#Review #Monitor #Audio #Platinum #completely #speakers
In recent years, Monitor Audio has managed to get into the spotlight with speakers that sound better and better (and also slightly different than before). The younger design team responsible for this now tackled the British brand’s highest Platinum line. The result is definitely worth hearing.
Double party
For this test we received not one but two new Monitor Audio products. Here we will mainly talk about the contents of the first sturdy, wood-reinforced box that we will pick up from importer Transtel-Sabima in Antwerp. This included a pair of 2-way Platinum 100s, the most compact speakers from the British brand’s new Platinum line – pictured here on the right with family members. But after attending a successful 2.2 demo with these speakers at the Noir & Blanc show, we were happy to request an Anthra subwoofer (photo below). Why? With speakers of this size, adding a sub is definitely worthwhile, especially in larger rooms.
No matter how good a standmount or compact speaker may be, it is not possible to produce really deep bass. Even large floorstanders can use some help – but that’s another discussion. In the end we received two Monitor Audio Anthra W12 subwoofers, smaller models (2,450 euros each) than the W15s seen and heard at the Brussels show.
We will talk about the Anthras later, but a really detailed discussion is for a later review. The focus of this review remains the Platinum 100 3Gs. These slightly larger bookshelf speakers deserve this, as the entry-level speakers in the British brand’s highest speaker family.
Ok, we will ignore the Hyphn, Monitor Audio’s high-end reproducer for approximately 80,000 euros/pair. This is mainly intended to make a strong statement and to flex your technological muscles. A mission that can certainly be called a success; the Hyphn even managed to push the almost simultaneous launch of this new generation of Platinum speakers to the background in the eyes of the hi-fi public. However, this is a particularly significant update to the Platinum top line.
Excitingly priced
As Monitor Audio’s highest standmount speakers, the Platinum 100 3Gs position themselves as challengers to big names such as Bowers & Wilkins 805 D4s or KEF’s Reference 1 Meta. Not everyone will share that analysis, especially since the Monitor Audio speakers are priced a bit lower than the two respected examples we cite. But the price tag doesn’t say everything, of course, and besides, Monitor Audio, together with those two other British names, is the top in the UK in terms of sales.
You pay 5,500 euros for a pair of Platinum 100 3Gs. That price applies to each of the three color versions; In the past you paid extra for the beautiful Ebony finish.
The Platinum 100 3Gs are standmounts. Read: bookshelf speakers on paper, but actually just a bit too big to carry that label. You can place them on some AV furniture, but the best option is a few stands. Monitor Audio puts the ST-2 forward, at 675 euros/pair and available in black or white.
They match the Platinums well, but are actually designed as universal stands. Their rounded design, top plate with smart decoupling, sturdy construction and integrated adjustable feet make the ST-2 indeed an interesting option for a wider audience in our opinion. This will fit a few more speakers, not just Monitor Audio products.
Completed modernist
We hear from several angles that floor-standing speakers are doing well. We understand that, because their slightly larger dimensions give them the volume to reproduce lower frequencies. So you still get powerful performance from speakers like these. We of course mean ‘larger’ here compared to typical bookshelf speakers. Compared to a floorstander you are still talking about something compact. These larger bookshelf speakers therefore look less intrusive in a living room, even on stands. However, the footprint – even with these Platinum 100 3Gs – is strictly speaking not much smaller than that of a floorstander. But many people experience this speaker format as less dominant, something we often hear.
In terms of design, the new Platinum speakers differ considerably from the previous generation. What MA connoisseurs will immediately notice is that leather is no longer used on the baffle. We’re not at all surprised to see this disappear. It was quite controversial with the previous Platinums and not everyone liked it. Acoustically it did have some interesting properties.
The Platinum 100 3G therefore looks more conventional in design than the previous Platinum PL100 II. But also more modern and better finished. Especially how the convex front seamlessly ‘bends’ to the side panels and continues to the rear is very well done. The back is also strikingly shaped if you look at it from above. There is a dent in the middle, which is because the back is hollow. The double speaker terminals and bass port are therefore slightly deeper than the surrounding edges.
The curves of the housings make the Platinum 100 3G look softer, but also provide acoustic benefits. This way, the rounder front would be less affected by diffraction, unwanted mini reflections that cloud the sound image. The absence of parallel walls should also minimize standing waves in the interior of the enclosures. It is also really noticeable that the housings of the Platinum 100 3Gs appear very vibration-free and quiet.
