Flat panel technology is the latest and greatest craze in the computer market. We've already seen the Benwin BW2000 take the market almost by storm. That set featured technology licensed from NXT that sought to broaden the size of the listening sweet spot. The BW2000's definitely succeeded in that respect as the little speakers felt like they filled the room quite well. Unfortunately, they just didn't cut it as a complete system with an extremely weak sub and volume output.

Almost immediately after posting that review, AnandTech received a number of requests for Monsoon's flat panel line that everyone was claiming was vastly better. We had to see for ourselves, so here we are...

Monsoon is known for the excellent systems they have produced for a number of cars, such as the Chevrolet Camaro and the AM General Hummer. However, as soon as we started looking into their multimedia speakers, it quickly became apparent that these were not actually made by Monsoon, but rather a company called Sonigistix. They worked out a deal to manufacture the speakers while selling under, and taking advantage of, the Monsoon name.

Technology Brief

The technology behind the Monsoon speakers isn't anything new, but Monsoon/Sonigistix just claim they're the first to use mass production techniques to bring it to market at an affordable price. The concept is actually very different from the path chosen by Benwin/NXT. This time, it's called Planar Focus and sound is generated as a thin mylar membrane vibrates in a special enclosure. Instead of aiming for an enlarged sweet spot and room filling sound from small speakers, like the Benwin/NXT setup, Planar Focus is designed to produce very directional sound.

The reasoning behind this is that such directional sound will minimize reflections from the desktop, monitor, and anything else providing optimal sound for 3D sound from two speakers, such as Aureal's A3D. At the same time, sound will, at least in theory, be extremely crisp and powerful - crisp due to the lack of reflections and powerful due to increased efficiency since a heavy cone and magnet need not be moved. Instead of a large sweet spot, the goal is for a very fixed one that should be fine for a single computer user with the speakers correctly positioned. Trying to use Planar Focus to produce music for a room full of people just won't work very well.

One of the biggest problems in generating 3D positional audio from two speakers is cross talk from the speakers where you're left ear hears what's coming from the right speaker and vice versa. Clearly such a directional speaker will help prevent this to a degree, and of course 3D sound algorithms attempt to do the same.

Design

The Monsoon MM-1000 consist of two flat panel satellites augmented by a traditional subwoofer. The satellites are composed of a 4" x 8" planar magnetic panel with a metal grill protecting it from the front and rear. A heavy, solid feeling plastic and metal base supports the satellites and aims them at a nonadjustable 30 degree angle. The sub uses a front firing 5.25" paper cone in a fairly large (for a multimedia system) 8 liter MDF (medium density fiberboard) enclosure that's ported out the back. The sub is unfortunately not shielded, so you won't want to place it next to your monitor. Frequency response is 50 Hz - 20 kHz with a active, third order crossover at a fairly high 200 Hz. The Bass boost button provides a 6 dB boost at 55 Hz. The system is all backed up by 12.5W of power to each satellite and 25W to the sub with less than 1% THD (total harmonic distortion).

That amp, along with all connections, is integrated into the back of the sub. Approximately 10 feet of standard speaker wire is permanently attached to the satellites and connects to the sub via traditional push button terminals. Power is provided by an external AC adapter that, fortunately, will not block any plugs on your surge protector thanks to separate cords to the wall outlet and sub. All controls are on the sub and are very straight forward - no "3D audio enhancement" gimmicks here, just traditional system volume, bass level, and bass boost. A green LED indicates power and a red LED lights when bass boost is turned on. There is no power button.

A convenient remote volume "puck" (as Monsoon likes to call it) is included with a volume dial and mute button and allows for system control without reaching down to the sub - that is when it works properly. In two systems received by AnandTech, the remote volume feature wasn't exactly 100% reliable and that caused strange, unexpected volume changes. The problem appeared to be a weak connection between the puck and the sub as the situation could often be helped or worsened by playing with this connection. Fortunately, removing the puck completely removed such problems. It should also be noted that when the puck is plugged in, the sub's system volume control is completely disabled. While on the subject of volume and notes, it should also be pointed out that the system could not be muted completely regardless of whether the puck volume, puck mute, or sub system volume controls were used.

Sound Quality

This is the most important area to consider when choosing a speaker set, whether for the computer or a home theater. Once again, the most important thing to keep in my mind when buying an audio equipment is that your ears are always the best judge because everyone has different musical tastes. It is also necessary to keep in my mind what you plan to use the speakers for. Just about anything will get you by if you just want Windows beeps and dings, but if you plan to listen to music 6 hours a day, you are going to need much more. With that in mind, not many people buy three piece speaker sets for beeps and dings, so the focus here will be on music and (to a lesser extent) gaming.

In AnandTech's first flat panel speaker review, we noted that "You never know what to expect with such a new technology as we have in Benwin's BW2000 speaker set," and the same thoughts were in our minds as we setup the Monsoon MM-1000's for the first time. While the Benwin's provide a very space filling sound where it's hard to tell the speaker's location, the Monsoon's goal is the exact opposite. As mentioned above, Planar Focus technology is designed to direct the sound at the listener and that it does very well as the MM-1000's are very directional. Turning the speaker to its side it feels like half the sound (mids and highs) just disappears. Again, this was done in order to minimize reflections and eliminate crosstalk that will hopefully increase the effectiveness of sound cards that project 3D sound from just two speakers.

And the best part is it really works!

Aureal's A3D positional audio never sounded better from a single pair of speakers and it was much easier to tell which direction a sound was supposed to be coming from. The effect still was not as convincing as four speakers or headphones, but it was much better than any other speaker pair this reviewer has tried.

Overall sound quality for music was excellent with crisp highs and full mids coming from the satellites - just make sure they're pointed at your ears, which isn't always the easiest thing with the nonadjustable stands. Once the bass boost was enabled and the bass knob cranked all the way up, this little 5.25" sub could thump, keeping up with the best computer speaker systems in the same price range and many costing much more. Cranking the volume produced distortion free music at fairly high volume levels until the knob was 3/4 of the way up - beyond that, some distortion began to creep in. The volume output is quite high for multimedia speakers thanks to an excellent 102 dB efficiency rating.

The 200 Hz crossover to the sub does allow some of the mid range to slip into the sub, but the steep third order slope insures that this is only minimal. The same goes for the satellites who are prevented from trying to go too low quite effectively. Overall, this results in an extremely smooth frequency transition from the sub to the satellites.

Conclusion

The Monsoon's are leaps and bounds above the Benwin's in all categories - sound quality, frequency response, and good old fashioned raw power. Then again, at $229.99, the price is also leaps and bounds above the Benwin's $89.99 retail price. That price isn't exactly cheap, but you get an excellent set of speakers and, of course, the head turning flat panel technology in the package.

Once again, it must be noted the extreme directionality of these speakers that not everyone will like. It's perfect for a single user sitting in front of them, but not so hot for providing tunes to a room full of people.

Now we know exactly why you guys wanted us to check these out so much ;) Monsoon definitely did not disappoint and has provided one of the best multimedia speaker sets to pass through the AnandTech labs.