Simon Lucas auditions a new mid-range standmounter that features some impressive new technologies…
Monitor audio
Studio 89 Floorstanding Speakers
Recommended retail price £2,000
Before Monitor Audio rationalized its speaker ranges into the easy-to-understand Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum groupings, Studio was the name given to its premium speaker range. The new Studio 89 standmounter isn’t the company’s first attempt at resurrecting the moniker, but it’s certainly the first time the company has tried to do so with a font that resembles the tailgate badge on the original Ford Sierra. Oh, and it’s also the first time the company has been able to implement technologies that were also developed for the flagship Hyphn speaker…
CLOSE TO
This is a compact speaker, which is noticeably deeper than it is tall; measuring 340x157x361mm [HxWxD]The Studio 89 is unusually proportioned. The custom-made stands (£500 a pair) bolt firmly into place and are a harmonious match. There can be no doubting the quality of build and finish on offer here. The gloss black paintwork is so shiny you can see your face in it. The copper-bronze badges on the underside of the baffle curve round to one side of each cabinet and in colour they reflect both the speaker’s driver array and the detailing on the speaker stands.
The driver complement comprises Monitor Audio’s own MPD III tweeter with 108mm RDT III mid/bass drivers above and below, positioned vertically in an ‘MTM’ arrangement. The company says that the ‘vertical symmetry’ of this layout provides the wide ‘point source’ sound dispersion that is a key pillar of its ‘Transparent Design’ philosophy. The MPD III (micro-pleated diaphragm) high-frequency unit has a specially shaped radiating surface to deliver equal directivity in both vertical and horizontal planes, and the waveguide behind which it sits also contributes to this. The rear volume of the transducer has been optimised in an attempt to minimise ‘ripple’ in the audible frequency range.
The twin RDT II mid/bass drivers represent the current state of the art of ‘C-CAM’ (ceramic coated aluminium/magnesium) technology that Monitor Audio has been refining for some time. Each unit features three super-thin layers of ceramic-coated metal, a Nomex honeycomb core and carbon weave. It is driven by an oversized and powerful motor system with 85mm magnet structures, larger than the cone itself.
The driver array is housed in an aluminum front baffle that is decoupled from the main body of the cabinet by a layer of dense foam. Both the baffle and the drive units it supports are secured using a through-bolt method that attaches the rear of the drivers to the rear of the cabinet. The result is a very rigid structure that allows the driver array to do its job in isolation, with no visible screw heads or other fasteners anywhere on the cabinet.
The third order crossover that handles signal transfer is a new design that uses custom polypropylene and polyester capacitors in series. The crossover board also features air core and low-loss laminated steel core inductors. The rear of the case features a pair of narrow ‘velocity’ ports – one on the top and one on the bottom. Despite their visual appearance, they represent a relatively large port area. They are designed to balance both the internal pressure and the airflow within the case, keeping turbulence to a minimum. Also, there is only one red and one black connection on the rear of the case, of course high-quality rhodium-plated items.
THE LISTENING
If you’re looking for a blood-curdling, eye-popping style of music, then the Monitor Audio Studio 89 may sound a little too measured for your tastes. There are plenty of other speakers with a wilder character that should suit your tastes. However, if you’re looking for a finished, accurate window into the recording, then this may be the one for you. This speaker is well-balanced to the point that it’s happy with all manner of program material, and to a lesser extent, its quality.
During my audition period I listened to songs like Bounce Through Dear Babu as a 16-bit/44.1kHz TIDAL file, a vinyl copy of Part‘S Cantus in Memoriam Benjamin Britten By the Hungarian State Opera Orchestraa Compact Disc of Redondo Beach Through Patti Smith and a 24-bit/96kHz FLAC file of Arooj Aftab‘S Last night – and this speaker sounded very confident and comfortable in all of these conversations.
Tonally, it is carefully neutral and seems happy to get out of the way of a recording without adding or subtracting anything. This kind of sonic objectivity and impartiality only becomes more welcome the longer you listen. It remains coherent from the bottom of the bandwidth to the top.
There’s plenty of fine detail here, carefully presented in context. The broad strokes are always front and centre, and as a result the Studio 89 sounds unerringly natural. Low frequency presence is substantial but not muscular; the leading edge of bass information is straight and clear, so rhythms are expressed convincingly and momentum never flags. There’s enough variation at the low end to go with the no-holds-barred punch of this speaker; it may not be the heaviest of hitters, but its nimble, agile nature more than makes up for that.
Treble has the right amount of bite and crunch to go with its brilliance, and even if you decide to listen at unsafe volume levels, there’s no hint of sharpness or harshness. And between these two extremes, the midrange communicates in a lush way. An absolute ton of information is revealed, especially when it comes to the minutiae of a singer’s technique, attitude and intentions. There’s good articulation in the midband, so the speaker never seems far away or removed from anything going on. That crossover design seems very successful indeed.
The Monitor Audio standmounter creates a large and well-defined soundstage, allowing you to focus just that little bit more on your seating position. There is plenty of space, both left to right and front to back, to work with, and a real sense of authority and organization. Every element of a recording, even the most complex, has space to work with. Again, this is not at the expense of the unity or sense of singularity that Studio 89 creates.
There is plenty of dynamic headroom available, so it doesn’t matter whether it’s about the transitions from soft to loud in the Patti Smith recording or the gradual but inexorable increase in intensity visible in the Avro-Part piece, they are described with real positivity. Moreover, Monitor Audio is equally confident in the less obvious, but no less important, dynamic variations that a recording of a solo instrument or unaccompanied voice can contain. All in all, it is a pleasure to play music through this special standmounter.
THE VERDICT
If you have a reasonable amount of money to spend on a pair of high-quality compact floorstanding speakers, you are spoiled for choice. To that shortlist you should now add the new Studio 89 from Monitor Audio. It is a subtle and detailed, yet charming and attractive design that is sure to entice many potential buyers and is well worth a listen.