Music, Home Theater, Real wood , efficient

none - Rear ported speakers concerned me but once I heard them, my concerns vanished

I absolutely love these speakers. They look great and they sound ever better. I have only had these speakers for 5 months but as they get more playing time, the imaging and sound get even better. The MA 8i''''s get great low end extention by using a series of three 5 1/2" woofers. You will not need a subwoofer to play challenging music with these speakers They are seemless on every thing from classical to hard rock. The small drivers in the 8i are very fast and are able to reproduce home theater applications flawlessly. I have the entire Silver HT system which blows away everything else I have heard. I am driving these with a Marantz SR7200 receiver with average interconnects and cables. I can wait to upgrade my speaker cables and interconnects to see how much better it gets.

Similar Products Used:

AR, B+W 603, Thiel 2.5, MA Gold Series, MA Silver Series

Small footprint. Wife''s happy and I''m not broke.

I bought these for my wife. She tried out B&W CDM 7NTs, Paradigm Studio Reference 60s, and MA Silver 8i''s head-to-head at home with our Denon AVR-3802 and Sony DVD/CD player. She liked the B&Ws slightly better, but not enough to pay the extra $500-700, so we went with the MAs. She/we have been very happy. I won''t attempt to describe their sound, because I''m half deaf. My wife, however, who has hearing that astounds me, is enjoying them very much. They sound good to me cranked up, but then again about anything does. Many people here have commented on the break in period. My wife loved them out of the box. In fact, we had a demo pair that we used for about 6 weeks while waiting for the new ones (a problem with the order) that were already broken in. My wife liked the sound of the new ones that were just off the boat from England and fresh out of the box just as well, if not better.

Amazingly clear mids and highs. Tight and powerful bass. They look great and don''t take much space

Nothing

Based on reviews in here, I had my mind made up on a pair of Krix Euphonix speakers. I went down to a dealer and asked to audition the Euphonix. He insisted that I also try out these Monitor Audio Silver 8i''s, and some others for comparison (ALR Jordan, Dynaudio Audience 72 and Mission 782) We played the Krix first and I thought they sounded great, then he changed over to the Monitor Audio, I wasn''t expecting much from such small drivers in a relatively small cabinet) Wow, what an amazing sound,the coherency from bass up to the top end was amazing. It made the Krix sound flat and lifeless. At the time I was most impressed with the mids and top end which are fantastic. Next up were the Dynaudio which had a little more strength in the low bass, but just couldnt compete in the mids. It was a similar story for the Mission. Finally was the ALR Jordan, which was closest to the Monitor Audio but I just couldn''t get over the cheap and nasty cabinets. I purchased the 8i''s but must admit I was a little concerned that the bass may be a little ''thin''. Well I got these babys installed last night and even without a proper run-in period (60 to 200 hours is recommended) I''m blown away. The mids and highs are as clear and open as I remember, but the bass response is unbelievable, very tight and powerful. My concerns about the bass were completely unfounded. The blend and coherency from the deepest bass up to the highest highs is the greatest strength of these speakers. The Monitor Audio 8i''s look great and sound fantastic. The sheer quality and quantum of sound from these speakers is everything I wanted and more. For up to AUD$3,500 I don''t think you can do better than these.

Similar Products Used:

Dynaudio Audience 72 Mission 782 ALR Jordan Krix Euphonix

SOUND, LOOKS, SIZE.

PORTED TO THE REAR

These speakers are winners for the price. I spent one year looking and listening for just the right ones for my ears and my listening environment. They have a very slight
brightness which my ears need ! Not as bright as the klipsch RF 3 's. My priority is action movies. I think I might have picked the B&W CDM NT 9's if I was willing to
pay almost twice the price and if music was my bag & I had higher end electronics. The B & W s seemed some what clearer, but they seem to make it obvious that I needed
better electronics to make them sound like they did at the dealers store. One of the things I learned with this one year speaker tour of mine, is that not all speakers are
perfect for all sound source inputs. But I'm happy now.

Be prepared to pay almost retail. If service and expertise has a high priority like it does for me, then it's worth it. O-Yea the Monitor's are essentially a pieces of furniture. The wood finish is gorgeous, plus they are matched sets.

Similar Products Used:

B&W - CDM NT-9 VANDERSTEIN #1 MONITOR AUDIO #5
KLIPTCH RF3

Gorgeous speakers, both visually and sound wise. Smaller size than most floorstanding speakers.

???

Wow! These speakers are unbelievable. I know I said this in the strength section, but these are the most beautiful speakers I have ever seen. I strongly suggest to anyone who is looking for speakers to see these in person. Pictures on the Net do not do it justice.

Anyway, the review. These speakers sound incredible for the price. The mids and highs are truly beautiful. I have heard things in my music that I didn't know existed. In almost every song I have listened to, I have heard instruments and little nuances that I never heard before on other speakers. My biggest concern was bass, however. Since these are relatively small Floorstanding speakers (when compared to others), I didn't think bass would be noticeable so I decided not even to audition them!! The store manager at 5.1 saw me staring at these things and brought in a pair of the 5i's as I was auditioning Paradigm Monitor 90's. My jaw dropped as I listened to those speakers. Obviously the mids and highs were much clearer (and louder), but the bass in the 5i's was equal to that of the Paradigm's 8 inch drivers!! The manager had to unplug the subwoofer because I refused to believe it wasn't on! I then tried the 7i's followed by the 8i. The 8i's were obviously the best. Great bass with super clean and soft mids and highs. I listened to the 9i's, and although they have a slightly deeper bass, it wasn't as tight as the 8i's. Also, I couldn't tell much of a difference in the mids so I decided to save $600CDN and stick with the better looking 8i. I thought about auditioning B&W, but the store manager told me that the silver series blows away the B&W 600 series and they are about half the price! Considering most stores want you to spend more, I was surprised he would say that. He told me that quality and value were very important to him and for that reason they were going to stop ordering B&W (which are good speakers, but not worth the price when compared to the better MA's)!

