Monitor Audio Concept 50!
It all leads to this
Since 1972, Monitor Audio has pushed the boundaries of what can be achieved in sound quality. 50 years later, Monitor Audio set out to create a single stand-out loudspeaker for the discerning audiophiles around the world that’s as close to perfection as physically possible. Say hello to Monitor Audio´s latest project, codenamed Concept 50.
The Concept 50 loudspeaker has been designed to deliver unrivalled sound like no other loudspeaker on the market. Making the ultimate statement of just how good a loudspeaker can be, Monitor Audio’s new prototype combines extraordinary sound, refinement and luxury that customers have come to expect, but pushes the boundaries even further to truly strike a chord with audiophiles.
In our quest to deliver audio that sounds as close to perfection as possible, the idea for the Concept 50 loudspeaker started its life two years ago when Monitor Audio’s technical director, Michael Hedges, and design director, Charles Minett, carried out an experiment to see how far they could push passive loudspeaker design. Their plight quickly paid off when they spotted the opportunity to create something very special.
The Concept 50 loudspeaker has been designed to deliver unrivalled sound like no other loudspeaker on the market. Making the ultimate statement of just how good a loudspeaker can be, Monitor Audio’s new prototype combines extraordinary sound, refinement and luxury that customers have come to expect, but pushes the boundaries even further to truly strike a chord with audiophiles.
In our quest to deliver audio that sounds as close to perfection as possible, the idea for the Concept 50 loudspeaker started its life two years ago when Monitor Audio’s technical director, Michael Hedges, and design director, Charles Minett, carried out an experiment to see how far they could push passive loudspeaker design. Their plight quickly paid off when they spotted the opportunity to create something very special.
Beyond Innovation
Concept 50 features an innovative driver design and placement to achieve incredibly accurate sound quality. The mid-range drivers are tightly grouped with our next generation MPD tweeter and a compact inward facing force-cancelled bass array, ensuring that all sound is coming from a single point with consistent directivity.
Explaining what makes Concept 50 so different to other loudspeakers, Monitor Audio’s technical director, Michael Hedges explains: “No loudspeaker is perfect. Using our experience and understanding of the physics, we’ve strived to design a real loudspeaker to be as close as possible to perfect. This has been attempted by others many times but with Concept 50 we believe we’ve got closer than anyone has before.”
“There are two key elements that are often ignored, perceived source size and directivity. For sound stage and imaging to be as accurate as possible the sound must come from a single point and have a consistent directivity. Concept 50 achieves this through the innovative placement and design of each of its drivers, a tightly grouped tweeter and mid-range cluster called ‘The Array’, plus a compact inward facing pair of force cancelled bass assemblies.”
The Array
’The Array’ is an ultra-compact multi-driver mid-range and tweeter assembly. A masterpiece of intricate detail and design, the array is a testament to the collaborative approach of acoustic and mechanical engineering within the Monitor Audio Research and Development team. Using Monitor Audio’s renowned RDT III cone technology the six mid-range drivers together have a surface area that is greater than a Platinum Series mid-range. This is an approach which gives rise to multiple benefits.
Firstly, each mid-range has an exceptionally wide bandwidth and could cover much of the range of a traditional tweeter. This ensures the smoothest crossover to the tweeter and exceptionally low distortion.
Secondly, traditional dual concentric drivers add additional intermodulation distortion to the tweeter due to the displacement of the mid-range diaphragm, which forms the tweeter waveguide. This can be reduced by limiting the lowest frequency the mid-range operates to, but is never totally removed. As Monitor Audio’s tweeter waveguide is fixed and the drivers create a flat baffle around the tweeter, there is no additional intermodulation distortion contributed and the mid-range can run to its full potential without compromise.
The second part of the ‘The Array’ is the definitive version of the Micro Pleated Diaphragm (MPD) high frequency transducer. For over 10 years Monitor Audio has been leading the world in pleated diaphragm tweeter design. The Concept 50 uses Monitor Audio’s third generation MPD tweeter which has improved nearly all aspects of its design including linearity, distortion, directivity and power handling. This is the smoothest and most extended tweeter Monitor Audio has ever produced.
Zero vibration
‘Every force has an equal and opposite reaction’ – created with Newton’s Third Law in mind, the Concept 50 bass drivers are anchored together in pairs facing each other in a ‘Force Cancelling’ configuration. This exact symmetry means the unwanted vibrational energy each driver generates from an audio signal is cancelled by its opposing twin. This is especially useful on bass drivers which usually transmit these unwanted vibrations through the cabinet. In addition, the drivers are not being shaken themselves leading to reduced distortion and improved control. As a result, the loudspeaker delivers a frequency response in-room (-6dB) of 21Hz-60kHz with minimal distortion.