MonoPulse hi-fi loudspeakers have been listened to by the UK's most respected reviewers – and what continually sets us apart, is the praise for realism.
We have reviews or comments in the following publications - click on each to read further.
Unconventional loudspeaker design is the name of the game
"It's less than five years since we first encountered MonoPulse, as a relatively new brand with a number of interesting and unconventional ideas about loudspeaker design."
"Patron and hi-fi enthusiast Allan Hendry, worked for many years on pulsed, phased array radar and, after his retirement, applied his appreciation of the importance of phase relationships to loudspeaker design. These applied especially to the relative positioning of the drive units and their integration through the crossover network, in order to achieve genuine wavefront time-alignment through the entire region."
"The styling is very original and striking, with a wide steel wrap in the shape of a tall inverted-U forming the sides and top and firmly bolted onto the outside of a fabric-covered wood-composite enclosure. This is also wide enough to accommodate the relatively large diameter 218mm Audax paper-cone bass/mid driver, while a reflex port is fitted into the base of the enclosure, firing downwards and held 4-5 cm off the floor by some purposeful and well-seated spikes."
"The enclosure is roughly the same depth as its width, so the footprint is quite modest, but the hefty 28kg weight guarantees good physical stability."
"As part of the time alignment, the two drivers are mounted on separate baffles, so the bass/mid driver fixing is slightly nearer listeners than the Morel sourced 28mm soft domed tweeter. This also provides mechanical and acoustic isolation between the drivers."
"Although our sample came in a sober combination of metallic gunmetal and slate, the steel wrap and the two separate grille cloths are also available in a variety of colours. The lower part of the front panel was fitted with an offset metal damping strip that adds £100 to the price. Signal connection is made via twin terminal pairs, allowing for adventures in bi-wiring or bi-amping."
"SOUND QUALTY. The 42A requires free space siting to deliver the best bass alignment, with the time-aligned crossover and precise drive unit spacing responsible for the remarkably impressive coherence, especially through the voice band, which seems to be MonoPulse's particular stock in trade. This in turn helps to sharpen the image focus and precision, more accurately and convincingly defining the position of a performer in space."
"That's by no means the 42A's only strength. The large main driver helps deliver fine performance through the bass and mid band, with good overall balance and ultimate bass extension."
"Best of all is dynamic expression, which is comfortably ahead of the pack and further enhanced by the superior timing and across-the-band time coherence."
"LAB REPORT. Sensitivity is a pretty generous 90dB. Estimated bass extension 25Hz."
"VERDICT. Splendid dynamic expression and wonderful time and coherence. Fine bass to mid balance and dynamics. Remarkably impressive coherence through the voice band."
(In this group test the MonoPulse Model 42A, with an 88% score, was well ahead of the 80% scored by the over £400 more expensive Dali Mentor 5.)
Go to the hi-fi+ Model 42A review »
MonoPulse is a company dedicated to an idea. While some speaker manufacturers concentrate on creating a certain kind of frequency response, MonoPulse concentrates on timing."
"What is timing? Well, if one driver is moving forward and the other moving backward at exactly the same instant, the ‘leading edge’ information of each sound – some in the frequency range of one driver, some in the range of the other – will hit your ears at different times."
"If you can only do one thing..."
"MonoPulse says it has designed the first three-driver speaker (with a super-tweeter as well as a tweeter and a mid-bass driver) in which all the drivers move in absolute unison. And it’s worked."
"In terms of timing alone, the 32S are almost ridiculously good. Music is delivered with sublime rhythmic precision, a shapely sense of phrase and beat that makes other loudspeakers sound blurred and hazy by comparison."
"From the jangly ‘60s inflections of The Shins’ Wincing the Night Away to the testosterone-fueled bombast of Nick Cave’s side-project Grinderman, the 32S’s vibrancy, accuracy and rhythmic presence is extraordinary enough to warrant five stars on its own."
"So the Monopulse 32Ss are not a typical, jack-of-all-trades all-rounder. If you were feeling cynical, you could say they simply do one thing well – but in the sense that Jimi Hendrix did one thing well."
"They do that one thing so staggeringly well that you could spend years enjoying that one talent."
"In short, these are great speakers."
