Monoprice continues its move into high-end audio with its new Monolith Audition line of loudspeakers, available in tower, bookshelf, and center-channel configurations. The new speakers join an affordable lineup that has so far impressed with its high-quality, value-priced turntables, headphones, subwoofers, and home theater amplifiers.
Each speaker features internally braced MDF cabinets covered with a black wood-grain PVC material. There are two models each of the tower, bookshelf, and center channel speakers. They all present 4 ohms of impedance and are outfitted with 5-way binding posts. Add one of Monoprice’s Monolith subwoofers and an A/V receiver, and you can create your own 5.1-channel home theater setup.
Audition tower speakers
Monoprice
The Audition T4 Tower Speaker sells for $199.99 each, while the larger Audition T5 Tower Speaker goes for $249.99. Either model can be used as a stereo pair in a home audio system or as the front left and right speakers in a home theater setup.
The Audition T4 (pictured above, left) is equipped with one 20mm silk cloth dome tweeter with a waveguide and a neodymium magnet. The mid woofer and two main woofers are 4-inch polypropylene cones with NBR surrounds. Frequency response is 56Hz – 20kHz and sensitivity is 85.5dB (2.83V@1m). The T4 measures 31.5 x 5.5 x 7.0 inches (HxWxD) and weighs 17.86 pounds.
The slightly larger Audition T5 (pictured above, right) is outfitted with the same 20mm silk cloth dome tweeter with a waveguide and a neodymium magnet. But it has a larger mid woofer and two main woofers: 5.25-inch polypropylene cones with NBR surrounds. This model can respond to lower frequencies, getting down to 48Hz, with sensitivity of 86.9dB (2.83V@1m). The T5 measures 35.4 x 6.5 x 9.8 inches (HxWxD) and weighs 23.4 pounds.
Audition bookshelf speakers
Monoprice
The Audition B4 Bookshelf Speaker (pictured up top, on the left) sells for $99.99 each, while the slightly larger B5 (also pictured up top, on the right) goes for $124.99 each. As with the new towers, these models are designed to be used as a stereo pair in an audio system or as the left and right front speakers in a home theater setup. You could also deploy them as rear surrounds.
The Audition B4 is equipped with the same 20mm silk cloth dome tweeter with a waveguide and a neodymium magnet that’s used in the Audition T4 and T5 tower speakers. It’s outfitted with a single woofer, the same driver found in the Audition T4 tower speaker: a 4-inch polypropylene cone with NBR surround. The B4’s enclosure has a rear-facing bass port. Reported frequency response is 57Hz – 20kHz and sensitivity is 83.7dB (2.83V@1m). The speaker measures 11 x 5.5 x 5.5 inches (HxWxD) and weighs 5.5 lbs.
Monoprice
The Audition B5 measures 13.6 x 6.3 x 7.1 inches deep (HxWxD) and weighs 7.3 pounds. It uses the same 20mm tweeter as the rest of the line, and the same 5.25-inch polypropylene cone woofer as the Audition T5 Tower Speaker to deliver frequency response of 61Hz – 20kHz and sensitivity of 84.3dB (2.83V@1m). The enclosures of both the Audition B4 and the Audition B5 have rear-facing bass ports.
Audition center channel
Monoprice
Finally, the Audition C4 Center Channel Speaker has a retail price of $129.99, while the Audition C5 Center Channel Speaker sells for $159.99.
The Audition C4 is outfitted with the same 20mm silk cloth dome tweeter as the rest of the new line, along with a pair of 4-inch polypropylene cone woofers. Frequency response is 81Hz – 20kHz and sensitivity is 85.4dB (2.83V@1m). The C4 measures 5.5 x 14.96 x 5.5 inches (HxWxD) and weighs 8.2 lbs. The speaker’s height might encroach on the bottom of the typical TV screen, so buyers might need to elevate a TV that’s in an entertainment center.
The larger Audition C5 once again uses the same 20mm tweeter as the rest of the line and a pair of the same 5.25-inch woofers used in the T5 tower and B5 bookshelf speakers. Claimed frequency response is 73Hz – 20kHz and sensitivity is 86.7dB (2.83V@1m).