Monitor Audio has released the PL-IW 3G, a Platinum Series 3G In-Wall loudspeaker. This high-performance flagship model is designed for high-end home theater and two-channel stereo systems. It delivers maximum scale and sonic impact, but with minimum room intrusion.
The speaker’s driver configuration offers dual 6.5” bass drivers, a single 4” mid-driver and MPD III Transducer housed within a rotation enclosure. This versatile design means it can be used anywhere in a system, either as an LCR model at the front or as a highly effective surround or rear speaker.
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Available now for installation, the PL-IW 3G ($6,600 each) features the latest Platinum Series 3G acoustic innovations, including the MPD III High-Frequency Transducer. It delivers extraordinary performance levels to match the exceptional build and highly desirable design of the range’s freestanding models.
The three-way PL-IW 3G features the latest third-generation Micro Pleated Diaphragm (MPD III) high-frequency transducer, which was developed by Monitor Audio’s acoustic engineers when creating the company’s Hyphn loudspeaker.
The MPD III introduces technology that reduces distortion and flattens the frequency response, while the optimized waveguide provides highly controlled directivity, improving both soundstage and sensitivity. This all leads to a larger, clearer, and more consistent sound, according to the company, allowing the PL-IW 3G to create the ultimate immersive experience. The result, the company says, is that audio content is delivered with precision and clarity, introducing the listener to levels of accuracy and detail that they won’t have noticed before.
The PL-IW 3G is housed within a reinforced and internally braced 1″ (25mm) MDF and steel box construction and is equipped with an adjustable mid/high-frequency driver array, similar to that deployed in the THX Ultra certified Cinergy Theatre series. This approach allows the PL-IW 3G to be positioned either vertically or horizontally, ideal for LCR applications and for seamless tonal accuracy within a theater system.
Other PL-IW 3G Benefits
The RDT III (Rigid Diaphragm Technology III) cone is employed on all Platinum Series 3G midrange and bass drivers. An extremely strong cone, it is constructed from three distinct layers. A Nomex honeycombed core is sandwiched between an ultra-thin and ultra-rigid C-CAM (Ceramic-Coated Aluminum Magnesium) layer and a twin-layer of unidirectional Carbon Fibre, which are layered and bonded at 90 degrees to each other for even greater strength.
Super light, yet super strong, the RDT III cone works like a perfect piston, and when coupled to the latest optimized and contoured cone surround and black spider it allows the PL-IW 3G mid and bass drivers to boast the lowest distortion of any speaker in Monitor Audio’s history.
The PL-IW 3G’s bass drivers feature large-diameter edge-wound underhung voice-coils for improved power handling. These new voice-coils allow higher and more linear excursion of the driver, resulting in wider dynamic range with greater control, resulting in tighter, deeper, and more impactful bass.
A patented Dynamic Coupling Filter (DCF) in the PL-IW 3G helps to dampen surplus high-frequency energy produced by the driver. It is also perforated to encourage voice coil cooling and release air pressure from behind the cone for maximum driver efficiency — this means the drivers create a more natural and lifelike sound.
