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Cameron Oatley
ExtremeHiFi
Website author headshot
Julian Shapiro
ExtremeHiFi

Note that this is a discontinued product. You may want to visit the brand's page here to browse their newer products.

What reviewers think

Bloggers and YouTubers have tried this product—so we've summarized their strongest opinions below. Links to full reviews follow.

Product Strengths

  • Seamless sense of coherence that traditional multi-driver alternatives can't match
  • High frequencies presented with a remarkably natural and unforced quality
  • Fabulous bass performance
  • Exceptional build quality and bomb-proof engineering
  • The C1's character is consistent whether loud or quiet, and it does a great job of revealing the low-level detail and structure of a mix without shouting

Product Considerations

  • Expensive
  • Large and heavy monitor
  • Tonal idiosyncrasies
  • Narrow high-frequency dispersion
  • Those sensitive to tonal purity will find it surprisingly uneven and lacking the skill to deliver a range of tonal colors naturally

Takeaway: The Manger Audio c1 offers a unique take on monitoring due to its coherence, unforced clarity, and great bass performance. It's a seriously high-quality speaker with a one-of-a-kind technology.

What are hifi reviews useful for? (1) Identifying products you should demo in person at a dealer. (2) Learning which products reviewers unanimously praise as the best they've heard (this means they probably are legitimately great). (3) Identifying a product's attributes that satisfy your idiosyncratic needs and tastes. Beyond that, we often discount what reviewers say because they heap praise on most products—and are often apprehensive about publishing strong criticism or comparisons between products. Further, they seldom have more than a few products on-hand, often relying on their memories to compare past products. Always listen for yourself.

All

c1

reviews

[{"title":"Manger Audio C1 review","link":"https://www.whathifi.com/reviews/manger-audio-c1","source":"What Hi-Fi?","datePublished":"2019"},{"title":"Manger Audio C1","link":"https://www.soundonsound.com/reviews/manger-audio-c1","source":"Sound on Sound","datePublished":""}]
An excellent review of a great product
/
Publisher
/
3/1/2022
An excellent review of a great product
Publisher
/
3/1/2022

Manufacturer details

  • Type: Active 2-Way System
  • Frequency range: 30 Hz - 40 kHz
  • Crossover frequency: 330 Hz
  • Max. SPL: 110 dB Peak
  • Dimensions: 19.5"x10.6"x16.7" (495 x 270 x 424 mm)
  • Weight: 66.1 lbs (30 kg)
  • Bass: 200 mm Glass Fiber-Polyester Sandwich Design, 38mm Voice Coil ø
  • Max. Power Output LF: 250 W @ 8 Ohms Class AB
  • Max. Power Output HF: 180 W @ 8 Ohms Class AB
  • Power Bandwidth HF: 250 kHz (-3 dB)
  • Input Sensitivity: 6 dBu (1.55 V) or 0 dBu
  • Input Impedance: 10 kOhms
  • Input: XLR-3 (balanced)
Music has no limits. The soft tones of a Gregorian chant, the powerful dynamics of a symphony, the cutting guitar riffs of a metal band – the c1 active compact monitors handle everything expertly. These loudspeakers serve the music so neutrally that renowned recording studios consider the c1 as indispensable.
Manufacturer Site

Brand highlights

Taking a step back to look at reviewers' thoughts of the brand's entire lineup—not just this product—what stands out most is the following:

  • Manger differentiates itself by focusing on temporal and tonal accuracy through their bending wave transducer design, which mimics the function of the basilar membrane in the human ear.
  • The brand leverages the unique design of the Manger Sound Transducer, which avoids the traditional pistonic motion of conventional drivers, to achieve exceptional spatial representation and clarity.
  • Manger offers extensive customization options, including a wide array of RAL and NCS colors, various finishes, and the capacity to custom-match interior decor.

Z1:

  • Positioning: Compact speaker designed for versatile use in various environments.
  • Description: Offers a natural sound with its modern woofer and patented Manger sound transducer. Compared to the P1, it is more compact and suitable for smaller spaces, while still providing powerful bass and clear mids. It is a great choice for those with limited space but who still want excellent sound quality without the need for large floor-standing speakers.

C1:

  • Positioning: Active compact monitor for professional and home use.
  • Description: Praised for its neutral sound reproduction, making it a favorite in recording studios. Unlike the Z1, this is an active system with built-in amplifiers, providing more flexibility in setup and integration into various audio environments. It is perfect for users who need precise sound reproduction in both professional and home settings.

P1:

  • Positioning: Passive floor-standing speaker for high-fidelity audio enthusiasts.
  • Description: Delivers natural timbres with its Manger sound transducer, offering a unique listening experience. Compared to the Z1, this floor-standing model provides a larger soundstage and more powerful bass, making it suitable for larger rooms and those who prioritize sound quality over compactness.

P2:

  • Positioning: Passive flagship model for ultimate audio fidelity.
  • Description: Designed for high-level audio reproduction, with its advanced woofer system and Manger sound transducer. It offers superior impulse fidelity and bass precision compared to the P1.

S1:

  • Positioning: High-end active floor-standing speaker for discerning audiophiles.
  • Description: Combines the Manger sound transducer with a powerful woofer, providing seamless audio with time-accurate reproduction. Unlike the P2, this is an active system, offering built-in amplification and advanced room correction features for users who want a high-end, all-in-one solution without the need for external amplifiers.
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Avg. Product Price
$10,001-$20,000
Used For Sale
3
 Available (Scroll Down)
Brand Popularity
328
 of 900+
Badges
Top 50 Brand
Top 250 Brand
Products Listed
6
Founding Year
1969

Our take on the brand

Manger Audio is renowned for its unique Sound Transducer, which operates on bending wave principles rather than traditional piston-like movements in conventional speakers, delivering exceptional time-domain performance and natural sound reproduction. The German-made speakers use this proprietary driver technology to minimize energy storage and distortion while accurately reproducing transient pressure changes, resulting in a coherent, phase-accurate sound praised for its clarity and detail.