"Verdict. If you didn't know how critical timing is to a speaker's performance, the 32Ss will show you"
Also go to the Hi-Fi News Model 32S review below »
If you're looking for a speaker to take you direct to the core of the music, few rival this revamped MonoPulse at the price.
"Significantly smaller than previous models - 910 x 170 x 205 (hwd), the 32S lacks MonoPulse's rolled steel cabinet hoop, the only vestige of which is a short, wide channel atop the cabinet, which acts as a cover and reflector for the upward-firing supertweeter."
"The 32S is a three-way speaker - albeit an unusual one. The traditional three-way complement of bass driver, midrange driver and tweeter is not the recipe here: instead there is a 130mm Audax Aerogel-coned bass-mid driver (which has adhesive pressed between the back of the pressed steel chassis and magnet assembly to enhance the unit's ruggedness and possibly suppress structural resonances); a SkyTronic aluminium voice coil, strontium magnet, silk dome main tweeter; and the Motorola piezoelectric supertweeter, which is claimed to extend the response out to 30kHz."
In order to achieve time alignment of the drivers along a slightly uptilted listening axis (to suit typical seated ear height), the bass/mid driver is located above the tweeter - an arrangement we don't see so often today but was once popular, for example, with Mission."
"The cabinet is constructed of 18mm MDF, with no internal bracing, and - like all MonoPulse's - has a downwards-firing reflex port."
"Comprising three air-cored inductors, three film capacitors and a series resistor for the supertweeter, the crossover network - which, as always with MonoPulse, puts design emphasis on impulse response - is hard-wired to the back of the input terminal plate. Separate low-pass sections (to the mid/bass unit) and high-pass sections (to the tweeter and supertweeter) are accessible via two pairs of input terminals with gold-plated links."
"What earns it a place in my my affections is its essential lucidity and vitality."
Also go to the Hi-Fi Choice Model 32S review below »
MonoPulse's new baby features its unusual crossover and styling
"The relevance of radar to loudspeaker design may not be immediately apparent, but Allan is particularly conscious of the need to maintain the correct phase relationships between the bass/mid driver and the tweeter through the crossover region, in order to reproduce the leading edge of an impulse accurately, and that's reflected in both the crossover network design and in the unusual way the drivers are positioned and spaced."
"The Monopulse stereo models come in 'S' and 'A' types. All eschew the usual real or imitation wood finish: the S models are clad all over in cloth, with ten different colour options available, from the sober to the mildly outrageous, while the A versions combine cloth with a substantial contrasting steel hoop. Our S type came in Cranberry - a sort of pastel magenta - which is certainly unusual, but rather attractive."
"The 32S has a 130mm frame, Aerogel-cone main driver, and is also equipped with a top-mounted piezoelectric super-tweeter. The main tweeter is a 31mm soft dome device, mounted quite low down, below the bass/mid driver."
"A reflex port into the base of this enclosure, and held an appropriate distance off the floor by little feet with spikes. The small main driver enables the enclosure to be very slim. Connection is made via twin terminal pairs."
"MonoPulse places its main emphasis on maintaining integrity and phase coherence through the crossover region, and it's true that the 32S is largely successful in this respect. Voices - both speech and singing - sound impressively vivid, coherent and expressive, highlighting the accents and tonalities of different individuals in a most persuasive way.
Also go to the What Hi-Fi Model 32S review below »
Quicken Your Musical Pulse.
"What is timing? Well, if one driver is moving forward and the other moving backward at exactly the same instant, the ‘leading edge’ information of each sound – some in the frequency range of one driver, some in the range of the other – will hit your ears at different times."
"MonoPulse says it has designed the first three-driver speaker (with a super-tweeter as well as a tweeter and a mid-bass driver) in which all the drivers move in absolute unison. And it’s worked. In terms of timing alone, the 32S are almost ridiculously good. Music is delivered with sublime rhythmic precision, a shapely sense of phrase and beat that makes other loudspeakers sound blurred and hazy by comparison."
"From the jangly ‘60s inflections of The Shins’ Wincing the Night Away to the testosterone-fueled bombast of Nick Cave’s side-project Grinderman, the 32S’s vibrancy, accuracy and rhythmic presence is extraordinary enough to warrant five stars on its own."
