Monitor Audio Gold Signature GS10

[mike c]

[mike c]

lightweight champion vs. heavyweight champion








KEF Q1 at 1/3rd the price of the MA GS10

[mike c]

Test Equipment

HK AVR 335 as pre-amp
Rotel RMB1077 as amp
Denon DCD-685 as CD player (analog out)
switching is made by transferring RCA interconnects to the proper input (way faster than transferring speaker plugs - and safer)

[mike c]

ok first off, some introduction:
I am very very satisfied with my KEF Q1's.
But I kept thinking about the MA GS10 because it is within striking distance of my budget. I just had to compare them to my KEF's to see how much more of an improvement I can get.

The KEF Q1 SRP during its time was 450-500 USD; the current MA GS10 SRP is 1500 USD. thrice the price.

I figure, if there is at least twice the performance, why not?

I started with the usual Josh Groban "To Where You Are" song. I'd say they were really really close with the MA in the lead. I thought that I couldn't compare these two speakers using a song that didn't show their differences.

I threw in some Mariah Carey, Utada Hikaru, Tears for Fears ... and found a really good album by the Corrs. Talk on Corners. all the songs are like food for the ears, wow ... I kept forgetting to switch speakers because I enjoyed the songs too much.

anyway, the KEF sounded louder and with the voice more forward. the wife said it was like the lead singer was very confident in singing, and shy on the MA's. listening through the entire album, I could now differentiate between the KEF and MA. while the KEF was very very good, the main difference was in a word: noise. the MA played exactly the material in the CD, while the KEF when A/B'ed with the MA sounded "noisy" and "more irritating" (it doesn't mean it's irritating, it's just that the MA wasn't adding anything). I can't believe the KEF's sounded that good, but I guess the money going into the GS10's has to go somewhere right? I'm thinking the MA has less distortion, and a really solid enclosure. knocking at the front baffles, the KEF sounded like knocking on a door, while the MA sounded like knocking on solid wood.

while to me, the difference in SOUND may not warrant thrice the price, but in addition to the better build quality and better finishes. I think the MA's are well worth the price.

while I won't be upgrading the KEF's til I upgrade some other types of equipment that are "closer" to my heart (subwoofers and stuff), when I do get the money, I will be moving the KEF's to my PC and I'll be demoting my polks to surround duty or a tertiary setup. I'm surprised the KEF could do what it did, I feel like I got a bargain on the Kef's.

Conclusion:
I think I'm deaf. deaf to night and day differences between speakers. I was switching with a few seconds in between and I still had a hard time comparing these speakers. how can some people hear NIGHT and DAY differences? Do we hear the same stuff, and to them that difference is NIGHT and DAY? I'm at least happy to have heard what makes the GS10 worth more than my KEF Q1. If I had the space, I'd probably jump to the GS20's.

[Josuah]

Try some uncompressed classical music.

For most of what you played back, I'm betting your focus was on the vocals. Utada Hikaru is a lot of compressed pop and will sound the same pretty much no matter what. Mariah Carey is mostly vocals, from what I know, but I don't listen to her. Talk on Corners is also a little compressed, but with more instruments involved, except you focus on the vocals most of the time and it's been heavily engineered. Either way, you won't be exercising the port or the tweeters much. (Does that black one even have a tweeter?)

[mike c]

Josuah wrote:

Try some uncompressed classical music.

For most of what you played back, I'm betting your focus was on the vocals. Utada Hikaru is a lot of compressed pop and will sound the same pretty much no matter what. Mariah Carey is mostly vocals, from what I know, but I don't listen to her. Talk on Corners is also a little compressed, but with more instruments involved, except you focus on the vocals most of the time and it's been heavily engineered. Either way, you won't be exercising the port or the tweeters much. (Does that black one even have a tweeter?)

yup, the black one is a KEF Q1 ... it has a tweeter dead center of the woofer. i think it's supposed to widen the sweet spot.

the mariah carey album was music box, most of the songs are pop and r&b as well. i guess you've just discovered my taste in music