M-Audio Studiophile AV 40 Powered Speakers (Previous Version) - Best mp3 speakers site, right here

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C. Kelleher “cmkelleher” (new york, ny United States) –

  

  

My old Logitech Z-560 developed a short in it creating nasty crackling noises over one channel. The Z560 was a rare beast, a $140 400 watt 4.1 monster that Logitech built to really high standards to create a strong foot forward into the PC speaker market. Sadly, their quality has declined since then, and their current offerings are cheaply made, sound far worse with music than the 560s, and have even fuzzier and more overwhelming bass than the 560 did (the systems one flaw). I decided to try 2.0 systems to see if I could get good PC sound without the added failure risk of a high powered sub and the muddiness that all that extra bass and clumsy frequency transitions between sats and sub causes…

My findings, from worst to best:

Logitech Z-10: 30 watts. Looks good, costs a lot, $150, list. Sounds dreadful. Despite having a largish 3″ woofer, and a 1″ tweeter, the Z-10 seems to be doing a lot of signal processing of music and the soundstage sounds compressed and artificial. Changing bass and treble makes things worse, and your music will sound different (and worse) on these speakers than it would normally. The touch controls and LCD screen are useless pricy gimmicks that increase chance of failure and add weight and cost to the system. Who in the world needs to see the name of the track playing on the bottom of the speaker? Anyway, these are a disappointment, with the worst sound and tied for the highest price. The speakers are heavy and well made, very stylish, though easily smudged with the reflective black surface on the front of the speaker. Logitech needs to redo these, silly gadgets and useless feature are tolerable, bad sound however is always a deal-breaker. Two stars, for style and build quality.

Klipsch ProMedia 2.0: Also 30 watts. Nice sound, good price, $100 list. Dual 2.5″ woofers and a 1″ tweeter with a Klipsch high-freq horn in it. These sound pretty good, but they are unexpectedly bulky and poorly made. The oddly formed speaker housing means these take up a lot of space and the volume and bass control knobs look like they come from a $10 CyberAcoutsics set. The cheapie knobs, bulk, and ugliness make these fit for corporate presentations where good loud sound matters and where style is largely irrelevant. For the home user, the cheap knobs may well break over time, which was the Achiles heel for my 560s; quality system, cheap volume pot. Three stars, good though not excellent sound, reasonable price, loses points for ugliness and some shoddy cost cutting in build quality. The bulk is sort of a neutral issue, as the larger box size probably helps the sound and bass extension of the units, but for some users the footprint and added portability difficulties may be an issue.

Creative Gigaworks T20: 28 watts (though the box says 22 watts!) $100 list. Creative obscures most specs on these, probably fearing the single 2.5″ driver versus the bigger Logitech and the double same size drivers of the Klipsch may convince buyers that the T20 lacks in comparison to its rivals. Truth is the build and design of the T20s makes them sound much better than either the Z10s or the Promedias. These little speakers can put out an awesome amount of clear accurate sound, and they look great and feel very sturdy. Treble in particular is excellent, and the alleged Bass Xport technology must have something to it, as bass is more than adequate. The separate bass and treble knobs may or may not appeal; to some, they offer more control, to others the added circuitry distorts the signal and gives an added area of complexity in the design that may fail. The portability is excellent. The only real problem is that Creative is so secretive about the wattage and driver size, out of unnecessary concern that buyers may avoid getting these because of a few watts or a half inch. These sound great, look good, and the size to sound ratio is impressive. Four stars.

M-Audio AV40s: 40 watts, $200 list. My personal choice, these speakers are much bigger than the other contenders, but the amazing sound and plentiful bass will convince you that you don’t need to even think about a sub system. These wooden cabinets are very attractive and sturdy, but are not exactly portable weighing 14 lbs and being quite bulky. (More so than the Klipsch, but they also look nicer and are built better.) Besides the size and weight, the other issue is cost and maybe availability as few vendors sell M-Audio, and the price for the AV40s even with discount will be $50-$65 more than the cost of the other units I looked at. To me the sound and accuracy (no distortion at high volume, lots of accuracy at low volume) of the M-Audios, at both low and high volume, offsets all the problems. Four stars, loses a star because of higher cost and weight. (Note though these are still theoretically portable, far more so than any 2.1 system or even the average boombox…)

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Until I used these speakers, I thought that speaker “break-in” was just certain audiophiles’ way of justifying a speaker purchase. The speakers didn’t actually get better, their ears just adjusted to them, right? Boy, was I wrong.