Welcome to an interior
In the Platinum 100 (and its bigger brothers) you can clearly see the drawing pen of Monitor Audio’s industrial designer Charles Minett and his team. In 2018 we visited the offices of Monitor Audio and spoke with Minett at the recent Ascot Show; on both occasions we were impressed by how much thought was given to the smallest detail. Due to the 3G makeover, there are some similarities with the cheaper Silver and Gold lines, such as how the woofer and AMT tweeter are integrated into the baffle with an aluminum outer ring.
Also present again is a striking perforated grille over the tweeter. That is really an eye-catcher.
All this gives the Platinum 100 3G a very unique but also contemporary look. A bit understated, you might say. The finish and build quality of the 15-kg speaker is top-notch, but those looking for something that screams exorbitant luxury may find it too cool. It’s a matter of taste.
Making the right choice in terms of color is important. The high-gloss black or high-gloss black gives a completely different impression than the satin white finish. With its sixteen layers of paint, the black version we received for testing certainly looked very opulent. The white version seems less striking, in a positive way. We think such an almost-matte finish attracts attention by fitting harmoniously into a (modern) interior. Incidentally, the floorstanding Platinum 3Gs have an eye-catching design element that is missing here: a double white line in the center of the front.
Tubes? Allowed.
Larger bookshelf speakers or standmounts usually require a bit more to drive them properly. That is no different here. With a sensitivity of 85 dB and a nominal impedance of 4 Ohm (which is also the lowest point), it certainly can’t hurt to use the
For this review we tried the Platinum 100 3Gs with the Lyngdorf TDAI-3400, the Primare PRE35 DM36/A35.8 and with the Musical Fidelity A1. What you read below are mainly our experiences with the Lyngdorf amplifier, partly because that class D device offers many options in terms of sub-integration. It’s just a nice and neutral sounding amplifier.
However, the listening moments with the A1 were also worth mentioning. The homage amplifier is a contemporary copy of an eighties original. It mainly functions in class A and does not have a huge amount of power, but enough to drive these speakers. The A1 also has a certain harmonious distortion that leans towards a tube amp tone – and that was very nice together with the Platinum 100 3G. Coincidentally, we have also heard demos with these speakers and tube amplifiers at shows (including the iEar’ show with Pathos), and that came across strongly.
Aim for less distortion
In terms of technology, the Platinum 100 3G contains familiar but updated elements. Just like its predecessor, it is again a 2-way design in which a smaller but less breakup-sensitive 6-inch RDT III woofer (a mix of C-Cam and three layers of carbon fiber at the rear) is married to an MPD II tweeter.
MDP in this case stands for Micro Pleated Diaphragm, a further evolution of AMT tweeters that Monitor Audio developed with the intention of creating something very precise and clear. This third generation was even designed for the Concept 50, the prototype of what later became the Hyphn, but now finds its way to the Platinum line. ‘Purity’ is a word that is often mentioned in the designers’ notebook, we suspect. The makers emphasize that the RDT III woofer produces the least distortion of all drivers that the brand has ever built.
Some work has also been done to prevent coloration due to cabinet vibrations. The housings of the Platinum 100 3Gs appear to be very solid upon closer inspection. To prevent the transmission of sound from the drivers to the housing, there are those aluminum rings you see on the baffle. It is a visual attention grabber, but this is actually a more complex construction in which multiple rings ensure strong decoupling. For example, the vibrations of the driver cannot be transferred to the front of the Platinum 100 3G.
A new subwoofer line
In the past, Monitor Audio always supplemented its main speaker families with accompanying subwoofers. So you had subs named Bronze, Silver or Gold. But as a result, the Monitor Audio subwoofers were often forgotten when, for example, home theaters were built with speakers from other brands. That is one of the reasons why the Anthra subwoofers appeared last year. Not only did a lot of R&D go into developing these layer makers, but the intention is also clearly to put Monitor Audio on the map as a full-fledged subwoofer manufacturer. They do this with three subwoofer models that build on the company’s existing sub-principles: a single large woofer that faces forward, a closed design and a very solid, heavy housing. The three models are the Anthra W10, W12 and W15 – where the number refers to the diameter of the woofer used.
