amitkeerti
New Member
One of our forum members recently bought Monitor Audio BR6. I was planning to audition the BR6 and this was a lucky coincidence. Posted a PM and pat came the reply with an affirmation. Thank you so much bro for agreeing to let me audition your speakers.
I set out on this bright sunny Saturday afternoon on my bike. My house is close to 30 Km from his house and i had never been near Hennur area. But finding his house was not all that difficult. After close to 1 1/2 hours of drive and searching i finally landed at his place.
First impression:
very elegant speakers. They don't look like beasts. Looks good with or without front grill.
Setup:
Speakers: Monitor Audio BR6
Integrated Amplifier: Harman Kardon 3490
CD Player: Pioneer
============================
Once Upon A Tme in Mumbai
============================
We started off with Once Upon A Time in Mumbai. We heard 3 songs.
Song 1: Pee Loon : Last time I reviewed B&W speakers, i was taken by surprise. On B&W the base was totally flat. I was not sure what to expect from MA BR6. As soon as we were into the song, i could hear the base in its full form. MA BR6 has two 6.5 inch base drivers. The drivers more than do justice to their presence.
Song 2: Paya Maine : This is a Sufi style song. I loved the sound coming out of the speakers.
Song 3: Babu Rao mast hai: This song has tight base and loud base. MA BR6 reproduces the songs very well. However the base reproduced by BR 6 sounds different from that of Wharfedale 9.1. I came home and reheard this song. I liked the Wharfe's version though.
Song 3: Babu Rao: This song i chose basically for the base. This song has tight hitting base. BR6 could reproduce the base. But i like the type of base that my Wharfedale 9.1 produces. Sounds different
==============
Alison Krauss
==============
We immediately moved to Alison Krauss.
Album 1: Now that I found You.
------------------------------
Song 1: Baby, Now that I found You:
YouTube - Baby, now that I've found you - Alison Krauss and Union Station
My experience with B&W was not very good for this song (http://www.hifivision.com/speakers/13570-emotiva-umc-1-b-w-speakers-santhols2-setup-reviewed-audioblind.html).
B&W's analytical reproduction of the song made the song soulless. BR6 is very very forgiving. Makkhan jaisa smooth. The string plucking and sqeeking sound was totally absent (it is a different matter that the composer might have wanted you to hear those). In fact BR6 is more forgiving compared to my wharfedale 9.1s. On my 9.1's i do hear some of the string pullings.
Song 2: When you say nothing at all:
YouTube - When you say nothing at all
This is the song that brought Alison in the forefront. She has a nightingale of a voice. When i heard this song on BR6 i could feel the goose bumps rising. Amazing reproduction. I was totally immersed into the song.
Album 2: New Favorites
----------------------
Song 1: Stars :
YouTube - Alison Krauss - Stars
This song has minimal background music. I chose this song to test the vocals. Great reproduction. Alison Krauss voice sounded clear.
Song 2: New Favorite:
YouTube - Alison Krauss + Union Station - New Favorite [Live]
Again the song was chosen for the vocals. This song has a sad undertone. BR6 could reproduce the song to my satisfaction.
Overall the vocals sound very good on BR6.
=============
Shania Twain
=============
Next We moved to Shania Twain.
Album: Up!
----------
I have the Green CD (CD2) which is the country version of the album (with lot of fiddle and banjos).
Song 1: For Ever and Always:
YouTube - Shania Twain - Forever And For Always (Green Version)
This is one of my favorite songs (i have not heard Shania Twain much though...). This song sounds very masculine on my wharfedale 9.1. Especially when she sings the line "in your arms..." it feels as if a guy is singing the song.
BR6 version was much better. Very feminine.
===========
Jesse Cook
===========
Next we moved to instrumental. Flamenco. and who else would best justify new age flamenco... jesse cook.
I have paco de lucia's 2 CD Gold-2005 (downloaded of course). But i forgot to take it with me.
I put the Jesse Cook frontiers CD with a lot of excitement. But this CD was a huge disappointment on BR6. I have recently downloaded the flac and burnt the CD. I have heard all the songs on my 9.1s and also my Sony headphones. When I heard the songs on BR6 i was taken aback.
The base is there alright. But the mids and highs were getting eclipsed. The more I heard the songs, the more i was convinced that the base was overpowering the mids and highs. This was not acceptable to me. Flamenco is basically guitar and the guitar has to be heard. if the percussion instruments and drums overpower the guitar then no point listening to flamenco!!.
For me the best reproduction was in fact on my headphones then on wharfedale 9.1s and then on BR6.
disappointed, i put the last CD that I had planned, Action Replayy..
==============
Action Replay
==============
Song 1 : Zor ka jhatka : The reason why I selected the song is because it is a pop number and has lot of instruments.
