Yes, I am one of the rare users on the forum who has used the Monoprice speakers. They have two 5.1 systems on sale,
1.
8247 - $80
2.
10565 - $183
The prices are as I see them listed now. I have used the 8247 5.0 set (had to give away the subwoofer to my cousin in the US as it was difficult to get it shipped). I still use the 2.0 as surround speakers as I have to do a few modifications to my furniture before I start using the BS22 (which I purchased later on).
The 8247 is what it claims to be, a 5.1 set at an extremely low price point. They are essentially satellites, but 'at their price point' they are surprisingly good. They don't have any bass response whatsoever but are quite good if used as surround speakers. The HFV seniors had heard them at a Mumbai meet (search for their feedback) and were surprised how good it sounded 'at that price point'.
I bought it as a stop gap arrangement until I get better speakers (Andrew Jones 5.0 set). At around 5K INR it was a steal. Their build quality was surprisingly good and I am an extremely happy user 'having spent just 5K on it'
Having said that, if you really want to enjoy movies/music, you need better speakers and AJ BS22/C22 are extremely good value. My purchase decisions have been driven by budget and these are the best that I could have got IMHO.
The higher priced Monoprice are ETC replicas. They apparently got it manufactured from some Chinese company with the same specs as ETC. But I do not believe it would perform substantially inferior to the ETC. Some of the earlier reviews confirmed it. Even the build quality may be surprisingly good. But do you want to spend 15K on a Chinese manufactured speaker set as against getting the AJ floorstanders for around 20K? Trust me, the AJ FS52 would give you better performance for both movies and music than the Monoprice or even the ETC. You can then add the C22 later.
I am reiterating that if budget permits, the snapdeal offer at around 39K is extremely good. This speaker set would last you for a long time.
The