"So t he Monopulse 32Ss are not a typical, jack-of-all-trades all-rounder. If you were feeling cynical, you could say they simply do one thing well – but in the sense that Jimi Hendrix did one thing well."
"They do that one thing so staggeringly well that you could spend years enjoying that one talent."
"If timing is your main musical concern, you simply have to check these out."
"Verdict. Extraordinary powers of timing and resolution; available in more than ten colour combinations. If you didn't know how critical timing is to a speaker's performance, the 32Ss let you know explicitly."
Also go to the Hi-Fi News March 2005 Model 32 review »
MONOPULSE MODEL 82
"Having obtained good results with the smaller 32 and 42A models, this 82A is the third MonoPulse to come in for Hi-Fi Choice scrutiny. It’s also the most costly, at £1,995 per pair."
"All the MonoPulse models are two-ways, and all share the same very radical – some might say rather strange – styling. This is both original and striking. The dominant feature is a hefty steel wrap that forms an inverted-U around the sides and top – the latter portion provides the mounting for the separate and set-back tweeter baffle, while the whole adds mass and stiffness to the bass enclosure. Eye catching and, as it turns out, effective."
"Though very similar to the 42A, the 82A has a generous bass/mid driver which features a large diameter voice coil that confers exceptionally high power handling. The bass enclosure is heftily constructed in MDF and covered in a wide choice of coloured fabrics; an additional layer of foam covers the back panel."
"A reflex port fitted into the base is held several centimetres off the floor by some very well founded and purposeful spikes, and the whole thing feels very solid and stable. The two drivers are mounted on separate baffles, so the bass/mid driver sits slightly nearer listeners than the 25mm soft dome tweeter. Connection is made via twin terminal pairs, allowing for bi-wiring or bi-amping."
"SOUND QUALITY. The first thing one notices when placing and connecting up the 82A is just how coherent and ‘real’ it sounds. It might not match the strict tonal accuracy and neutrality of some of its immediate competitors, but no time-smear, combined with a vigorous dynamic delivery, provides more than ample compensation. MonoPulse uses the phrase ‘transient synchronism’ to describe its particular strength, and that’s as good as any to describe the crispness and clarity with which individual instruments are defined."
"Timing is truly exceptional, and percussion in particular is notably well defined, making even drum solos unusually entertaining and musical! And the Steve Reich-like vibraphone work on Sufjan Stevens’ Come on Feel the Illinoise is notably deft and clear."
Current Affairs.
The MonoPulse is even better behaved, with no excess current episodes recorded on either music tracks."
“EQUIPMENT REVIEW: The MonoPulse 42A Loudspeaker."
"I doubt many listeners will have encountered MonoPulse, as it’s a relatively new operation, and consequently still has only limited distribution. It’s yet another start-up company hoping to achieve success in a crowded loudspeaker marketplace, but at least this is one example that includes much more than its fair share of originality."
"The man behind the brand is Allan Hendry, a hi-fi enthusiast of long-standing, but one who has spent much of his working life as an engineer working in the field of pulsed, phased-array radar systems. That background, in which phase relationships and coherence are a prime ingredient, provided the inspiration to experiment with loudspeakers, and to try and achieve a design which placed the maintenance of phase linearity high up the list of priorities, including the problematic crossover transition. The ultimate consequence was the decision to manufacture the range of MonoPulse loudspeakers for commercial sale."
"The range today is made more complex by variations and options, but basically consists of four models, code named 32S/62S and 42A/82A, all based around a common engineering theme but growing progressively larger. The 20 litre 32 was the first to come to my attention, some two and a half years ago, and about six months back I tried the larger 40 litre 42A for the first time. Both impressed me a great deal with the sheer vividness of their music making – “the shock of reality” was how I described that original 32."
"For all its virtue, I did have one or two criticisms when I initially tried the 42A. Allan has taken these on board, and made a minor crossover change to increase the relative treble output by about 1.5dB. He has also recently increased the price to £1,295/pair, though the speaker remains decent enough material value for money, irrespective of sound quality judgments. (These comments are relevant to the MonoPulse 42A entry in the Hi-Fi Choice buyers bible.)"
