Behringer MS16 Powered Studio Desktop Monitors - Best mp3 speakers site, right here

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PHILIP ITURRALDE (MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA USA) –

  

SUBJECTIVE REVIEW: Behringer MS16 2-Way Active Personal Monitor System

Pros:
- Accuracy, soundstage & imaging!!
- Connectivity & Front Panel Controls (Right CH Speaker):
…. INPUT 1 (1/8″ TRS) Connector
…. INPUT 2 (RCA Right & Left) Connectors
…. ADJUSTABLE 1/4″ TRS Microphone Input – mixable w/stereo inputs for playback and vocal monitoring applications
…. 1/8″ TRS HEADPHONE Connector w/auto-mute loudspeaker function.
…. FRONT PANEL Controls (Bass, Treble & Level)

Cons:
None except deep bass – which can be resolved by adding a powered-sub like I did!!!

NOTE: All subjective comments based on:

1) SPEAKER LOCATIONS:
…. a) Free-standing near-field monitor location, 4′ apart, slightly tilted-in (closes walls 10′) – Music by my Polaroid 30 GB MP3 player (NO powered-sub )
…. b) Keyboard: L & R location installation, slightly tilted-in (with & without Altec Lansing FX2021 powered-sub**)

**NOTE: Adding a powered-sub relieves the Behringer MS16 4″ woofer speakers of reproducing the lower frequencies thus lowering the possibility of distortion or breakup when played louder, – 85 dBc to 90 dBc Fast SPL Peaks!

2) Critical listening SPL = approx. 85 dBc to 90 dBc Fast SPL Peaks measured @ 8′ to 10′ away from the speakers.
…. a) Radio Shack SPL Analog Meter: Dial = 80 or 90 / Weight = C / Speed = Fast

ACCURACY:
One of the Behringer MS16 hallmarks is the accuracy in reproducing encoded musical sounds from my MP3s, … like, a violin sounds like a violin, a trumpet sounds like a trumpet, a tenor sax sounds like a tenor sax, a Grand Piano, like the Grand Piano that Diana Krall uses in her “Live in Paris” CD (I use to own a 6′ Yamaha Grand in my HT/family room), etc. What is unusual for this price range, is the MS16 ability to reveal subtleties and the resolution of the high frequency characteristics within the encoded music/instruments, . . . they are just more evident with the Behringer MS16 vs. other speakers in this price and some costing more; i.e. with close mike recording of an acoustic guitar, you can hear the artist fingers (George Benson; Earl Klugh; Russ Freeman) sliding up and down the frets; you can tell that that two violins are playing a melodic line, rather than just one violin; the air harmonics off the crash or ride cymbal sounds, just like our Tama Rock Set w/Zildjian cymbals; Diana Krall breathing during some of her songs Intro (“Live in Paris” Music CD). Here – I do chalk up the sound quality to Behringer MS16 1.5″ (38mm) Diameter High-Resolution Tweeter., which is a nice size for a small personal Studio near-field Monitors.

SOUNDSTAGE:
The left to right placements of instruments & voices are excellent, providing a precise, very wide, beyond the speakers soundstage. The Behringer MS16 front to back (depth) soundstage is also excellent, as well as the dynamic’s resolution (soft vs. loud) in playing back the encoded instrument sounds which helps provide excellent location placement of the instruments. Though the front to back soundstage can be a result of how close the microphones were to the instruments, no doubt, the quality of the best recordings, will be revealed by this speaker and the opposite is also true, poor recordings will be revealed as poor. The Behringer MS16 plays back all my Jazz CD Music with relative smoothness, with no surprising in-between the eyes, unnatural frequency peaks because of it’s super flat & wide Pro Monitor like frequency characteristics. I also own the JBL N24 w/4″ woofers (JBL NSP1 PKG) which was raved by Brent Butterworth for its super midrange playback (voices) and in direct comparison, the Behringer MS16 is equal to task providing the same balanced, natural, clear unstrained playback! (Samples: “Francis Albert Sinatra & Antonio Carlos Jobim” 1967 Digital remastered DDD Music CD; Diana Krall “Love Scenes” & “The Look of Love” Music CD; Bob James “Fourplay” Music CD; David Benoit “Fuzzy Logic” Music CD [Album Of The Year - 2003 National Smooth Jazz Awards], etc.).

IMAGING:
Another characteristic that the Behringer MS16 displays is its ability to image the specific instruments across the soundstage, with a floating in front, side, quality sound presence comparable to some JBL PRO Studio Monitors, though its point source is more precise due to the smaller cabinet side. The Behringer MS16 low-diffraction front cabinet geometry feature curved cabinet edges to eliminate diffraction, which ensures precise imaging and localization. I love the Behringer MS16 ambience reproduction in my room, because it gave me the feeling that “you are there” and if the recording is from a live concert, the ambience provided the right amount of reflections to make you think your listening to the performance outdoors, or in the symphony hall. (“The Corrs – Live at the Royal…

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 Comments (3)

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D. Parkinson (Manchester, UK) –

  

i bought these speakers to carry round with my laptop when i go to friends. when i first tried them i thought the resonance on the upper bass was terrible, but then i tore up a shirt and stuffed cotton down the bass ports to dampen the bass resonance. now they sound quite good for a portable monitor speaker. i don’t think i could have got better for the price. i wouldn’t recommend them as a home studio monitor but as a portable monitor, they’re good value if you tackle the problem of excessive bass resonance. i understand that the bass resonance is supposed to compensate for the lack of bass due to the speakers being small, but it’s better to have a clear sound than boomy distorted bass at a single resonant frequency.

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Very good little speakers for the price. I purchased these to use as computer speakers because of the option to mix in two sources, as I use two PC’s at my desk and enjoy the ability to get sound from both out of the one pair of speakers. I was slightly disappointed that there is no option to adjust the level of the two inputs independently.

The audio quality, however, does not disappoint. I was pleasantly surprised by the power as well as the good high and low range response. I would recommend them over any similarly priced set of computer speakers. The bass response is comparable to (and the mid-range and high end clarity far better than) any low or mid-priced 2.1 speaker setup I’ve seen, so don’t worry about the lack of a sub woofer option. They also drive headphones very well, even really demanding ones like my Sennheiser HD-540 reference headphones, which require a lot of power.

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