16 July 2001
Robert Basler is the president of Aurora Systems, Inc. and a dedicated OS/2 user since he tired of rebooting Windows 3.1 twenty times a day.
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Monsoon MM-2000 Flat Panel Surround System
[Ed. This review was revised July 30, 2001. Proving that a little knowledge is a dangerous
thing, the original review stated that these speakers are electrostatic, when in fact they are
planar magnetic. Either way, they sound great.]
Looking to bowl over your family and friends with amazing PC sound in a surprisingly compact package? You
might want to look at the new speakers from Monsoon Audio made
by Canadian speaker manfacturer Sonigistix. These speakers are thin,
but don't worry, the small size doesn't mean you are going to be compromising on sound quality.
What's in the Box
When you open the box, you will find a respectably large subwoofer plus the four satellite speakers, push-in adjustable speaker stands, and the remote control.The Satellites
The first thing you notice about the satellite speakers is that they are only 7/8" thick. The next thing you'll notice that they give you lots of wire to connect them to the subwoofer, about 8 feet for the fronts and nearly 20 for the rears. Connecting them is just a matter of pushing the color-coded wires into the standard stereo speaker spring clips on the back of the subwoofer.The Remote
The remote offers a headphone jack, a master volume control, a fader to control the volume of the rear speakers, a bass control plus a mute button. Like the speakers, the remove offers an unusually generous length of wire on its connectors.
Connections
Connecting the Monsoons to your PC is easy, the remote has three color-coded cables coming from it, the first is an 1/8" stereo headphone plug which goes to the front speaker connector on your sound card, the second 1/8" plug goes to the rear speaker connector, the last connector is a special plug which goes into the back of the subwoofer enclosure. Once the satellite speakers are connected, just plug the subwoofer into the wall and you're ready to go.Positioning the Speakers
Positioning the Monsoons is very important. These speakers produce the best sound directly in front of the speakers, once you move off to the side or above or below the direct line in front of the speaker, you lose much of the high frequency range. This "sweet spot" is very noticeable. When you sit at the computer, the sound is spectacular, when you stand up, it is just good. I suppose you could position the Monsoons to produce a wider listening area, but I chose to position them to be optimal for the person sitting at the computer.The front speakers should be positioned on each side of the monitor, facing where the user's head will be when operating the computer, without any obstructions (like your monitor) between the speaker and your ear. Also, make sure they are at least a foot from the closest wall. To facilitate positioning, the speakers have adjustable stands which allow you to adjust the speakers to the perfect angle.
Positioning the rear speakers can be a problem in many computer environments, in my office the rear speakers are about six feet back from the monitor on a bookshelf. Ideally the four speakers should be positioned in a square with your head at the centre, practically, the rear speakers should be a few feet behind you, square with the monitor, and off to the left and right a couple of feet. The closer to the ideal you can get, the better they will work for games and movies. You should take the same care positioning the rear speakers as you do the fronts.
If you don't have a convenient bookshelf, you might want to consider purchasing the optional rear speaker stands as shown in the photo below:
Adjusting your PC
You should set your sound card to about 50% volume. Many sound cards will start to hiss as they are turned up, so you will get much better sound if you use the amplifier in the Monsoons instead.The Monsoon remote control has a Fader for the rear speakers which in combination with some sort of sound source, allows you to adjust the speakers so that they all produce the same sound level.
Setting up the Subwoofer
The subwoofer should be placed somewhere under your desk where the speaker ports are not obstructed. Subwoofers are not direction sensitive, so nearly anywhere should work as long as it isn't too far from the other speakers. There is a sizeable heat sink on the back of the subwoofer so make sure you leave it lots of air around it to radiate any extra heat. You will want to adjust the subwoofer volume once you have some music playing so that it reproduces the deep notes well without overpowering the satellites. Your neighbours will tell you if it is turned too loud.Impressions
The biggest difference you will notice between these and standard cone speakers is that the sound is exceptionally crisp. Add to that a subwoofer which produces very clear, deep bass and you have a recipe for remarkable audio reproduction. You will likely find that there are a lot of crisp highs and deep bass notes in your music that you haven't been hearing up until now. One thing I really liked about the subwoofer is that it comes with hard steel speaker grilles so you aren't likely to put your foot through the speaker if you get careless under your desk.One thing I didn't like about the Monsoons is that they don't turn themselves off when not in use like my stereo's subwoofer. There is a power switch on the back of the subwoofer, but buried far under my desk it isn't terribly convenient. Fortunately there is a Mute button on the remote which I use instead, since the pop when my computer comes on can be quite loud. It would be better if the Monsoons weren't burning electricity when the computer is off though.
Summary
Are these speakers worth purchasing for the average OS/2 user? If you have a 4-channel sound card like the Soundblaster Live! and you listen to any sort of multimedia, whether it be CD's, MP3's or DivX ;-) movies, the Monsoons will make your experience better. The clarity and range of the reproduction is very hard to beat. One minor problem I found with that is that I can now hear any audio defects in MP3 files, so if you use MP3's with these speakers, you will likely find yourself looking for MP3's recorded with higher bitrates. Once you find some good music though, the 340 watts of power the amplifier cranks out is enough to shake the walls, and when something blows up onscreen, the subwoofer does an excellent job of putting you in the explosion.As an upgrade from my 4 watt Sears brown bookshelf speakers I got as a birthday present back in 1981, these make a spectacular difference to the sound coming from my computer. Music and CD audio sound great, as do movies. When I play games or watch DVD's in Windows, the spatial information is very immersive. It still isn't quite as good as the sound from a high-end stereo, mainly due to the inherent limitations of PC sound, but you aren't likely to find much better sounding computer speakers.
If you have a two-channel system, or are on a bit of a budget, Monsoon also sells the MM-1000 which has two speakers and a subwoofer for $199. Keep in mind though that this model has a different amplifier/subwoofer which only offers 50 watts of power, 12.5W for each satellite and 25W for the subwoofer.
System Specifications
Satellites: 4 x 8 inch dipole-radiating planar magnetic transducer.Power: 4 x 60 Watts, satellite transducers; 100 Watts, subwoofer.
Crossover: 24 dB/oct high-pass @ 200 Hz for satellites; 18 dB/oct low-pass @200 Hz for subwoofer.
Subwoofer drive unit: 6.5 inch cone, magnetically shielded; Xmax = +/- 6mm.
Passive radiator units: 2 x 6.5 inch cone.
Subwoofer cabinet: 16-liter, tuned to 45 Hz; 10" H x 14" W x 12" D.
System frequency response: 35 Hz to 20kHz (in workstation environment.)
Maximum SPL at .5 m: 108 dB using EIA 426B noise.
Monsoon MM-2000 Flat Panel Surround System
Manufacturer: Sonigistix Corporation
Website: www.monsoonpower.com
Phone: 1-877-PCAUDIO
Price: $299 Optional floor stands $99.
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