We are very pleased to have the first review of the first re-engineering MunroSonic Egg 150 monitoring system. You may remember these innovatively shaped monitor speakers first came out a couple of years agao when acoustics guru Andy Munro and Sonic Distribution’s James Young & Phil Smith first collaborated on the Egg system under the sE Munro brand. 

Recently when they were looking at ways to improve and refine what was already a monitoring system that had received critical acclaim, with a search around the world to find the best manufacturing base that brought them back to the UK where the story began as well as a decision to rebrand as Munro Sonic.

What Has Changed?

Although the system has the same base form factor and function - the Egg 150 has an active speaker system with two passive speakers each housed in unique egg-shaped chassis combined a custom designed amplifier with a new amplifier circuit board design, improved chassis metal-work with a much thicker front panel and recessed higher quality knobs. There is a redefined mid EQ section in which they have broadened out the eq curve following development input from producers and engineers already using the original system.  The systems are now truly “Made in the UK”, being designed, manufactured, marketed and distributed in the UK, a fact that the MunroSonic team is very proud of.

What Do You Get?

The system comes in a big box, weighing in at some 29kg. As you can see, there are three individual boxes inside, one for each speaker and one in the middle for the amplifier, and as I unpacked them, the lion’s share of the weight comes from the amplifier!

The packaging has been well designed so that the systems will hopefully arrive unharmed by any mistreatment in the delivery system. As I unpacked them, it was nice to see the system is supplied as a complete system right down to including two 3m Speakon speaker leads to connect the speakers to the amp, rack ears for the amp and a substantial IEC mains lead.  So often with systems, not all the required bits are included, so it was good to see that everything needed was included. 

The Speakers

The speakers are even labelled left and right although there is no obvious ‘handedness’, unlike some speakers where the position of the tweeters does make it matter which way round they go.  The speakers have a clever base that allows you to angle the speakers so they are pointing at you if the speakers have to be positioned above ear height.

Another neat little feature that helps setting them up is the blue LED in the front of each speaker just above the tweeter with a narrow beam width. When sitting in the ‘sweet spot’ and looking at the LED, if it is not seriously bright, then the speakers are not positioned correctly and you can quickly and easily position them so they are pointing in the right direction. Once set up there is even a switch on the back of the amplifier to turn the speaker LEDs off, so they don’t annoy during normal use, another nice touch.

The Amplifier

In terms of features, the amp is simple but does have 2 inputs, labelled Main and Aux. The main inputs have XLR inputs and the Aux inputs come with gold plated phono sockets. Also on the back of the amp are HF and LF eq adjustments to help compensate for where the speakers are located in the room should you need them. Moving round to the front of the amp, there are separate level controls for the Main and Aux inputs, a 2 position switch to select which input is being used and a 3 position switch for the mid eq options.

The centre position is flat, the right position lifts the mid eq to help focus vocals in the mix and the cut position is designed to provide a softening to help with any fatigue from listening through long sessions.

What Do They Sound Like?

I cannot really comment on the improvements made between the sEMunro and MunroSonic versions because I have heard or played with the original versions. However I was impressed with the MunroSonic Eggs from the first listen.

I chose to set them up so I could A/B between my existing monitoring, which I have been using for over 30 years, my beloved BBC LS3/5a speakers. Immediately the Eggs came across as clean and it felt like a veil had been lifted, not just frequency response wise, but detail and stereo imaging wise too. 

The stereo imaging of the Egg 150 system is simply amazing and so precise. I thought my LS3/5a speakers were good, but these Eggs, made my Rogers sound like cheap tatty speakers. It completely blew my confidence in the BBC speakers, so I wanted to be sure about what was going on, whether it was my Rogers that were letting me down or was it the Eggs being flattering, so I measured both systems and and to my dismay found significant issues with my BBC speakers and my tests confirmed that the Eggs were actually telling me the truth.

Following further careful listening tests with material I know very well, including a number of albums I have mixed myself, I have to say the Eggs are amazing. They sound clean, they aren’t flattering, which is something I personally don’t like in a monitor system. I want a system that tells me the truth and the Eggs do that.  The bass response is just right for my room too, any deeper would overwhelm my room. The stereo imaging continued to impress me and the detail and the depth in the mix was incredible on the Eggs. I could hear so much more depth in the mix, it was like adding a 3rd dimension. 

Moving onto speech, which are the mainstay of my work, the Eggs are incredibly honest, and again comparing them to my Rogers, it was like removing a blanket from between the speakers and my ears.

I totally get and respect the pedigree that comes from any product Andy Munro puts his name on, and it is great to see that a UK company has chosen to bring the entire business back to the UK. I am very hopeful that this will put to an end some of the issues of consistency that the earlier model apparently suffered from.

To back up their confidence, MunroSonic are offering a 2 year zero downtime pre-replacement warranty which they claim is unique to the world of monitors.

No Surround Option

My only problem with the Egg 150 system is that it is a stereo system, there isn’t a surround option. I couldn’t build an integrated 5.1 system, but other than that I have nothing but praise for these speakers.

Pros

• Stereo imaging

• Detail and depth

• A matched system

Cons

• Only available as a stereo system, no surround option

Price

• £1999 inc vat