What can I say about the Monitor Audio Gold GX300? It is not as loud as a JBL, it does not have the midrange of a Bowers & Wilkins, it does not have the sharpness of a KEF, yet it has all the characteristics of a brilliant speaker. Frequency response of 30Hz-60kHz, 200Watts Handling, 8ohms and 1060mm tall, it is a lovely British speaker.
Looks
It is a really nice looking speakers. It has a modern look, the plinths compliments the speaker. It stands steady, it stands tall, it is a little bit higher then a B&W 804 Diamond. The drivers have a different feel to other speaker brands, using Ceramic-Coated Aluminium/Magnesium, but Monitor Audio engineers used "green" products to construct their drivers. Another thing I really think was thoughtful is the grill over the ribbon tweeter, not nasty little fingers making a hole soon. It has a kind of industrial looking grill, a magnetic metal mash grill is to cover the speaker, just shading the drivers in the back ground. I think it is beautiful, I think your wife will consider this any time over an American speaker.
Performance
I explored this beautiful speaker on the following configuration:
Rotel RCD-1520
Rotel RC-1550
Rotel RB-1582
Audioquest Sidewinder interconnects
Ultralink Speaker Cable
My first CD was Josh Groban. You notice quickly that the speaker is not a normal British speaker, it does not have the sound of the KEF or B&W. It gave me from the start of the CD something other speakers mostly lack, and that is atmosphere. It has a brilliant low frequency, on low volumes it is well pronounced, you feel it, you hear it, you experience it. In my studio room I have demo'd this units to many people, al of them looking around for the sub woofer. The tweeter is soft on the ears, the mid range is not overly pronounced, the music and the vocals blends in nicely. Thing with Josh Goban CD's is that it really is a solo act, it is about the vocals, not as much the music. Because of the kind of speaker the Monitor Audio GX300 is, Josh seems to sound much better on a B&W or a KEF, the B&W has a very powerful mid range sound. Josh Groban does not sound bad at all on it, just Josh Goban and similar recorded CD's where the vocals are centre the B&W does a better job then the Monitor Audio GX300.
I then took Diana Krall. So here the music is complex, it has a lot of acoustic guitars, piano, bass, drums, percussion etc... Much more to deal with then Josh Groban. This is where I like the Monitor Audio GX300 more then even the B&W 804 Diamond's. With the B&W and KEF the voice overshadows the sound to much. Yes, the singing is brilliant, but the music is in the back ground. This is where the Monitor Audio actually does a awesome job, you feel and hear the music, yet when the vocals come the music is still there. It is like the staging is better on it then other speaker brands. When you close your eyes you can see Diana Krall sitting behind the piano, the bassist to the left, the drums just behind her slightly to the right, the guitarist a little bit further right. It is brilliant the staging this speakers give.
I added some classical music with strong soprano voice of Julianne Laird Hoge. When the music starts it has a very low bombastic bass from the contrabass, the speaker does an awesome job to keep the low frequency well defined without over powering the rest of the piece. The soprano voice is perfectly played back, it does not scream its attention to itself. The violin blends in perfectly. This is really awesome, this is a really brilliant classical music speaker. When I demo's the B&W 804 Diamond the violin and soprano voice was taking center stage, but here you have perfect balance.
I then played some hip-hop, metal and Michael Bubble, the speaker never gives in to any element, only thing that could be said really is that some music you will have to turn the bass setting a bit down.
What is also noticeable about the Monitor Audio GX300 is that when you demo it side by side with a B&W 804 Diamond the immediate reaction from 90% of my clients prefer the B&W 804 Diamond, but after listening a couple of songs half of them will then change there mind to the Monitor Audio.
Conclusion
When you put the Monitor Audio GX300 next to other brands, most of them will scream at you first, BUY ME BUY ME. The Monitor Audio will stand in the back ground behind the fight to impress and tell you to bring it on, tell me what you want to hear, and I will make you hear it. But still, I believe, this is not really a speaker for all, it will not impress everyone, it will not impress the die hard B&W follower. But as a stereo speaker, it is brilliant.
The finish is beautiful, the sound is balanced, the price is right. I personally will take this for myself should I have a choice
Looks and build quality : 9/10
Performance : 8/10
Value for Money : 9/10