Monitor Audio Silver 200

We’re currently in the sixth generation of Monitor Audio’s Silver Series speakers. Granted, it’s not quite the same generational distance as between Danny Dyer and King Edward III, for instance, but it’s still an impressively lengthy lineage. Especially when you consider how much we’ve enjoyed each previous incarnation.

What’s more, we’re well over three years into this iteration and still find that the 200s sound almost as fresh as the day we first pulled them out of their box.

The Silver 200s are the smallest of three floorstanding pairs in this series and have been tuned to work best around 50cm from a back wall, but with only minor variances in tonal balance when placed closer, or out into the room.

They have two Hive II reflex ports, each with a straight-rifled design, at the back of the cabinet for a fast, powerful bass response and slim, magnetic-held grilles for a neater, more elegant look at the front. Behind each grille sits Monitor Audio’s iconic gold-dome tweeter. It’s fine-tuned for clear, smooth and low-distortion high frequencies.

The Silver 200s have a 2.5-way driver design, with a pair of 13cm C-CAM (ceramic-coated aluminium/magnesium) drivers sitting directly below the tweeter. The upper one functions across midrange and bass, while the lower focuses on bass frequencies only.

Finally, as you should ideally enjoy looking at your speakers as much as listening to them, Monitor Audio offers six choices of finish: black oak, walnut, rosenut, natural oak, high-gloss black or, as in our review sample, satin white.

A showcase of talent

We’re no superstar DJ, but we could hardly have picked a better record than LCD Soundsystem’s This Is Happening to begin testing the Silver 200s. The percussive intro of Dance Yrself Clean immediately shows off just how fast these speakers are.

The tune snaps in good time, with all the cleanliness implied in the title. Synthesizer stabs arrive crisply on each bar’s first beat and each component of the arrangement is well represented. It’s only when we switch to the likes of the new Triangle Borea (see p38) that we notice a slight lack of verve and rhythmic drive.

In terms of positioning, the 200s are perhaps at their best when brought out into the room a little – they lose just a hint of detail and precision when placed much nearer a rear wall. That said, when they are moved back, a slight increase of low-end weight brings a more natural rendering of rhythm and timing.

Wherever we position the Silver 200s, though, they deliver a strong level of insight. They have power to burn when driving this particular record, but also the dynamic sensibility to do it casually, framing James Murphy’s effortless, laid-back delivery.

But don’t think Monitor Audio has forgone any sense of refinement in pursuit of excitement. This is still a mature performance, highlighted by a sure sense of control.

Finding clarity

At the low end, the Silver 200s reach those pulsing frequencies you feel more than hear, while there is plenty of headroom too. Most important, though, is the clarity throughout. Nowhere do these speakers sound flabby, coarse or thin.

We turn our reference amplifier up high – as we are encouraged to do by the Monitor Audios’ performance – and at no point does anything other than a potential noise complaint urge us to turn it down.

Monitor Audio has taken care not to let the Silver 200s become preoccupied by analytical detail, yet there is an impressive amount of resolution on offer here. Playing Clint Mansell’s score for Darren Aronofsky’s The Fountain, for example, the strings of the Kronos Quartet have a texture that resonates in the bodies of their instruments and reveals the room around them, their timbres juxtaposed nicely against sounds that have been digitally treated.

The Silver 200s remain classy speakers three years on from their introduction. When it comes to build and finish they still don’t need to fear any rival, and their sound holds up very well, though newer arrivals have edged ahead when it comes to rhythmic expression and dynamic subtleties. They deserve serious consideration nonetheless.