Monitor Audio PL100 STAND Platinum series User manual

EvEry last dEtail
OWNERS MANUAL

Technical Expertise
Innovation
Superior Design
Performance
Pride of Ownership

“In developing Platinum we’ve created the denitive
Monitor Audio loudspeaker. There is no ner
expression of the dedication to sound quality, design and
engineering that has driven our adventure and
innovation for over three decades. We’ve proved once
again that there is no preconception that cannot be
challenged, no rule beyond question. By rening new
materials and technologies, we’re getting closer to
perfection. Our quest for audio purity has found a new
champion.”
Dean Hartley
Technical Director

Owner Information
Model:
Finish:
Product Serial Number:
Date of Purchase:
Local Dealer Address:

COMPANY HISTORY 1
PLATINUM, THE NEW FLAGSHIP 2
MUIRHEAD HISTORY 3-4
CARE AND MAINTENANCE 5
CLEANING THE LEATHER 5
TECHNOLOGIES
C-CAM® 6
RDT® MID-RANGE AND BASS DRIVERS 8
C-CAM® RIBBON TRANSDUCER 10
ARC 11
HIVE® II 11
CABINET CONSTRUCTION 12
EVERY LAST DETAIL 12
PL100 14
PL300 16
PLC350 18
PLW-15 20
PL100 STAND 21
PLC350 STAND 22
WIRING CONFIGURATION 23
POSITIONING 24-25
FINE TUNING 26
RUNNING IN 26
TOOL BOX 27
RECYCLING 28
SPECS 29-31
GUARANTEE & SERVICE 32
EU DECLARATION OF CONFORMITY 33
CONTENTS

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 R352MD 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 R352 used an aluminium-magnesium alloy dome and sounded signicantly 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 rening and applying the technology, Monitor Audio has become the
world’s foremost proponent of metal dome drivers. Monitor Audio designs and builds its
own cabinets and crossovers as well, 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. And because they share a philosophy of excellence
and a consistency of quality and voicing, loudspeakers of different types: on-wall, in-wall,
oor and stand-mounting, may be used together to create the perfect blend of colour and
shape 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 rened the rare mix of innovation, reliability and sheer
performance that has propelled the brand to global status and on which acionados of
music and movie sound have come to rely.
1

Platinum. The new Flagship of Monitor Audio
Platinum is Monitor Audio’s new agship range. It is the culmination of many years R&D
by the award winning design engineering team within Monitor Audio. The Platinum Series
is the result of ‘blue sky’ thinking in driver technology and cabinet construction, involving
radical new materials, processes and designs. Supremely esoteric in nature, the range sets
new standards of aesthetic quality and performance in its class.
Platinum’s innovatively shaped cabinets are nished in a rich piano black laquer,
exotic Santos Rosewood and Ebony natural wood veneers, which are hand selected and
veneered to the cabinet after construction to ensure a seamless nish. They are then
coated with eleven layers of clear gloss polyester lacquer. The front Bafes are hand
upholstered in Muirhead, Strathspey leather and tted with new custom developed drive
units including, in a departure from tradition, a C-CAM® ribbon high frequency transducer.
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Muirhead History
The company’s history can be traced back to 1758. In the 18th century, John Muirhead was
exporting chamois and glove leather to America. After some years of economic depression,
John turned to making glue from the raw skins and this business prospered until about
1820. John’s son James took over the business in 1826 on his father’s death. James had
thirteen children, the youngest of which was Andrew.
Andrew had learnt much in his father’s skin and glue works and when the business was
transferred to him in 1840 he named it, “Andrew Muirhead & Co”. In 1870 the company
moved to its present site, Dalmarnock Works, formerly a ax and jute mill.
Since that time the company concentrated its production of upholstery leathers in
conjunction with case, bag and shoe leathers. Over time the company’s upholstery leather
achieved worldwide recognition and is presently exported to over 30 countries. Case, bag
and shoe leathers were phased out of production in the 1960’s to allow the company to
meet the demand for its high performance leathers.
Today the company is acknowledged as the largest supplier of quality upholstery
leathers to the airline industry, supplying over forty airline and aircraft manufacturers
globally. Upholstery leathers for quality contract and domestic seating and specialist
automotive application still remain the largest proportion of production with many
bespoke and specialist applications also being catered for.
Natural Leather Characteristics
Real leather is a natural product. It breathes, is warm and has individual characteristics,
which make each hide unique. Leather will always bear the marks of its natural origin
and these characteristics can show as healed scars, growth marks, areas of differing bre
density and hair pore structure. These hallmarks in no way detract from the wearing
qualities of the leather. They are signs discerning owners cherish when buying leather. With
the passing of time and use, it develops a patina which enhances its beauty.
Monitor Audio Ltd. therefore cannot guarantee that the leather on each speaker will be
identical in colour, texture or aging properties. We can only assure you that the very best
products have been selected and used.
3

