STATUS - SOLD
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Description :
The Monitor Audio Studio 15 is one of the top models in Monitor Audio's premium "Studio" line. Finished either in painted or lacquered black, the Studio 15 uses the same Monitor Audio's manufactured drive units as the Studio 20, but in a smaller enclosure. While it might be thought that the Monitor Audio Studio 15's size qualifies it as a "bookshelf" design, in true no-compromise fashion it must be used on a stand well away from room boundaries. Below the tweeter, the Monitor Audio Studio 15 sounds rather hollow; on or just above the tweeter axis, the sound is smoothly balanced overall, but with a degree of emphasis near the crossover region. The bass balance seems very dependent on the amplifier used to drive the speaker. The lows extend in the room to 40Hz or so, pizzicato orchestral bass having sufficient body, though at high levels the sound seems to "fur up." For a reflex design, however, the bass is quite rhythmic. For low synthesizer grunts, it furs up at appropriately high playback levels. The main dynamic limitation of the Monitor Audio Studio 15s' sound is in the bass. While it seems to suit rock music up to SPLs in the high '90s, beyond that it clogs up the low frequencies.

Higher in frequency, the midrange is in general superb. Midband coloration seems remarkably absent, voices and strings reproducing about as natural as it can. On a foundation of double-bass chords, the cellos, violas, and violins build a massively sonorous sunrise. The Monitor Audio Studio 15 allow each block of instruments sonically intact within the whole, no one instrument is emphasized at the expense of others. Violins occasionally sound slightly exaggerated at the top of their E-string register, but they do not get in the way of musical communication. Voices, too, float free of the speaker positions. Against the sparse accompaniment of instruments, vocalists sound refreshingly free of the midrange muddying that too often homogenizes the tiny inflections of expression.

Only when it came to recorded piano do the Monitor Audio Studio 15 sound a little less than excellent. Though the sound is satisfyingly full, with good midbass weight when driven by the tube amplifiers, the middle registers sound somewhat congested. Certain notes - the C and D-flat near the top of the treble staff, which have approximate frequencies of 523 and 554Hz, acquire a slight hoot. Of more immediate concern on piano recordings is a slight feeling of disconnection between the transient starts of treble notes and the body of their tone, the former sounding more forward in the soundstage. There is also a slight degree of "bite" in the Monitor Audio Studio 15's mid-treble, presumably due to the woofer's primary breakup mode. This is not always very important sonically, though it does render the speaker very fussy over matching equipment. It sounds much better balanced with LP source than with CD, for example, the latter tending to sound rather relentless in the mid-treble. In the treble, the top octave and a half is silky and delicate, airy and spacious. The 15 resembles the more expensive products in its line in their excellent portrayal of recorded space. With rather a lean overall balance and a degree of forwardness in the mid-treble, it is unforgiving of the components with which it is to be used. With careful system building, however, the Monitor Audio Studio 15 will prove capable of giving an intensely detailed, vivid, superbly spacious sound, particularly when coupled with a high-end LP source.

Specifications :
Type...............................................Two-way, reflex-loaded, stand-mounted loudspeaker
Drive Units.......................................25mm aluminum-alloy dome tweeter
               .......................................170mm aluminum-alloy cone woofer
Crossover Frequency........................Approximately 3kHz
Crossover Slopes.............................2nd-order, 12dB/octave high-pass
Frequency Response........................35Hz to 24kHz, +/- 3dB
Sensitivity........................................88.5dB/W/m (2.83V)
Maximum SPL.................................120dB
Nominal Impedance..........................8 ohms
Amplifier Requirements.....................30 to 200 watts
Dimensions(w x d x h)......................20 x 25.5 x 51 cm
Weight............................................11kg per side

Miscellaneous :
Made In...........................................UK, England
Condition.........................................7/10 (Marks and scratches on top of the speakers)

Product Information :
http://www.stereophile.com/content/monitor-audio-studio-15-loudspeaker-specifications (Specifications)

Reviews :
http://www.stereophile.com/standloudspeakers/692ma/index.html