Monitor 4 vs Monitor 5b
HTguru1982
Posts: 1,066
I have what I believer are set of original Monitor 4's with the Peerless tweeters. I also have a set of Monitor 5B's with SL2000's. I keep going back and forth between these 2 speakers as my surrounds in my home theater and I'm a little confused as to why the 5B's sound so much better.
Sure, they're bigger and use a passive radiator which would equal more output. But the Monitor 4's use the Peerless tweeter and while they are a bit smaller, the midrange driver is very similar and being 8 ohm speakers, they should be more efficient for my receiver to power them vs the 4 ohm Monitor 5B's. But I find the 4's to be very small sounding and highs to be rather bright. The 5B's on the other hand sound much more natural and while the SL2000 is no dream, it doesn't seem to be as hard to listen to as the Peerless(at least on these speakers).
Is the Monitor 5 simply the better speaker? Is it the crossover? Cabinet design? What?
Sure, they're bigger and use a passive radiator which would equal more output. But the Monitor 4's use the Peerless tweeter and while they are a bit smaller, the midrange driver is very similar and being 8 ohm speakers, they should be more efficient for my receiver to power them vs the 4 ohm Monitor 5B's. But I find the 4's to be very small sounding and highs to be rather bright. The 5B's on the other hand sound much more natural and while the SL2000 is no dream, it doesn't seem to be as hard to listen to as the Peerless(at least on these speakers).
Is the Monitor 5 simply the better speaker? Is it the crossover? Cabinet design? What?
Display: Sony 42" LCD
Sources: Harman Kardon DVD-27,
Panasonic DMP-BDT110 blu ray player
AVR: Sony STR-DA2400ES
Amps: Sonance Sonamp 260(fronts),
Kenwood KM-894(surrounds)
Fronts: NHT 2.5
Center: NHT VS-1.2A
Surrounds: NHT Super One
Subwoofer: SVS PB10-ISD
Sources: Harman Kardon DVD-27,
Panasonic DMP-BDT110 blu ray player
AVR: Sony STR-DA2400ES
Amps: Sonance Sonamp 260(fronts),
Kenwood KM-894(surrounds)
Fronts: NHT 2.5
Center: NHT VS-1.2A
Surrounds: NHT Super One
Subwoofer: SVS PB10-ISD
Post edited by HTguru1982 on
Comments
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The 5B is simply the better speaker since it's larger and designed to play more of the signal. A bit odd about the sl2000 sounding better than the peerless. The 5B's simply have more cohesion and synergy. It's very hard, especially back then, to make a small speaker sound bigger. Today's current designs do it better than past designs.
H9"Appreciation of audio is a completely subjective human experience. Measurements can provide a measure of insight, but are no substitute for human judgment. Why are we looking to reduce a subjective experience to objective criteria anyway? The subtleties of music and audio reproduction are for those who appreciate it. Differentiation by numbers is for those who do not".--Nelson Pass Pass Labs XA25 | EE Avant Pre | EE Mini Max Supreme DAC | MIT Shotgun S1 | Pangea AC14SE MKII | Legend L600 | BlueSound Node 3 - Tubes add soul! -
I thought as much. I've tried so many settings with the Monitor 4's and could never get them to sound "right" for surround use. I may try to utilize them in a small 2 channel bedroom system, though. They're still good speakers - just not on the same level as the 5B's.Display: Sony 42" LCD
Sources: Harman Kardon DVD-27,
Panasonic DMP-BDT110 blu ray player
AVR: Sony STR-DA2400ES
Amps: Sonance Sonamp 260(fronts),
Kenwood KM-894(surrounds)
Fronts: NHT 2.5
Center: NHT VS-1.2A
Surrounds: NHT Super One
Subwoofer: SVS PB10-ISD -
I'm using Monitor 4.6 as my surrounds and work great.
They are little front in vocals than my 5B's so not that great for fronts but work good as surrounds.
And yes, 5B's are better than my 4.6.
Klipsch RB81, KG3.5, B&W DM602.5, Polk.
Subwoofers: Klipsch RW10, Triad ProSub Bronze. -
One other thing to consider: the peerless monitor 4s are older than the 5bs, and the crossovers may be in need of replacement. That could explain why the sl2000s are outperforming the peerless.
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One other thing to consider: the peerless monitor 4s are older than the 5bs, and the crossovers may be in need of replacement. That could explain why the sl2000s are outperforming the peerless.
Always a factor with gear that old. One that is often overlooked and can be like comparing apples to oranges.
H9"Appreciation of audio is a completely subjective human experience. Measurements can provide a measure of insight, but are no substitute for human judgment. Why are we looking to reduce a subjective experience to objective criteria anyway? The subtleties of music and audio reproduction are for those who appreciate it. Differentiation by numbers is for those who do not".--Nelson Pass Pass Labs XA25 | EE Avant Pre | EE Mini Max Supreme DAC | MIT Shotgun S1 | Pangea AC14SE MKII | Legend L600 | BlueSound Node 3 - Tubes add soul!
