What Hi Fi Sound and Vision
13 SEP 2006
Monitor Audio Radius R90AV-12
Aside from a slight issue with price, this is an impressive, stylish former Award-winner
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Believe it or not, this is yet another former Award-winning package; this one from 2006. Time has moved on since then, but (as they say) class is timeless.
Straight from the box, you’re acutely aware this is some package. The R90 satellites are a little boxy but with their piano-black finish and interchangeable grilles they have plenty of kudos in the style stakes. They’re also very accommodating when it comes to placement, and come with wall brackets supplied in the box.
There’s also a dedicated centre channel. Make sure you have space for the R225, because it’s considerably larger than the little sats. All the same, build quality is first-rate throughout the system, including the RS W12 subwoofer, a potent device.
Indeed, the subwoofer is the highlight of this system. With the film 300, it offers a solid foundation of deep, stomach-churning bass. The extreme fight sequences and nu-metal soundtrack that makes this stand out from other 'sword and sandals' epics are delivered with bags of thump and punch. There’s an overall tightness to the sound that few others at this level attain.
Revealing performance
The satellites keep up their end of the bargain, too, with an unceasingly revealing performance that drags bags of detail from the soundtrack of The Matrix. Turn things up and they keep on giving: they’re capable of banging out movies at a blistering volume if that’s the way you like it, but never sounding harsh or breaking up. They’re also good with music, even stereo.
The final link is that over-sized centre speaker, and it proves a double-edged sword. On the one hand, the extra gravitas supplied to the vocals is most immensely appealing, but the drawback is a slight lack of integration across the front of the screen, with the centre’s tonal characteristics not quite matching those of the rest.
Apart from that, and provided the neat but staid styling is to your taste, there’s little to complain about apart from perhaps the relatively high price tag.
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