Monitor Audio adds a number of interesting things to the Anthras. Although they have a small display at the back where you can adjust settings, it is much more convenient to work via the Maestro Unite app. We already know this, partly because of last year’s test of the Roksan Attessa amplifier with BluOS streaming.
With the Anthras you can use the app to fully configure the subwoofer, including crossover and an equalizer. And on the plus side: Maestro Unite offers support for multiple Anthras. This is particularly useful if you decide, for example, to build a 2.2 system or give your home theater several subs as a gift. A step that costs more, but does offer significant acoustic benefits.
The Anthras also use a lot of new technology. Including the RDT II technology for the C-CAM woofer, the newer III version of which can be found on the new Platinums. In recent years, Monitor Audio has also gained more experience in building amplification, including in CI products and through the acquisition of Roksan. That knowledge also turned out to be useful for the Anthras. The subs all feature new Class D amplification that can deliver up to 2.5 kW in the largest model. Subs often come with very powerful amplifiers because those large woofers need something to produce tough ultra-low. But an “Asjemenou!” is appropriate with such power.
Sweet in the middle
In terms of tuning, the new Platinums sound slightly different than before. We rely on our memories from the previous generation, which we have tested on location and at home. We always have to be careful with such comparisons, but we dare to say that there are some differences. Now the PLII generation sounded absolutely good, with an ability to play big but also remove very fine detail further from the mix. The emphasis on the new Platinums – and in fact all new Monitor Audios – is on a more universal character and better dynamic power. They don’t take out a scalpel to dissect music, which was never an MA thing anyway, but focus more on coherence and timing.
With the Primare set, the Platinum 100 3Gs create Hani Rani’s dreamy piano work as light as a feather. Very little is lost from the intimate ‘Luka’: the piano sounds that fade away, the spaciousness and the occasional ticking of the piano interior. On this album you are mainly served very minimalist music, which is not challenging in all areas. At the same time, it is the kind of music that wants to listen to your attention. The purity that the Monitor Audio top models deliver is a real surplus.
If we pass the musical whirlwind of ‘When Worlds Collide’ by Apocalyptica or the finesse of ‘The Horn in Romantism’ by record label 2L on the Lyngdorf, the Platinum 100 3G proves itself capable of delivering both recordings equally flawlessly. What the Platinum 100 does very well is to allow the mid-high and above to separate from the speaker, especially horizontally. The horn on ‘The Dead Heart’ by Midnight Oil, for example, is located a little further to the left of the speaker. That all helps to make you forget that you’re listening to a music system.
‘Stolen Sweets’, a 1960 recording with sax player Stanley Turrentine (and Tommy Flanagan on piano), is also convincingly voluminous via the Monitor Audios despite the limitations of the stream. There is some softness to be detected, which is somewhat normal for recordings from that time, but above all it is very fluent and smooth. It’s exactly how jazz should sound: a bit rough, fast and virtuosic, and with perfect rhythm.
The much more direct presentation of Sony Rollins’ saxophone on the Rudy van Gelder remaster of ‘You Don’t Know What Love is’ that follows in the playlist comes as a surprise. Here the Platinum 100 3Gs show the texture and small blowing sounds very well – the low bass really has a nice oily edge. Yet there is never an edge to it.
Overall, the Monitor Audios deliver a very convincing experience of music that extends beyond the speakers. That artificial limitation that disappears is a sign of a better speaker, the main advantage of which is that the soundstage appears much more realistic. It convinces. Even if we pause Roon for a moment and send the Sony TV hanging on the Lyngdorf towards the new Doctor Who special with David Tennant. The Platinums seem to feel completely at home with this task: there is again a broad spread of the soundtrack, but also with the playful dialogues coming out of the screen very naturally and defined. Now we’re starting to wonder what a Platinum surround setup sounds like…
Because an AMT design is very different from a dynamic driver, with 2-way models with a combination of the two driver types you sometimes have a high and low that are somewhat separate from each other. This is not the case with the Platinum 100 3G, the integration is excellent. The traditional Celtic compositions with Aidan O’Rourke on ‘365 vol.1’ show a very beautiful fiddle that forms a beautiful interplay with a harmonica on ‘A Fox and a Hound Met Early One Morning on a Hillside’. An excellent result.
