Monkey Banana Turbo 8

Reviews | Monkey Banana Turbo 8
90
M
onkey Banana are a small
German monitor company
with a range of visually
distinctive active
monitors and an equally memorable
name. Available in four sizes (4-, 5-,
6- and 8-inch woofer), with a matching
10-inch sub woofer completing the line
up, prices range from £400 to almost
£800 per pair, and it’s the top-of-the-
range Turbo 8s I have up for review.
Banana split
The Turbo 8 is a rear ported two-way
bass refl ex design with 8-inch woofer
and 1-inch tweeter. It uses two class
AB amplifi ers (power rated at 30 Watts
and 80 Watts for the tweeter and
woofer respectively). The distinctive
hexagon-infl uenced shape is designed
to reduce internal standing waves,
while the high density fi breboard
construction is both solid and weighty
(each unit weighs around 12kg).
The front of the baffl e includes
smooth waveguides and both drivers
are recessed from the face. The front
also sports a rather spiffy illuminated
logo. Round the back, analogue
connections are made via either the
combined XLR/Jack socket or phono.
Rather usefully, the Turbos also include
digital input via S/PDIF (up to 24 bit
192 kHz), with a pass through
connector (also on phono). So, in
conjunction with the channel selector
switch (left/right) they’re very easy to
set up from a single stereo digital
output. Each unit is also individually
switchable between analogue and
digital input.
Rear panel controls include three
centre-notched rotaries (level, LF and
HF), with the EQs offering +/-6 dB at
100 Hz and 10 kHz respectively.
Finally, these Turbo 8s come in two
colourways: black, or the bright red
fi nish of the review units.
Loud and proud
The fi rst thing I would say about the
Turbo 8s is that they are pretty large
and powerful monitors, pushing the
limit of what you would consider near
fi elds. Thankfully, construction is
excellent and the choice of quality
components (switches, rotaries and
drivers) should sustain continuous
professional use.
As far as set-up is concerned, the
Turbo 8s include some stick-on padded
feet which come in handy for table-top
use. Beyond this, the rear ported
design obviously means keeping them
away from the wall slightly. In fact,
with bass-heavy music these can
generate some serious low end, and I
found it wise not only to bring them
into the room more than I’d planned,
but also to trim back the LF control a
couple of dB. This helped, but I was
left wishing I had an HP fi lter as well
to further tailor the subs.
The Turbo 8s have a very smooth
top end, while the mid range and
upper mids are very laid back. This
means they are both non fatiguing but
also a bit polite, particularly alongside
typical studio monitors where these
frequencies are more upfront. In
contrast, the low mids and low
frequencies are full and rounded and,
as noted, very powerful.
For me, this is where the Turbo 8
monitors really shine and they would
be a good choice as a tracking or vibe
speaker, particularly if you’re making
club music. But for mixing, I think the
relaxed mid range is less successful,
and even after some tweaking of the
HF control, I couldn’t elicit quite the
detail I was looking for.
Overall, the Turbo 8s are well
constructed monitors that deliver a
powerful sound that is best suited to
larger or well-treated control rooms. For
more regular mixing duties it would be
worth checking out Monkey Banana’s,
Turbo 6s.
WHAT IS IT?
Large active near
fi elds with digital and
analogue inputs
CONTACT
Who: Dynamic Distribution
Tel: [phone]
Web: www.monkey-banana.
de
HIGHLIGHTS
1 Big powerful sound
2 Well constructed
3 Smooth top end
SPECS
Frequency Response: 45
Hz to 30 kHz
LF Driver: 8-inch
magnetically shielded
carbon fi bre and
ceramic cone
HF Driver: 1-inch silk dome
Crossover: 3 kHz
LF Amp Power: 80 Watts
HF Amp Power: 30 Watts
THD+N at rated power:
0.04% (HF), 0.02% (LF)
Inputs: Analogue and
digital
Input Impedance: 20
kohms (balanced), 10
kohms (unbalanced)
Input connectors: XLR/TRS
balanced, RCA unbalanced,
RCA S/PDIF
Weight:
12.2kg
Dimensions:
272 x 308 x 390mm
PRICING
Turbo 6
£300 per monitor
Turbo 10 Sub
£630
Monkey Banana
Turbo 8 | £390 each
Monkey Banana’s Turbo 8 is their top-of-the-range
studio monitor. Jon Musgrave fi nds out if the T8s are
as turbo charged as their name implies
VERDICT
BUILD
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VALUE
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EASE OF USE
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VERSATILITY
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RESULTS
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These bold Turbo 8s have great
low-end delivery best suited to
large controls rooms and spaces.
FMU275.rev_monkey.indd 90 12/19/13 1:44 PM