"The cosmetics are very unconventional. Our samples came finished largely in black cloth, with grey foam covering the back and a silver steel inverted-U wrap reinforcing the sides; a wide variety of options, including a choice of ten colours for the full height grille, are available. The basic carcase is MDF, almost square in plan cross-section, and the whole thing is damped and reinforced by the etched, rolled steel wrap. This is 7mm thick and 100mm deep, and undoubtedly contributes to the very solid build and 28kg total weight."
"A vibration-damping steel bar is set into the front panel, either inside or outside the grille, to break up that panel’s main vibration mode."
"The whole thing sits on little steel feet that accommodate 8mm spikes and keep the ported base clear of the floor. Although it’s quite tall and not particularly deep, the whole thing feels reassuring stable. In engineering terms this is a large, 40 litre two-way, port-loaded through its base. It has a 210mm bass/mid driver – significantly larger than today’s norm. This uses a moulded frame and doped paper cone, and is positioned vertically very close to the 25mm fabric dome tweeter. The latter is mounted on its own sub–baffle, set back by a small but precise amount, in order to establish the precise phase integrity."
"The spec claims a generous sensitivity of 92dB, alongside an easy (minimum 7 ohms) amplifier load. Both these claims were confirmed on test, indication that this speaker should make a find partner for low power valve amps. The port is tuned to 37Hz, which should ensure good ultimate bass extension. The bass alignment favours keeping the speaker clear of walls, and the overall bass level is a little dry, but that’s partly because the mid-band is just a little too strong. And if the treble output was a little too restrained when I first checked this speaker out, it seems just about ideal now. The 42A doesn’t deliver the smoothest sound around, but it is pretty well balanced overall, and the vital crossover transition is handled impressively well."
"When assessing a loudspeaker, it’s always difficult to ascertain just how much of the sound it makes is down to the inevitable balance anomalies – there’s no such thing as a truly ‘flat’ loudspeaker. The 42A does have a measure of mid-band emphasis, to be sure, but that doesn’t disguise the remarkable immediacy of a performance that clearly has minimal time-smear and fine transient integrity. MonoPulse calls this aspect of the performance ‘transient synchronism’, which is as good a buzz-phrase as any for something that really does bring a crispness and a very welcome dose of realism to the proceedings."
"Furthermore, by preserving good leading edge integrity, dynamics somehow seem to sound punchier and more believable. In some respects I am reminded of the very special immediacy that one finds with speakers using single full range drivers, and if the 42A doesn’t go quite that far in terms of absolute coherence, it doesn’t sacrifice performance at the frequency extremes in the way that single-driver systems invariably do."
"If superb transient integrity is its main claim to fame, there’s very little to criticise elsewhere in the performance. My original complaint of some lack of treble has been entirely overcome, and the whole mid-to-treble balance and transition now sounds beautifully smooth and well ordered. Perhaps the most obvious consequence of the mid forwardness is a perception that the bass end is a shade lacking in weight, warmth and authority, though there’s plenty of deep bass extension here, and output throughout the bass region is relatively smooth and even. There are some ‘paper cone’ and ‘cupped hands’ artefacts, most audible with speech, but in my experience the subjective consequences of colouration are much less obvious in a speaker like this, where time-smear and overhang are both very well controlled."
"Interestingly, and tending to confirm the claims regarding superior phase coherence, the image focusing is very sensitive to head position, rather in the manner of panel speakers. If imaging’s your thing, take extra car in setting up these speakers, making sure they’re truly vertical, similarly oriented and exactly equidistant from your listening seat. The payoff makes the effort well worthwhile."
"The very essence of this speaker is simply that it makes listening to any source unusually easy and interesting. Speech is very intelligible, even at low listening levels, and individual accents and inflexions come through very clearly. Music sounds beautifully coherent and free from artifice, so that one is rarely conscious of any intrusion from the speakers themselves, while the brain focuses instead on the subtlety and delicacy of the music making process. All kinds of music seem well served, the 42A proving just as adept at conveying the texture of orchestral strings as it is with punchier and more percussive pop and rock material – indeed, drum solos come across as particularly convincing."
