LFSys Monaco Review

[GlamBass74]

A few weeks ago, I received a message from another member of this fine parish asking me a rather exciting question.

Would I be interested in road testing the latest offering from new company LFSys?

It took me all of two seconds to reply.

Fast forward a few days a rather exciting parcel arrives at my work. It’s the flagship of LFSys 12” bass cabinet range – THE MONACO

 

What’s it all about?

 

Well dear reader, LFSys is a new company formed by super brainy and all round good egg Stevie of the Basschat forum.

Stevie, along with a few other kind souls have been generous in sharing designs on this forum that we can print out and build / attempt to build / look at longingly.

I have had a go at the easy build 10” design and both the MK2 and MK3 12” design and I can say that the end results have been ace. The guidance available on the forum is superb and I’ve ended up with some pretty useful cabinets that I’ve gigged with great results.

 

LFSys currently has a product line-up of

 

The Silverstone – 300W 8 Ohm

The Monaco – 600W 8 Ohm

 

Along with a 10” design that will be available early 2023 (Can’t wait to see this!)

 

So… To the Monaco!

 

Those of you who have made sawdust and constructed a MK3 bass chat cab will recognise the Monaco’s physical dimensions, but that’s where the similarities end. Different neo driver, neo horn, quality horn flare and in-house crossover add up to create a “supercharged” version of the cab…. and the Basschat cab was already very capable!

Fit and finish is great. This cabinet is no thin ply featherweight being constructed from top quality 15mm Poplar ply, but the dimensions of the cabinet make it easy to transport via the large, comfortable handle. Even my shovel like hands fit in the recessed dish of the handle comfortably. It’s balanced nicely and the cabinet isn’t deep, which makes it a cinch to move around. It’s tough, but easily manageable – ideal for a life on the road. I have a strict “no scales” policy in my house, but the website lists the Monaco @ 15kg.

A strong, but light gauge steel grille keeps the expensive parts protected and quality stackable corners (if you’d ever need more than one of these!) resist the knocks and bangs of gigging and touring.

A twin Speakon connector is neatly recess into the back of the cabinet. There is no HF horn control present – more on that later.

 

I used the Monaco with a TC Electronics BH800 head. It’s a good pairing as the BH is capable of approx. 400 ish watts @ 8 ohms. I also tried a Genz Benz Shuttle 3.0 and a Crown Drivecore power amp with various preamp pedals.

LFSys have designed the Monaco to be FRFR (Full Range, Flat Response) The Monaco doesn’t “colour” the sound of your bass. You’re hearing your bass and your style, rather than a “baked in” tone that some designs possess.

I played a few frequency sweeps through the cabinet. The progression between driver and horn was smooth with no prominent volume gains or dips.

I also played some pre-recorded music through the Monaco and found myself adding bass to an otherwise flat EQ. It was only once I moved away from the cabinet a little that I realised that the bass is most definitely there, but nowhere near as muddy or boomy as most cabinets I’ve used. It’s a really tight, punchy bass. Groovy!

I mentioned earlier there was no HF horn control.  It doesn’t need it. The superbly designed crossover is taking care of everything rather nicely and a quick tweak of the EQ on your amp will give you what you need. You get out what you’re putting into this design.

 

I used the Monaco at two local gigs with a rather loud 70’s Rock / Glam Rock band and it took both gigs in its stride. Positive comments from both band members and audience. Even my partner said she really noticed the “better sounding box” (praise indeed)  

The first of the two gigs was in a large pub with a very small stage. We’re a five piece band, so a small stage generally means that my cabinet is making my flares flap around and my ears struggle to pick out the mid and upper end of my tone, but I could hear the mids and highs much better than the other “quality” cabs I’ve used in the same venue. I’ve gotten around this issue in the past by raising the other cabinets off the stage a little or tilting the cabinet back. The Monaco remained on the floor right behind me and my amp was not really breaking a sweat.

 

I think a large part of the success of this design is the use of a good quality horn and flare which is crossed over at an ideal frequency, rather than a “token” (read cheap maybe?) horn like some manufacturers fit, that seems to squirt a little bit of high end fizz forwards and leaves a big hole right where we need to be hearing things. I’m no expert, but this is how it feels to me.

 

Summary

 

A good looking, well-built speaker cabinet that sonically equals or betters anything I’ve played through. Clear, punchy and LOUD with the mush and boom that so many cabinets seem to produce. Great dispersion means the Monaco is ideal for small, cramped pub type gigs, but has the volume and punch to meet all but the biggest pub/club type gigs needs. FRFR means that you can decide what you really want to hear. The addition of pedals/multi FX and tweaking of EQ can give you a really broad spectrum of tones. You really can “dial in” the tone or style you wish to hear. My VT Bass DI really came to life through the Monaco.

