The Silver series has a new Sleek Skin
Monitor Audio’s Silver Series, particularly the 100 7G, has received much praise and critical acclaim. These mighty bookshelf speakers have been around for a number of years now and still till today continue to impress with its balance of good looks, impressive engineering and above all rock-solid performance. The series has always been offered in a good variety of finishes with a beautiful green limited edition which was released around 3 years ago.
I loved the green limited edition. The finish was developed by Monitor Audio to celebrate the brands 50thAnniversary. Every single surface received a makeover with the main colours being green and gold, making the speaker look superb. It’s been a while now, and the brand has decided to treat us to a new limited-edition version of these already exceedingly popular speakers. Enter the Silver 100 7G in Carbon Black!
I do not know as to why Monitor Audio released this limited-edition model, but I am glad they did. The new overall look has a substantially smarter and elegant look. Firstly, the cabinet which has been treated to a lustrous deep almost gunmetal colour that has all the qualities of an automotive paint job. The colour has varying hues to it depending on the lighting and angle, which just adds class, sometimes reflecting like glass.
Switching over to the drivers, both have been blacked out to match the cabinet. A stark contrast to the normal editions which have a white woofer and gold tweeter. Both the drivers aren’t exactly the same shade as the cabinet, in my eyes looking a touch blueish. The mounting frames and waveguides keep their matt black finishes, keeping the look stealthy.
Turn these beauties around, and the rear keeps up with the front. All the parts on the rear also receive the blackout treatment. The terminal plate and the numbered plaque both also go black, with only the white text and the binding post having bright silver colour. The numbered plaque on the other hand gets treated to a ghost print which is makes legibility an absolute pain, but pushes the coolness scale to 100!
Moving on from the aesthetics to the performance. These speakers deliver a rock-solid performance and seem to be rather forgiving of amplification even though the spec might suggest otherwise. The speakers showcase a good amount of bass weight and heft, wholly thanks to the larger 8-inch C-CAM RST II mid bass driver. There is a need to be a little bit experimental with placement as the rear port can muddy the bass a little if not set right. Additionally, these are rather largish by comparison to other bookshelf speakers so care is to be taken not only in positioning but also in the choice of stands.
However, moving up the frequency response, is where you start to see the speaker really shine. This speaker has great midrange and high frequency performance. It has a rather linear signature with a generous serving of detail. The speakers are very articulate and are able to relay vocals rather convincingly. The quality of the mid and highs allows the speaker to also image pretty while delivering a commendable soundstage.
The overall sonic performance and large woofer also mean that these speakers work pretty darn well for home cinema duty or even TV duty. Either as a soundbar alternative or part of a multi-channel setup, the Monitor Audio 100 7G is able to deliver a satisfying performance. The energy up top and bass heft allows it to deliver heavy hitting action scenes with vigour.
Now one thing to take note off, this speaker though largish for a bookshelf pair still do have limitations when placed in larger rooms. Ideally these speakers perform great in small to medium sized rooms, however if you go large, a subwoofer in an absolute must. In my listening I was able to pair these with the Vestra W10 from the Monitor Audio stable with fantastic results. I have a separate review for the sub coming soon.
The subwoofer when added to the mix allows the speaker to showcase a little more nuance in the upper bass regions. This occurs as the load from the deeper bass gets moved off to the subwoofer. Implementation of a subwoofer however can be tricky unless you have an amplifier with appropriate bass or subwoofer management, like say an AVR or the likes of a NAD M10 V3. Nonetheless, this showcases that these affordable gems have plenty of performance headroom to accommodate upgrades, should you wish to take the path.
I have spent a good deal of time with these speakers and genuinely enjoyed every minute of it. The design, build, finish and above all performance, make these a great proposition to have in any HiFi setup. A very worthy speaker to check out and audition if you’re shopping for a new pair. The Monitor Audio Silver 100 7G Limited Edition retails for RM 5,500.00. If you crave something larger, Monitor Audio also has the Silver 300 7G also in the same limited-edition finish, a three-way floorstander, which retails for RM 11,800.00.
For more information on the Monitor Audio Silver Series and other products by Monitor Audio please head on down to The Experts Sound showroom in Midvalley, The Gardens Mall or contact them at 6012 646 2738
