You’ll be hard pushed to find a store colleague in our Bristol branch that has a bad word to say about Monitor Audio. The award-winning speaker manufacturer has long been a go-to brand for hifi setups as well as home cinema surround sound systems.
The sound & vision enthusiasts among you may remember their first soundbar; the ASB2 that was released a few years ago and was hailed for its bold sound and clever features. Its elongated oval shape was somewhat bulky and divided opinion though as perhaps being a little too impractical. Monitor Audio have taken a much more traditional approach to design with the ASB10 by making it more or less bar-shaped like its rivals but with a hint of a curve. This means you now get a neat, sleek looking bar that still looks stylish enough to not be an eyesore in your living room.
As with the ASB2, the ASB10 uses a lot of features evolved from the company’s hifi speaker range. Twin C-CAM (Ceramic Coated Aluminium Magnesium) gold tweeters are matched with Quad C-CAM mid-range units in order to enhance the clarity of the treble and mid frequencies whilst twin ABRs (Auxiliary Bass Radiators) handle the bass for a smooth, punchy sound. All of this is powered from four class-D amplifiers delivering a total of 100 watts. If this isn’t enough however users have the option of adding on the wireless ASB10 subwoofer (or a cabled one from the pre out ouput on the back) to really beef up the sound. Inputs are fairly standard with 2 digital (optical & coaxial) & 1 analogue 3.5mm AUX along with Bluetooth for wireless streaming. A remote is included too which is unobtrusive but easy to use and aside from the usual volume up/down, source selector etc it also allows you to skip tracks from your audio source.
Starting off with Peter Jackson’s King Kong, it’s immediately noticeable from the hustle and bustle of New York City that the ASB10 is a capable performer. Traffic noise and people walking the streets is clear and concise without ever over-crowding the dialogue of the characters onscreen. It’s also evident that by using the ASB10’s 3D sound mode (enabling Dolby Digital’s Virtual Speaker Processing) the soundstage is massively opened up to give you a real spacial effect of the city soundscape. As they complete their journey to the mysterious island where Kong lives you’ll not be disappointed by the ASB10’s ability to make you feel every crunch and snap of leaves and branches as the huge ape crashes through the trees. Despite not having a sub linked up to the bar there’s still plenty of weight behind Kong’s footsteps as he rumbles along. For a full and weighty sound though the ambitious among you will appreciate having an additional subwoofer’s extra depth.
Moving on to Bluetooth shows us that unsurprisingly, the ASB10 is no slouch when it comes to music too. We started off with “Castle” by American singer Halsey and found the digital percussion cut through with some fast attack without becoming too brittle whilst the flowing bass line was handled well by the two bass radiators. Again, bass fiends reading this will find that a need for a subwoofer will still beef up the sound but there’s enough weight to the sound or the bar alone without shaking the walls down. We finally, tried out some normal TV by putting on Match of the Day and the atmosphere of the crowd noise shone through well without drowning out the various kicks and shouts from the players or from the commentator.
It seems like Monitor Audio have done it again with the competitively priced ASB10. It’s small enough to accommodate in most living rooms either on a table top or wall mounted from the inbuilt keyhole style fixings. Crucially though, the sound is expressive and detailed regardless of the store. If there is a gripe it’s that occasionally the sound can become a little harsh at loud volumes but that really is nitpicking as you’re unlikely to get to those levels unless you’re in a very big room. Why not contact your local store to arrange a listen for yourself and see how much of an improvement you can get from you TV’s sound?
Click to find out more about the Monitor Audio ASB10 Soundbar.
Author: Steve, Bristol store
