Detail retrieval is superb too. ”Iron Man 2’s” quieter moments are few and far between, but when they do happen you can savour subtle sounds like chattering crowds and gentle echoes. Dialogue reproduction is remarkably sophisticated for a so-called entry-level speaker too, almost matching the authority and presence of Monitor Audio’s more expensive centres. That means speech is clear and life-like, coming through clearly no matter how raucous the scene gets. The Bronze 2 is the larger of two standmount models in a line-up starting with the Bronze 1, and going all the way up to the Bronze 6 floor standers, taking in dedicated center and surround speakers, plus a powered subwoofer, along the way. That pattern is echoed all the way up the range, offering the buyer the choice of either a no-frills dedicated stereo set-up, or the ability to build a surround system without compromising two-channel quality.Launched in May 2015, the current Bronze Series is the latest generation of a line-up that’s been a mainstay of the Monitor Audio offering for some years, and develops the old BX range with the adoption of technology from further up the hierarchy. The tweeter is the familiar 25mm ‘Gold Dome’ Monitor Audio model, but the more striking visual aspect of the speaker – and indeed the entire Bronze range – is the use of a 16.5cm ‘dish’ C-CAM driver for the mid/bass, this enabling the whole diameter of the driver to be used as the radiating area, without the change in geometry at the center caused by a conventional center-cap or phase-plug design. Monitor Audio Bronze 2 Review: BOLT MOUNT DRIVERS

The BR2 is by no means smooth or free from coloration. Irrespective of wall proximity, there's an upper midband peak here that certainly adds a slightly 'cupped hands' character to voices and especially speech, with a tendency to over-project and hype the detail here. But it's easily forgiven because of the seamlessness of the transition from main driver to tweeter. Monitor Audio Bronze 2 has external dimensions of (Height x Width x Depth) 13.7 x 7.2 x 11.0inch (350.0 x 185.0 x 281.0mm ). Top-to-bottom balance is very well realised, too. The presence region isn’t pushed for effect and, as a result, vocals don’t tend to have that in-your-lap projection you get with some speakers. Take Mavis Staples’ singing All In It Together – a powerful and passionate set of pipes if ever there was. The performance sounds startlingly bold, immediate and raw, but without being gratingly aggressive or edgy. Better still, Core Shift from Yello’s album Point probably shows the Bronze 500 at its big-hearted best, the speaker seeming to draw effortless horsepower from somewhere, spraying stereo effects across the room with gusto and launching dynamic swings that feel almost dangerous. Huge fun. The Monitor Audio BX2 was a very high selling and popular speaker, now they have improved it and made the all-new Bronze Two. It includes a bigger 6.5-inch C-CAM bass driver, C-CAM dome tweeter, the ability to bi-wire and high-quality crossovers. If you're looking for a high performing yet compact bookshelf speaker to fit into your current Hi-Fi or AV set up, then the Bronze Two will fit very nicely.

Monitor Audio gives this affordable range its own subwoofer, which means it's one of the brand's less advanced models. There's none of the Silver Series' mic-assisted automatic room EQ on the Bronze W10, but the 10in driver/10in passive radiator design, trio of sound presets, and claimed 220W grunt, make it far from a basic bass-bin. Prices valid in stores (all including VAT) until close of business on 29th November 2023. (Some of these web prices are cheaper than in-store, so please mention that you've seen these offers online.)

Place the speakers on chairs or stands (if you can borrow some). Start with the speakers in the corners. Play some music. Sit in your normal listening position (hopefully centred between the speakers?) so that your ears are at about the same height as half way between the mid-bass unit and the tweeter. Slowly pull the speakers out into the room, as the music is playing, being careful not to pull the leads out of the speaker terminals. At some point the bass should snap into focus. That will be the position that the speakers should be for best sound in your room. But it may not be a postion you can live with. If nothing else this will help guide you in how much sound quality you are giving up by placing the speakers in a non optimum position. Big enough to sound special but small enough to fit in, the Monitor Audio Bronze 200 suits the widest range of spaces. Redirecting the bass to the subwoofer relieves the receiver amplifiers from having to work on reproducing the low frequencies and this greatly improves the headroom. If you happen to be using Audyssey MultEQ for room correction, you will achieve much better low frequency performance because the MultEQ subwoofer filters have 8x higher resolution than the filters in the other channels. Few songs in, it’s clear that Bronze 2’s baseline is not particularly weighty and punchy. They prioritize speed and agility instead. That’s perfectly fine with me and I’ll take light-footed but precise bass over the heavy but blunt one any day. Just be aware that if you’re a fan of heavy electronic music or something similar requiring some heavy bass roaring, these might not be what you’re after. PAIRING To get a better perspective on the real life size of Monitor Audio Bronze 2, let's compare it with a standard size Compact Disc which has a diameter of 4.7inch (120mm).

USER REVIEWS

Placed no further than a metre from the rear and side walls in my larger listening room and toed-in a tad, its ability to fill the space with music big-boy style requiring only a modest tweak of volume from a Cambridge CXA61 integrated amp (HFC 459) is very impressive. That 90dB claimed sensitivity seems no exaggeration. When parties with loud music are permitted again, the Bronze 500 and Deep Purple will be ready and willing. Play some music and adjust the toe-in of the speakers. Which angle do they sound best to you on a variety of music? While hooking them to a decent budget system provides good results, Bronze 2s are capable enough to appreciate you feeding them with a more capable gear. In that case, they’ll treat you with even bigger and more detailed soundstage than you’d expect them to. CONCLUSION