Daniel J SaitIn a bold statement, Monitor Audio says the Platinum II project has produced the most accurate and beautiful loudspeakers it has ever made.
Inspired by rigorous new analysis and breakthrough innovation by the engineering team, Platinum II is described as a potent mix of evolutionary refinement and discovery, offering genuine audiophile performance with stunning design and materials specification.
Monitor Audio says its engineers have optimised the operation of electrical, mechanical, magnetic and acoustic systems, introducing new technologies where necessary to reach its goals.
One of new additions is a MPD (Micro Pleated Diaphragm) high frequency transducer, supported by RDT II bass and mid drivers, improved crossover design and bespoke speaker terminal designs.
With the aim being a high-level of audio transparency, the seven-model line-up premieres the flagship PL500 II tower; two further floor standing models, the PL300 II and PL200 II; the PL100 II stand-mount monitor; matching centre-channel speakers in two sizes: the PLC350 II and PLC150 II and a 1400W, twin 15in subwoofer: the PLW-215.
Range Features
Drilling down into some of the new technologies, Monitor Audio says the MPD transducer uses an extremely thin, low-mass pleated diaphragm with a surface area eight times larger than that of a traditional dome tweeter, designed to offer greater accuracy and efficiency.
Monitor Audio adds that the design represents a wholesale reworking of an established technology, introducing a greater number of diaphragm pleats while reducing plea height to eliminate the typical dip in response around 40kHz.
Consequently, the tweeter operates with uniform output to over 100 kHz and therefore, claims Monitor Audio, qualifies as an entirely new and proprietary drive unit application.
RDTII Bass and mid-range drivers operate using a composite ‘sandwich’ structure made from ultra-thin low mass skins, bonded to a honeycomb Nomex core material.
Unlike the original RDT construction for Platinum I, which used two C-CAM skins, RDTII employs C-CAM for the front skin, while the rear skin is made from a woven carbon fibre material.
Monitor Audio’s engineers discovered that the new structure reduces distortion by over 8dB above 300Hz, which makes RDTII the lowest distortion cone technology in Monitor Audio’s history.
The new RDTII diaphragms have a shallower ‘dished’ profile formed without a centre hole to create a radiating surface of greater strength and structural integrity.
The voice coil and motor sit behind the cone, in a design which aims to produce more efficient excursions, lower distortion and a wider response.
The new patented Dynamic Coupling Filter (DCF) mechanism was created to reduce distortion at the upper end of each driver’s range by coupling the voice coil with the cone using a nylon ring in place of rigid aluminium.
This DCF acts as a ‘solid’ part up to the crossover frequency, faithfully transmitting the motion of the voice coil directly to the cone.
Above the crossover frequency it acts like a damping spring, reducing the transmission of energy between the voice coil and cone.
The DCF mechanism effectively adds an additional mechanical filter to help the crossover, reducing output above crossover frequency by 18dB per octave.
All the drivers have also been designed using ‘underhung’ voice coils, which ensure that even at extreme excursions, the coil remains within the gap, converting all the energy into movement and resulting in greater efficiency and driver linearity.
The Crossovers have also been completely redeveloped using air core inductors in mid-range/tweeter sections and laminated steel cores for bass sections.
Custom made audiophile grade metallised polypropylene capacitors are selected to operate within a 1% tolerance for high-performance.
Platinum II also shares many of the innovations introduced by Platinum I to reduce cabinet colourations, including bolt-though drivers, ARC (Anti-Resonance Composite) for mid-range (Tapered Line Enclosure) housings and baffle components, super-fast HiVeII reflex ports and a multi-layer cabinet construction, curved internally and externally.
To maintain the quality approach on the exterior as well as interior, the speakers are available in Santos Rosewood or Natural Ebony natural wood veneers.
The Platinum II range will receive its world premiere at the CES show, Las Vegas, January 6-9, 2016, at the Venetian, Suite 29-140.
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