Again very disappointed. The base simple crushed the mids and highs. In fact i could not hear the lyrics of the song. The song also has some english lines. I could not make out a thing from the lyrics. I can hear them clearly on my headphones and to some extent on my Wharfedale 9.1. Disappointed again.
Song 2: O' Bekhabar : This is Shreya Ghoshal's number. Very beautifully rendered. I loved the song on BR6.
============
Sound Stage
============
When I look for sound stage I generally look for 2 things...
1. Is the singer's sitting between the two speakers
2. If the musicians are sitting at different distances from the mic can you make out the 3D effect.
Here are my observations about the two:
1. On MA BR6 if you tow in the speakers and close your eyes, and listen to the songs then the singer is right in the middle of the speakers. I had never experienced this. You will hear EXACTLY one voice bang in-between the speakers. I could never pull this off on my wharfedale 9.1's though.
I understand that 9.1's are just book shelves. Distance between my speakers is 6 feet whereas MA BR6 were placed close to 9 feet apart. This could be one more reason.
2. In Chesky Record's demonstration disk, the second song has a musician sitting 10 feet from the mike in which the lady is sings. When you hear the song, you can make out that the singer is nearer to the speakers and the instruments are back in the sound stage... Great !!! My 9.1s cannot do this as efficiently as BR6 does. So the 3D effect is reproduced very well.
The Spanish Harlem song in chesky records was rendered very well. Room filling and completely captured my attention.
Summary
=======
==> If you are a base loving person then this speaker is for you. It throws out tremendous amount of base.
==> I felt the mids and highs were overpowered by the base. I felt the sound was boomy (the listening area was very small probably 12X10, so it might be one reason).
==> Sound stage is amazing.
Would I buy them
================
Possibly not. Here are my reasons:
1. If i really want base then I will as well buy Wharfedale 9.5. Equally good and costs less than half of Monitor Audio BR6.
2. Mids and highs are important as well.
If the songs did NOT have any base heavy instruments then MA BR6 played them beautifully. But Base + Mids + highs you loose the other two.
3. More importantly, After listening to so many tower speakers i am forming an impression that 2 way speakers are better suited for music.
If I really want base I can add a sub. And sub has volume control so i can adjust the base to my liking which seems a good option, where as in case of tower speakers the base is tied to the speakers.
what next ?
===========
The Canadian monsters... Request sent. Request approved. waiting for the burn in.
Knock knock are the speakers burnt ?
i know i know another month...
PS: impressions are for speakers + amplifier + CD player. But i believe MA BR6 may not be very drastically different on a different system.
I set out on this bright sunny Saturday afternoon on my bike. My house is close to 30 Km from his house and i had never been near Hennur area. But finding his house was not all that difficult. After close to 1 1/2 hours of drive and searching i finally landed at his place.
First impression:
very elegant speakers. They don't look like beasts. Looks good with or without front grill.
Setup:
Speakers: Monitor Audio BR6
Integrated Amplifier: Harman Kardon 3490
CD Player: Pioneer
============================
Once Upon A Tme in Mumbai
============================
We started off with Once Upon A Time in Mumbai. We heard 3 songs.
Song 1: Pee Loon : Last time I reviewed B&W speakers, i was taken by surprise. On B&W the base was totally flat. I was not sure what to expect from MA BR6. As soon as we were into the song, i could hear the base in its full form. MA BR6 has two 6.5 inch base drivers. The drivers more than do justice to their presence.
Song 2: Paya Maine : This is a Sufi style song. I loved the sound coming out of the speakers.
Song 3: Babu Rao mast hai: This song has tight base and loud base. MA BR6 reproduces the songs very well. However the base reproduced by BR 6 sounds different from that of Wharfedale 9.1. I came home and reheard this song. I liked the Wharfe's version though.
Song 3: Babu Rao: This song i chose basically for the base. This song has tight hitting base. BR6 could reproduce the base. But i like the type of base that my Wharfedale 9.1 produces. Sounds different
==============
Alison Krauss
==============
We immediately moved to Alison Krauss.
Album 1: Now that I found You.
------------------------------
Song 1: Baby, Now that I found You:
YouTube - Baby, now that I've found you - Alison Krauss and Union Station
My experience with B&W was not very good for this song (http://www.hifivision.com/speakers/13570-emotiva-umc-1-b-w-speakers-santhols2-setup-reviewed-audioblind.html).
B&W's analytical reproduction of the song made the song soulless. BR6 is very very forgiving. Makkhan jaisa smooth. The string plucking and sqeeking sound was totally absent (it is a different matter that the composer might have wanted you to hear those). In fact BR6 is more forgiving compared to my wharfedale 9.1s. On my 9.1's i do hear some of the string pullings.
