MunroSonic EGG150

Mighty egg-shaped juggernauts

WE WERE SO IMPRESSED by the MunroSonic Egg100 monitoring system, we just had to take a look at its larger sibling, the Egg150. Designed and built in Britain by legendary sound man Andy Munro, the Eggs are a stunning example of modern acoustic engineering.

In a move away from the industry standard for studio monitors—a pair of rectangular boxes with the amps inside— the Egg150 system comes with an external amplifier, custom-tuned to power two ovoid speakers, each housing a 25mm high-frequency driver and a 165mm woofer. As well as looking awesome, the egg-shaped design allows for a totally resonant-free sound, giving as flat a response as possible.

The Eggs are mounted on moulded rubber nests, which enable you to make minute adjustments to both the vertical and horizontal positioning of the speakers. This is aided by a clever LED aiming device, which ensures you have the Eggs set up so the time-alignment of the drivers is optimum. This is actually an incredibly useful, yet simple, tool to use; a blue LED set above the high frequency driver appears to shine brightest when the speaker is at the perfect angle relative to your seating position. And, boy, does it shine, distractingly so. Fortunately, once you’ve finished setting up, the LED can be deactivated by a switch on the back of the amplifier.

The amp itself is a large, heavy, 19inch beast, which can be rack-mounted if necessary. Input options are either balanced XLR or RCA phono, with individual volume knobs for each on the front of the unit. These are nice, weighty controls, with a handy indent at halfway. So much nicer to use than the tiny volume pots on the back of most monitors. The front of the amp also features an input selector, a mid-range boost/cut control, and a headphone socket. The unit acts as a dedicated headphone amplifier, which will bring out the best in any pair of cans you plug in.

TOUCHING BASS

The Egg150 system is an absolute joy to use. The depth and clarity of the sound produced is breathtaking. The high end is bright and precise, and the bass is tight and controlled, while still retaining that signature warmth and power. That said, make sure you give it a decent signal. Lowquality files sound harsh and hollow—you can really hear the flaws. You’ll need a decent DAC or soundcard. The Eggs hold up against equally expensive hi-fi equipment, but where they really come into their own is when you’re using them to produce music. They give such a clean, accurate response that you know exactly what’s going on in your mix. Vocals sound like the singer is right there in the room with you. We spent hours chopping up samples, and programing beats at high volume, and our ears never tired at all. Our only gripe with the Egg150’s younger brother, the Egg100, was that when working with really bass-heavy material, it struggled a bit— not so with the Egg150. It plays low and deep effortlessly.

So, should you buy the MunroSonic Egg150 monitors? Well, if you’re just after some amazing speakers for your rig, and have the cash, then as long as you’re packing a high-end DAC and a hard drive full of high-def audio files, or have a subscription to a high-def streaming service, such as Tidal, they’re damn near perfect. But, if you wanna watch YouTube vids, and stream from low bitrate sites, well, be prepared for them to sound terrible. If you’re a music producer, you’ll really want these speakers in your studio. Your mixes will come alive like never before, the amp is so nice to use, and the whole system looks stunning. For professional use, we really can’t fault them. –ALASTAIR MARR