91db/W/m

RG

wow the measured sensitivity is exactly as specified !!!

i really have noticed that these speakers are ultra sensitive compared to my old stratus golds

my new rs6's are not even broken in yet but even at 1/3rd on the volume dial is really plenty loud enough for me

Sounds like your a happy camper over there.

Enjoy....

RG

Joe,

No the measured was 89.5 not 91. I have the magazine review on my desk.

yeah - really impressed with these speakers

with the types of music i listen (coldplay,floyd,m knopfler)
overall a suprisingly good speaker for the money
have been curious to see what 2500 to 3000 dollars gets me but
for my music choices i can't find anything better yet

(have compared proac studio 130,140 , b&w 704 , jas oscar , similar kef models , and energy reference connoiseur rc50)

although i would like to listen to the monitor audio
gold signature series that has just been introduced

even 89.5 is quite sensitive - my amp (bryston 3b st) has
barely even gotten warm during use

anyone have info on the minimum impedance??

Joe, MY BAD. Somewhere between reading your post and the toilet which is where I keep all my current audio rags (hmmm, interesting) I lapsed on your exact request. I do notice Mr Atkinson states the "estimated" voltage sensitivity to be 89.5. I'm sure there is technical reason for this but I wonder if that means we are to assume the manufacturers rating is an estimate as well? Perhaps Mr. Atkinson will educate us on this.

Regarding your current post, let me see if I can get this one correct. Quoting from the mag: "It's impedance (fig 1) remains above 6 ohms for almost the entire audioband, with a minimum value of 4.5 ohms at 165Hz.

Quote:
yeah - really impressed with these speakers

(have compared proac studio 130,140 , b&w 704 , jas oscar , similar kef models , and energy reference connoiseur rc50)

I've been curious about the Proac 140 but unfortunatly no dealers in my immediate area. Your comparison thoughts would be of interest.

Also, did you get a chance to hear the larger Monitor Audio RS8 with additional woofer. Sometimes the added woofer can do more harm than good. Again your comparative thoughts?

Quote:
although i would like to listen to the monitor audio
gold signature series that has just been introduced

Yep, it's obvious from the price what Monitor Audio thinks of em!

RG

Quote:
I do notice Mr Atkinson states the "estimated" voltage sensitivity to be 89.5. I'm sure there is technical reason for this...

I say "estimate" because there are sources of error in any measurement technique. I also use a B-weighted figure which downplays the effect of boosts and cuts at the extremes of the spectrum. See my essay on the subject at www.stereophile.com/features/99/index2.html.

Quote:
I wonder if that means we are to assume the manufacturers rating is an estimate as well? Perhaps Mr. Atkinson will educate us on this.

Manufacturers in general are reticent about how they specify voltage sensitivity and tend to err, in my experience, on the plus side.

John Atkinson
Editor, Stereophile

Quote:

Quote:
yeah - really impressed with these speakers

(have compared proac studio 130,140 , b&w 704 , jas oscar , similar kef models , and energy reference connoiseur rc50)

I've been curious about the Proac 140 but unfortunatly no dealers in my immediate area. Your comparison thoughts would be of interest.

Also, did you get a chance to hear the larger Monitor Audio RS8 with additional woofer. Sometimes the added woofer can do more harm than good. Again your comparative thoughts?

Quote:
although i would like to listen to the monitor audio
gold signature series that has just been introduced

Yep, it's obvious from the price what Monitor Audio thinks of em!

RG

first off i was not able to do a direct ab comparison with the studio
130,140 and the ma rs6
as always try and listen yourself

i was willing to upgrade - money was not an issue if i felt i was
getting a distinct improvement in at least a couple of areas
it did not have to be a big improvement - just noticeable
with my current favourite cd (coldplay x&y) i listened to the proacs
my thoughts were that they were very similar with the possibility of
the rs6's having a better attack on the faster heavier songs - thats it

but from what i have read - proacs might excel more than ma when
jazz or classical is played - but that type of music does not make up
very much of my collection

also i did find that the rs8 with the extra woofer made the speaker
sound more boxy - the rs6's when set up well and with the right cd to
my ears completely disappear(or come very close)

the rs8's were great also and maybe with better room treatments
or some other type of tweak - they would outdo the rs6's
anyways it was a suprise that the rs6 was my choice because i was
convinced going in that it would be the rs8
although absolute sound felt the same way as i did in their comparitive
review between the rs8 and rs6 (they liked the midrange of the rs6 more)

i was willing to go for the rs8 but for whatever reason in canada - the
rs8 is more expensive than it should be when compared to the msrp
in england and the u.s. (strange because the rs6 in canada is not)

anyways for not much more money than the difference between the rs8
and the rs6 - i am able to get a rel quake

i have not heard a rel quake integrated with the rs6's yet but if low bass
is the only concern then a quake/rs6 combo must be able to outdo the
the rs8's by themselves

once i move to a bigger room - where i might be able to use a sub
without too much boominess - then i will audition the quake and
probably purchase one

Good stuff Joe, thanks for the overview.