In the end we return to the Musical Fidelity A1 and a more complex streaming chain: a T+A DAC200 powered by an iFi Audio Neo Stream that we use as digital transport. Just, with two Platinum 100s. And because we are looking forward to the beautiful combination of cutting-edge technology from Germany and warm nostalgia from the UK, which, among other things, represents the smart pop of THE WAEVE very well. The guitar playing of Blur guitarist Graham Coxon, always with a large contribution from a series of effects pedals, is very addictive from the Monitor Audios. Certainly with this amplifier you should not expect ultimate fine detail, but a fatter sound with extra texture that is very pleasant to the ear.
Quite a step above
With the MaestroUnite app and the extensive output settings on the Lyngdorf TDAI-3400, integrating the Platinum 100s with an Anthra W12 subwoofer is child’s play. Well, it takes a while, but the result is certainly impressive. The app itself makes fine-tuning very easy afterwards, while you can set the crossover point very precisely in the web interface of the Lyngdorf amplifier. You can set a different frequency for the speakers and the subwoofer and how they are digitally filtered, so that you can work with a certain overlap, for example. Which is fine if the subwoofer (as in our case) is next to the speaker.
We don’t go so far as to set up the Roomperfect room calibration. That would produce a more optimal result, but we want to listen specifically to the speakers. The Lyngdorf system usually succeeds in retaining the character of a particular speaker, but there are always some changes. So for this test we leave it that way (and we are overconfident enough to think that integration will work this way).
An album that we like to reach for when powerful bass lurks is the soundtrack of ‘Tron Legacy’ by the Daft Punk duo. For example, ‘Recognizer’ is presented in a nice and bombastic way by the 2.1 setup. But it’s more: with the Anthra we also gain depth and height, which means that the slow horns behind the speakers in ‘Finale’ record a very large scale. Björk’s underrated (but perhaps predictable) ‘Stonemilker’ also really comes into its own in the 2.1 setup. Of course because the slow beat really resonates deeply, but at the same time it is also the beautiful strings that flow from the Platinum 100 3Gs that continue to attract attention. Starting with more electronically tinged albums like the above is of course confirming a huge cliché. Namely, that subwoofers are mainly food for bassheads and electronics enthusiasts. But that’s not right at all.
A more mature layer makes almost all music better. We notice this again when we stream the beautiful ‘Parsifal Suite’ by the London Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Andrew Gourlay from Roon. At ‘III. Transformation Music’ the scale increases enormously when the large church bells and the orchestra erupt. These bells, horns and cellos not only acquire a more tangible character and mass, the spatiality of the whole becomes even more realistic. It is perhaps that last aspect that is most impressive in these works by Wagner when we compare the Platinum 100 3Gs without and with an Anthra W12 subwoofer.
To conclude, we unpack the second Anthra W12 and press play on ‘Live in Prague’ by Hans Zimmer in Roon. Also a bit of a cliché, but this recording of his well-known soundtrack hits with the National Symphony Orchestra of the Czech Republic is really two hours of enjoyment. Works such as ‘Chevaliers de Sangreal’ or ‘Interstellar (Medley)’ show how Zimmer knows how to perfectly touch the listener, especially when performed in this live setting. It is a very large-scale recording, which should not be missing bombastic bass.
The Platinums with their double sub-setup deliver this experience in a masterful way in our test room; the organs in Interstellar in particular are full and complexly designed on a soundstage that seems to be epically large. Two subwoofers? Phew, that’s something. Perhaps two Anthra W10s would have sufficed in our space, that would make the footprint a bit more living room friendly. But the result? That’s spectacular.
Conclusion
The Platinum 100 3Gs are compact speakers that certainly deserve a high-end label. They prove that a well-designed, compact reproducer can produce music very richly and full. Monitor Audio also manages to significantly surpass the previous Platinum speakers with this new 3G generation. Especially in terms of sound, but also in terms of design. The fact that the brand places its own emphasis on coherence, soundstage and control is particularly good news for music lovers. As a result, Monitor Audio now offers more than ever a full-fledged alternative to the two other established names from the United Kingdom.
It may not be an option that every Platinum 100 3G buyer would consider. Add one or even two Anthra subwoofers to these mature bookshelf speakers, and you get a music system that plays on an epic scale. And without having to park two enormous floorstanders in the living room.
Monitor Audio Platinum 100 3G
5,500 euros/pair | www.monitoraudio.com | dealer overview Transtel
Rating 4.5 out of 5
