Напольная акустика — Eltax MONITOR IX

The Monitor IX is a slim passive floorstanding loudspeaker from the Danish brand Eltax, listed by the maker at EUR 299 per pair and now marked as no longer available for sale. It sits in the older generation of the Monitor family, which Eltax has since followed with the Monitor NEO range, the Monitor 1959 series and a current Monitor line.

Key specs that matter

Inside each enclosure Eltax uses a two-way bass reflex system, a layout it shares with most budget towers. Low and mid frequencies come from two shielded 130 mm woofers, and the treble is left to a 25 mm soft dome. Eltax quotes a range of 40 Hz to 22,000 Hz with a plus or minus 4 dB tolerance. Sensitivity is given as 92 dB measured at 2.83 V and 1 m, and the rated impedance is 4 to 8 ohm rather than a flat 8 ohm. Power handling is listed as 140 W continuous with a 260 W peak figure. Each enclosure stands 900 mm tall, 195 mm wide and 268 mm deep, and weighs 11.0 kg.

Engineering and use context

A pair of small woofers in place of one large driver keeps the front baffle under 20 cm wide while still giving a reasonable total cone area for a tower of this price. The reflex port is placed on the front panel, so the rear of the cabinet may go near a wall with no risk of choking the port. Decoupling pins are supplied to stand the speaker on the floor, and the rear panel carries a terminal block prepared for bi-amplification, with separate connections for the woofer and tweeter sections. Shielding on the woofers dates from the period when speakers were often placed near CRT televisions, which makes the Monitor IX usable as the front pair of a budget home cinema, with the matching Eltax Monitor models filling centre and surround positions. Finishes sold over the model's life included black, white and beech.

Pairing

A sensitivity in the low nineties means an affordable stereo integrated amplifier or AV receiver in the 50 to 100 W class has enough headroom for a 20 m2 living room. Since the impedance can fall toward 4 ohm, pick an amplifier whose maker rates it into 4 ohm loads. Owners with a second stereo amplifier or a receiver offering assignable channels are able to feed the bass and treble sections from separate channels through the split terminal block, while a single amplifier needs the supplied links left in place.

Alternatives

The Eltax Monitor PWR 1959 is a far bigger three-way tower with a 38 cm woofer, two horn-loaded tweeters and 96 dB sensitivity.