RG

Welcome to the forum, Anonymous (how impersonal)

Login....stay awhile.

It's a bit unclear to me if you have actually heard the speaker you inquire about. If you like the sound of it you don't need a review or any other opinions to validate your purchasing decision.

RG

I'm building a Home Theater and have been listening to the Monitor Audio RS6 (along with their center channel, surround and sub-woofer) and have been very impressed. I've also been listening to Boston Acoustics VR3. Unfortunately, I can;t find a dealer with both on display to do a direct comparison. Has anyone compared these two? Any advise would be greatly appreciated. Thks!

Joe Perry,
I wonder if you could expand a little on the differences between your Stratus Golds and the RS6's. I currently own Golds, and am looking to downsize without losing any sound quality. If bass is the only downside, I have an excellent sub available to use- a Snell Basis 300.
I am finding the Golds a little cold-sounding, though they do have sufficient bass(sort of an oxymoron). The high end at times practically takes my head off too. And they are a difficult speaker to drive- experimenting with different amps becomes frustrating- they all need to be high-powered to offer any kind of decent SPL's.
Thanks for any thoughts...

In April, while actively shopping for a new pair of speakers with a budget of about $1000/pair (negociated with my spouse ) , I picked up the March copy of Stereophile at the airport with a review of the RS6. Prior to reading Robert J. Reina's review, I had been listening to these speakers at 4 occasions, at 4 different locations (friends, HIFI store) with all different material and while I am not an owner of an RS6, nor an audio expert, I was stunned to read the perfect write-down of my own personal listening experience. So, although I'm biased of course, I can only but say: "Excellent job, Robert" !

Like some other members already brought forward in a different posting, I have only one suggestion for this otherwise great review: why not include a comparison to the Kef Q9 ? It is a popular and excellent speaker in the same price class and, on a personal note, now the only remaining candidate in my final short-list (albeit slightly over budget) after my spouse an I were equally unimpressed by the Kef Q7, both stand-alone as well as compared to the Q9 and m-audio RS6 (wish we agreed on everything so well ).

Thanks on beforehand, Ewald.

Quote:
Like some other members already brought forward in a different posting, I have only one suggestion for this otherwise great review: why not include a comparison to the Kef Q9 ?

Bob Reina addressed this in an e-mail to me:

"For all of my affordable speaker reviews, I keep one or two examples of favorably reviewed speakers in various price points for comparison. It's physically impossible to keep all of them in house to compare. Thus, for the RS6 review, I chose a number of different speakers at or near the RS6's price point. For that particular review, I didn't have the Kef on hand, as JA was measuring it while I was reviewing the Monitor."

Based on Stereophile review I bought a pair of the RS6 to replace a my 20 years old infinity R S 3000 speaker and it was nothing but the biggest disappointment. Now my only hope is that the speaker requires a break-in.
I hope the reviewer or one of the RS6 users can advise if a long/short break in is required

Welcome to the Forum doody!

Could you give us a little more background? Are you saying you made this purchase without auditioning the speakers first? How long have you had the new speakers? Is the rest of your system 20 years old?

Hopefully you will get some replies from firsthand users, but in the event you don't, if you provide us with a little more background perhaps some folks round here could offer suggestions. At the moment we can only speculate.

In answer to your specific question, in general, 100 hours of break-in should be sufficient to loosen up the woofer surrounds enough to properly evaluate the speakers general performance.

RG

Hi rgibran and everyone,

Thanks for your reply, Yes I bought the equipment based on the reviews, where i live there are not many Hi fi dealers, so I bought my new system based on reviews only ( no other choice),
The equipment are all new now which is Roksan Caspian M-series preamp+ 2x monoblocks (100w)+Roksan Caspian cd Player + Roksan speakers cable (biwire) and Roksan interconnects. every thing is new.
Previously I had the infinty rs3000 with and Luxman Amp Lv100.
I think my old system sounded better and did not cost more than US$ 800 nowhere near the cost of the new system.
I am surprised after all these years and the technology advancemets, music is not as good as it used to be.

On MA Site they say to accelerate the break in of the speaker, one of them should be connected out of phase can someone mention how to do that on a bi-wire connection.