Now I'm sure there'll be some people who arent satisfied by the bass. This thing won't produce glass shattering bass, but no speaker does. If you want that, buy a sub. These speakers combine the highs, mids and lows in perfect combination without distorting the sound. I am running my system with a Marantz SR-19 and in the "direct 2-channel mode", the sound is truly amazing.

Similar Products Used:

Polk, JBL, Paradigm

Neutrality, bass response (relative to size of speakers and drivers)

sounds alittle "forward" but that's more a personal preference.

Excellent speaker for the price. Couldn't find anything to be too critical about at this price. Unfortunately, the upgrade bug hit me after one month and I'm moving on to the Thiel 2.3's. I just found the timbre and overall presentation more "real" than the 8i's but the Thiels are already 2x the price of the Monitors.

If anyone is interested in a Black Ash Monitor 8i, used for less than a month, send me an e-mail. I'll consider any real offer.

I rated 5 stars for overall rating for a speaker at this price point. Again, there are better speakers out there but at $1500, I believe the 8i's represent an excellent value.

Similar Products Used:

B&W CDM 7/9NT, Revel Performa F30, Thiel 2.3

Very coherent for a complecated speaker (3 way speaker), deep bass, very well balanced, smooth treble

a few signs of boxiness, some sibilance, long burn in time but that's all!

These are trully wonderfull speakers. I use them with a valve pre-amp and a Quad power amp and they sound amazingly natural for their price. Now, I can really enjoy all my music collection. I discovered things in the recordings that I didn't know that they exsist. All the beautiful "sound colours" are more obvious now make them increadibly natural for that price! They have something that makes everything so right! The deep bass, the warm midrange, the sweet top end, the great stereo imagery, separation of the instrumentsare are all there. If there is a draw back compared to costlier designs is the boxiness that can be present sometimes. But this is diminishing as time passes. They definetly need a long, long time to run in properly! Give them a try, you can be amazed! Extraordinary value for money!

Similar Products Used:

KLH, KEF, Acoustic Energy, AVI, ATC, B&W, JM Labs, Wilson Benech Puppy

Excellent mid range, clean highs,wide imaging, looks, size, performance with vocals

Break in time, missing very lowest of lows

Looked a long time for something that was a good all around performer, not too large, and looked good in the home theatre set up. Finally settled on 8i's. Don't judge them straight out of the box, you'll be disappointed. After 4 months of significant use they still seem to be improving.

They are equally capable of doing justice to action movies, quiet jazz or full bore rock and roll. Bass remains tight at high volumes.Great detail in high frequencies, while remaining reasonably smooth. But in the mids/vocals they really shine, at least for their price.

Need a sub for the real wall shaking special effects, and to add a bit of meat to the very lowest frequencies. But in this form factor at this price, pretty hard to beat. They only speaker I've heard that has advantages in same price range are my Newform Researchs, but they were banned from public areas in my house due to their rather unusual appearance...

I liked the B&W Nautilus 803's a bit better, but much bigger and 3X the price...

Similar Products Used:

Newform Research, Paradigm 11 SE deluxe,

Excellent imaging. Deep Bass and highs are very strong but not harsh. Female voices on well recorded CD's are amazing.

None yet.

Right out of the box, these speakers sounded very natural. No coloration to speak of, but deep bass was a little weak. With every hour of burn in time, the bass opens up but the highs hold right where they were from start up.

The footprint of the Siver 8i's are very small and blend in with furniture nicely. Speakers are solidly built and set up is a breeze. It is highly recommended you bi-wire for best sound. There is a big difference in total sound when bi-wiring.

I use the Monitors in a two channel stereo system and I have not heard a better pair of speakers for the money.

I can't wait for them to be totally burned in.

Similar Products Used:

B&W, Paradigm

Wonderful dynamics, crisp highs, beautiful midrange, nice tight bass

Absolutely non thus far

I am both an audio enthusiast and a music lover -> all types of original and talent ridden music,less rap. All my life I have lived with various component packages (including speakers) from top selling retail manufacturers. My trusty Technics integrated amplifier bit the dust (circa 1986). As much as I enjoy music I decided to invest for the first time in quality gear. I chose the Monitor Audio line from recommendations of friends and in large part due to reviews in this forum. The Silver 8i's are paired with a NAD C350 integrated amp, NAD C420 receiver and a 10 year old Sony 5 disc changer while awaiting delivery on a NAD C541 CD player. This combination and these speakers in particular have exceeded all my expectations. The burn-in requirement is accurate and they just keep getting better and better. Comments have been made in regards to being a bit too crisp on the highs (this might be the NAD also) and I would agree. *HOWEVER* I've been bit by the audiophile bug and hours ago bi wired the speakers with AR 16 gauge cable, gold pins - WOW!! I was impressed before. I am completely blown away now. I have never heard such beautiful sound before. The bi wiring did for these speakers what they did for my system before upgrade. Just buy them. You will not regret it.

Similar Products Used:

Various single manufacturer component packages (Technics, Sony, etc)