Song 2: When you say nothing at all:
YouTube - When you say nothing at all
This is the song that brought Alison in the forefront. She has a nightingale of a voice. When i heard this song on BR6 i could feel the goose bumps rising. Amazing reproduction. I was totally immersed into the song.
Album 2: New Favorites
----------------------
Song 1: Stars :
YouTube - Alison Krauss - Stars
This song has minimal background music. I chose this song to test the vocals. Great reproduction. Alison Krauss voice sounded clear.
Song 2: New Favorite:
YouTube - Alison Krauss + Union Station - New Favorite [Live]
Again the song was chosen for the vocals. This song has a sad undertone. BR6 could reproduce the song to my satisfaction.
Overall the vocals sound very good on BR6.
=============
Shania Twain
=============
Next We moved to Shania Twain.
Album: Up!
----------
I have the Green CD (CD2) which is the country version of the album (with lot of fiddle and banjos).
Song 1: For Ever and Always:
YouTube - Shania Twain - Forever And For Always (Green Version)
This is one of my favorite songs (i have not heard Shania Twain much though...). This song sounds very masculine on my wharfedale 9.1. Especially when she sings the line "in your arms..." it feels as if a guy is singing the song.
BR6 version was much better. Very feminine.
===========
Jesse Cook
===========
Next we moved to instrumental. Flamenco. and who else would best justify new age flamenco... jesse cook.
I have paco de lucia's 2 CD Gold-2005 (downloaded of course). But i forgot to take it with me.
I put the Jesse Cook frontiers CD with a lot of excitement. But this CD was a huge disappointment on BR6. I have recently downloaded the flac and burnt the CD. I have heard all the songs on my 9.1s and also my Sony headphones. When I heard the songs on BR6 i was taken aback.
The base is there alright. But the mids and highs were getting eclipsed. The more I heard the songs, the more i was convinced that the base was overpowering the mids and highs. This was not acceptable to me. Flamenco is basically guitar and the guitar has to be heard. if the percussion instruments and drums overpower the guitar then no point listening to flamenco!!.
For me the best reproduction was in fact on my headphones then on wharfedale 9.1s and then on BR6.
disappointed, i put the last CD that I had planned, Action Replayy..
==============
Action Replay
==============
Song 1 : Zor ka jhatka : The reason why I selected the song is because it is a pop number and has lot of instruments.
Again very disappointed. The base simple crushed the mids and highs. In fact i could not hear the lyrics of the song. The song also has some english lines. I could not make out a thing from the lyrics. I can hear them clearly on my headphones and to some extent on my Wharfedale 9.1. Disappointed again.
Song 2: O' Bekhabar : This is Shreya Ghoshal's number. Very beautifully rendered. I loved the song on BR6.
============
Sound Stage
============
When I look for sound stage I generally look for 2 things...
1. Is the singer's sitting between the two speakers
2. If the musicians are sitting at different distances from the mic can you make out the 3D effect.
Here are my observations about the two:
1. On MA BR6 if you tow in the speakers and close your eyes, and listen to the songs then the singer is right in the middle of the speakers. I had never experienced this. You will hear EXACTLY one voice bang in-between the speakers. I could never pull this off on my wharfedale 9.1's though.
I understand that 9.1's are just book shelves. Distance between my speakers is 6 feet whereas MA BR6 were placed close to 9 feet apart. This could be one more reason.
2. In Chesky Record's demonstration disk, the second song has a musician sitting 10 feet from the mike in which the lady is sings. When you hear the song, you can make out that the singer is nearer to the speakers and the instruments are back in the sound stage... Great !!! My 9.1s cannot do this as efficiently as BR6 does. So the 3D effect is reproduced very well.
The Spanish Harlem song in chesky records was rendered very well. Room filling and completely captured my attention.
Summary
=======
==> If you are a base loving person then this speaker is for you. It throws out tremendous amount of base.
==> I felt the mids and highs were overpowered by the base. I felt the sound was boomy (the listening area was very small probably 12X10, so it might be one reason).
==> Sound stage is amazing.
Would I buy them
================
Possibly not. Here are my reasons:
1. If i really want base then I will as well buy Wharfedale 9.5. Equally good and costs less than half of Monitor Audio BR6.
2. Mids and highs are important as well.
If the songs did NOT have any base heavy instruments then MA BR6 played them beautifully. But Base + Mids + highs you loose the other two.
3. More importantly, After listening to so many tower speakers i am forming an impression that 2 way speakers are better suited for music.
If I really want base I can add a sub. And sub has volume control so i can adjust the base to my liking which seems a good option, where as in case of tower speakers the base is tied to the speakers.
what next ?
===========
The Canadian monsters... Request sent. Request approved. waiting for the burn in.
Knock knock are the speakers burnt ?
i know i know another month...PS: impressions are for speakers + amplifier + CD player. But i believe MA BR6 may not be very drastically different on a different system.
Last edited:
