Soundbars provide a simple, no-hassle solution to improve TV sound, but there is another straightforward option that can provide a full surround sound experience without spending a lot of money. That option is a pre-packaged 5.1 channel surround sound speaker system, in combination with an affordable home theater receiver.
Monoprice is offering one-half of this solution with the Monolith M518HT THX Certified 5.1 Home Theater System.
THX Certification
The M518HT is THX Certified. This speaker system has been submitted and passed THX standards for application and performance for the Compact Certified Performance Class. This means that the speaker system is optimized for rooms up to 1,000 cubic feet in size and an approximate 8-foot distance from the viewing/listening position and the screen/speaker system setup.
The M518HT Package
The M518HT comes with 5 satellite speakers and a subwoofer. However, unlike most all-in-one speaker packages, the M518HT doesn’t have a separately designed center channel speaker. Instead, you can use one of the five satellite speakers that are included. The remaining four satellite speakers are for the left front, right front, left surround, and right surround channels.
Tip: The satellite speakers can be shelf or wall-mounted. Each speaker has a keyhole mount for single screw mounting.
Center/Satellite Speaker Features/Specs
- Speaker Type: Two-way coaxial design.
- Woofer: 4.5″ polypropylene cone with NBR surround material.
- Tweeter: Inset 20mm silk dome with waveguide and neodymium magnet
- Enclosure: Sealed MDF (Medium Density Fiberboard) cabinet
- Nominal Impedance: 4 ohms
- Sensitivity: 81.0dB (2.83V@1m)
- Frequency Response: 80Hz ~ 20kHz ±3dB
- Crossover Frequency: 1.7kHz @ 12dB/oct
- Connections: One set of 5‑way binding posts
- Dimensions: 6.0 x 6.3 x 5.9-inches (153 x 160 x 150 mm)
- Weight: 4.2 lbs. (1.9 kg)
Subwoofer Features/Specs
- Design: Down firing driver with port (bass reflex)
- Driver Size: 8-inches
- Driver Material: 2 layer long fiber pulp/glass fiber cone
- Voice Coil: 30mm high‑temperature aluminum wire and aluminum bobbin.
- Magnet: Ceramic Y30
- Enclosure: Vented (ported) MDF cabinet with horizontal and vertical bracing
- Amplifier: Claridy 150‑watt (RMS) Amplifier with DSP control.
- Frequency Response:
- EQ1 Setting (24 to 200 Hz)
- EQ2 Setting (30 to 200 Hz)
- THX® Setting: (35 to 200 Hz)
- Variable Level Control: +15/‑20 dB
- Crossover Control: Variable from 40 to 160 Hz.
- Phase Control: Variable from 0 to 180 degrees. This is used to match the in/out motion of the subwoofer driver to the rest of the speakers in the system.
- Input Connectors: RCA-style stereo pair
- Output Connectors: RCA-style stereo pair (direct passthrough)
- Signal Turn On: Always On or Auto-Detect. selectable
- Auto Turn Off Time: 30 minutes (no low-frequency audio signal is detected)
- Dimensions (HxWxD): Not provided as of the article publication date.
- Weight: 19.8 lbs. (9.0 kg)
Availability and Pricing
The Monoprice Monolith M518HT THX 5.1 channel speaker system (product number: 41287) is available with a black finish for $799.99 at Monoprice.com.
How To Complete Your System
At the beginning of the article, we mentioned that in order to use this speaker system, you need a home theater receiver to go along with it. If you already have a home theater receiver, the M518HT is a great complement. If you are starting from scratch, you will need to purchase one.
Unfortunately, Monoprice doesn’t offer a modest-priced home theater receiver to go along with this system (at least not as of the publish date of this article), but there are several brands that offer 5.1/5/2 channel models that would be a good fit with the M518HT speaker system:
- Pioneer VSX-534 ($349.00 or less): Pioneer Electronics, Amazon
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