If anyone think that there is a problem anywhere in the system, please enlighten me.

regards

I doubt that running-in the speakers out of phase will work to your advantage, and it could make you crazy, but if you insist on doing it, it works the same way with bi-wiring as with ordinary connections, simply reverse the inputs (all of them) on one of the speakers. Sorry you're having problems.

doody,

Hey, I understand your purchasing dilemma, although far from ideal. In the metropolitan area which I live it is very difficult to audition equipment I am interested in.

Very nice system you have assembled. Although I have no firsthand experience with any of the components, from the reviews I have read it

Hi rgibran,
thanks for your replies, right now i have about 80 hours on the speakers, I have a 4m X 8m room, the speakers are placed parallel to the 4m wall, distance from the side wall is roughly 1.3m and around 0.7m from the speakers backwall.
My listening place is about 2.4m from the face of the speaker and at the center between the 2 speakers.

So far I find the base is good and punchy, but i tell you what it is dominent, it sounds good with if i listen to tracy chapman,phil collins and with classical it is good too. but i think the speakers falls short with the trebel it sounds very dull, it is not airy like the pair of the infinity speakers I haad before. I am not sure if there is something wrong withthe speakers positions that is why the trebel is dull or what?
regarding the cables i am using Roksan cables, they are recommended by the manufacture of the Amp (roksan).

Any ideas that could improve the trebel?

regards

Generally, placing the speakers closer to the walls improves bass performance, further away from walls improves midrange and treble performance. Your looking for that just right position that gives the right balance of both. Try moving them further away from the wall behind them. You may be only an inch or two away from the optimal position. You need to continue to experiment with placement.

Double check your connections. I note the Roksan Mono Amps have two sets of speaker outputs for biwiring. Make sure Output 1 is driving the Low frequency, and Output 2 is driving the High frequency of the loudspeaker, as shown in the manual.

Make sure you have the jumpers on the speakers removed.

Make sure you have the directional arrows on the speaker wires pointed in the direction of the speakers.

Make sure you are wired in phase, positive to positive, negative to negative.

If you don't get much improvement after numerous attempts of different speaker positions...TRY changing the speaker wire.

RG

I really do not know how can I thank you for your help, the system sounds a million times musical now. It was the interconnects, when you said make sure the arrows on the speakers cables are correct, I went a and had a look and there was no arrows on them, but a look at the interconnects i saw arrows on them, and one cable form the preamp to the mono blocks the arrows were reversed, I fixed it and then the miracle happened. I can hear treble, wow I was beginning to think that there is something wrong with my ears because the sound was so bad that I did not even think that breaking in the speakers will improve it that much I even thought that the tweeters are defective.
Thanks to you my friend I could not have figured that out on my own.

Regards

By The Way, which is recommended? grills on or off?

doody,
Glad to hear your experiencing the musical bliss you had hoped for from your new system.

I note Roksan is dilligent in pointing out that theirs' as well as other speaker wire manufacturers wire is directional, and that this directional design should be followed.

Sometimes, manufcturers only use the top part of the arrow to denote this.

Example:

>>>> Roksan High Resolution Blah Blah Blah >>>>

In the event this is not clearly marked, it is generally safe to assume the direction of the lettering, as read left to right, is also the direction of the wire.

Grills on or off? Whichever you prefer.

Happy Tunes Amigo!

RG

I have a 14'x22' room. Will the RS6's be adequate. I tried comparing to B&W. I preferred it over the 704 for sure. I couldn't make a good comparison with the 703 since no one around me carries both. Does anyone have info on this?

Quote:
I have a 14'x22' room. Will the RS6's be adequate.

There shouldn't be a problem.

John Atkinson
Editor, Stereophile

i read the great 8/05 review on the b&w dm603s3 and was looking to get them based on mr. reina's gushing comments, but then i read a similarly gushing 3/06 review on the MA rs6, which left me hoping he would compare the two, but when mr. reina compared the rs6 to other speakers he used the amphion helium2 bookshelf, rather then a fellow floorstander at the same price, which could have been his first reviewed british speaker in his "british tour", the b&w dm603s3? any ideas on what he might conclude, if he had compared them? or what others do?

i can't hear these speakers anywhere together, and mr. reina's review make them sound almost identicle since he compares them both with the amphion helium2 saying they are both about as good, but with more bass. so between the 603s3 and the rs6 which would you say is the more forgiving, smoother, warmer speaker? i love jazz, and classical, so i want something accurate, but i hate harsh highs. i'm a 50% HT 50% music listener. any suggestions as to which would be a better fit? thanks!

I don't have much experience with measurements nor knowing what a measurement might imply in the real world. Is the HUGE peak between 15-20khz not concerning? Is this a tweeter resonant frequency? What audible range does this impact? I know the key is to listen but I'm just wondering how common a peak like this is etc.