"I daresay the cosmetics will not find universal favour. In a marketplace dominated by a stereotype that comes clothed in a choice of real wood veneers, a speaker wrapped in polished steel over a cloth background will always look a little strange. And the lessons of history suggest that we tend to be a rather conservative lot when it comes to choosing loudspeakers. But those who take the trouble to audition this MonoPulse design could well find themselves seduced by the sheer speed and integrity of its music making and the sheer dexterity with which it handles the most complex material."
"This is a genuine audiophile product at a very realistic price.”
Go to the September 2005 Hi-Fi Choice Model 42A review »
Get your finger on the 'Pulse.
"Don't worry if the blue cloth/silver metal look of our pair isn't to your taste, because the company is flexible when it comes to colours. Build is fine, but these speakers lack some cosmetic polish compared to industry majors. But that's where the negatives end"
"Dynamics and detail impress. MonoPulse puts a great deal of emphasis on getting the phase accuracy between the mid/bass and the tweeter spot on. It's succeeded, with the result that 32s latch on to the leading edge of every note with breathtaking confidence."
"They time superbly, and can deliver a complex rhythm track such as Gorillaz's Dirty Harry in as surefooted a manner as any speaker at this price. Detail is impressive and dynamics vivid. Carefully matched, the 32s give the class champions something to think about."
"Verdict. Great for the money. A fast, dynamic sound; tracks rhythms superbly; fine integration between the drive units.
Unusual in every respect, does MonoPulse challenge stereotypes?
"The result was the creation of a range of MonoPulse loudspeakers. We reviewed the first of these, the MonoPulse 32, in HFC 245 two years ago, and with very positive results. So this time we’re checking out the top-of-the-line 42A, a radically styled 40-litre two-way floorstander that comes in a wide range of colours and finishes, costing £1,495. The styling is certainly very original and striking. The thick and wide steel wrap forms a tall inverted-U, covering the sides and top, and is firmly bolted onto the outside of a wood-composite enclosure that’s wide enough to accommodate the relatively large 210mm paper-cone bass/mid driver."
"A reflex port is fitted into the base of the enclosure, firing downwards and held about five centimetres off the floor by some very well founded and purposeful spikes. The enclosure is roughly the same depth as it’s width, so the footprint is quite modest, but the hefty 28kg weight seems to confer good physical stability. As part of the time alignment, the two drivers are mounted on separate baffles, so the bass/mid driver fixing is nearer listeners than the 25mm soft dome tweeter. This also provides some mechanical and acoustic isolation between the drivers."
"The two separate grille cloths are available in a variety of colours. Connection is made via twin terminal pairs, allowing the bi-wiring or bi-amping."
"Sound quality. MonoPulse refers to a concept it calls ‘impulse synchronism’ as the key ingredient that distinguishes its loudspeakers from its rivals. And, as soon as the speakers were connected up, it was immediately obvious that they offer something very special in the way the leading edges of voices and musical instruments are defined. As a direct consequence, music is delivered with a dynamic vividness, integrity and sheer excitement."
Go to the Hi-Fi News July 2004 Model 42A review »
Phase change.
"If you are familiar with the design of loudspeaker crossovers, you will know it is common practice to internally connect up drive units with opposite polarities. Average hi-fi users, with the familiar warning about connecting speakers to the amplifier with consistent phase (red terminal to red terminal, black to black) ringing in their ears, will find this odd."
"It turns out that the knee-jerk reaction to consider it strange may be the right one. Some loudspeaker designers have come to the conclusion that it is a bad habit the audio industry should break. Talking to a succession of speaker designers in recent months, they have mentioned a factor which isn’t often heard about – loudspeaker impulse response - and the impulse response of a typical multi-way loudspeaker is not a pretty sight."
"MonoPulse speakers have been designed with impulse response firmly at the top of the agenda."
"Allan Hendry [see the March issue review of the MonoPulse 32] justifies his unusual choice of crossover filters on the basis that it allows the bass-mid unit and the tweeter to be connected in phase."
"If you put an impulse into a speaker with opposed driver polarities, then as one diaphragm moves forward, the other will move back – an intuitively undesirable situation, particularly given the established significance of leading-edge transients in music."
Hi-fi entrepreneur Allan Hendry's loudspeakers garner high praise from music buffs .
"MonoPulse, a loudspeaker company that is attracting rave reviews from the critics."
"Is it a consortium of of German PhDs perhaps? In fact the answer is Allan Hendry, an engineer turned hi-fi entrepreneur. The name MonoPulse relates to the radar technology he was involved with."
"The specific technical issue to which Hendry turned his attention is the time domain accuracy of a speaker."
"They look as they are intended to function, style does not compromise function."
MonoPulse news (and an erratum).
For 2005 these models will see 100mm deep surrounds, with the tweeters continuing to be mounted on this steel construct in order to isolate them from vibrations from the main cabinet."
"Additionally, matching steel inserts are offered for fitting on the front panels, to damp unwanted forward emissions."
Regrettably, due to a production error, the final paragraph in Keith Howard's review of the MonoPulse 32 loudspeaker was omitted from the March issue. 'Its fundamental honesty of sound is its key attribute and opens the window on a musical performance in way that many slugged-sounding speakers – of which there are still too many – never can. This is what real high fidelity is all about, and it will deservedly win the Monopulse 32 many friends."
MONOPULSE MODELS
Founder Allan Hendry has beefed up the rolled-steel surround - a key feature of the cabinet's unusual steel and MDF design on the Models 42A and 82A"
Each custom-built pair comes in a choice of colours and finishes."
With an unusual crossover design as well as distinctive looks, this loudspeaker aims to preserve musical 'attack' above all else.
"Hendry’s guiding design principle is the maintenance of leading-edge information – the ‘attack’ portion of musical notes that is known to be so vital to our perception of each musical instrument’s distinctive character."
"To achieve this, he deploys an unusual form of asymmetric crossover, quite unlike the Linkwitz-Riley (Butterworth-squared) symmetrical alignments so commonly used elsewhere. The low-pass roll-off of the bass-midrange unit – an aerogel-coned unit from Audax – is nominally first-order (6dB per octave), while the high-pass section feeding the tweeter (a soft-dome unit) is fourth-order. Moreover, it’s a fourth-order filter of an unusual type, which has been variously referred to a Papoulis, Fukada, Legendre, Papoulis-Fukada, etc. Whatever you choose to call it, its distinguishing feature is that it provides the most rapid roll-off possible consistent with a monotonic frequency response, that is, one without ripples."
"This combination of filter slopes has attractions aside from its favourable impulse behaviour. A first-order response on the bass-mid unit means the minimum of potentially nonlinear crossover components are required and allows the driver’s natural roll-off to contribute at least some of the filtering. A fourth-order slope for the tweeter protects it from low frequencies, improving its power handling."
"Buyers can choose from a variety of fabric colours for the cabinet covering. If you move house or redecorate then the covering can be changed to suit. Underneath the exterior is a conventional MDF box incorporating a downward-firing reflex port. To ensure sufficient space is maintained beneath the cabinet for this to operate correctly, tall spikes screw on to short lengths of studding. Nylon versions are available if the speaker is to be used on a hardwood floor. A split crossover, accessed by two pairs of upward-angled gold-plated binding posts, allows for bi-wiring. As supplied these are linked via gold-plated straps to allow use with a single speaker cable. Nominal impedance is 8 ohms, and rated sensitivity is 89dB."
"I favoured pointing speakers straight down the long axis of my room since this ensures a more even spectral match between the direct sound and first side-wall reflection, which results in a greater sense of scale both dynamically and spatially. Normally you wouldn’t be able to get away with this with a two-way speaker crossing over as high as 4kHz because listening off-axis would suppress the presence band too much, but as the 32 is a little over-endowed in this area I found it worked well. With different system balances, not to say different tastes in tonal balance, this arrangement won’t always be suitable but owners would do well to experiment with the angling of the 32s since this allows quite effective control over its voicing. I tend to prefer designs that are flat or even a little recessed through the presence band, soon-axis I found the 32 a little too forward-sounding. Angled as described, its sound became warmer and its imaging broader and more substantial – which happens to be the way I like it. Although the 32 sounds less obviously detailed when you do this, its inherent transparency still shines through."
