M-Audio Studiophile AV 40 Powered Speakers | List Price: $199.00
Discount Price: Too low to display
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Brand: M-Audio
Binding: Electronics
Features: - 4 polypropylene-coated woofers
- 3/4 ferrofluid-cooled silk dome tweeters
- OptImage III tweeter wave guides for superior imaging
- 20-watt-per-channel amplifier with Class A/B architecture
- Magnetic shielding
Surprised, pleasantly, by sound quality and power [Posted on 2008-07-30]
I bought these speakers to bring what I expected was probably above average quality sound to a secondary computer, but I think I'm going to be using them on my primary computer. They're really impressive.
They do offer a fairly flat response, which is what I had expected from studio monitor speakers, but if you want to color the frequency spectrum a little, there are plenty of options with sound card softwares and things like Windows Media Player.
The sound is very precise and sharp, but not harsh. The highs are more reserved than, say, on your typical Klipsch speakers (which are my standard favorites), but the depth of the boxes on these allows for a surprising amount of bass. Really surprising amount of bass! Of course, they don't reach extremely low frequencies, but they firmly support the lowest frequencies that they are designed to reach.
To my classically-trained ear, I prefer NOT turning on the "Bass Boost," for it just makes the sound too boomy in the mid-low range. They've got plenty of bass without needing much tweaking. I find they need a little boost on the highs more than the lows. Right now, I've got Dream Theater's Images and Words playing with the volume about a 1/4 of max, and it's PLENTY loud, and the sound is TIGHT.
Their "presence" is much like that of the Grado Prestige Series SR80 Stereo Headphone -- you feel as though you're essentially on stage with the performers. They do not offer an artificial "audience presence" that is popular on some of the other brands of high-end speakers and headphones. They are truly studio monitors, as advertised. I'm very pleased with them.
I'm shocked that they're just rated at 20W. Whether listening to classical or rock/metal, I find that I really don't need to turn the volume up much at all, and cranking it up I can even reach a pain threshold -- but there's still very little distortion at high volume levels, so these could be used to fill a fairly decent-sized room. Of course, you'd be missing some of the frequencies below 85Hz, as advertised, but they have no problem providing clear sound at that frequency level.
Very fine speakers, and VERY solidly built. The TRS cable inputs are an added bonus, but I guess they should be expected since these are, in truth, Studio Monitors. Very good speakers/studio monitors for the money. I will be shopping for M-Audio products in the future.
M-Audio Studiophile AV-40s are great [Posted on 2008-09-10]
Dynamite speakers. They sound great. They are the best computer speakers I've owned. They sound better than many "regular" stereo speakers I've owned.
The best speakers I have ever heard [Posted on 2008-09-15]
Before getting these, I was a die-hard Klipsch guy. I loved my Promedia 2.1s, but my cat chewed through the cable connecting the main speaker to the sub. After getting a nice gift card from work, I decided to give these a whirl.
I will never be going back to the Klipschs. These sound even better than my big floor-standing setup in my entertainment center. The sound simply envelops you. I now understand what "reference quality means."
Also, no worries about kitty chewing through these speakers. All of the cabling is standard (RCA/mini, standard power cable, standard speaker wire) and not built into the set. I will never buy another set.
Only a few months, one is dead and the volume control is messed up. Don't buy. [Posted on 2008-09-29]
So I'm supposed to spend $50 shipping this back to the manufacturer to get it fixed? I might as well buy new speakers.
I barely use these. I noticed a few days ago, the volume knob, if less than 50%, will create problems when moving it - only one speaker would want to work. Then, today, only fuzz comes out of the non-powered speaker.
Thanks for giving me such a crappy product. I learned my lesson - don't trust off brands. I don't care what you all say about these speakers, I would give negative stars if I could. For a person who has used them maybe once a week to watch a movie and on 25% of the volume, there is no way I "damaged" them.
Thanks a lot M-Audio.
Strong performance [Posted on 2008-10-03]
Use these speakers as they are intended to be used - as desktop speakers for your computer, or for a small home studio at your mixing board, etc. - and they perform very, very well.
As others have said, if you need lots of huge, shake-your-lungs bass, etc. - get a subwoofer system. But if you need a pair of small, solid, clear, "musical" speakers to enjoy music, multimedia, etc. with good range (even in the bottom end) - these are great.
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