Monitor Audio Bronze 2 speakers don't satisfy me for electronic music

[purpleduck]

It is my first hi-fi system: Monitor Audio Bronze 2 standmounters and the Onkyo A-9010 amp.

I don't like listening to electronic music with these. I think the "problem" is more the speakers, not the amp. They have 6 inch subwoofers, probably not enough. The bass simply lacks definition, it all sounds like a generic bubble of resonance.

I greatly prefer listening to electronic music with Yamaha HS80M monitors, probably due to the larger woofer. I also prefer listening with some cans hooked to the amp. But the speakers are disappointing for electronic music. They perform satisfyingly for music and game sound, and acoustic music. The dynamics and contrast, and detail in middle to high frequencies, are good. The problem is mainly the bass.

Option one would be to add a subwoofer. I wanted to avoid that, as I'm afraid to annoy the neighbours. Also, the Onkyo amp does not have a sub amp but I understand I could somehow add an ACTIVE sub.

the other idea was to substitute the Bronzes with tower speakers, and I'm looking at the Q Acoustics 3050s.

Would this improve the situation as for listening electronic music is concerned? I don't have a big budget and I don't want to spend for disappointment again. I can consider a sub, but it's not clear to me how I would connect it to the Onkyo amp which I'm not going to replace anytime soon.

Suggestions? I need better punchy sound for my electronic music listening. The setup I have right now is truly disappointing in that concern, I'd rather listen with some cheap multimedia speakers. They give me more of a sense of punchiness considering they're much smaller.

The Bronzes do sound beautiful in acoustic and orchestral music though, although one can probably find better at higher prices.

What sub and how would I connect it to the Onkyo? And/or, would those towers improve the situation?

 

[danielnaveen2003]

Get a 2 into 4 mini DSP and an active sub. This will give you absolute control and as an added bonus you can eliminate any room anomalies too.

 

[all4music]

...
Option one would be to add a subwoofer. I wanted to avoid that, as I'm afraid to annoy the neighbours. Also, the Onkyo amp does not have a sub amp but I understand I could somehow add an ACTIVE sub.

......
What sub and how would I connect it to the Onkyo? And/or, would those towers improve the situation?

for electronic music sub does help. how long have you been using the current set-up?

sub need not disturb your neighbors. sub volume and frequency is in your control - you can very well control how it responds. it will not be like regular multimedia speakers where sub is bound to be boomy.

most of the subs that you add after-market are active subs. and many of these have high-level speaker input options - which just read your speaker out signals and you can continue using the same wire further to your speakers. in essence your sub sits in series between amp and speakers. it doesn't consume any of the speaker out so no worries there.

other alternative is you have a line-out on your amp - so you can connect that to your active sub - but in that case i think volume control might be an issue as generally amp volume doesn't control line-out levels.

also,if you have not spent enough time with this set-up - may i suggest some more listening time to the combo[at-least a month's time] before you start making adjustments.

 

[Kannan]

I find the MA is rated for 30 -100 watt amplifiers at 8 ohm load.
The Onkyo is rated nominal at 44 watt at 8 ohm load.
No way I am saying it is under powered, but probably for bass heavy tracks you can do with higher amplification. See if you can audition it with a higher power amp to find any improvement in the lows

 

[cha_indian]

How about Bose Acoustimass 5 system....It sounds excellent with electronic type music to me.

 

[purpleduck]

Thanks all of you.

But what about the Q Acoustics 3050 towers? Would they greatly improve the situation over the bookshelves I have now? I really think they will improve the situation due to having a double mid/bass driver of the exact same size instead of just one. The speaker overall costs double and I can only imagine it sounds better.

The room is mid/large, and I think towers would bit better in it than the bookshelves. I also would like to avoid the subwoofer, for two reasons: I don't want TOO MUCH bass that disturbs the neighbours and I don't feel a need for it, I just want clarity and balance - but for electronic music, I need a bit more bass presence than what I have now. Again as for now I prefer Yamaha HS80m for that.

The second reason is that by getting the towers and selling the bookshelves, I think I'd actually save money over adding the subwoofer - or, it would cost about the same. Wait, I just checked the cost of a matching Monitor Audio subwoofer, the one I'd get. Definitely the sub plus the two speakers are a lot more expensive than the towers.

What do you think would give me a better result for electronic music in this medium/large room (5X4 meters with an opening into another room of similar size)? The speakers I have now plus the sub, or the towers?

 

[Kannan]

What do you think would give me a better result for electronic music in this medium/large room (5X4 meters with an opening into another room of similar size)? The speakers I have now plus the sub, or the towers?

You can explore the option of towers. Carry your amp for auditions if you have the luxury to do that. Your room size is good enough for adding towers. I was running towers in a smaller room without any issue.
Integrating a sub to a bookshelf is no easy challenge.
That said when you audition the towers do not just compare the lows, but also the mids and highs.

Also study the option of bookshelves with a bigger woofer like the 8 inch. In most 2-ways with 8 inch or larger woofers, my experience has been a tad muddy mid-range or a tad brighter highs depending on where the tweeters are crossed over.