that each pair of hand-crafted GX loudspeakers is an original work of art. Now the collection has expanded to accommodate the luxury of the deepest Ebony finish, enhanced by multiple layers of clear gloss piano lacquer, applied by hand and buffed to a lustrous perfection. In pairs or in systems, in performance and design, and now with a wider choice of finishes, GX will impart an immediate impression of quality to complement any room.

i-deck 200 at the top of the 'Want List' for Esquire

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Looking for style and substance? Esquire magazine knows this better than most and have chosen the i-deck 200 for the top of their christmas 'Want list' in the latest issue out now.

...for those looking for a system with superior sound and the muscle to effortlessly fill large rooms will be more than pleased." Esquire.co.uk December 2011

Read the full article

i-deck 200 is the Reference for Uncut Awards Judges!

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At the decisive sessions, music industry luminaries use the i-deck 200 to find this year’s celebrated Uncut winner.

An eminent panel of music industry experts and musicians has relied on the i-deck 200 to analyse the finalists for this year’s Uncut Awards and find a winner! At the table: Uncut Editor Allan Jones; Tony Wadsworth, head of the BPI; Mark Cooper, music chief at BBC4; music industry veteran Nick Stewart; musicians Phil Manzanera and Linda Thompson; and comedian, writer, and broadcaster Stewart Lee. On the table: the i-deck 200. Its audiophile architecture of digital source, specialised onboard DAC and directly driven multi-speaker array in a beautifully portable profile gave the judges the perfect audio platform for reference listening from the desk top. Several of them have used the Uncut Awards video available below to praise the power of the iPod. Allan Jones says “my iPod is the treasure chest”. Clearly for the music industry professionals in the room, the i-deck 200 is the best way to open it!

Monitor Audio at the Classic Rock Awards 2011

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Monitor Audio joined the world of rock to honour the living Legends and the best new talent in the business at the 2011 Classic Rock awards.

Monitor Audio's Silver RX system created the ambience of the champagne reception over 2 levels playing orchestral versions of classic rock tunes as many of rock's greatest names arrived for the awards. The ceremony, held at the Roundhouse in London's Camden, was hosted by Kiss co-front man Gene Simmons. Manic Street Preachers picked up the Classic Songwriter award and both Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend were there to receive the Classic Album gong for the The Who's Quadrophenia. The Foo Fighters won Band of the Year. The main award went to Grammy award-winning guitarist Jeff Beck who was named Living Legend. Jeff Beck rounded off a memorable evening with a unique set featuring stunning vocal performances from Joss Stone and the Pretenders' Chrissie Hynde.

Monitor Audio sponsored the Outstanding Contribution award which was won by innovative music producer Bob Ezrin. Kiss, Alice Cooper, Pink Floyd, Lou Reed, Aerosmith, Rod Stewart, The Deftones and Nine Inch Nails are some of the many greats that Bob has worked with.

To support ChildLine Rocks charity, Rock legends queued to sign Monitor Audio's i-deck at the Classic Rock Awards 2011 to later be auctioned in support of the charity.
Monitor Audio's distinctive i-deck 200 ipod dock was signed for by a host of stars including Queen's Brian May and Roger Taylor and Duff of Guns n Roses.

Love sound: Love i-deck

Monitor Audio’s new i-deck is the ultimate way to release the music on your iPod/iPhone. With forty years of award-winning audio expertise, Monitor Audio have created two extraordinary
speaker systems. i-deck is the perfect combination of dynamic design and exceptional audio performance. i-deck will transform the way you hear your digital music collection and will deliver startling levels of both detail and volume. i-deck is available in two models - i-deck 100 and i-deck 200 and both deliver audiophile quality acoustics from a wide range of iPods and iphones that sit on a flexible dock connector at the heart of these stunning systems. Carefully selected materials and design ensure that the i-decks deliver the best sound whilst also conveying the spirit of luxury high-end audio equipment.

i-deck is not just about sleek looks, Monitor Audio has applied its specialised know-how in order to achieve the best possible audio experience, featuring an array of class-leading functions.

Setting the Gold Standard

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Home Cinema Choice magazine gives their verdict on the Gold GX Series with an all round 5 star approval across the board.

In the latest January 2012 issue of Home Cinema Choice magazine our Gold GX series was reviewed, tried and tested for performance, design and features and then rewarded with a fantastic overall review of 5/5 stars across the categories.

Here's a snippet taken from the full review "Running through Pirates...had me scribbling all sorts of notes ('huge, rich, foundation-shifting bass with power and grip'; 'nil flex on the 15in piston'; 'Exciting, musical and able to create a sense of scale'), but all you need to know is that I loved this system with a passion."

Home Cinema Choice Magazine is available now.

What Hi-Fi? Awards 2011

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Brand Strength in Depth from Talented Performers Across the Board…

Now that the great news is published we’re proud to announce a triple whammy of acclaim at this year’s What Hi-Fi? Award ceremony! Building on a peerless awards profile from successive years, our latest champions showcase the irresistible blend of impeccable engineering, excellent design and class-beating performance that amounts to a winning brand formula and a compelling proposition in store.

Best Stereo Speaker in the £200-£350 range is the Bronze BX2. For customers after a great looking speaker that punches well above its class, last year’s Product of the Year is still the one to beat! What Hi-Fi? says “Scale to spare, dynamism on tap and rigorous stereo focus…the BX2s are copiously talented speakers…you’ll find them amongst the best uses of £250 you’ve ever made.” Read the full review here.

Best Traditional Speaker package in the £1500-£2500 range is the Silver RX6 AV12. For the third year in a row this beautifully slender, specialised speaker system is the only choice for home cinema and music devotees seeking to recover the full multi-channel fire-power of high resolution sources in a contemporary living environment. Upgraders and new customers alike will discover versatility, awesome audio dynamics and timeless design quality. What Hi-Fi? says: “As recently as this year’s October issue, it saw off the best opposition that rivals could muster – even three years after its first test, the Monitor Audio has what it takes to lead the field.” Read the full review here.

For the second consecutive year the Best Style Package in the £2000+ range is the Apex system. Customers who value supreme design excellence and performance will draw complete satisfaction from its unity of aesthetic elegance, precision engineering and effortless wideband audio accuracy. There’s nothing comparable and What Hi-Fi? agrees: “It’s beautifully realised in every way. As far as looks, build, discretion, pride of ownership and grin-inducing performance goes, the Monitor Audio Apex has it all.” Read the full review here.

'Amazing' Dock

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Can you imagine a Monitor Audio product that doesn’t put sound quality first? The DNA that runs through our flagship speakers is concentrated in the new i-deck designs: great build quality and fabulous audio engineering for the money. Having fired up the i-deck100, could What Hi Fi? spot the pedigree? Emphatically yes! Delivering a 5 star verdict in its October 2011 issue, the mag encounters an ‘amazing’ product with an ‘open, spacious sound’ and ‘excellent’ detail across the frequency range. If you’re buying an iPod dock for sound quality (what other reason is there?) then the i-deck 100 is your new front-runner!

Find the full review here.

Monitor Audio Sponsors ‘Q-Icons’ Exhibition

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Q – the UK’s biggest selling monthly music magazine – will be celebrating 25 years of iconic photography with it’s first major photo exhibition, to be held from the 7^th-9^th of October at Red Bull Studios, Tooley Street in London.

The exhibition is the latest event to mark the 25^th anniversary of Q , a magazine which has shaped and influenced the UK music scene for two and a half decades. Every significant act to have emerged in that time – from U2 to Adele, Oasis to Rihanna, Radiohead to Laura Marling, Jay-Z to Florence And The Machine, and countless more besides – has graced the magazine’s hallowed cover and here for the first time some of that imagery will be exhibited.

In collaboration with Monitor Audio, Q have had these iconic images printed on one-off SoundFrames to provide a seamless sonic backdrop to the show.

The exhibition, is timed to coincide with Q magazine’s 25th Anniversary issue (out 27th September), which includes a celebratory ten page feature, sponsored by Monitor Audio, showcasing a selection of favourite and previously unpublished images from the Q archive.

Gold Dust Audio

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Purity, consistency and rarity: the qualities that make Gold so appealing are built into our new GX range. At a time when investors are flocking to Gold will the experts at What Hi-Fi? Sound And Vision magazine make a similar judgement? The answer arrives in the September issue. A summary of the GX50 says: "great build and finish, clean, transparent presentation, sweet treble, articulate bass. Against: nothing of note." It’s all topped off with a maximum 5 star verdict, which makes GX a very precious audio commodity for any investor.

See the full review at www.whathifi.com.

Introducing i-deck!

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While other dock manufacturers choose gizmos as a way to sell their wares, we've stuck to audio principles as a way to distinguish ours. The two new i-deck designs are no ordinary docks - not because they're brimming with new technology but because they sound better! We've designed them using our best technologies and production values for the music devotee. We figure that's the point of an audio reproduction kit: to deliver sound quality that gets you closer to the music. This is what the new i-deck 100 and i-deck 200 do best.

