Monolith MM-5R Powered Multimedia Speakers Ribbon Tweeter - Black (Pair) With Bluetooth with aptX HD, USB DAC, Optical Inputs, Subwoofer Output

These speakers are so incredibly better than others I've listened to in their class (size and price) that they've made me realize how much I'm missing out on through the other various audio solutions in my house. I have acquaintances with $20k plus sound systems and I've always kind of rolled my eyes at them. After listening to these for awhile I'm kind of starting to understand. These speakers sound great but highlight a few issues that I now want to delve deeper into my budgets to solve. They are fairly directional, not the best solution to fill a small room evenly with their great sound. They are punchy but lows don't come through as dynamically as in a full 2.1 system. They translate what I send to them so accurately that the difference between 192 and 320 kbps is obvious. Thankfully, I have some other quality bottlenecks to sort before I go spend thousands on stereos.

For a desktop setup or small room, these are impressive. They produce clean, authoritative, relatively balanced sound. When on sale these represent a fantastic value.

I have a decent speaker setup and decent receiver, and these speakers blow them out of the water. I used to think that the Monoprice headsets I use gave a good rendering of music, but compared to that they don't. I don't know what it is, whether it's the speakers really or whether it's because their stand points them right at my ears, but the quality is the best I've ever heard. I listen to music pretty much all work day now, they're that good. And now I wonder why Monoprice does not use ribbon tweeters in their most expensive monolith speakers. I don't get it. Anyway, get these on sale if you need desktop speakers, they're awesome.

Amazing sound quality for a discount price. I have them paired with a small monoprice sub and I?m very happy with the sound. Not as good as my awesome home theater but for an office these do the trick!

I think it would be hard to find something else in this range that brings more value. They easily compete with speakers 2-3x as much that I auditioned alongside. In total I listened to 6 different powered speakers, including from Monoprice, Kanto, Vanatoo, Edifier, and Q Acoustics. There are differences, but they are subtle in most cases. While I ended up opting for another brand with ever slightly more critical listening capability, you really can't go wrong with these. They are a touch warm, and the ribbons sometimes will emphasize poorly recorded (think old rock and metal albums) or sibilant high hats, crash, and ride cymbals. They also require a little more thought in setup because they tend to be somewhat more directional/narrowly focused with less lateral dispersion. But they are fantastic speakers. Superb bass for their size. excellent mid. they are budget friendly Kanto Tuk's imo. Input options are plentiful. Can't beat them bang for buck.

I'd had my eye on these for a while, having always had good experience with these folded ribbon/AMT tweeters....what I wasn't expecting was the depth of bass response. As it happened, I first fired these up next to a full THX-certified studio monitor setup with a sub the size of a coffee table, so it was quite a surprise to have these bookshelves covering the audible range of most music, and one of very few speakers I'd be pretty happy to use without a sub (action movie no...music yes). There's a lot to like: very well-behaved, smooth, just ever so slightly light on highest end (which is often perceived as less fatiguing) but with eyebrow-raising amounts of detail and no standout box resonance or other problem areas. The bass/treble controls sound to me like high/low rolloff and are thus pretty useful in tuning the sound to your liking without creating harsh side effects, and can be adjusted via remote FROM YOUR LISTENING POSITION instead of fumbling behind the speakers themselves. The huge array of inputs, rock solid bluetooth performance, surprisingly nice matte finish (I was not expecting seamless corners) and thankfully subtle branding all round out this package as very likely the best Hi Fi system you're gonna find anywhere under $1K, and certainly the most capable all-in-one solution I've ever heard. And Hi Fi these are - they are not as brutally honest as a studio monitor, but rather more flattering, with just a little extra punch that combines with the buttery smooth and endlessly detailed high end to make you fall in love with all your music all over again. Oh yeah...and they go to sleep; the standby mode (rare these days, especially with a real amp bypass relay, which you can heard if you listen close) means you really never have to manage these; they turn themselves on when you play something, and back off 10 min or so after you're done. Perfect for smart assistants

The speakers have a clean and sharp sound. The tweeter array provides a clean and detailed depiction of instruments and vocals. If one listens closely you can hear the detail of the instrumentation within the scope of a tune....very nice. It seems that one must listen to hear the mids, they're there but seem a bit under welming Overall a GREAT setup for the price point of $299!!

