Loudspeakers

These two cabinets mesh well together with the Bronze C150 to create an LCR stage with believable dialogue delivery and a feeling of real solidity. Integration with the FX model is not quite as assured; this speaker's diffuse nature certainly leads to a wide and enveloping rear surround field, but pin-point front-to-back effects pans lack a level of absolute cohesion.

With the Atmos mix of Aquaman (4K Blu-ray), the AMS models prove their worth. Beforehand, a few demo clips revealed an effective height presentation, particularly with the floorstanders moved a little way into the room – 30cm is a good starting point considering their rear ports. The impact of Atmos tracks would no doubt be improved with another pair of these upfirers, but the simple trick of removing them and switching to 5.1 reveals how much extra they bring to the table. The soundfield shrinks and flattens.

So, off to Sicily for a rooftop runaround with Black Manta. This is a full-on soundmix, and the Bronze package responds in style. There's well-organised, tuneful bass from the W10 sub, and above this a rich-sounding but always clear mid-range that really latches on to the whirry noises the baddies' body armour makes and Black Manta's electronically warped dialogue. It's all smooth-sounding too, with just enough of an attacking edge to bring a snap and crackle to effects without making your ears pop.

The feeling of verticality is well realised. When Aquaman crash-lands though the elderly woman's roof (followed by a more measured descent by Black Manta), debris falls down with him.

The sealed W10 sub never reaches outrageously deep (the claimed low-end is a healthy 30Hz-40Hz depending on EQ setting) but it's not shy and retiring. It does tight and speedy well, but slams energetically too, considering the price point. Being a fan of an easy life, I took MA's advice and settled on its flat-response Movie preset for film-watching. The theory is you would switch to Music for ....well, music listening, but the buttonry is tiny and located on the back of the woofer, so I doubt many will.

Bronze Star
Overall, the Bronze AV 5.1.2 is a good-looking, well-made system that's extremely easy to fall in love with (and, I should add, easy to drive too). A sonic all-rounder, it delivers both in terms of resolution and finesse, and up-and-at-'em attitude, while the AMS enclosures add a believable topping to all the juicy goodness below. A real value-for-money package n

HCC Verdict

Monitor Audio Bronze AV 5.1.2

Price: £1,850
www.monitoraudio.com

We say: A fine update – now with Atmos! – on Monitor Audio's fan-favourite Bronze Series. Smart styling married to highly enjoyable sonics at a great price.

Overall: 5/5

Specifications

Bronze 200
DRIVERS: 2 x 5.5in C-CAM bass/mid drivers; 1 x 1in gold dome C-CAM tweeter ENCLOSURE: Bass reflex with twin rear HiVe II ports FREQUENCY RESPONSE (CLAIMED): 35Hz-30kHz SENSITIVITY (claimed): 88dB POWER HANDLING (claimed): 120W DIMENSIONS: 886(h) x 166(w) x 265(d)mm WEIGHT: 12.8kg

Bronze C150
DRIVERS: 2 x 5.5in C-CAM mid-range drivers; 1 x 1in gold dome C-CAM tweeter ENCLOSURE: Sealed FREQUENCY RESPONSE (CLAIMED): 66Hz-30kHz SENSITIVITY (claimed): 88dB POWER HANDLING (claimed): 120W DIMENSIONS: 166(h) x 451(w) x 225(d)mm WEIGHT: 7kg

Bronze FX
DRIVERS: 1 x 5.5in C-CAM mid-range driver; 2 x 1in gold dome C-CAM tweeters ENCLOSURE: Sealed FREQUENCY RESPONSE (CLAIMED): 74Hz-30kHz SENSITIVITY (claimed): 86dB POWER HANDLING (claimed): 80W DIMENSIONS: 287(h) x 284(w) x 124(d)mm WEIGHT: 3.9kg

Bronze AMS
DRIVERS: 1 x 4in C-CAM mid-range driver; 1 x 1in gold dome C-CAM tweeter ENCLOSURE: Sealed FREQUENCY RESPONSE (CLAIMED): 105Hz-30kHz SENSITIVITY (claimed): 86dB POWER HANDLING (claimed): 60W DIMENSIONS: 152(h) x 166(w) x 242(d)mm WEIGHT: 2.5kg

Bronze W10 (subwoofer)
DRIVERS: 1 x 10in driver; 1 x 10in passive radiator ENCLOSURE: Sealed FREQUENCY RESPONSE (CLAIMED): Down to 29Hz (-3dB) ONBOARD POWER (CLAIMED): 220W Class D DIMENSIONS: 366.5(h) x 321(w) x 364(d)mm WEIGHT: 13.4kg Features: LFE/stereo RCA inputs; 12V trigger; Movie, Music and Impact mode