Monitor audio PL500 II, PL350C II, PL300 II, PL150C II, PL100 II User Manual
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Speaker Manual
Contents
Introduction from the Technical Director 2
Company History 2
Premium Materials for Unmatched Aesthetics 3
Natural Leather Characteristics 3
Real Wood Veneers 3
Technologies 4
MPD (Micro Pleated Diaphragm) High Frequency
Transducer 4
C-CAM® (Ceramic Coated Aluminium/Magnesium) 4
RDT®II (Rigid Diaphragm Technology 2nd Generation)
4
HiVe®II(HighVelocity,LowNoiseReexPort) 4
ARC® (Anti-Resonance Composite) 5
TLE (Tapered Line Enclosure) 5
Multi-layer Cabinet Curved Cabinet Construction 5
Individual Driver Grilles 5
Single Bolt Though Driver 5
Unpacking 6
Spikes and Feet 6
For Carpeted Floors 6
For Wooden/Hard Floors 6
Setting Up 7
2-Channel Positioning 7
AV Positioning 7
FX Speakers 8
Connecting Speaker Cables 9
Bare Wire Connection 9
Banana Plugs 9
Spade Connectors 9
Wiring 9
Single Wiring 9
Bi-Wiring 10
Bi-Amping 10
TheEectsofBi-Wiring/Bi-Amping 10
Running-In Your Platinum II Speakers 11
Care and Maintenance 12
ToolBox 12
Upkeep of Cabinets 13
Cleaning of Finished Leather 13
Removing the grilles 13
Stands 13
Guarantee 13
Specications 14
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Introduction from the Technical Director
“How can a loudspeaker be made to sound more natural? This is the
question that drives our endeavor day- in, day- out. We’re motivated by
the quest to eliminate distortion from the most important element in
your audio system. How far we’ve come can be measured by the sound
of Platinum II: the most accurate and beautiful loudspeakers Monitor
Audio has ever made. Supported by painstaking analysis and a lifetime
of listening, their evolution has rened our technologies, inspired new
discoveries and achieved advances in every area of design - electrical,
mechanical, magnetic, acoustic and aesthetic. The result is a speaker range
of exceptional quality, dedicated to raising your emotional contact with
music and lm sound in all its natural glory. Built by audio lovers, for audio
lovers, Platinum II provides our answer to the primary challenge of speaker
design. To the big question we simply reply “like this”! “
Dean Hartley
Technical Director
Company History
Since 1972, Monitor Audio’s near fanatical commitment to quality in every aspect of loudspeaker design coupled with
its willingness to innovate has inspired global recognition and acclaim. Daring to challenge design orthodoxy has been
its signature approach.
When Monitor Audio launched its R852MD loudspeaker – the rst
model to incorporate a metal dome tweeter - it caused quite a stir.
Until that time, most metal domes were single-metal types made
from copper or titanium and virtually all sounded unconvincing.
The R852 used an aluminium-magnesium alloy dome and sounded
signicantly better and smoother than all of its single-metal rivals.
It also incorporated ferro-uid damping/cooling of the metal voice-
coil former and a vented voice coil mechanism for better heat
dissipation. These radical design elements formed the basis for
successive generations of C-CAM® metal domes.
By consistently rening and applying the technology, Monitor Audio has become the world’s foremost proponent of
metal dome drivers. Monitor Audio designs everything in house at their world headquarters in England, so that it can
optimise the incomparable blend of virtues that makes Monitor Audio loudspeakers unique: clean, dynamic sound,
superior build quality and innovative design. Because they share a philosophy of excellence and a consistency of
quality and voicing, loudspeakers of dierent types: on-wall, in-wall, oor and stand-mounting, may be used together
to create the perfect acoustic blend for any room.
In the strength and depth of Monitor Audio’s evolving product portfolio, the ideal of a universal whole-house
loudspeaker brand nds true expression. Decades of accumulated expertise and knowledge have rened the rare
mix of innovation, reliability and sheer performance that has propelled the brand to global status and on which
acionados of music and movie sound have come to rely.
Platinum Series II2
Premium Materials for Unmatched Aesthetics
Natural Leather Characteristics
All front baes are hand upholstered using Ingleston leather supplied by Andrew Muirhead. Andrew Muirhead leather
is used in exotic furniture, automotive and marine applications for the most quintessential British names.
