Review: Platin Monaco 5.1

If you want discrete speakers to go with your brand new flatscreen, you'd probably start by measuring speaker cables and prepping a utility knife for your drywall. Soundbars with rear surround speakers and wireless subwoofers make installing a complete system a little easier, but they don’t offer the same fidelity you get from separate speakers for separate purposes.

For years, we’ve been promised cable-free audio through a technology called WiSA, which allows you to sync powered speakers to many modern TVs without the hassle of a dedicated receiver or running speaker cables throughout your room.

The new Platin Audio Monaco 5.1 system uses WiSA, and is as easy to set up and use as most soundbars. However, it has sound that can compete with larger discrete systems. That’s why it's my new favorite wireless option for small rooms.

Photograph: Platin

The Monaco comes with four small speakers for left, right, and surrounds, as well as one center speaker with dual drivers to act as your middle channel. You also get a thin subwoofer that you can easily hide under the couch—a nice touch for those without a ton of space.

There’s nothing particularly special about the design of the speakers themselves. Each speaker has a label to tell you which is which, and a power cable on the back. Otherwise, the black, rounded rectangles look pretty much like the kind of speaker that a toddler might draw with a black pen on a napkin.

That’s sort of the point: These wireless speakers are meant to be hidden in plain sight, so that you can enjoy your favorite shows and movies without staring at anything other than the screen.

The speakers all connect to a puck-like WiSA controller that plugs into the HDMI ARC or optical cable on your TV. It’s a really simple system that works well. Just make sure that you have power outlets near each speaker for the 6-foot power cables to reach, or else buy an extension cord (or several).

5.1 speaker systems mean you get a center channel for voices; left and right front channels for music and side effects; and two rear speakers for background noises, plus a subwoofer for booms. You don’t, however, get the height channels of Dolby Atmos or DTS:X, which require speakers to bounce sound off the ceiling (or ceiling speakers that aim downwards).

Is it a huge deal that this system this expensive doesn’t do Atmos? Not to me. Most of the audio that’s being streamed through my TV is 5.1, most of the time. Though modern streaming shows and movies often use Dolby Atmos, it’s typically not as noticeable when streaming content as it is via full-bitrate audio you’ll get from 4K Blu-ray.

If you’re planning on using this system mostly for streaming (as most of us are these days), 5.1 is fine, as evidenced by the staggeringly good sound of this Platin audio system.

The reason you buy discrete speakers is to make a wider soundstage. You can move them farther away from the center channel, so it's easier for your brain to differentiate each channel. This is especially noticeable when compared to soundbar systems, which typically bundle the center, left, and right channels together in the bar itself.  

This makes the Monaco one of the more immersive systems I’ve heard for its size. It reminds me of those tiny Bose surround speakers that were ubiquitous in fancy living rooms a decade ago, but without the bad tuning or annoying proprietary connectors and cables. The 3-inch drivers of the front and surround speakers fill out everything from low-mid to the high range of the sound, with the subwoofer picking up the ultra-low end. 

I especially like the center channel, which is distinctly more powerful than the rest, thanks to dual drivers on each side of a tweeter. When properly placed, it takes dialogue beyond what I've heard from most soundbar systems in this price range. 

You can change settings and adjust sound in the SoundSend app that's compatible with the system, but I found the standard tuning, which Platin had certified by THX, to work fine (albeit a bit down on bass) in my treated room. In rooms with less acoustic treatment, that probably won't be an issue. 

When it comes to controlling volume, muting the system, or other basic audio controls you're used to doing with your TV remote, there's no problem here. HDMI ARC allows your TV remote to continue doing all that.

In most ways, this system is designed to disappear into your TV ecosystem, providing you better audio without much thought. Unless you have an incredibly old TV, you won't need to worry about it beyond a quick initial setup that probably won't involve menu diving. I'm a big fan.

The Platin Monaco is simple, sounds good, and is easy to use for most people. You're really not meant to go too far into the weeds; you're meant to want better sound. Much in the same way that the actual European micronation helps the super-rich dodge income taxes, this Monaco can help you out too. Together, you can enjoy a replay of this year's Monaco Grand Prix in high fidelity.