News

Apr 02, 2023

Monitor Audio Radical ‘Concept 50’ Loudspeaker, Premium ‘Cinergy’ Home Theater Line

Monitor Audio Concept 50 I’ma longtime fan of Monitor Audio speakers because

Monitor Audio Concept 50

I’ma longtime fan of Monitor Audio speakers because they sound good and offerimpressive value at a variety of price points. And to be honest, I just likethe way they look. Over the years, the company has mostly stuck to fairlytraditional designs, with pleasing proportions and high-quality wood and paintfinishes that appeal to lots of people and fit in with many styles of decor.The 7th-generation Silver Series loudspeakers are a perfect example.When I heard that Monitor Audio was cooking up something new for its 50thanniversary, I expected a wood-clad, retro-chic speaker — something like PSB's 50th-anniversary Passif 50, perhaps. Nostalgia-fueled throwbackdesigns have been successful for other brands like JBL and Wharfedale, and theymake sense as anniversary products. Monitor Audio did introduce a limitedanniversary edition of itsSilver 100stand-mount speaker in a stylish green finish that has a sort of timelessappeal. But the real 50th-anniversary celebration came in the form of somethingtotally unexpected: the Concept 50 loudspeaker.

Firstunveiled at the High End audio show in Munich, the Concept 50 is still indevelopment but will go into production as Monitor Audio's flagship speakerbefore the end of 2022. The prototype shown in Munich is not expected to changemuch before launch, though its 212-pound weight will likely increase to 220pounds, according to the company. Standing 55 inches tall and about 17 incheswide, the Concept 50 would be rather imposing even if it looked like a typicalMonitor Audio speaker, but as you can see, there is nothing typical about thisradically-new design. It all started a few years ago, when Monitor Audio'sTechnical Director, Michael Hedges, and Design Director, Charles Minett, weretasked with preparing for the impending anniversary by designing the bestproduct in Monitor Audio's history. Hedges, Minett, and their respective teamswere essentially given free rein to push the boundaries of loudspeaker designto the limits, as the company chose to celebrate this milestone not by lookingback at its first 50 years, but instead by looking to the future.

Noloudspeaker is perfect. Using our experience and understanding of the physics,we’ve strived to design a real loudspeaker to be as close as possible toperfect. This has been attempted by others many times but with Concept 50 webelieve we’ve got closer than anyone has before. There are two key elements thatare often ignored: perceived source size and directivity. For sound stage andimaging to be as accurate as possible the sound must come from a single pointand have a consistent directivity. Concept 50 achieves this through theinnovative placement and design of each of its drivers, a tightly groupedtweeter and midrange cluster called ‘The Array’, plus a compact inward facingpair of force cancelled bass assemblies.

—Michael Hedges

Thebasic architecture of the three-way Concept 50 reminds me a bit of KEF's Blade,in that it employs a front-firing point-source handling the mids and highs,along with two pairs of side-mounted, force-cancelling woofers. But while theKEF Blade is built around that company's proven Uni-Q concentric driver, theheart of Monitor Audio's Concept 50 is an all-new multi-driver midrange andtweeter assembly called "The Array." This ultra-compact and undeniablyeye-catching unit combines six small midrange drivers nestled tightly around acustom-built AMT tweeter. Together, the six 2-inch midrange drivers have agreater surface area than the 4-inch midrange drivers used in Monitor Audio'scurrent flagship Platinum Series speakers, but their unique arrangementsurrounding the tweeter creates an acoustic point-source system that promisesbetter soundstage depth, height, and width, along with a more clearly-defined center image. The Array is mounted to amachined-aluminum baffle that sits at the front of a 3D-printed enclosure,custom-designed and tuned to optimize the performance of the midrange drivers.These drivers are said to offer wide enough bandwidth that they could extendhigh up into the range of a typical tweeter. This reportedly keeps distortionlow and ensures the smoothest possible crossover to the tweeter. According toMichael Hedges, the midrange drivers show no signs of breakup until above10kHz, and extend up to 23kHz. At the bottom of their range, they go down to150Hz with 2-3 mm of excursion. Why not go with a traditional dual concentricmidrange/tweeter assembly, like the ones used by KEF and TAD, for example?Hedges says that the displacement of the mid-range diaphragm, which forms thetweeter's waveguidein such designs, can add intermodulation distortion to the tweeter. This effectcan be mitigated (though not completely eliminated) by limiting thelow-frequency output of the midrange driver. The Concept 50's tweeter waveguideis fixed in place, and the surrounding midrange drivers create a flat bafflearound the tweeter. Therefore, there's no additional intermodulation distortionon the tweeter, and the midrange drivers are free to deliver the best possibleperformance at the low end of their operating band.

Thetweeter in The Array is Monitor Audio's new, third-generation Micro PleatedDiaphragm (MPD) high-frequency transducer. This AMT-style driver offersimproved linearity, distortion, directivity, and power handling over previousversions, according to the company. (The first-generation MPD tweeter was used in the company's PlatinumII Series. The second-generation MPD tweeter is found in the Cinergy range —more on that later. The new third-generation MPD used in the Concept 50 is alsofound in the upcoming Platinum 3G Series, which will have been announced by thetime this article is published.)

While The Array reproduces most of thefrequency spectrum, the bass is handed off to four 7.9-inch woofers perspeaker, which are anchored together in pairs by cast aluminum chassis boundtogether by cast aluminum interlinks. This force-canceling arrangement isslightly different from the one found in KEF's Blade speakers, in that theConcept 50's woofers fire inward, toward each other, rather than outward towardthe side walls. It's an unusual configuration, but Monitor Audio claims that itgives the Concept 50 an in-room bass response that reaches all the way down to21Hz (-6dB). The cast aluminum interlinks that hold each pair of wooferstogether are the only structural element holding the main cabinet together. TheConcept 50's distinctive main cabinet comprises two pieces of 18mm-thick "solidsurface material" made primarily of acrylic polymer with high mineral content.Monitor Audio says that this material is both extremely rigid and incrediblydense (hence the speaker's linebacker weight). The material is thermoformedinto shape and then precision machined. The internal bracing and even the porttubes are all formed from the two individual pieces of seamless material, andare part of the structure of the cabinet itself.

