Monitor Audio Vestra W10

You only need to cast your mind back to February and the ISE (Integrated Systems Europe) show in Barcelona to catch Monitor Audio announcing the imminent arrival of three new 'Vestra'-branded subwoofers. So quick was the turnaround that the range is now firmly ensconced on retailers’ shelves as we speak. The smallest and most affordable of the three new models is this W10 - it’s a single driver design, and its number denotes the woofer diameter. The company rightly suggests the Vestra models represent ‘an extension of our Anthra subwoofer line’, a pricier flagship trio from which much of the former’s conceptual tech is imported. 

With the Vestra series, Monitor attempts to blend impactful bass performance and compact design with affordability. There’s a clear accent on simple operation (which might be a relief to some hobbyists), along with the application of bare-bones aesthetics. 

Sound quality

Many audiophiles resisted the temptation to use a subwoofer to bolster their stereo systems for years, but eventually caved - the low-end welly and ballast that stereo speakers omit are sometimes just too seductive. So I partner the Vestra W10 with a stereo pair of JBL 4305P active loudspeakers, as well as a full Lyngdorf/M&K Sound multi-channel home cinema, for the purposes of this test. 

Compact, cuboid, single-driver subwoofers with an emphasis on affordability can so often disappoint. You have no doubt heard the boom, slop and distortion of unworthy candidates - and don’t get me started on some of the ‘subwoofers’ that arrive packaged up with soundbars. Happily the Vestra W10 takes much in its stride - its dimensions naturally qualify it for small-room placement, but it’s equally content complementing an orchestra or jazz ensemble as it is an action-adventure flick. And the subwoofer’s sensitivity to music is of particular note. It can fill a snug living space easily, while executing on fine timing and sometimes exquisite punchiness.

The W10 doesn’t quite plummet to the depths of its larger W15 sibling but, wow, it gets close. The W10 regularly opens up the soundstage, almost as if to breathe life into music (particularly during grand rock choruses). It also subtly draws down all it needs from an orchestra, lending scale and weight to cellos, bassoons and timpani - that it can make my JBLs sing so merrily is a revelation. It also doesn’t shy away from imbuing a larger space with all the rib-rattling that today’s movie soundtracks demand. The W10 really steps up as a belter, but can hold back with a delicate authority and articulation when it needs to. It might not deliver on the large-room thrills or impact of pricier dual-driver enclosures, but that’s hardly the W10’s mission. 

Living with the Monitor Audio Vestra W10

Monitor Audio sent me the white version of the W10. It’s also available in black, but the former makes it a more home-friendly companion if it’s destined for a lighter domestic setting. The outer build and frame are formed from MDF, but the textured housing coating is vinyl. With no dimension exceeding 36 cm and sporting an almost-cube shape, it should easily find a home in a room corner or to the side of a flat-panel display. It weighs a consequential 13.3kg, but its form factor presents no real hardship if you need to move it around the room to find the optimal location. Four grey rubber base feet are useful for protecting hardwood floors from scuffs or scratches.

The 10in cone itself is mounted behind a removable but well-seated dark grey cotton grille. It’s one of Monitor Audio’s proprietary C-CAM (ceramic-coated aluminium magnesium) drivers - with a high linear excursion profile, it’s designed to mitigate distortion while promoting deep and controlled bass. The enclosure is sealed for tighter exposition and smoother frequency response - in this respect it differs from its 15in W15 stablemate, which carries two passive ports. A Class D-based amp module with 250 watts (RMS) powers the driver assembly and the in-room frequency response measures 19 – 200Hz (- 6dB). 

In keeping with a minimalist approach to subwoofer design, the Vestra W10 has no control app, remote handset or further method by which to tweak - it’s very much plug-and-play. For some, this might be a refreshing release. The amp plate on the rear side comprises a pair of left-and-right unbalanced RCA stereo inputs (no XLR balanced), one LFE RCA input, and plastic volume and low-pass crossover dials. Monitor Audio helpfully marks the furthermost clockwise position as ‘LFE’. As AV receivers and processors will usually handle the multi-channel crossover thresholds while sending sub-125 Hz signals directly to the bass enclosure, it’s a useful guide. Steel toggle switches accommodate phase (0 or 180 degrees), ‘auto’ or ‘always on’, and DSP/EQ preset selections ('impact', 'music' or 'movie'). The latter EQs are well dialled in, and prove useful in the test. Monitor Audio includes a 12v trigger cable if you wish the unit to engage when you turn on, say, an AV receiver. 

Conclusion

A subwoofer doesn’t need to be the size of a washing machine. The little Monitor Audio Vestra W10 cube settles in fast and offers just enough sonic thrust and weight to ratchet up a stereo or budget 5.1 layout to the next level. What’s more, the sonic output is expansive - and this quality alone adds scale and gravity to both your tunes and talkies. The subwoofer’s build quality is also fine for the class. Monitor Audio has concocted a great value package in the Vestra W10.

Listening notes

The Abyss (1989, Dolby Atmos, 4K UHD)
As the alien ship rises to the surface to close out the third act of James Cameron’s The Abyss, the deep-rooted rumble should consume the room. The W10 does an admirable job of conveying the scale and interpreting the sonic layers of the moment. The sub can’t shake you from your seat, but the intensity and bravado on display draw you right into the action.

Jehan Alain Litanies
Jehan Alain’s organ composition, with its repetitive plainsong phrasing, gives way to the clamour of devastating bass stops. The subwoofer basks in this thunder with its visceral aptitude and a full-bodied response.

‍Muse Dig Down
The Vestra W10 proves it can dig in and articulate the deep and meandering electronic motif which underscores the vocals. The mixer’s intent is clearly to make your chest quiver, and this 10in subwoofer knows it can. What’s more, the timing here is thrilling.

The obvious reason is that you want to add some heft to a pair of bookshelf speakers or need that extra dose of shakes in the vicinity of the telly. It’s doing all that without spending the earth - there’s no substitute for a competent subwoofer if it’s more sonic authority sound you’re after, and the Vestra W10 fulfils the brief.

In the likely event that you are seeking out a mid-price receiver for your TV shelf to complement one or a pair of the Vestra W10s, why not consider our recommended JBL MA7100HP? 

The AVR is expert at retrieving details from movie soundtracks and can hold its own when it comes to streamed tunes. 

If it’s speakers you’re after and wish to keep things price-equivalent, the Q Acoustics 3050i 5.1 speaker package for £999 could fit the bill. Our reviewer Steve Withers suggested that the included subwoofer incurred a ‘serious lack of depth’, so you could choose to supplant it with one or two W10s to pick up the slack.

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