The MM5Rs sound great! Awesome theatre, gaming, and music speakers imo. The remote gives you bass and treble control but a better EQ would be ideal for lowering the bass response without killing the midrange. Flat response on these make them sound the most spatial and lively to me and I use a dedicated subwoofer for the low end. They get pretty loud and the usb input works great, no hum at all. Heavy as well. The warranty service is great as well, 5 years no questions asked replacement. That brings me to my gripes... Stop marketing the speakers as biamped tweeters and woofers separately! That is simply not possible; advertise that part correctly please. Use tiffany style rcas jacks and raise the price 10 bucks or something as mine broke once since they are held in by a weak solder joint. (Monoprice replaced it for free but in the time i sent it back and got a replacement I had no set up for a while) Lastly, and maybe my biggest disappointment, why even include a headphone jack... I mean it is the most crap amplifier I have literally ever heard in my life... The speakers are so good and then this headphone amp is the one thing that you just have to avoid and not think about because it is SO USELESS. My Oneplus can power my headphones with more power... That is a cell phone... Point being it is literally unuseable, quiet and so muffled. Love the speakers! Would buy in a heartbeat when on sale! Also consider listing the DAC details please!

Ok, I bought these speakers 2 years ago. First, I bought the MM5's, and was not impressed. Shipping took FOREVER, and when they finally arrived, they didn't sound that great. They were topping out on the high end, and it sounded pretty bad. [I ordered a subwoofer as well] But anyway, when the sub came, I hooked it all up and said, ok, maybe with some time - tuning it will sound better, I mean they had pretty good reviews. Well, I went to use the USB in because I wanted to play directly from my iPad to the speakers. Well..... That didn't work at all. So.... I decided, well, since these didn't work out, and I wasn't impressed by the high end, lemme try the MM5R's. WOW. They sound so good. The highs are so crisp and clean, beautiful separation and clarity. They don't have the best omnidirectIonality, but for my needs, [near to mid field] that's ok. But I have a 12" subwoofer [also MP, but not Monolith] hooked up, and it sounds great! I don't experience the hum that I've seen others speak of. Technically, I could use these speakers without a subwoofer, but If you can afford to get a sub with them, please do, You will instantly have a $1000 set-up for $500. [I'm saying with the sub] I have a really nice set of reference monitors and a higher powered sub for mixing / monitoring / playing around on the synth I impulse bought myself but definitely didn't need. And although the frequency response might be flatter on the monitors, I have to remind myself that these are designed for music. I mean, I get that they're not the best speakers n the market, but they are certainly the best speakers on the market for the money , [In my humble opinion...]

Good speakers, but the subwoofer output gives a constant drone.

They sound decent but they also Hisssssssss when nothing is playing which kind of drives me insane. I have to turn them off when not in use which is pretty annoying. If they were silent I would love them. Having multiple inputs lets me use my Mac Mini for making beats and my PC for gaming. They also have decent bass somehow.... I have a 12" SVS coming in that should be overkill, I wanted a monolith sub but they are too wide to fit next to my desk :(