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Care and Maintenance of Cabinets and Leather
The high gloss nish of the cabinet can be maintained by regular dusting using a soft cloth
or micro bre cloth. Should you feel the need to use a polish we would recommend an
abrasive free polish such as a good quality furniture polish. Always apply the polish to
the cloth and use sparingly to avoid contaminating the leather or drive units. The drive
units should only be cleaned with a damp cloth if more than normal dusting is required.
Cleaning of leather is perhaps something that is given too much emphasis. Leather
furniture in a normal domestic environment should require little attention and any cleaning
should be done only when necessary. It is not essential to the life of leather that it should
be cleaned regularly, but at the same time an accumulation of dirt and grease over a long
period is undesirable and obviously, the longer it is left the more difcult it will be to
remove. Dirt is abrasive and over a period of time in extreme circumstances will cause the
removal of the protective coating. Cleaning as described below is advisable.
Cleaning of Finished Leather
Use a cloth soaked in a mild soap/water solution (not detergent) and wring it out until
damp. Apply the cloth to the surface of the leather in a light circular motion, turning the
cloth regularly. Avoid an aggressive rubbing action. Repeat with a damp cloth rinsed in
clean warm water. To improve the life of the leather, follow these few helpful hints.
• Allow to dry and then lightly polish using a clean, dry soft cloth.
• Don’t use cleaning uids and preparations.
• Don’t over clean - leather really doesn’t take much looking after.
• Don’t use wax/spray polishes - upholstery leather is not the same as shoe leather.
Wax polishes and furniture spray often contain silicone which will, in time,
produce an unpleasant sticky feel to the leather.
• Don’t feed - modern leathers do not require ‘feeding’. Despite this, there is much
encouragement to use so-called hide foods, care kits, saddle soaps and waxes
- avoid them all.
5

TECHNOLOGIES
Ceramic Coated Aluminium/Magnesium (C-CAM®)
All the radiating surfaces of the Platinum drivers are formed from C-CAM, a material
originally developed by the aerospace industry for engine components. Its properties
make it ideal for loudspeaker cones: extremely rigid, yet light enough to yield high overall
efciency. In manufacture, the aluminium/magnesium alloy undergoes stress-relieving
processes to remove surface deformation and molecular weakness. Once formed, the
alloy cone undergoes a high temperature anodic coating process, in which a layer of
pure ceramic (alumina) is deposited onto its surfaces to give a completely rigid exterior.
Conventional cone materials are liable to ex (break-up) in operation, producing a
signicant level of audible distortion. C-CAM cones have a much higher resistance to
bending stress and therefore exhibit much greater delity.
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7

RDT® (Rigid Diaphragm Technology) Mid-range and Bass Drivers
The bass and mid-range driver cones use RDT, a unique technology developed specically
by Monitor Audio’s engineers for the Platinum series loudspeakers.
Designed to reduce mass and increase cone stiffness, RDT applies ultra-thin skins of C-CAM
to a core of honeycomb Nomex material, creating a structure which is extremely light but
more rigid than a steel plate. At only 40μm thick, the C-CAM skins are half the thickness of
a human hair, yet when bonded to the hexagonal honeycomb core they form an RDT cone,
which is 150 times more rigid than a single layer of 200μm C-CAM alloy, but with a fraction
of the overall mass. These properties allow the cone to operate as a lightening-fast piston
for a clearer more natural sound. The cone’s new concave geometry has been rened by
FEA engineering to provide a smooth frequency response and eradicate break-up.
To optimise the performance of the RDT cone, Monitor Audio has developed motor
systems in which a focused magnetic gap and copper eddy rings work together to
produce a higher level of linearity and lower distortion than was previously possible.
Magnet plates and poles are CNC machined to very precise standards in order to provide
ultimate consistency.
The Platinum mid-range driver utilises an ‘under hung’ voice coil design to further
optimise linearity and reduce distortion. High energy NeFeB rare earth magnets are used to
provide high efciency and a large 2” (50mm) voice coil is specied to handle high power
input and dynamic impulses. Its RDT cone is directly driven by the voice coil to provide a
seamless mid-range and a natural integration with the bass and high frequency drivers.
The Platinum bass drivers use long-throw voice coil windings to provide large excursions
at high power levels. The 8” (200mm) bass drivers employ dual spider arrangements to
provide stability at high excursions. Their direct-drive RDT cones have no dust cap or joints
to interfere with the driver response over the working band.
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9