Real leather is of course a natural material that ads
a tactile sense of luxury wherever it’s applied. The
Inglestone leather that distinguishes the Platinum II
baes is of a premium quality and is supplied complete
with the characteristics that give it individuality. These
subtle hallmarks enrich the value of ownership and
endow each Platinum II speaker with a unique identity.
Monitor Audio Ltd. is unable to guarantee that the leather
on each speaker will be identical. We can only assure you
that the very best materials have been selected and used.
Real Wood Veneers
Just like a human ngerprint, no two trees are identical. Each wood grain has an exclusive aesthetic beauty that
tells a story of a lifetime of growth. We use only the highest quality natural wood veneers, hand selected and pair
matched from sustainable sources. Platinum II speakers are hand veneered after the cabinet structure is made, and
then coated with 11 layers of clear gloss piano lacquer. These traditional techniques ensure close grain matching,
and invisible veneer panel joining. The exquisite grain denition and rich colour variation provided by our Santos
Rosewood and Natural Ebony veneers make a statement of quality, while blending naturally with any interior style or
decor. Each cabinet is a unique and natural work of art!
Because of this, Monitor Audio Ltd. is to unable guarantee that the veneer on dierent pairs of speakers will be
identical in colour or grain denition. We can only assure you that the very best raw materials have been selected
and applied.
Please refer to page 12 for advice on care and maintenance.
Santos Rosewood Real Wood VeneerPiano Ebony Real Wood Veneer
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Technologies
MPD (Micro Pleated Diaphragm) High Frequency Transducer
AMT design was rst invented by Dr Oskar Heil in the 1970s. However, all designs typically suer from a null in the
frequency response around 40kHz. Using FEA modelling techniques, Monitor Audio engineers were able to nd the
root cause of this null and develop a solution. This phenomenon was eliminated, allowing the driver to operate with
uniform output to over 100 kHz. We call this unique innovation Micro Pleated Diaphragm (MPD).
The folded MPD diaphragm exhibits a surface area typically eight times that of a
conventional dome tweeter, and around thirteen times that of a pure ribbon tweeter.
This large surface area improves the conducted heat path and the open front
increases the convection. The power handling is also improved by the high sensitivity
of the tweeter. The AMT design also provides a constant non-reactive load to the
amplier, this means it’s able to deliver power more eciently with lower distortion.
The MPD is designed to bend and does not rely on its structural integrity to extend high in the
frequency range. There are no break up modes throughout the entire frequency range, exhibiting clean sonic character,
free from any harmonic artefacts.
C-CAM® (Ceramic Coated Aluminium/Magnesium)
C-CAM is an innovative alloy material originally developed by the aerospace industry. It exhibits ideal qualities for use
as loudspeaker cones, being extremely rigid, yet light enough to yield high overall eciency. C-CAM is formed from
an alloy of aluminium and magnesium, which undergoes stress-relieving processes in manufacturing to avoid surface
deformation and molecular weakness. A layer of pure ceramic (alumina) is depleted onto the surfaces to produce a
completely rigid exterior. C-CAM cones are designed to have high resistance to bending stress. When formed into a cone,
C-CAM material provides increased clarity and reduced distortion compared to conventional cone materials.
RDT®II (Rigid Diaphragm Technology 2nd Generation)
RDT II is a composite ‘sandwich’ structure made from ultra-thin low-mass
skins, bonded to a honeycomb NomexR core material. The overall thickness of
the RDT II diaphragm is only 2mm, yet it exhibits 150 times the strength of
a conventional loudspeaker cone. RDT II is a unique, innovative development
conceived by Monitor Audio engineers for the new Platinum II series. It uses two
skin materials with dissimilar mechanical properties. C-CAM is used for the front
skin, while the rear skin is made from a woven carbon bre. This combination is able
to reduce distortion by over 8dB above 300Hz, which equates to a 60% reduction in
the energy of harmonic components, making RDT II the lowest distortion cone technology in Monitor Audio’s history.
HiVe®II(HighVelocity,LowNoiseReexPort)
A new type of port technology which uses a straight ried design to accelerate air ow and reduce turbulence. HiVe
II technology has the ability to move air in and out much quicker than a conventional port, the result is fast powerful
bass coupled with superior transient response.
Platinum Series II4
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