In this review, we will be comparing LRS+ and Bronze 500, two Passive Floor-standing speakers from Magnepan and Monitor Audio.
Let's have a brief look at the main features
of Magnepan LRS+ and Monitor Audio Bronze 500 first before getting into our more
detailed comparison.
| Key Specs | Magnepan LRS+ | Monitor Audio Bronze 500 |
|---|
| Design | — | 2-way |
|---|
| Tweeter | — | 1" gold dome C-CAM with uniform dispersion (UD) waveguide |
|---|
| Woofer | — | 2 x 8" C-CAM |
|---|
| Frequency response | 50-20k Hz | 32-30k Hz |
|---|
| Sensitivity | 86 dB | 90 dB |
|---|
| Impedance | 4 ohms | 8 ohms |
|---|
| Power range | — | 60-200 watts |
|---|
| Weight | — | 18.05kg / 39.7lbs |
|---|
| Dimensions (H x W x D) | 48" x 13" x 1"
1219.2 x 330.2 x 25.4mm | 38-7/16" x 11-9/16" x 14-3/8"
977.0 x 294.0 x 366.0mm |
|---|
What size room are the Magnepan LRS+ and Monitor Audio Bronze 500 speakers good for?
The size of the room in which you are planning to use these loudspeakers is an important decision
factor. Here we have compared their suitability to various sizes of environments considering their size
and max power parameters:
| Listening Environment* |
Magnepan LRS+ |
Monitor Audio Bronze 500 |
| Near-field |
Poor |
Bad |
| Small Room |
Average |
Poor |
| Mid-size Room |
Good |
Good |
| Large Room |
Average |
Good |
| Very Large Room |
Poor |
Poor |
(* Approximate Room sizes: Small < 100sq. ft / 9 m2,
Mid-size: 100-220 sq. ft / 9-20 m2, Large 220-400 sq. ft / 20-36 m2, Very Large: >
400 sq. ft / 36 m2.
Average Floor Height: 9" / 2.7m. Typical room sizes differ from country to country, and the actual
listening experience changes depending on floor height, room shape, surface materials, listening
position, speaker locations, etc.)
The sections below take each area in turn: drivers, frequency response, physical size and what you get in the box.
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Drivers
One of the fundamental differences between these two speakers is that LRS+ is a -way design whereas the Bronze 500 is a 2-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 |
Magnepan LRS+ |
Monitor Audio Bronze 500 |
|
Driver Setup
|
-way
|
2-way
|
|
Tweeter
|
-inch
|
1-inch
|
|
Midrange
|
- |
- |
|
Woofer
|
x -inch
|
2 x 8-inch
|
LRS+ features a " Tweeter and x " Woofer. On the other hand, the Bronze 500 features a 1" gold dome C-CAM with uniform dispersion (UD) waveguide Tweeter and 2 x 8" C-CAM Woofer.
Frequency Response
LRS+ has a frequency range of 50-20k Hz whereas Bronze 500 has a frequency range of 32-30k Hz. With a minimum frequency of 32Hz, the Bronze 500 can go significantly deeper on the low side and provide stronger bass compared to the LRS+'s min frequency of 50Hz.
The graph below depicts how these two speakers compare with the max, min and average Low Frequency values of other speakers in the Floor-standing class in our database.
Low Frequency
Floor-standing Speakers
Neither pair reaches down to 20Hz, the usual definition of full-range, which is normal for speakers of this size. If you want the bottom octave for movies or bass-heavy music, add a subwoofer to whichever you choose. Visit our Powered Subwoofers section to find out more about the available options.
Impedance and Sensitivity
LRS+ is a 4 ohms speaker compared to the Bronze 500 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 LRS+ can provide this impedance level.
These two speakers also have different sensitivity levels. LRS+ sensitivity is rated at 86 dB and the Bronze 500's is rated at 90 dB. This 4 dB difference makes the Monitor Audio Bronze 500 a more sensitive speaker compared to Magnepan LRS+, hence will play louder with the same amount of watts.
Sensitivity
Floor-standing Speakers
Which plays louder on your amplifier?
Starting with a popular amplifier — change it to the one you own, or any you are
considering, and watch both numbers move.
Physical Specs
The size of a speaker can sometimes be an important decision factor due to space constraints or in some cases purely for esthetic reasons. In this section, we are going to compare Magnepan LRS+'s and Monitor Audio Bronze 500's external dimensions. Magnepan LRS+ has external dimensions of 1219.2 x 330.2 x 25.4mm (48 x 13 x 1inch) whereas Monitor Audio Bronze 500 has external dimensions of 977.0 x 294.0 x 366.0mm (38-7/16 x 11-9/16 x 14-3/8inch).
Monitor Audio Bronze 500 is 36.2mm narrower and 242.2mm shorter than Magnepan LRS+ but it is also 340.6mm 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 Magnepan LRS+ is approximately 83.9cm2 / 13.0inch2 and base area of the Monitor Audio Bronze 500 is approximately 1076.0cm2 / 166.8inch2. The LRS+ requires 92% less surface area than the Bronze 500 which gives it a small advantage on placement in tight spaces.
What's in the Box of Monitor Audio Bronze 500?
Here are the items that come with the Bronze 500:
- Floorstanding loudspeaker
- Grille
- 4 Outrigger feet (w/ 4 adjustment dials and locking-nuts)
- 4 Spikes (pre-installed on outrigger feet)
- 4 Rubber feet
- 4 Large course-thread screws
- 4 Small machine screws
- 2 Terminal-jumpers (pre-installed)
- 2 Foam port plugs
- Hex-key
- Quick Start Guide
- Important Safety Instructions