"It seems to have an unusually ‘quiet’ cabinet for a floorstanding speaker in this price category. Despite the relatively large area of the cabinet’s panels there is little sense of it contributing unwanted output, the sound being free of tell-tale boxiness. This helps you appreciate the 32s even response down to what are quite low bass frequencies for its size. At the other end of the frequency range the decay spectra confirmed that the tweeter, despite its soft dome, is free of the diaphragm resonances that used to add a sibilant tizz to drivers of this type. As a result, the 32’s treble is clean and detailed. Set up as I’ve described the 32A gave a fine account of itself, at least as good as any speaker I’ve heard at this price. Its fundamental honesty of sound is its key attribute and opens the window on a musical performance in a way that many slugged-sounding speakers – of which there are still too many – never can. This is what real high fidelity is all about, and it will deservedly win the Monopulse 32 many friends. Keith Howard."
"Hi-Fi News verdict: This distinctive British-made two-way majors on a transparent, honest, musically involving sound. Tonal balance is a little mid-forward but this can be improved with careful set-up. Good bass extension."
Also go to the Hi-Fi Choice Model 32 September 2003 review »
Fancy electrostatic sound from a sharp-looking conventional speaker? Meet the MonoPulse 42A.
"Slim and unobtrusive, the 42A initially looks like a panel speaker, yet the aesthetics derive from designer Allan Hendry's belief that to work correctly speakers must not only be time-coherent but also phase-coherent, too."
"The 42A has two clear elements to its design. The 230mm mid/bass is mounted at the very top of its enclosure, bringing its centre point as close together as possible to that of the tweeter, while the tweeter itself is set back from the main baffle to time align the two drivers. Each 40 litre cabinet measures 1140 by 250 by 250mm (hwd), weighs 28kg and is constructed from a combination of 20mm and 26mm MDF with 6mm steel plate wrapped in an inverted 'U' around the side and over the top of the enclosure. This combination has been chosen to produce an inert cabinet for the drivers."
"The 42A offers 92db/W/M sensitivity (particularly suited for use with valves and class-A amps) and a power handling of up to 130 watts."
"These speakers have to be positioned very much as you would electrostatics, with the 42As being positioned in the location vacated by my reference SL-3 speakers. The Monopulse clearly tells you when you hit the right spot, the images locking into space."
"The bass was both very agile and richly textured, and the ability of the monopulse to capture the texture of a string vibrating or the body of an instrument resonating was far greater than I expected at the price. It brings the kind of resolving capability and imaging one would normally associate with small electrostatics like the Martin Logan Aerius i to a far wider audience."
"The ability of these speakers to capture subtle nuances and inflections in vocal performances is outstanding. True out-of-the-box imaging was apparent from the first notes heard, with the lateral stage extending well beyond the outer edges of the speakers and giving the illusion of imaging beyond the physical room boundaries. The lead guitars on the track 'Boxes' are located on the far left and right edges of the stage, and with the 42A these guitars were precisely located outside the room with the images portrayed solidly and with real presence."
"Image focus was also excellent, with a real feeling of air and space around the images. The depth of the image was good, too, though contained within the boundaries of the listening room. Yet once again in the delineation and separation of images in the depth perspective was far beyond what I expected at this price point. Moving to Dave Brubeck's Time Out [Classic Records CS 8192], the speaker showed excellent dynamic tracking, with the rapid run of saxophone notes midway through 'Blue Rondo A La Turk' being reproduced with outstanding clarity, each note existing within within its own space and without truncation of the initial transient or the decay of the note, with the variations in the power of each note played by Paul Desmond being clearly portrayed."
"At the other end of the spectrum Anastacia's 'Not That Kind' [Epic 497412 2] is a recording that is intolerant of over-emphasis in the high frequencies, a trick used by some designs to give the illusion of resolving ability – but this is clearly not a device used here. High frequencies were richly detailed and rendered with a level of textural detail, ensuring that cymbals and high hat were delivered in a convincing and realistic manner. Even triangles and tambourines on 'cowboys and kisses', instruments buried way down in the mix, are clearly discernable as individual instruments and are never allowed to dissolve into a high frequency hash as is so often heard on lower cost speaker designs. Once again this speaker showed its affinity for vocals, with even the most subtle inflection in Anastacia's voice being captured and portrayed with ease, while the raw power of her delivery was conveyed in an appropriately startling manner. There is no doubt in my mind that in his pursuit of phase accuracy in the overall design of a speaker, Allan Hendry has identified a key component of delivering realistic sound."
