In this review, we will be comparing Silver 500 7G and HDI-3600, two Passive Floor-standing speakers from Monitor Audio and JBL.
Let's have a brief look at the main features
of Monitor Audio Silver 500 7G and JBL HDI-3600 first before getting into our more
detailed comparison.
| Key Specs | Monitor Audio Silver 500 7G | JBL HDI-3600 |
|---|
| Brand | Monitor Audio
United Kingdom · founded 1972 | JBL
United States · founded 1946 |
|---|
| Design | 3-way | 2-way |
|---|
| Tweeter | 1" gold dome C-CAM with Uniform Dispersion (UD) Waveguide II | 1" |
|---|
| Midrange | 3" | — |
|---|
| Woofer | 2 x 8" C-CAM RST II | 3 x 6.5" Aluminum |
|---|
| Frequency response | 27-35k Hz | 38-30k Hz |
|---|
| Sensitivity | 90.5 dB | 90 dB |
|---|
| Impedance | 8 ohms | 4 ohms |
|---|
| Power range | 80-250 watts | 20-250 watts |
|---|
| Weight | 22.53kg / 49.6lbs | 28.09kg / 61.8lbs |
|---|
| Dimensions (H x W x D) | 42-11/16" x 12-11/16" x 15-7/16"
1085.0 x 323.0 x 393.0mm | 40-7/16" x 10-3/16" x 13-9/16"
1028.0 x 259.0 x 345.0mm |
|---|
What size room are the Monitor Audio Silver 500 7G and JBL HDI-3600 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* |
Monitor Audio Silver 500 7G |
JBL HDI-3600 |
| Near-field |
Bad |
Bad |
| Small Room |
Poor |
Poor |
| Mid-size Room |
Average |
Average |
| Large Room |
Good |
Good |
| Very Large Room |
Average |
Average |
(* 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.
Drivers
One of the fundamental differences between these two speakers is that Silver 500 7G is a 3-way design whereas the HDI-3600 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.
Monitor Audio Silver 500 7GJBL HDI-3600
TweeterMidrangeWoofer
Front view, drawn to scale - cabinets and drivers share one scale, so sizes are directly comparable. Hover a driver for its size.
| Driver |
Monitor Audio Silver 500 7G |
JBL HDI-3600 |
|
Driver Setup
|
3-way
|
2-way
|
|
Tweeter
|
1-inch
|
1-inch
|
|
Midrange
|
1 x 3-inch |
- |
|
Woofer
|
2 x 8-inch
|
3 x 6.5-inch
|
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. On the other hand, the HDI-3600 features a 1" Tweeter and 3 x 6.5" Aluminum Woofer.
Frequency Response
Silver 500 7G has a frequency range of 27-35k Hz whereas HDI-3600 has a frequency range of 38-30k 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 HDI-3600's min frequency of 38Hz.
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
Silver 500 7G is a 8 ohms speaker compared to the HDI-3600 which has a nominal impedance of 4 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 HDI-3600 can provide this impedance level.
These two speakers also have different sensitivity levels. Silver 500 7G sensitivity is rated at 90.5 dB and the HDI-3600's is rated at 90 dB. This 1 dB difference makes the Monitor Audio Silver 500 7G a more sensitive speaker compared to JBL HDI-3600, 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. Staying
within that range gives nominal performance; driving the speaker beyond its maximum wattage can damage it.
Both handle the same maximum of 250 watts RMS, though Silver 500 7G is rated 80-250 watts and HDI-3600 20-250 watts.
Note that higher power handling does not make a speaker louder: that depends mainly on
sensitivity and impedance. The calculator below shows how loud each of these actually plays
on a real amplifier.
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.
Monitor Audio Silver 500 7G
Input Type and Bi-Amping / Bi-Wiring
Both Silver 500 7G and HDI-3600 features dual binding post speaker terminals for bi-amping or bi-wiring.
Cabinet Type and Port Position
Both Silver 500 7G and HDI-3600 have rear firing ports. Rear ported speakers generally need more room between the backside of the speaker and the wall compared to sealed and front/bottom ported speakers. Placing the speakers too close to the walls may cause the bass to sound boomy.
If you are limited in space and can't get the speakers away from the backwall, check our Speakers with Front Firing Ports page.
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 Monitor Audio Silver 500 7G's and JBL HDI-3600's external dimensions. 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) whereas JBL HDI-3600 has external dimensions of 1028.0 x 259.0 x 345.0mm (40-7/16 x 10-3/16 x 13-9/16inch).
Monitor Audio Silver 500 7G is clearly the larger of the two speakers. Its body is 64mm wider, 57mm taller and 48mm deeper than JBL HDI-3600.
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 Monitor Audio Silver 500 7G is approximately 1269.4cm2 / 196.8inch2 and base area of the JBL HDI-3600 is approximately 893.6cm2 / 138.5inch2. The Silver 500 7G requires 42% more surface area than the HDI-3600 which gives it a small disadvantage on placement in tight spaces.
Weight Comparison The weight of a loudspeaker can become an important factor if you need to move and reposition the unit often. Weight of a speaker can also "sometimes" be an indicator of the rigidity of the enclosure and the quality of the internal components used. The Monitor Audio Silver 500 7G weighs 22.53kg / 49.6lbs and the JBL HDI-3600 weighs 28.09kg / 61.8lbs. This makes the HDI-3600 25% heavier than the Silver 500 7G.
Here is a comparison of how Silver 500 7G and HDI-3600's weights compare with the average, max and min weights in Passive Floor-standing class.