I purchased the M-Audio AV 40 after reading the umpteen quadrillion 5-star reviews plastered all over the internet, and after having sworn off bloated, sloppy subwoofers forever. I eagerly awaited the arrival from Amazon (four business days, not bad!), and when they came I was so excited I could barely hook them up. However, this was followed by an extremely hollow and anti-climactic sound. I was crushed! Rather than packing them for resale, I recalled some other reviewers’ advice on breaking them in. I skeptically continued by leaving them juiced them for the better part of a day, and I was rewarded with the title of this review – Punchy low end, unreal crispness in the higher frequencies, and VERY well-pronounced mids.

A lot of people consider music to be low and high end, childishly embellishing both ends of the spectrum. That’s fine, as I’m not the Taste Police, but sooo much music is lost, ‘smeared’, or just drowned like that. Most of your music lives in the mids, and that is clearly evidenced by the outstanding reproduction of the M Audios. I’m hearing subtle nuances I’ve never heard before, like fingers on frets, breath, and a ton of other sounds previously washed over by my typically consumer-level 2.1 system (Klipsch).

‘Punchy’ lows are hard to describe until you hear it for yourself. They are clean, ‘fast,’ and accurate. This is a stark contrast to the typical 2.1. The M Audio rig delivers low-end as the recording engineers intended. Most importantly, the rest of your music is intact, and you’re free to enjoy a clarity generally unheard of in computer audio.

Another trait that bucks the trend of computer speakers is the clear highs. Sure, those other systems have highs, too…some even have dedicated tweeters (though most use all-in-one drivers). The difference here is that the highs just sail from the speakers as opposed to being shrill, ‘bright’, and fatiguing after longer listening sessions. You’re free to concentrate on the music without being reminded of how annoying your speakers are. That’s a HUGE upgrade from most speakers that use circuitry to color your sound. Bose, for instance, is notorious for ruining pure sound by processing it into what THEY think you want to hear. If that’s tinny cymbals and loose, slippery bass, hey, have at it. The M Audios leave the frequency spectrum alone, allowing you to enjoy the flat (i.e., accurate) response or EQ to your content.

Build quality is out of this world, at this price point. Clearly, these aren’t your buddy’s same-same, ‘plasticky’ speaker system. The design itself is extremely professional and understated, though I can see how some users might be turned off by the footprint. Hopefully, this will be mitigated by the lack of wires running all over your office, or subwoofers taking up floor space (not to mention screwing up your sound).

One of the simplest things to do in order to have great audio is to ditch the sub and go for a system that is designed not to compete with itself, which is what almost always happens with overpowered subs and tinny satellites. People often buy speakers like the Logitech Z-2300 based on sheer power stats. Sure, you’ll rattle window sills and piss off the neighbors, but I’m convinces that too much music is lost under the flatulent bass. Those units are GREAT for home theater, as they have ported boxes that lend themselves to power over accuracy. Thus, explosions sound great. But the same force that drives home sound effects in movies is what makes kick drums or more complicated bass lines boom and bounce all over the place, destroying the natural balance of the sound. The M Audio presents the entire spectrum for you to bathe in.

These are ‘near-field.’ You’ll get the best result by placing them very close to where you sit. They will make a terrible bookshelf solution, as they are ported in the rear and bookshelf placement will not give them proper room to breathe. What I did was buy a $50 set of speaker stands here at Amazon, mounting them about four feet from each ear. The sound is just out of this world, and they look awesome while freeing my desk for my notoriously disorganized crap.

