Monolith by Monoprice Announces MTM 100 Watt Bluetooth aptX HD Powered Desktop Speakers

[VSG]

The Monolith MTM Desktop Speakers deliver stunning audiophile performance for your desktop! These speakers feature an accurate frequency response, exceptional sonic clarity, punchy, powerful bass, and present a spacious, and musical soundstage. Set up is a breeze: Connect easily through analog RCA and 3.5 mm inputs or through the optical or USB digital inputs. Pair your device wirelessly using the Bluetooth with Qualcomm aptX HD Audio for high quality, CD audio level Bluetooth performance. A headphone jack adorns the front, allowing you to easily switch between the speakers and headphones. The Monolith MTM powered speakers are a perfect, great sounding addition to a home office, gaming, or bedroom system.

Engineered to deliver spacious, punchy, and accurate sound, the Monolith MTM features a powerful 100 watts per speaker amplifier, a 1" silk dome tweeter and dual 4" woofers, and a 5.25" passive radiator to enhance bass performance. Fantastic dynamics, smooth midrange, punchy bass combined with holistic imaging usually only found in audiophile grade speakers at a much higher price. The Qualcomm aptX HD audio codec ensures your Bluetooth wireless enabled device can deliver high definition audio. It preserves sound data through the audio transmission, resulting in a "better than CD" listening experience. With aptX HD, you can enjoy
listening to your music at the highest audio quality when using an aptX HD enabled device.



You can easily connect these speakers to your laptop, tablet or any other gear you may have. Featuring a pair of RCA inputs and a 3.5 mm auxiliary input for wired use, or connect through a Bluetooth enabled device for wireless connectivity. This Bluetooth features a Qualcomm chipset and aptx HD decoding, for superior Bluetooth performance and sound. An optical and USB connection allow you to connect digitally and utilize the onboard high performance DAC. Add a little kick to your music or games by utilizing the subwoofer output jack and connecting a powered subwoofer.

A convenient front headphone jack graces the front of the speaker allowing you to easily choose to utilize your speakers for playback, or monitor the sound with your favorite headphones. Adjust volume, select the input and source, pair Bluetooth, and increase treble or bass to your preference through the supplied remote control. The Monolith MTM comes with a 3-year warranty, will be available from Oct 28, and costs $499.99.

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[Operandi]

Specs look good, and passive radiator is smart. With the woofer so close to bottom of the baffle (where a port would normally be) means you'll really need to raise these off the desk to avoid reflections. Also they are bit ugly but I guess thats kinda Monolith's thing.

 

[SOAREVERSOR]

Specs look good, and passive radiator is smart. With the woofer so close to bottom of the baffle (where a port would normally be) means you'll really need to raise these off the desk to avoid reflections. Also they are bit ugly but I guess thats kinda Monolith's thing.

I mean on any monitors you're going to put foam under them to start with.

 

[Operandi]

I mean on any monitors you're going to put foam under them to start with.

Yeah, you should raising any nearfield monitor, (doesn't really matter what it is as long as it doesn't resonate) but not everyone does and its just more of thing with these because of the shape.

 

[FreedomEclipse]

I wouldnt mind seeing a review on TPU for this set of speakers.

 

[cvaldes]

Specs look good, and passive radiator is smart. With the woofer so close to bottom of the baffle (where a port would normally be) means you'll really need to raise these off the desk to avoid reflections. Also they are bit ugly but I guess thats kinda Monolith's thing.

Hell, 98% of stereo equipment is ugly. The same with PC hardware. When the best design compromise (practicality, cost, performance) is a box, the number of ways to make it visually appealing are pretty limited.

Cosmetic improvements add cost and Monoprice is really a value focused brand, favoring performance and low cost over style.

 

[zlobby]

I mean on any monitors you're going to put foam under them to start with.

Monitors with severely resolution-limiting Bluetooth? Kek!

 

[Operandi]

Hell, 98% of stereo equipment is ugly. The same with PC hardware. When the best design compromise (practicality, cost, performance) is a box, the number of ways to make it visually appealing are pretty limited.

Cosmetic improvements add cost and Monoprice is really a value focused brand, favoring performance and low cost over style.

Most race to bottom cheap stuff is ugly because they are only competing on price, thats not this.

There are plenty of speakers that use real veneer or amps and DACs that use anodized AL and when you aren't building things in 100,000 unit quantities you can afford to do that and still make money. I already said thats not what Monolith is aobut but I'd rather pay an extra $15-$20 and have it look a bit nicer.

Monitors with severely resolution-limiting Bluetooth? Kek!

You are aware that there are line level inputs as well as USB and optical inputs right?

 

[ZetZet]

Most race to bottom cheap stuff is ugly because they are only competing on price, thats not this.

Edifier makes cheap stuff that looks pretty cool in my opinion. And they don't pretend to be some ultra quality brand, just good looking, decent sounding value speakers.

 

[SOAREVERSOR]

Hell, 98% of stereo equipment is ugly. The same with PC hardware. When the best design compromise (practicality, cost, performance) is a box, the number of ways to make it visually appealing are pretty limited.

Cosmetic improvements add cost and Monoprice is really a value focused brand, favoring performance and low cost over style.

Nobody using studio monitors gives a flying fuck about what they look like they are all ugly. But these are not monitors so...

Edifier makes cheap stuff that looks pretty cool in my opinion. And they don't pretend to be some ultra quality brand, just good looking, decent sounding value speakers.

Monitors are not speakers! These are trying to ape a monitor look. Which is a choice. I liked edifier though.