Look inside the brand

Brand Page

Our interview with the brand

What are two key technological innovations or strong opinions that differ you from other brands?

The Manger driver is a different technical principle.

It's quite a full-range driver, and the technical principle it uses is a so-called bending wave driver. You’ve probably read that my father invented this driver. He figured out that a conventional driver always has its own sound or footprint. By measuring, he saw that a classical driver always stores energy due to its construction. It behaves like a mass-spring system —so it's never quite as fast as the electronic signal. It introduces a kind of delay through mechanical energy storage. So, by the time the next change in the music or sound happens, the driver is still moving in another direction. Avoiding this transient behavior of the conventional driver —this energy storage—was the intention. This led to our core technology, the Manger sound transducer with its bending wave principle, which doesn’t store energy and covers a range from 360 Hz up to 45 kHz. If you read reviews, the conclusion is always the same: it’s very neutral and very natural.

Philosophy of neutrality and natural reproduction.

I always say the Manger is like food without additives. People know from eating or restaurants what “no additives” means—so they have a comparison. If you don’t have experience with natural sound—which means you’re not used to going to concerts with natural instruments—you have no reference. And if you compare our loudspeakers with other loudspeakers, they all sound different, but you don’t know which one is “right” and for sure it is also a matter of taste. There is something objective in the sound reproduction —how you can recognize things like imaging and the character of instruments, these are all so-called transients and the better a loudspeaker can reproduce this the more natural and lifelike the sound reproduction is perceived. But if you have a technical artifact in between—and mainly it’s the loudspeaker—then it’s not so direct. It is also less relaxing but fatiguing.

What's your approach to customer support?

The best situation is always when the customer has a good relationship to the dealer. Sometimes, the customer invests so much time and gathers so much information that—depending on the dealer’s capabilities—the dealer may not know how to help. In such cases, the customer typically contacts the distributor. And if they’re still not satisfied, they can contact the manufacturer directly. I am always willing to answer any questions. This has to do with our philosophy, and also with the fact that we are not a big company. So everything is like a small restaurant: you talk directly to the cook. People feel good when their questions are answered seriously and competently.

What are your favorite tracks for showcasing the strength of your products?

  • Birds — Dominique Fils-Aimé | Album: Nameless | Genre: Blues / Jazz / Soul
  • October — Göteborgs Kammerkör | Album: Viska du Vind | Genre: Folk / World
  • Malletoba Spank — Duke Ellington | Album: Ellington Jazz Party | Genre: Jazz
  • Celestial Echo — Malia & Boris Blank | Album: Convergence | Genre: Pop
  • Reflexion — Markus Stockhausen | Album: Sol Mestizo | Genre: World
  • Wheels Turn Beneath My Feet — Fink | Album: Wheels Turn Beneath My Feet | Genre: Rock
  • Various tracks | Album: Musik von einem anderen Stern | (Manger CD and LP sampler)

What other products pair best with yours?

In my demonstrations and shows, I mainly pair with SPL (Sound Performance Lab). I really love this combination. For me, it’s always important to show the result to people—when everything is in balance, including the cost of the electronics and the cables. The products from SPL sound great. I also know that Accuphase fits very well, and of course, it's also a matter of taste. I have customers who pair with tube amplifiers as well.

From our interview with
Daniela Manger
.
Brand Page

Used

Manger

No items found.

What if you spend more?

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What competes at this price?

PMC
PMC8-2
15250
/
Released
2021
This three-way active studio monitor is designed to provide critical reference monitoring for the most demanding applications.
Check Amazon
PMC is a hifi speaker brand known for its Advanced Transmission Line (ATL) technology, which enhances bass response and reduces distortion, and its LaminairX technology in the Prophecy series, which reduces turbulence and harmonic distortion by up to 3dB. Their active speakers are preferred by music and audio professionals for their tonal accuracy and dynamic range, with user reviews particularly praising their accurate midrange and detailed sound compared to brands like Dynaudio and B&W.
Expand Details

Our Summary

Product Strengths

  • Unparalleled clarity, definition, and utmost accuracy
  • Excellent bass extension and clarity, as well as proper tonal balance at every volume
  • Super wide dispersion, and thus a bigger sweet spot

Product Considerations

  • It would be overkill in smaller rooms
  • A pair is a significant investment, so it makes sense that it's geared toward large, professional recording environments
  • They weigh nearly 100 pounds apiece

Takeaway: The PMC 8-2 is a wise investment for professional studios that delivers detailed and accurate monitoring, so it could very well be the only monitor needed It uses proprietary technology to deliver its signature sound

Video review

Our take on the brand

PMC is a hifi speaker brand known for its Advanced Transmission Line (ATL) technology, which enhances bass response and reduces distortion, and its LaminairX technology in the Prophecy series, which reduces turbulence and harmonic distortion by up to 3dB. Their active speakers are preferred by music and audio professionals for their tonal accuracy and dynamic range, with user reviews particularly praising their accurate midrange and detailed sound compared to brands like Dynaudio and B&W.
Website author headshot
Julian Shapiro
ExtremeHiFi Writer
Product Page
Product Page

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