These speakers are like $130 shipped, as of this writing. That’s the cost of most self-styled ‘high-end’ PC systems. But trust me, the AV 40 are the only ones I’ve heard that are delivering anything close to a great, non-fatiguing listening experience. As a bonus, if you live in an apartment or condo they won’t be talking about you at meetings. But most of all, the clarity of these little speakers is hardly EVER found at this price point. I’m ridiculously happy with them, if you couldn’t…

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Update March 22, 2010:

After almost 3 years, the speakers still perform well. I haven’t experienced any buzzing or hum that some people complained about.

This was my first review on Amazon, and I see that I wrote it mostly for the audiophile audience. So here is a quick summary:

These speakers have more liveness and less distortion than you’ll likely find anywhere close to their price. They sound best with close-miked instruments and human voice. Although they have no subwoofer, they carry enough convincing bass to make all forms of instruments sound fully rendered and not tinny. Put simply, these make other computer speakers sound harsh and/or anemic by comparison.

You need to be careful with placement. Keep the speakers away from the wall and do not pack objects close to them. Use the supplied mat to couple them to a solid platform. The result is very even midrange and midbase, sweet treble, agile dynamics, and wonderful 3D imaging right at your desk. They should satisfy everyone for near-field listening who doesn’t require a strong bass foundation. But make no mistake, these will out-perform some 2.1 systems just because they can really punch!

Now, for the audiophile in you, here is my original 2 part review:

I have listened to speaker systems costing less [Logitech (Z-10 + others), Creative (T-20 + others)] and more [Bose (companion series 2, 3, and 5)] than these speakers, but none of them had the dynamic snap and even midrange of the AV 40 speakers–I could tell that just listening in the store. Of all the others, the Bose companion 5 sounded the best in-store (better demo setup, too)–but it fell far short of the AV 40s. I wish I could comment on the comparative focus and realism of the speakers, but I only took the AV 40s home and not the others, so there’s your caveat for the rest of this review.

The first thing that impressed me was the imaging behind my monitor–but I was also a little disappointed initially, because I was used to the in-your-face treble of cheaper speakers. Vocalists and lead instruments sounded a little recessed, but focused and not lacking in detail. Things quickly got better after the amp warmed up, and since that time, I haven’t noticed a recessed sound, and the speakers seemed to open up. So I think the amp+speakers do need a little breaking-in or at least to warm up in order to sound their best.

Even when playing simple recorded voices from YouTube, I was struck with how focused and life-like the voices sounded. I could hear more parts to my CDs than before. I played “Step Into Liquid”, and immediately noticed how overly processed recordings (“Back to You”) sounded somewhat better, while cleaner tracks (“Endlessly”, with deep harmonized vocals, percussive hollow woody instruments being thonked, etc.) totally blew me away! The voices and percussion sounded beautiful, rock-solid, and much more lively than I recalled hearing on cheaper speakers.

These speakers can deliver a very dynamic punch on the right music. I played “La Folia” on track 11 with the drums, and I can’t recall ever hearing such a palpable impact on the attacks except when I played that CD in a car which had MB Quart speakers, known for their high dynamic kick. We’re talking midrange kick, not bass–if you hear the Bose system, you’ll understand the difference (Bose seems to put all of its dynamic response into the bass module, with mids and highs sounding lifeless). There was plenty of bass to satisfy a music lover, but probably not a bass lover. For near-field sound, it’s perfect.

Because the sound was as good as it was, and because I played these using the built-in sound chips on my motherboard (Dell Precision 390), I was motivated to buy an M-Audio Audiophile 2496 sound card to see just how good my system can be on a budget (to be continued, below).

I recommend these speakers to anyone who cares about clean reproduction and approaching that sweetness and liveness that better components can offer. I paid $150 + tax.

**************************************************************************

This is a follow-up review. I installed the M-Audio Audiophile 2496 sound card, and a 1 meter pair of Audioquest Diamondback interconnects. The sound card/cable combo required about 3 hours to break-in (initially, the new components made the sound restricted and somewhat bass-shy).

But after 3 hours, what a difference:

1) Bass was now tight and extended, and I realized I had been hearing a slight bloat before. So I flicked the bass boost switch on the speakers, which gave a small boost to the lowest range of the speaker–no coloring of the midrange per se (human voices remained unchanged), but a lift added from the upper bass on down. If the bass was not so tight and well-controlled, using this switch…

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