Platinum C-CAM® High Frequency Ribbon Transducer.
A pure ribbon tweeter is highly regarded in the world of high-end audio as being the best
way to reproduce ultra-high frequencies and provide the most life-like transient response.
While this belief is well supported by fundamental physics, one listen will tell you that this
driver is very special indeed.
Platinum’s ribbon tweeter design uses an ultra-thin sandwich of C-CAM alloy suspended
in a powerful transverse magnetic eld of high energy NeFeB rare earth magnets. The
ribbon serves as both voice coil and radiating diaphragm, with every part of the ribbon
driven directly and simultaneously without energy storage. Having a mass of just 18mg, its
diaphragm is able to start and stop in an instant, producing a transient response capable
of dening the leading edges and expressing the natural decay of complex musical sounds
and all their harmonics. Specied to reach ultra-high frequencies up to an elusive 100 kHz,
Platinum’s magical ribbon tweeter will reproduce with ease every last nuance and detail
from high resolution audio formats such as DVD-A and SACD, together with the wider band-
width of HD-DVD™* and Blu-Ray™**.
*HD-DVD™ is a trademark of Toshiba International Corporation.
**Blu-Ray™ is a trademark of Sony Corporation.
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ARC® (Anti-Resonance Composite) Bafes, Plinths and Mid-Range Driver Housings
The front bafes, plinths and mid-range driver housings for the Platinum series
loudspeakers are cast from hi-tech ARC material, a thermo-set polymer loaded with
minerals to provide extremely inert, optimally-damped components. Rened for
Platinum by Monitor Audio’s engineers, this type of material is used in high-tech automotive
applications and is ideal for acoustic design, where a high degree of structural rigidity and
vibration damping is required. The ARC material is cast to form a Tapered Line Enclosure
(TLE) for Platinum’s mid-range drivers. The TLE is a tapered enclosure, designed to prevent
the propagation of standing waves and modal resonances.
HiVe® II High Velocity Reex Port
Platinum employs a new type of port technology, which uses a straight ried design to
accelerate air ow and reduce turbulence. HiVe II technology has the ability to move air
in and out of the cabinet more quickly than a conventional port, bringing powerful bass
coupled with a superior transient response.
11

Cabinet Construction
The cabinets are constructed using exquisite real wood veneers* applied to MDF-ply
laminates shaped to form a rigid one piece shell. Internally, the sides are non-regular,
preventing the formation of standing waves. Monitor Audio has developed a uniquely
engineered ‘pin-hole’ internal bracing structure for the Platinum series, positioned to
provide rigidity and integrity with minimum air movement resistance. Cabinet bracing is
further enhanced by high tensile steel bolts that tie front and back panels to the ‘pin-hole’
brace which are tightened to a specic torque in order to tune out un-desirable resonances.
Bitumastic damping material is applied to all internal cabinet walls to provide a further
level of resonance damping.
Every Last Detail
WBT Platinum Signature contact terminals are considered to be of the highest
quality available. Precision-machined and plated with pure platinum, they provide very low
contact resistance and the best possible reliability. They feature accurate ne-pitch
adjustment and are suitable for heavy duty cables with spade, 4mm plug or bare
wire connection.
To provide secure, yet minimal contact with the oor, adjustable spiked feet are used.
Machined to the nest tolerances from high-grade alloy and anodized to the most
exacting standards, the feet accept ‘bullet’ spikes of high tensile steel, chrome-plated to
a mirror nish. A non-slip rubber pad is integrated within the foot design, when sited on
hard or solid wood ooring.
*Except for the Piano Black Lacquer nish.
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PL100
13

PL100
A compact two-way loudspeaker featuring one 6.5” (165mm) RDT bass-mid
driver and C-CAM ribbon transducer. The PL100 has the superior bass denition and
articulate mid-range of the most accurate studio monitors, and its ability to generate the
deepest bass frequencies will redene expectations of a small speaker. Tonally, the PL100 is
supremely accurate, communicating a lifelike neutrality across its astonishingly wide
frequency range. A rigid cabinet construction, coupled with proprietary bracing techniques
and damping technologies provide the optimum environment for its ultra-low distortion
drivers, providing a sound which is remarkably transparent and rich in natural
expression. The PL100’s C-CAM ribbon tweeter extends its response way beyond the
auditory threshold to capture the ultra-high harmonic frequencies that are part of the
natural spectrum of sounds, preserving the entire micro-dynamic character of every
performance. It’s lightening-fast RDT bass driver will reproduce the power and scale
of dramatic passages with a transient response to match the ribbon tweeter, ensuring
consistent phase and breathtaking delity throughout the frequency band. The PL100 is a
truly compact, wideband speaker capable of reproducing accurately the most demanding
of music and lm scores.
The PL100 comes with a pressed, open mesh grille. This is invisibly held in place by high
strength neo-dynium magnets embedded within the, ARC bafe to give a clean nish to
the front. The grille is generally self-aligning when placed on the bafe, however, some ne
adjustment may be required.
For speaker positioning and connection options, please refer to page 23 - 26
Using the PL100’s Without the Monitor Audio Stand
Within the packaging of the PL100 you will nd 8 self
adhesive rubber disks. These are designed to be used
when the PL100 is positioned either on a bookshelf or
a stand by an alternative manufacturer. They isolate the
speaker and help to prevent it from moving along the
surface due to the externally mounted inserts.
Place them around the insert as illustrated to the right >
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PL300
15