Quote:
I don't have much experience with measurements nor knowing what a measurement might imply in the real world. Is the HUGE peak between 15-20khz not concerning? Is this a tweeter resonant frequency? What audible range does this impact? I know the key is to listen but I'm just wondering how common a peak like this is etc.

The graph is reprinted at www.stereophile.com/floorloudspeakers/306monitor/index3.html . The peak is due to the tweeter's "oil-can" dome resonance -- like one of those metal strip "clickers" where the center is moving in the opposite direction to the edge. This is usually a bit higher in frequency with metal-dome tweeters, which means that with CD playback it might not be excited much of the time. (A resonance needs to be hit with energy at its center frequency for a time proportional to its "Q" to be fully excited.) But as I said in the review, at 20kHz the RS6 resonance is a little close to being audible.

Having said that, it is still sufficiently high that most listeners will not be aware of it, and unless it dumps intermodulation products back in the audioband, it might well look worse than it sounds. Certainly reviewer Bob Reina was very impressed by the way the speaker sounded.

John Atkinson
Editor, Stereophile

Thank you for the response. It is greatly appreciated.

Hello all!
I am new to this forum so forgive me if I repeat something that has already been said. Regarding the Monitor Audio RS6 Loudspeakers vs the Monitor Audio RS8 Loudspeakers... I went to listen to both on a Wadia CD player and a Marantz integrated amp with inexpensive wires. My take on both is that the RS6's are a tad on the bright side but soundstage better than the RS8's. They have a lighter mid range sound but go low like the RS8's. The RS8's though have a fuller mid range (due to the dedicated mid range driver?) but don't soundstage as well as the RS6's. The RS8's therefore sound bigger, dynamic range wise, and therefore... I can hear why they cost more money. I disagree with everyone on this forum and the critics of all magazines who have said otherwise. That said, everyone's ears are different and you should let your ears decide which one sounds better. I have had my ears tested and have a frequency response chart... My ears hear above normal in the base and treble, but hear below normal in the mids...! I hope this helps someone. By the way, I like your articles John Atikinson. I've learned a lot.

Depends how young you are and how good your ears are. For guys, we gradually lose our ability to hear above 15 kHz from our late 20's onwards. For women, this decline happens later and slower. In my early thirties, I find the RS6 a little bright and fatiguing after extended listening. I don't know whether it's the peak around 19 kHz or if it's the small presence at 8 kHz, but the tweeter has a bit more energy than I would personally like.

Quote:
so between the 603s3 and the rs6 which would you say is the more forgiving, smoother, warmer speaker? i love jazz, and classical, so i want something accurate, but i hate harsh highs. i'm a 50% HT 50% music listener. any suggestions as to which would be a better fit? thanks!

I don't know the 603 as well, but I did listen to it several years ago while auditioning speakers. What I remember about it was that the midrange was a bit forward. Other than that, there was nothing notable I can recall.

The RS6 is a champ with jazz and classical as it is high resolution and can convey dynamics and transients very well. Double bass and drums are very dynamic, tight, and punchy. You can hear the snap of the sticks on the drum skin and cymbals, and the snap of the strings as the bassist plucks them. Horns are crystal clear and you can even hear the trumpet player working those valves. Female vocals are ridiculously clear.

The tweeter is very quick, crisp, and detailed. It doesn't actually sound harsh at all, but you get the feeling that it is a little bright. I find it's only after extended listening do you actually notice that it's a little fatiguing.

I guess I'm saying that the RS6 probably wouldn't be forgiving and warm. Not sure about the B&W, but I doubt it is as high resolution as the RS6.

Hi, I'm new in topic.
Please ,can someone tell me how music like jazz,r&b,soul and pink floyd,straits,santana... sounds on MA RS6 ?
Thank you for answers.

Diberona, I am brand new to this forum & it just so happen that I just recently auditioned the RS6. After reading the review of Stereophile at the dealer's audio room, I was quite impressed with this speaker. I am in the market for a pair of music listening speakers. I listen to a lot of jazz, in fact I brought with me a very nice cd I got from this year's CES. It is a George Benson/Al Jarreau duo with Monster Cable as a primary sponsor to this CD. Prior to listening to the RS6, I've auditioned Magnepan, B&W, Mirage, Polk & Linn...as you can see its quite a unique group of speakers. Which one would I end up buying? I am not sure but I am leaning towards RS6. For some reason, everytime I play this aformentioned cd, my ears distinctively remembers the RS6 than the others. Other readers might suggest other brands but IMOH, just listen to as many speakers you can, irregardless of brand, size & prize. It all comes down to what your ears desire.

BTW, I quit reading stereophile 5 years ago because I thought speaker improvements are just marketing ploy/fad. I changed my mind after reading some extensive reviews & columns from Stereophile. Hey mister editor, you got me back in your business. Kudos once again.