I am not equipped to bench-test speakers, but I am an experienced musician, engineer, and AV tech who's been listening critically for 60+ years. Now retired, I have a lot more time to listen for fun, but less time to waste on listening to junk. But with limited financial resources, I need to get the best bang for my buck. I ordered these speakers hoping to create an optimum nearfield listening station at my PC, where I could easily connect computer media, or my phone, or legacy components, or the random portable device and hear accurate reproduction with no meaningful compromise. These speakers meet that goal. I've now used them daily for about two months, so they are well broken-in and have presented no problems or issues. I have not tested the subwoofer output, nor the digital audio (toslink) input. I have used the RCA analog input, the USB input, and Bluetooth. I have also used the handy front headphone jack. I have the speakers flanking my 27" monitor on a tabletop, using the included angled stands. They are at most only 3-4 feet away from my ears. The DAC seems perfectly OK. There is plenty of gain for headphones; I'm using Monolith M565C cans and they sound great. Also, I hear no hint of the hissing that another reviewer mentioned. The speakers are completely silent, even with my ear up next to the AMT driver, when no signal is present. I listen to a range of music that includes jazz, classical, Americana, progressive rock, singer/songwriter, and a number of recordings I've made myself over the years of music and documentary subjects. I have a pretty good idea of what sounds accurate, and when a speaker is adding or removing something. But I also listen for pleasure, and I am aware that some speakers are just more fun to listen to than others. I'm really enjoying these speakers a lot. I'm using them with the USB input from the very vanilla sound chip of my very vanilla Dell desktop, playing FLAC or 320kbps MP3 files, as well as audio CDs and video streams. Again, the MM-5r's DAC sounds absolutely fine. The low end is robust, and can reproduce the lowest notes of a bass guitar cleanly and clearly. There's no boominess, and no need for a subwoofer with most music, especially in the nearfield configuration. They can play louder than I can comfortably tolerate without sounding strained. At levels I use for critical listening, they are present and natural, undistorted, and clearly reproduce the audible range without issue. The midrange articulation is very natural. Male and female voices, woodwinds, brass... it's all natural and properly present. The high end is remarkable. It doesn't call attention to itself, but whatever is there in the recording is there in the listening. It takes awhile, playing a variety of recordings of different types, to understand that these tweeters are simply transparent to the source. As faithful a high end as I've heard. The imaging is also fine at normal distance. Monoprice has done well in creating a set of features that offers great flexibility. You can easily connect most common audio sources. The handy remote duplicates the existing power, source-select, and BT pairing functions, and adds tone control (including both a tone-defeat button and a tone on/off toggle). But the front-panel control for volume, source-select, and pairing (a very clever single knob for all that) is also convenient and functional. My only tiny nit-pick is that the auto-on feature is a little laggy, taking a couple of seconds to turn the speakers on after the music starts. Bottom line: if the form factor, feature-set, and size are suitable to your needs, there are nor worries here regarding audio quality. At their sale price, I consider these a real bargain in audiophile-grade powered speakers.

Solid construction, nice looking, lots of connectivity. Great sound -- crisp and clear, very dynamic with strong tight base. Excellent sound stage with wide, tall and deep effects. Can easily fill a medium-sized room with good off axis sound, and the remote works well. The MM 5R is a strong performer and great value, especially when on sale.

As others have stated these speaker were an upgrade from a previous pair. The MM-5Rs have a much wider soundstage with very natural sounding male and female voices that are always centered stage. Their imaging is great too. The right to left is easily distinguishable although they’re not quite as potent forward to back -- a place the MM-5R come up a bit short. That means you don’t get that all enveloping 3D experience, although to be fair, that’s not something I would expect in this price range. But don't let that limitation dissuade you. These are fantastic sounding speakers, which still offer superb clarity and realism, not to mention a very impressive bass response down to 42 Hz claim. If I had to describe the sound overall I’d call it bright. I found the low frequencies very clean and punchy depending on how close they are placed to the back wall. It’s not the kind of punchy base that pressurized the room nor are you likely to feel it in your chest, but it is a full and convincing sound, and more than adequate for all but the most demanding audiophile. As for the high, the AMT tweeters can produce some very impressive highs. The best thing about these speakers is that they handle music, effects, and dialogue equally well. The enclosures is composed of a type of resin that is extremely rigid and does not add any coloration to the sound. The enclosure is a thing of beauty. They have a modern design, but still neutral enough to easily blend into any decor. Whatever support you choose, the MM-5R shine, and strongly resist any desire to be place in enclosure. The box is rectangular in shape with rounded edges. The only thing unusual about them is the square AMT tweeter. Unlike a similar brands there is no magnetic grill. However, the speakers are so attractive with their drivers bare, they don't really need a grill as long as there's no small children in the home. The speakers come with a pair of wooden isolation stands out of the box so they can be mounted immediately on a desk. In addition, you get pads, speaker wire, and a pair of RCA stereo cables, a 3.5 mm pair and a basic bass/treble and volume remote control. When placed on the included stands, they rest at an angle with the tweeter pointed upward for better dispersion. Their setup is toolless and quick. It took me just a few minutes to get them up and running. Although I do recommend upgrading all the cables with more robust variants for maximum sound quality. I used Monoprice’s own 14 gauge speaker wire to plug into the banana plug binding posts. The MM-5R have a total of 5 inputs (Aux, RCA,BT,OPT, and USB), so you're covered for just about all your devices except a turntable, which would require you to provide a preamp should that be your connection of choice. Unfortunately, I did not test the BT capability since I don’t presently operate any BT devices. From what I understand, it is capable of CD (16/41) quality transmission. These speakers are a joy to listen to -- which I can do for hours without fatigue -- and the sound gets better the longer you listen to them (especially when you feed them a high fidelity signal), and as they get broken in. I stream via Quboz, and every song sounds fantastic. I can’t seem to get enough of Eugeny Mravinsky, Tchaikovsky Symphonies No. 4, 5, & 6 which steams @ 24/96. I put them through the test with everything I could think of including Michael Jackson, Motley Crew, Marvin Gaye and The Weeknd. Instead of reaching their limits, they just kept sounding better. A prominent indicator of quality. As for those interested in connecting these speaker to their TV, it does come with a subwoofer port for those low frequency effects. I added the Monolith M10-S 10” THX subwoofer (SW) to the pair, and the already great sound speakers became even sweeter. In addition, the SW seems to have freed up some much needed power now shunted solely to the mid-bass. The timpani and kick drums seem to come through more prominently. Considering their size and cost, these speaker are an absolute bargain. Still, they’re not without cons. For one, I have heard an infrequent but annoying static through the speakers whenever the USB connect is connected. This wasn’t a major issue for me, since my computer also has a 3.5 mm port out, but may be of concern to anyone who relies solely on their computer as the main input source. I can’t say that this issue effects all the units, but it does effect mine. The other related issue I have was whenever the satellite goes in to standby mode, it transmits a pop noise to the SW which can be pretty startling. I can only hope that this switching sound doesn’t cause any damage to the SW down the line. In any event, despite these two minor annoyances aside, the MM-5R are easily the best sounding speaker in this price range I’ve ever heard, especially when paired with a SW. Even besting bigger speakers costing twice as much. They are a great value, and highly recommended.