Weight
All Floor-standing Speakers
Monitor Audio Silver 500 7G
What's in the Box of Monitor Audio Silver 500 7G?
Here are the items that are included inside the box of Silver 500 7G:
- Floorstanding loudspeaker
- Grille
- 4 Outrigger feet
- 4 Rubber feet (pre-installed on outrigger feet)
- 4 Spikes
- 4 Bolts
- 4 Machine screws
- 2 Foam port plugs
- 2 Hex-keys
- Owners Manual
- Important Safety Instructions
What's in the Box of JBL HDI-3600?
Here are the items that come with the HDI-3600:
- Floorstanding loudspeaker
- Grille
- 2 Jumper-straps (pre-installed)
- 4 Spike feet
- Owners Manual
 Driver Setup |
3-way
vs
2-way
|
Have a dedicated mid-range driver |
 Sensitivity |
91 dB
vs
90 dB
|
Play louder with same amount of amplification power |
 Nominal Impedance |
8 ohms
vs
4 ohms
|
Less selective with amplifiers |
 Woofer Size |
8 inches
vs
6.5 inches
|
Larger woofer |
|
Low Frequency Response |
27 Hz
vs
38 Hz
|
Generates deeper bass |
 High Frequency Response |
35k Hz
vs
30k Hz
|
Generates higher frequency |
 Price per pair* |
3200USD
vs
4180USD
|
costs less (*prices may change depending on the seller, location and time) |
|
Number of Woofers |
3
vs
2
|
More woofers |
 Height |
1028mm
vs
1085mm
|
Easier to fit in smaller spaces |
 Base Surface Area |
893cm2
vs
1269cm2
|
Takes less floor space |
| General |
Monitor Audio Silver 500 7G |
JBL HDI-3600 |
| Brand |
Monitor Audio |
JBL |
| Speaker Type |
Floor-standing speaker |
Floor-standing speaker |
| Power Range |
80-250 watts |
20-250 watts |
| Sensitivity |
90.5 dB |
90 dB |
| Impedance |
8 ohms |
4 ohms |
| Frequency Response |
27-35k Hz |
38-30k Hz |
Drivers |
|
|
| Woofer Quantity |
2 |
3 |
| Woofer Size |
8" |
6.5" |
| Woofer Composition |
C-CAM RST II |
Aluminum |
| Woofer Surround Material |
Rubber |
Rubber |
| Tweeter Size |
1" |
1" |
| Tweeter Type |
gold dome C-CAM with Uniform Dispersion (UD) Waveguide II |
n/a |
| Aimable Tweeter |
No |
No |
| Midrange Driver |
3" |
No |
| Firing Direction |
rear |
rear |
Physical Specs |
|
|
| Height |
1085.0mm (42.7") |
1028.0mm (40.5") |
| Width |
323.0mm (12.7") |
259.0mm (10.2") |
| Depth |
393.0mm (15.5") |
345.0mm (13.6") |
| Weight |
22.53kg (49.6lbs) |
28.09kg (61.8lbs) |
| Enclosure |
Bass Reflex |
Bass Reflex |
| Finish |
MDF/Wood veneer |
MDF/Wood-veneer |
| Available Colors |
Oak |
Grey |
| Grille |
Yes |
Yes |
| Moisture Resistancy |
No |
No |
Connections |
|
|
| Biamp Inputs |
Yes |
Yes |
Other |
|
|
| Parts Warranty |
5 Years |
5 Years |
| Labor Warranty |
5 Years |
5 Years |
No single best speaker here - they are built to different priorities, and the right one depends on your room, your amplifier and what you listen to.
| Area | Better | Why |
|---|
| Bass | A | Monitor Audio Silver 500 7G digs deeper - 27Hz against 38Hz. |
| Amplifier needs | evenly matched | Similar sensitivity (91dB vs 90dB) - both want much the same power. |
| Amplifier match | A | Monitor Audio Silver 500 7G is the easier load at 8 ohms; the other is 4 ohms and wants an amplifier rated for it. |
| Headroom | evenly matched | Similar power handling (250W vs 250W). |
| Size | depends | JBL HDI-3600 is easier to place; Monitor Audio Silver 500 7G is bigger, which usually goes with fuller bass. Your room decides. |
| Expandability | depends | Monitor Audio Silver 500 7G: bi-amping; JBL HDI-3600: bi-amping. Monitor Audio Silver 500 7G sits in a wider range (8 models), so a matched surround system is easier later. |
| Price | A | Monitor Audio Silver 500 7G is cheaper - $3,200 against $4,180, about 23% less. |
A Monitor Audio Silver 500 7G B JBL HDI-3600
depends neither is better in the abstract - it turns on your room, your system or how you will use them. Only specs published for both speakers are judged; anything missing on either side is left out rather than guessed.
Which should you choose?
Monitor Audio Silver 500 7G is the easier recommendation: it leads on most of the measured areas and costs less. Take JBL HDI-3600 if its size, looks or fit in your room suit you better. If a subwoofer is in your plans, the bass gap largely stops mattering - you would be crossing over above 38Hz anyway, so judge these on the other rows instead. In a large or open-plan room, Monitor Audio Silver 500 7G has the cabinet volume to fill it more easily; in a small room, near a wall or at desk distance, JBL HDI-3600 is the easier speaker to get right.
And remember what a spec sheet cannot show: how each looks in your room and whether the finish suits it, what dealer support and warranty are like where you live, and how they actually sound to you. If you can hear them first - ideally with your own music - that will tell you more than any number above.