Would I change anything? The only thing I would like to see is the handle recessed slightly to allow amps with small feet to sit on top of the cabinet.

Possibly a few colour options for an extra (and no doubt sensible) charge? Us low frequency lovers seem to buy with our eyes as much as our ears. Something to consider maybe?

Would you need more than one of these? Unless you’re intending to rip the crowd’s faces off, then I doubt it. It’d be fun to try though….

Price! The Monaco currently retails for £795. It seems that most “well regarded” cabinets of a similar spec are now in four figures. The Monaco is a whole lot of speaker cabinet, made from quality components by someone who knows his stuff for a very sensible price. A tough cover is also available to keep your new investment in great condition.

Amazing warranty period of 3 years. I also have no doubt that Stevie will stand by his product and offer assistance as and when required. Buy with confidence!

If you’re in the market for a new “do it all” bass speaker cabinet, I’d recommend that you take a look at the new kid in town, I’m pretty sure you won’t be disappointed.

Thanks for the opportunity LFSys  - I appreciate you trusting me with your product.

For more info and full specs, visit www.lfsys.co.uk

(Pics - The Monaco in all its glory, the Monaco being put through it's paces by an idiot in deepest darkest Norfolk and a shot of the internals - strong!)

 

Edited December 23, 2022 by GlamBass74
weblink added

[jrixn1]

40 minutes ago, GlamBass74 said:

I could hear the mids and highs much better than the other “quality” cabs I’ve used in the same venue.

...

A good looking, well-built speaker cabinet that sonically equals or betters anything I’ve played through.

...

It seems that most “well regarded” cabinets of a similar spec are now in four figures.

 

What was your previous cab that you keep comparing the Monaco to.  Was it a Big Baby 3?

[GlamBass74]

It wasn't 

 

It was a cab that actually uses the same driver as the monaco, but to my ears nowhere near as well

 

Made me see red......

 

 

[jrixn1]

Well, that's just too cryptic for me 😁 I've never played a Vanderkley but they're well regarded so that's high praise indeed.

[chyc]

Thanks for the great review. The Monaco seems incredibly competitively priced as you say, so much so that to me I can't see many people wanting to save the £100 by buying the Silverstone. My guess is that the £100 is purely the difference in parts cost and there's no luxury tax added on top that Apple seems to use quite extensively. To look closer to home, the Super Mini and the BB3 are £350 apart.

 

That's not a criticism in any way. If anything, it's showing that stevie is not doing this for the money, and if you do decide to get one of his cabinets, you're getting a very very good deal. Sadly he released it just a little too late for me and I've committed my dime elsewhere, but in a parallel universe somewhere I'm probably a happy LfSys user.

 

 

Edited December 23, 2022 by chyc
typo

[Phil Starr]

23 hours ago, GlamBass74 said:

I think a large part of the success of this design is the use of a good quality horn and flare which is crossed over at an ideal frequency, rather than a “token” (read cheap maybe?) horn like some manufacturers fit, that seems to squirt a little bit of high end fizz forwards and leaves a big hole right where we need to be hearing things. I’m no expert, but this is how it feels to me.

 

It's been a revelation to me watching the design process for this and the Silverstone cab. I've been lucky enough to have had the chance to do some critical listening at various stages and be party to many of the tweaks that have taken place since the first BassChat design. I've listened to a number of different compression (horn) drivers in @stevie shed and a lot of different horns. TBH I was surprised by how much difference the final horn flare made compared to some respectable competition. 

 

However the real revelation and the reason I think this cab is so successful was the care that went into the crossover design. Minute tweaks exactly matching the bass and treble drivers together, then completely recalculating when the horn flare was changed. He still measures every frequency dependent components in the crossovers before they go in. Crossover design remains a bit of a black art with the software only getting you so close followed by hours of tweaking and testing.

 

All that careful alignment across the crossover area would be wasted if the cab had an HF horn control

 

[Chienmortbb]

21 minutes ago, Phil Starr said:

rather than a “token” (read cheap maybe?) horn like some manufacturers fit, that seems to squirt a little bit of high end fizz forwards and leaves a big hole right where we need to be hearing things.

Like Phil, I have seen and heard various iterations of these cabs and have been astonished how much difference the properly designed crossover, horn and compression driver make. The cost of these components alone is probably higher than the drivers in many other cabinets. As @stevieknows, despite having a Silverstone, I am wrestling with the thought of a Monaco after gigging one a few weeks ago. If someone had said to me when I joined Basschat, that I would think of buying an £800 cabinet, I would have booked them an extended holiday in Broadmoor.

[BCH]

 

[scrumpymike]

On 24/12/2022 at 14:50, Chienmortbb said:

.... an extended holiday in Broadmoor.

 

It's very nice there at this time of year - allegedly 🤐