What's more, while it's suggested the 42A be used with valve amplification, it makes an excellent match for many solid state integrated amplifiers. This speaker proves itself to be highly articulate, boasts excellent resolving and imaging capability, and is highly transparent throughout the critical midrange and high frequency band. If these abilities are high on your list of priorities for your next pair of loudspeakers, then the 42A should be a mandatory inclusion on your shortlist. And, thanks to its lower cost and ease with which it can be driven, I feel that it brings the kind of resolving capability and imaging one would associate with small electrostatics like the Martin Logan Aerius i to far wider audience. From me, that is more than enough to elicit a firm recommendation.
"Technology. The 230 mm bass/midrange driver and 26mm tweeter used here are both conventional Audax designs, but far from conventional is the use of a fourth order crossover on the tweeter with a Legrandre filter and a first order crossover on the bass. This arrangement is key in maintaining the phase relationship of the signal. Setting the tweeter in its own enclosure on top of the cabinets allows alignment of the tweeter and the mid/bass drivers' acoustic centers in the time domain, while the crossover is claimed to prevent any anomalies being introduced in the phase domain, allowing the musical waveform to leave the speaker intact in both phase and time domains. Few speakers achieve this, save for electrostatics panel types such as Quad and Martin Logan."
"David Alcock."
PULSATING SOUND - New Flagship MonoPulse Model 42A
"The 42A uses a steel-enclosed construction bolted to a wood composite enclosure in choice of colours."
MONOPULSE 32. A radical look and sound from a newcomer with bright ideas.
"No less interesting is the styling here, which is very original and also decidedly attractive to these eyes."
" A reflex port is fitted into the base of this enclosure, firing downward and held an appropriate distance off the floor by some very well founded and purposeful spikes – the footprint might be modest, but stability seems good here, helped by the 12kg total weight."
" Like the metalwork, the grille cloths are available in a variety of colours, while connection is made via twin terminal pairs, allowing for bi-wiring or bi-amping."
" There are many exaggerated claims for superior performance in this business. Happily, the MonoPulse fully lives up to its claim that it will supply superior stereo precision and focus. The sound is pretty well balanced overall, and delivers a coherence and timing that's positively electrifying."
"A vivid sound that gets you close to the music It's a vivid edge-of-seat experience, which somehow seems to 'direct-couple' the music to the brain much more effectively than most."
" Playing Christy Moore's Live At The Point, it was almost as though one had been transported to that famous Dublin venue."
"The exceptional image precision, alongside the fact that small head movements result in significant shifts in the perspectives, are very reminiscent of what one hears with wide-range electrostatic speakers – and a sure sign that this speaker does indeed have phase accuracy that's very rare indeed in a regular box speaker."
"This 32 is an exceptionally creative design, not just in its unusual appearance and methods of construction, but more especially in its vivid sound quality, which simply gets you closer to the music than most of the competition. HFC"
(Incidentally, in the reviews in that edition of Hi-Fi Choice, the £895 MonoPulse beat the £1,500 KEF XQ3, the Mission V63, the Focal-JM Lab Cobalt 806S, the Leema Xen, the Castle Pembroke, and the Mirage Omni 260 – and only the £4,000 KEF Reference 205 got the same as the MonoPulse 32A score.)
PULSE POWER.
"MonoPulse is a new British loudspeaker company which wryly states that 'the answer to life, the universe and everything is a combination of precise detail and clean, undistorted bass power', which its new Model 42A loudspeaker delivers."
New brand steels limelight.
"These solid floorstanders are made from MDF clad in 6mm-thick steel plate."
"Using two offset drive units and sophisticated crossovers, the MonoPulse units are designed to express transient sounds with great accuracy."
"Bi-wire terminals and adjustable M8 spikes come as standard."
FINGER ON THE PULSE - SPEAKERS FROM ALLAN HENDRY
"MDF cabinets enclosed all round with steel plate giving a high mass and greater damping properties."