Alot of high-tech speakers are obviously very technology-forward. And that's notreally where we are as a brand. We’re very much a performance audio brand butwe want to be human first. We want to make our products look accessible and nottoo overpowering in a room. Each of these loudspeakers has got 11 drive unitsin it… and if we made those all forward-facing, and if we made those allvisible, it would become a very overpowering loudspeaker. So what weintentionally did with this configuration was work really hard to make those asdiscreet as possible. Our mission to create a loudspeaker like no other both inperformance and looks was no easy challenge. However, by using Concept 50's twounique driver configurations as the backbone of its structure, we have beenable to create a unique aesthetic which demands attention but does notoverpower a space like many of its contemporaries. This allows us to make astatement which looks forward, not back. Concept 50 is about generating ideasthat can form the basis of our loudspeaker development for the next generationof audio enthusiasts.

—Charles Minett, Monitor Audio Design Director

Pricinghas not been announced for the production version of the Concept 50, though weshouldn't have long to wait before learning more. At Munich, the potentialprice of around $50K - $60K was mentioned off the record. If that holds true,it would make these new flagships the most expensive product Monitor Audio hasever made. As of now, that honor belongs to the Platinum PL500 II, which sellsfor $37,000 per pair, and is more than 6 feet tall. At around 4.5 feet tall,the Concept 50 might be easier to accommodate in a listening room, but I haveto wonder what Monitor Audio fans (and audiophiles in general) will make of itsunusual, futuristic design. And at those prices, the Concept 50 won't just becompeting with the likes of KEF and Bowers & Wilkins, but with Wilson,Magico, YG, and other heavy-hitters of the extreme high end. The fate of thisfascinating product remains to be seen, but Monitor Audio has also released avery different set of products in its 50th anniversary year — a premium hometheater loudspeaker series called Cinergy.

TheCinergy line is designed for professional home theater installers looking for ahigh-end product with great installation flexibility. The highly adaptableCinergy products can be integratedinto walls, attached onto walls, or secured to the floor for free-standingapplications. The speakers all use a mid-tweeter array that can be rotated 90 degrees,allowing each speaker to be used either horizontally or vertically. Thespeakers also incorporate innovative isolation devices and fixing methods thatimprove performance and make installations go more smoothly. The lineupincludes Cinergy 100 ($3,500 each), Cinergy 200 ($5,500 each), Cinergy 300 ($6,500each) and Cinergy Sub15 ($3,100 each). All are THX Certified Ultra. The smallCinergy 100 is a three-way ported speaker that employs an 8-inch woofer, a 2.5-inchceramic-coated aluminum/magnesium midrange driver, and Monitor Audio'ssecond-generation MPD tweeter. The medium-sized Cinergy 200 uses two midrangedrivers and two woofers, arranged D’Appolito-style(woofer, midrange, tweeter, midrange, woofer). The large Cinergy 300 uses thesame drivers as the Cinergy 200, but in a much larger cabinet. In the Cinergy300, the mid-tweeter "pod"can swap places with one of the woofers. So if you have the speakers installedin a wall behind an acoustically-transparent screen, the mid-tweeter pod can beplaced in the center position, but if the Cinergy 300 is being used as afree-standing floor-stander (on the supplied isolating plinth), the mid-tweeter pod can be moved up to the top spot.

Thisflexibility allows the tweeter and midrange drivers to be at the ideal heightin a variety of installation types. Finally, the Cinergy Sub15 is a passive15-inch subwoofer designed to be used with Monitor Audio's IA800-2C amplifier ($2,500), which accommodates the useof various downloadable EQ profiles. One IA800-2C amplifier can power a pair of Cinergy Sub15subwoofers. The units are sized such that two stacked Sub15 subwoofers are the same height as a Cinergy 300loudspeaker, allowing installers to build a "sound wall" for the front stage ofa theater, consisting of three Cinergy 300 speakers and four Cinergy Sub15subwoofers. The Cinergy products come with a variety of practical accessoriesthat were developed in-house to optimize performance. For example, three-layersilicone isolation feet can be mounted below the speakers, while L-shapedbracket isolators improve performance when the speakers are mounted to studsinside a wall. According to Monitor Audio, these helpful extras can reducevibrations by up to 18dB.

Ofcourse, Monitor Audio is not the only traditional Hi-Fi loudspeakermanufacturer making high-end home theater speakers for the custom installmarket. Our friends at Audio Advice offer the impressive KEF Ci5160REF-THX speakers ($10,000 each), as well asthe mighty MartinLogan Statement 40XW ($22,500 each), which so impressed Audioholicsfounder Gene DellaSalaat CEDIA 2019. But only the Focal 1000 Series seems to offer as much installationflexibility as Monitor Audio's new Cinergy line. Compared to these expensivecompetitors, and considering that the Cinergy products offer technology derivedfrom Monitor Audio's premium Platinum Series, the Cinergy speakers appear tohave a lot to offer the custom installer looking for a high-performancesolution at slightly less astronomical prices.

Unless otherwise indicated, this is a preview article for the featured product. A formal review may or may not follow in the future.

Jacob is a music-lover and audiophile who enjoys convincing his friends to buy audio gear that they can't afford. He's also a freelance writer and editor based in Los Angeles.

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