Monitors with severely resolution-limiting Bluetooth? Kek!

This set is odd as they are calling it a speaker but clearly apping a monitor, and for all intents and purposes it's not a speaker it's a powered monitor they are calling a speaker. I'm not sure what they are thinking it's like cat with donkey feet and a chicken head.

Howver... owning monoprice gear and seeing these they still have digital in and their own internal dac along with direct line. What I have from them has "blue tooth" but they are wired directly into the DAC into direct line in! The fiancee does her thing and connect her iphone with bluetooth and I just smile and laugh.

 

[ZetZet]

Monitors are not speakers! These are trying to ape a monitor look. Which is a choice. I liked edifier though.

But no one actually talked about monitors.

 

[cvaldes]

I'm not sure if I have a good grasp on the difference between speakers and monitors but Monoprice's press release only refers to these units as speakers.

 

[mechtech]

Not a fan of speakers with no covers...........................kids love to poke holes in them with their fingers....................

 

[Operandi]

Monitors are not speakers!

Of course monitors are speakers, "studio monitor" is just a term used to distinguish their intended use. Usually there is some special features to accommodate nearfiled but there isn't anything special about a studio monitor that makes it fundamentally different from any other speaker.

 

[zlobby]

Nobody using studio monitors gives a flying fuck about what they look like they are all ugly. But these are not monitors so...



Monitors are not speakers! These are trying to ape a monitor look. Which is a choice. I liked edifier though.



This set is odd as they are calling it a speaker but clearly apping a monitor, and for all intents and purposes it's not a speaker it's a powered monitor they are calling a speaker. I'm not sure what they are thinking it's like cat with donkey feet and a chicken head.

Howver... owning monoprice gear and seeing these they still have digital in and their own internal dac along with direct line. What I have from them has "blue tooth" but they are wired directly into the DAC into direct line in! The fiancee does her thing and connect her iphone with bluetooth and I just smile and laugh.

Made me trully chuckle.

 

[Operandi]

I'm not sure if I have a good grasp on the difference between speakers and monitors but Monoprice's press release only refers to these units as speakers.

Features and the audience they are selling them to.

 

[zlobby]

Not a fan of speakers with no covers...........................kids love to poke holes in them with their fingers....................

Eh, I've seen (and done) worse. If there is a hole, there is a way!

Of course monitors are speakers, "studio monitor" is just a term used to distinguish their intended use. Usually there is some special features to accommodate nearfiled but there isn't anything special about a studio monitor that makes it fundamentally different from any other speaker.

But not every monitor is a speaker.

I'm not sure if I have a good grasp on the difference between speakers and monitors but Monoprice's press release only refers to these units as speakers.

It's rare for a company's marketing and R&D teams to be on the same page.

 

[SOAREVERSOR]

Made me trully chuckle.

The whole thing is head scratching. These are an odd duck. I haven't seen anything like it before.

I'm not sure if I have a good grasp on the difference between speakers and monitors but Monoprice's press release only refers to these units as speakers.

Monoprice doesn't know either

 

[Courier 6]

Nice speaker, if they sound as good as they look, cool

 

[zlobby]

Nice speaker, if they sound as good as they look, cool

Those 50Hz on the low end bother me deeply.

 

[Operandi]

But not every monitor is a speaker.

That makes even less sense. Every monitor is a speaker, speakers are speakers. Studio monitors are just speakers with features design to be used nearfield, that is it.

The whole thing is head scratching. These are an odd duck. I haven't seen anything like it before.

Nothing odd about these, just full range speakers desktop speakers. Plenty of those around Vanatoo, Audioengine, Edifier to name a few.

Those 50Hz on the low end bother me deeply.

50Hz is plenty low.

 

[SOAREVERSOR]

That makes even less sense.

So you know how there are donkeys and horses and both are equidea? They are alike, and share many things in common, but are not the same. Same concept. But if horse fucks a donkey you get mule? This is kind like a mule.

 

[zlobby]

That makes even less sense. Every monitor is a speaker, speakers are speakers.

Ha-ha! I beg to differ:

You say that every monitor is a speaker, yet

You can't block my style!

So you know how there are donkeys and horses and both are equidea? They are alike, and share many things in common, but are not the same. Same concept. But if horse fucks a donkey you get mule? This is kind like a mule.

Reminded me of

50Hz is plenty low.

For a $5 earphones, yes.

 

[ymdhis]

Hell, 98% of stereo equipment is ugly. The same with PC hardware. When the best design compromise (practicality, cost, performance) is a box, the number of ways to make it visually appealing are pretty limited.

Cosmetic improvements add cost and Monoprice is really a value focused brand, favoring performance and low cost over style.

Most PC equipment is ugly precisely because companies try to make them look like Michael Bay's Transformers instead of sticking to it being a box.

Those 50Hz on the low end bother me deeply.

It only has a 100mm woofer, it won't put out too much bass to begin with.

 

[cvaldes]

Most PC equipment is ugly precisely because companies try to make them look like Michael Bay's Transformers instead of sticking to it being a box.

No, PC equipment has been around a lot longer than Michael Bay's Transformer movies. And they still looked like sh!t when they were beige boxes.

Hell, the old mainframes weren't supermodels either.

The local computer museum is full of ugly cabinets and boxes. The replica Babbage difference engine that was temporarily there was neat. And unlike most of the other computers on display, it actually worked. The docents operated it a few times a day.

Most stereo equipment is ugly. I've owned decades of them. Maybe the only non-ugly stereo gear I ever bought were some KEF speakers. Of course, KEF promptly discontinued that design.