You'll see that we've prioritised audio performance in the two new models by taking the digital stream direct from the iPod®/iPhone® to our own high performance DAC and then amplified the waves through dedicated Class D amplifiers powering each of four C-CAM® drivers arranged in stereo pairs. This means that via this purist audio path, we're generating the best sound quality possible from the dock genre - just as you'd expect. And we've maximised the audio goodies in any room via innovative acoustic processing, which measures the response from any location and adjusts the output to a reference curve. No other dock design takes this much care of your music!

We think the new i-deck 100 and i-deck 200 have the performance to rival much larger conventional systems. Now that the first i-decks have hit our stores, you'll have the chance to prove the worth of our innovation for yourself. Please ask for a demo!

What you really think of MA products

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You’ve seen how the critics love our products, but the pros have the advantage of a dedicated listening room and the pick of system components. What you really want to know is how our award-winning designs perform in systems like yours. We think we have the answer.

We’ve introduced 'user reviews' to all products on the site. Here you can write a review of your experience with a Monitor Audio product for the record, and for the benefit of fellow or prospective owners. It's still in its infancy right now but, with your help, we hope to build an indispensible resource for all present and future fans. If you own any of our products, why not write a review now? Or, if you're seeking the ‘perfect’ Monitor Audio design, keep an eye out for the relevant user reviews…

High-end AV systems compete

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Competition is tough, especially at the top, which is why we're particularly proud of the latest accolade for the PL200 5.1 AV system, this time by Home Cinema Choice Magazine, the UK’s leading specialist home theatre title. Awarding the PL200AV with its 'Best Speaker System over £5000' gong in its 2011 Awards issue, it said: "Designed from the ground up to be a flagship product, everything about the PL200AV system is pure class...If you're spec’ing a high-end cinema room, you can't afford to ignore it"

RX8 is Editors Choice

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American Hi-Fi magazine Absoloute Sound have added the RX8 to its prestigious 'reccommended products for 2011' list.

"Monitor’s Silver RX8 floorstanders leverage technologies originally developed for the firm’s higher-priced Gold Series speakers. Positive characteristics include fundamentally neutral voicing, surprisingly good resolution, and superb imaging."

See the 2011 Editors' Choice Awards: Loudspeakers $1500 - $5000

The Only Way is Up

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They say ‘the higher the fewer' but ultimately there is only one Apex. Danny Philips set his sights on the highest peak in the range of designer sat/sub systems available, just to share the experience with you. Read the account of his journey to the top here.

BX2 5.1 Review

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A system isn't always greater than the some of its parts, even with a product as scintillating as the BX2. So when What Hi-Fi? Sound and Vision asked for its ‘Product of the Year' back in the form of a BX2AV system, the result was far from guaranteed. Did the star player create a cup-winning side? Was there a chain reaction in the cause of great AV sound?

Read the full review here to find out!

CNET craves Airstream

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So, you've kitted out your kitchen to the best of your luxury styling abilities only to find yourself perplexed at the concept of finding a radio to fit in? CNET has a suggestion for how best to deal with such a dilema, here.

SoundFrame steals the show!

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The hugely versatile SoundFrame series of architectural speakers has earned the recognition of installation pros from the toughest market in the world! At the CEDIA US Expo 2010 held at Atlanta in September, SoundFrame collected a brace of accolades: a CE Pro BEST 2010 Award, and a Customer Retailer 'Excite' Award.

The two SoundFrame models (SF1 and SF2) caught the judges eye with their innovative super-slender design (just 87mm deep), their class-beating audio performance and, by virtue of a wide choice of grille colours and patterns, their supreme décor-blending abilities.

For more information on the SoundFrame series click here.

All Round Recognition of Performance

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Monitor Audio is the pre-eminent speaker brand at the 2010 What Hi-Fi Awards...

This year the expert listeners at the UK's best-selling Hi-Fi magazine have handed their much-coveted accolade to no fewer than three of our systems, including the top award of ‘Product of the Year' to the awesome BX2. At the ceremony held at London's Dorchester Hotel on Park Lane, the RX6AV12 5.1 surround system was voted ‘best in class' for the second year in succession, and the brand new Apex A10AV12 triumphed in the ‘Style Speaker System' category. On an unprecedented night of success for Monitor Audio, Managing Director Andrew Flatt collected the silverware on behalf of the entire Monitor Audio team!

See more of the Award Winning BX2s here.

Tears of a Trekkie

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We'll be lining up the best of our new speaker introductions to wow all the music and movie sound fanatics visiting the Manchester hi-fi show on 16th - 17th October. We welcome you to rooms 112 and 114 with the award-winning sound of our new Apex and BX ranges, as well as the ever popular RX range: stunning two-channel and 5.1 dems in 112, and the full-fat 7.1 channel Apex home theatre surround experience with Onkyo next door in room 114.

Come along and have your preconceptions blown away!

Find out more here