Bronze 50 Bookshelf Speakers, Walnut

Product Information

IV1, IV2, IV3, IV4, IV5, IV6, IV7, IV8, IV9, IV10, IV11, IV12, IV13, IV14, IV15, IV16, IV17, IV18, IV19, IV20, IV21, IV22, IV23, IV24, IV25, IV26, IV27, IV28, IV29, IV30, IV31, IV32, IV33, IV34, IV35, IV36, IV37, IV38, IV39, IV40, IV41, IV42, IV43, IV44, IV45, IV46, IV47, IV48, IV49, IV50, IV51, IV52, IV53, IV54, IV55, IV56, IV57, IV58, IV59, IV60, IV61, IV62, IV63, IV64, IV65, IV66, IV67, IV68, IV69, IV70, IV71, IV72, IV73, IV74, IV75, IV76, IV77, IV78, IV79, IV80, IV81, IV82, IV83, IV84, IV85, IV86, IV87, IV88, IV89, IV90, IV91, IV92, IV93, IV94, IV95, IV96, IV97, IV98, IV99 Pureflow silver-plated oxygen-free copper internal cabling are connected to gold-plated bi-wire terminals and bespoke grilles. The entry-level Bronze 50 is bigger and more of a 'proper' stereo speaker than the outgoing Bronze 1, too, which was often thought of as more of a satellite speaker for surround systems. Top-to-bottom balance is very well realised, too. The presence region isn’t pushed for effect and, as a result, vocals don’t tend to have that in-your-lap projection you get with some speakers. Take Mavis Staples’ singing All In It Together – a powerful and passionate set of pipes if ever there was. The performance sounds startlingly bold, immediate and raw, but without being gratingly aggressive or edgy. Better still, Core Shift from Yello’s album Point probably shows the Bronze 500 at its big-hearted best, the speaker seeming to draw effortless horsepower from somewhere, spraying stereo effects across the room with gusto and launching dynamic swings that feel almost dangerous. Huge fun.

So if you had the relatively cheaper 12.1 speakers in mind for your system but you were at least contemplating the Bronze 100 speakers, what would the latter give you? If you would spend your budget on the Bronze 100 speakers, why might you even do that? What would be the attraction? What would be the reasoning behind that? A classic two-way reflex-ported design, it measures 166x281x265mm (WxHxD) and weighs 5kg. Unusually perhaps, its tweeter is set a behind flexible protective grille which is covered in hexagonal perforations which, Monitor Audio promises, has “as little impact as possible on the high-frequency acoustic performance”. The 25mm C-CAM high-frequency unit sports a dome made from aluminium/magnesium alloy and coated with gold-coloured ceramic – of which you can see hints through that grille. A vented neodymium magnet is fitted, and the company’s so-called Uniform Dispersion Waveguide is used, which is a curved surround that looks a little like a shallow horn. Interestingly, the C-CAM 140mm mid/bass driver also has a ceramic-coated aluminium/magnesium alloy cone – this time silver rather than gold coloured. Featuring Monitor Audio’s famous C-CAM Gold Dome tweeters, the sound is every bit as crisp as you’d expect from this premium design. The latest developments add a UD (Uniform Dispersion) waveguide for a more focused and precise sound. Now featuring MA’s signature, hexagonal pattern grille, the tweeters look better than ever, too.

Bronze 50 Speaker

After putting my review pair of Monitor Audio Bronze 50 loudspeakers on a suitably sized pair of stands, I then had to decide how to power them. I tried my premium priced Schitt Audio Vidar power amp and it worked fine, but I also felt duty-bound to try them with something a bit more ‘real world’. For a compact speaker like the Bronze 50, the price is not the cheapest. You can consider this a mid-priced speaker. The overall cost will increase when you add an amplifier and subwoofer. On the front side of the speaker there is a thin horizontal slot port. For better bass, place it near walls. That said, low ends are excellent for a desktop speaker. Along with music, this speaker is ideal for PC gaming. Use the speaker stands to tilt them so that the tweeter is at user ear height. This is needed for optimized listening experience. It shows rich and detailed performance. Audiophiles will be impressed with it.

Edifier R1280DB is ideal for mid-sized rooms. You can pair it with PC or TVs. It can produce room-filling sound in small rooms. It is versatile so you can easily connect it to turntables or iPhones. This set of speakers is ideal for new music producers and DJs. From classical music to movie watching, the speaker can handle all types of contents pretty well. Along with streaming contents, you can easily pair it with a mid-sized TV. It matches well with 27” screen sizes. While placing it on desktops tables or shelfs, you can use the 7 Inch Desktop Speaker Stands for Mid-Size Bookshelf Computer Speakers or 36” stands. Hence the mids from an acoustic guitar here offered more twang and metallic crispness while the bass had greater impact and tonal balance. Though those Dynaudios have more in the way of verve and rhythmic drive, but there’s still enough of both to make the Monitor Audios an enjoyable listen.

Monitor Audio

As a reviewer, I am frequently spoiled by the hardware that passes through for testing. I’ve listened to some truly outstanding - and expensive - speakers over the last year or so. Despite this, I have an ongoing soft spot for affordable hardware that is done well. Speakers like the Mission LX-2 and products like the Rega Planar 1 Plus and Yamaha WX-AD10 are fine examples of equipment that punches well above its weight. Given Monitor Audio’s form over the last few years, I had high hopes for the Monitor 50. Hifi News had very different tone for Bronze 100 including measurements which shows fairly flat response nearfield. Horn technology in Kipsch deliver clean, detailed and lively sound. It has rear-firing port that minimizes any turbulence in the lower frequencies. As you rise the volume up, the sound remains pure and uncolored. The speakers produce clearer voices, instrumental sounds are well-represented. It is easy to drive with almost any amp. That’s why along with standard amplifiers, tube amps that have low power can also be used with this speaker. Unfortunately, our Installation Service excludes all gas appliances. It is the customer’s responsibility to find a gas safe engineer to connect the appliance. Any work conducted by a third part gas safe engineer will be at the customer’s expense and we will not accept any liability for their work. Comparing these Bronze 50 speakers to my Q Acoustic 3020i reference models of exactly the same price, I was alerted how both designs flirted over the neutral line. The Q Acoustics leaned towards the warm but the Bronze 50s leant towards the cool. And that’s exactly it, nothing more than that. The Bronze 50s are basically neutral speakers but they are a tad leaner than the 3020i speakers.