The Article

GOLD 50 SPEAKERS FROM MONTOR AUDIO

22nd April 2026

Compact standmounts they might be but Paul Rigby realises that the Gold 50s are the real deal

Now up to 6G standard, Monitor Audio’s Gold 50 speakers are the smallest stereo pair offerings in the Gold Series 6G line.

These 4 Ohm speakers span 320 x 185 x 303 mm and are pretty hefty with each speaker weighing in at 8.5kg.

Sensitivity is around 85db which is fine, I’ve seen worse. Saying that, the company does say that an 8 Ohm amplifier of around 60-70W will be needed to get the best from these designs which is pretty demanding, I have to say.

Backed by a five year warranty, the HiVe-ported cabinet, available in Macassar wood veneer, high-gloss black and satin white arrives with a 152mm HDT C-CAM mid/bass driver while, up top, is a MPD III Tweeter.

Based on the AMT tweeter principle, the MPD design is a refined version of the same, you might say with improved geometry and diaphragm. The idea is to reach higher in sonic terms while lowering distortion. But well see about that.

Question is, how do they sound? Well, let’s take a listen.

SOUND QUALITY

In software terms I grabbed a vinyl copy of Daisies of the Galaxy by Eels from 1999 and Grace Kelly Blues presenting a brass band, slide guitar, vocals, percussion, bass and rhythm guitars plus a CD single/remix copy of Depeche Mode’s Barrel of a Gun.

VS WHARFEDALE EVO 1

For an initial reference, I listened to the Wharfedale EVO 1 standmounts. Sure, they are priced at a much cheaper £549 and, hence, shouldn’t reach the same sonic quality as the Gold 50s at three times the price. Reason for pairing the EVO1s and the Gold 50s though was that the EVO 1 uses an AMT tweeter.

How does the sonic balance and performance compare to the supposedly superior yet related MPD tweeter? Does it really matter? Does the EVO 1 perform as well at the lower price?

Well yes, the EVO 1 performs well at their price but the Gold 50 speakers move the sound quality up a couple of rungs of the sonic ladder. The precise diction around the vocals meant that lyrics were easier to discern, drum rolls were suddenly a series of mini strikes as opposed to a blur of noise, notes started and stopped with complete accuracy so timing was on point and there was zero midrange blurring while the big bass drum of the brass band had a deep reverberation that was impressive indeed.

VS SPENDOR A1

Next I grabbed a pair of A1 speakers from Spendor which are almost the same price as the 50s. The A1 speakers offer a contrasting sealed box so I was interested in how that might affect the sound compared to the ported Monitor Audios. The Spendors also use a dome tweeter. Again, how would that affect the sonic presentation?

Sonically, the Spendors sounded rather conservative compared the to Gold 50s, lacking a sense of attack on the acoustic guitar strumming. That Gold 50 MPD did wonders for the acoustic guitar. There was a deeper and more forceful bass performance from the Gold 50s, the A1s were quite reserved in comparison. Despite the supreme balance and neutrality of the A1s, the Gold 50s sounded much more exciting and engaged. The Gold 50s pulled you into the performance, demanding your attention.

WITH AUDIOLAB 6000A MK.2

As for that suspect amplifier performance, I did hook them up to my 50W Audiolab 6000A Mk.2 amplifier and the speakers sounded great. Sure, if you wanted to push the volume to super loud levels, you might have issues but I had none in a relatively large listening room. But maybe that’s more to do with the 6000A’s efficient architecture. I’m not sure. Even so, just in case, I would urge a demo if your amplifier offers relatively low power in terms of the Gold 50s recommended spec.

CONCLUSION

There is a sense of luxury about the Gold 50 6G speakers. A sense that surprised me but one that I noticed even during unboxing. The weight of the cabinets, the fixtures, fittings and build but, most of all, the sound quality. There is a sense of rightness in terms of the upper midrange, a freedom and detail that makes listening to music a real joy while the robust bass output provides both power but also control.