In this review, we will be comparing Golden Ear T44 and Silver 500 7G, two Passive Floor-standing speakers from Golden and Monitor Audio.
Let's have a brief look at the main features
of Golden Ear T44 and Monitor Audio Silver 500 7G first before getting into our more
detailed comparison.
Golden Ear T44 Key Specs
- ---" Folded Ribbon Tweeter
- 5 x 9" Polymer Woofer
- 32-25k Hz Frequency Response
- 92 dB Sensitivity
- Impedance: 4ohms
- Power Range:20-400watts
- Weight:27.27kg
- Dimensions (H x W x D): 1059.0" x 11-7/8" x 17-1/16"( 1059.0 x 302.0 x 434.0mm )
Monitor Audio Silver 500 7G Key Specs
- 3-way Design
- 1" gold dome C-CAM with Uniform Dispersion (UD) Waveguide II Tweeter
- 3" Midrange
- 2 x 8" C-CAM RST II Woofer
- 3" Midrange
- 27-35k Hz Frequency Response
- 90.5 dB Sensitivity
- Impedance: 8ohms
- Power Range:80-250watts
- Weight:22.53kg
- Dimensions (H x W x D): 1085.0" x 12-11/16" x 15-7/16"( 1085.0 x 323.0 x 393.0mm )
In the following sections, we will get into more detail in order to better understand how the Golden Ear T44 and Monitor Audio Silver 500 7G compare and hopefully end up with enough arguments to decide which one of these loudspeakers is the better choice for you.
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Drivers
One of the fundamental differences between these two speakers is that Golden Ear T44 is a -way design whereas the Silver 500 7G is a 3-way speaker. 3-way designs utilize a midrange driver in addition to the tweeter and woofer on 2-way designs. Designing a crossover for a 3-way speaker is a complicated process and generally increases the overall cost of the speaker.
| Driver |
Golden Ear T44 |
Monitor Audio Silver 500 7G |
|
Driver Setup
|
-way
|
3-way
|
|
Tweeter
|
----inch
|
1-inch
|
|
Midrange
|
- |
1 x 3-inch |
|
Woofer
|
1 x 5 x 9-inch
|
2 x 8-inch
|
Golden Ear T44 features a ---" Folded Ribbon Tweeter and 1 x 5 x 9" Polymer Woofer . On the other hand, the Silver 500 7G features a 1" gold dome C-CAM with Uniform Dispersion (UD) Waveguide II Tweeter , a 3" Midrange and 2 x 8" C-CAM RST II Woofer .
Frequency Response
Golden Ear T44 has a frequency range of 32-25k Hz whereas Silver 500 7G has a frequency range of 27-35k Hz. With a minimum frequency of 27Hz, the Silver 500 7G can go significantly deeper on the low side and provide stronger bass compared to the Golden Ear T44's min frequency of 32Hz.
Below graphs depict how these two speakers compare with the max, min and average values of the Min and Max Frequencies of other speakers in the Floor-standing class in our database.
Low Frequency
Floor-standing Speakers
High Frequency
Floor-standing Speakers
Monitor Audio Silver 500 7G
None of these speakers achieves full range experience which is commonly agreed as 20Hz-20kHz. In order to achieve lower lows / deeper bass, we recommend you pair these with a subwoofer. Visit our Powered Subwoofers section to find out more about the available options.
Impedance and Sensitivity
Golden Ear T44 is a 4 ohms speaker compared to the Silver 500 7G which has a nominal impedance of 8 ohms. Lower impedance speakers, especially the ones that are rated at 4 ohms may put more pressure on the amplifier unit especially when played at high volume levels, so make sure the amp you pair with the Golden Ear T44 can provide this impedance level.
These two speakers also have different sensitivity levels. Golden Ear T44 sensitivity is rated at 92 dB and the Silver 500 7G's is rated at 90.5 dB. This 1 dB difference makes the Golden Ear T44 a more sensitive speaker compared to Monitor Audio Silver 500 7G, hence will play louder with the same amount of watts.
Sensitivity
Floor-standing Speakers
Power Range
Power
range is the range of input power in watts RMS that a loudspeaker is designed to handle. While using
an amplifier within this range ensures the nominal performance , inputting a power that is higher than the
max wattage can result in a damaged speaker.
Golden Ear T44 can handle a max power of 400 watts RMS from the amp the whereas Silver 500 7G has a max power handling value of 250 watts RMS, 150 watts less than the Golden Ear T44.
Keep in mind that a higher max power handling value doesn't necessarily make that a louder speaker
compared to a lower max handling speaker. Loudness or the sound level is also impacted by parameters
such as Impedance, sensitivity and system efficiencies.
Input Type and Bi-Amping / Bi-Wiring
Silver 500 7G features Binding post posts which make bi-amping or bi-wiring possible. Golden Ear T44 has a Binding post which doesn't feature bi-amping/bi-wiring.
Physical Specs
Size of a speaker can sometimes become an important decision factor due to space constraints or in some cases purely for esthetic reasons. In this section, we are going to compare Golden Ear T44's and Monitor Audio Silver 500 7G's external dimensions. Golden Ear T44 has external dimensions of 1059.0 x 302.0 x 434.0mm ( 41-11/16inch x 11-7/8inch x 17-1/16inch ) whereas Monitor Audio Silver 500 7G has external dimensions of 1085.0 x 323.0 x 393.0mm ( 42-11/16 x 12-11/16 x 15-7/16inch) .
Golden Ear T44 is 21mm narrower and 26mm shorter than Monitor Audio Silver 500 7G but it is also 41mm deeper.
Base Surface Area Comparison
Base surface area of a loudspeaker may become a determining factor when the space in your room or desk is limited.
The base surface area of the Golden Ear T44 is approximately 1310.7cm2 / 203.2inch2 and base area of the Monitor Audio Silver 500 7G is approximately 1269.4cm2 / 196.8inch2. The Golden Ear T44 requires 3% more surface area than the Silver 500 7G which gives it a small disadvantage on placement in tight spaces.