I purchased these bookshelf speakers to use as speakers for my PC. and are replacing a cheap soundbar that I've been using for quite a long time. These are the first powered bookshelf speakers that I've purchased so I don't have a point of comparison to some of the other powered bookshelf speakers (like Kanto, Edifier, Audioengine, or Fluance) and I don't have the resources to be able to compare. Admittedly, I was about to pull the trigger on Kanto YU6 but Amazon went out of stock with these speakers. So I searched around the internet to find other speakers and ran into the Monolith series. From the standpoint of these speakers alone, I love them. The sound coming from these speakers is much richer than the soundbar that they previously replaced. Games just feel more exciting because of the improved sound quality from the sound effects to in-game music. The speakers make me feel like I am part of the action in a game, especially first person shooters. When using the speaker to listen to music, I hear other instruments that are so subtle, they don't even register on other types of speakers. My audio experience has greatly improved as a result. With regards to bluetooth, I don't have any issues with noise. But keep in mind that bluetooth is a wireless signal (obviously) and wireless signals are easily susceptible to signal interference (background electrical or other wireless signals crossing the area like from cell phones, cell towers, or even other wireless equipment). I think the only way you can grade the fidelity of the bluetooth signal is if you somehow isolate yourself, the speakers, and the bluetooth source in a faraday cage. I guess more power to you if you have a faraday cage built in your home. These powered speakers are wonderful for the price. I would say they are almost equivalent to the Kanto TUK speakers but at half the price and without the aluminum driver on the woofer. But again, since I don't have those speakers, I can't compare. I recommend these speakers but I will post an update in a few months.

I want to like this speaker so much, but after trying 2 different pairs, the bluetooth whineing noise that is always there while devices are connected, is a huge design flaw. I recommended the DT-5BT to a friend who checked and could not hear any noise, so perhaps the aptX chip or how the 5R's cables are routed internally are creating the interference. Monoprice has a huge sonic winner here, by including a ribbon tweeter. My main speakers are the cost of a nice car, so coming from me its high praise indeed for a $400 self powered speaker to sound good. If Bluetooth isn't required, then don't hesitate to purchase. I also found that putting a small weight (5lbs) on top of each speaker clarified the bass notes. I also suspect using better speaker cable than what is included might help sonics as well. Plugging them into a good power conditioner and using a better power cable could take these good sounding speakers to the next level. I'm using mine as drum monitors for Roland v-Drums and they handle the bass transients quite well, and the highs are airey and well resolved thanks to the AMT style ribbon tweeter. Monoprice is doing some amazing things for excellent prices, but this bluetooth noise issue needs to be ironed out before it can earn a 5 star rating.