Metal Guitarist Forums banner

NMD - (M-Audio AV40 Monitors)

10K views 48 replies 16 participants last post by  fathead 
#1 ·
Amazon.com: M-Audio Studiophile AV 40 Powered Speakers: Musical Instruments

Disclaimer: I do not intend to really "monitor" with these, since I have a nice pair of Tascams (that I had to repair.. thanks Drew :lol:) that I plan to do my "real" monitoring with. I'm in the middle of a big ol' home renovation project, and one of the first things I'm doing is remodeling my home office/studio to separate a mixing console from my regular desk. Anyway.



That said, I picked these up for a couple of reasons.

- I wanted something to run the HD500 to
- I have a Bose sub/satellite setup on my computer, and I'm just not a subwoofer kind of guy
- I needed multiple inputs.

So these are doing a few things. They have 3 ins - RCA, 1/4" and an 1/8" aux jack. I have the HD500 running into the 1/4" jacks, my iMac into the RCAs, and my xBox is going into the Aux in.

That said.. These things kick fucking ass! For $150 I fully expected them to be, well, on par with most Logitech speakers in the range. I am VERY pleasantly surprised - they sound fantastic! Plenty of volume, awesome bass response, everything I was looking for. It's like they have no business being this small.

Awesome, awesome speakers. I can't really say how they stack up in terms of flat response monitoring, but otherwise - for $150 they are a fantastic buy. :yesway:

Edit: $150 for the pair.
 
See less See more
1
#6 ·
I'm extremely happy with them, both as computer speakers, and for an output for the HD500. The HD sounds GREAT through them. The only thing about using them for recording that I'd be leary of is that they are ported, so the bass response is pretty high. That's probably not the best for mixing, but it makes MP3s and the HD sound fuckin' great.
 
#7 ·
They are great sounding speakers and are GREAT for what you're using them for. I had been eying this set for awhile and almost pulled the trigger on exactly what you bought a few months ago, Chris.

If you're going to mix though, I strongly recommend going with even just slightly higher end KRKs or Yamaha's for a more flat response.
 
#8 ·
:agreed:

I think these will be decent enough as an after-mix type of speaker. Eg: I mix something on my real monitors, then throw it at these to see how it sounds on a normal stereo. These are definitely NOT flat response, but on a budget, you could get away with mixing on 'em. There is a Bass Boost on/off switch on the back too, so that may help eliminate some of the bottom end from the port in the back.
 
#17 ·
No srsly Chris do you still like these things? MF.com has 11 sets of them returned that they're reselling used in "Condition 4 - Needs Repair." Sounds like people love to blow them up. :lol:

Nearest price competitors are Fostex PM0.4 set @ $200. The AV40's are on Amazon for $120.
 
#20 ·
Yeah, I love them. They're bassier than my "real" monitors, but if you keep that in mind you can mix on them no prob.

Having extra inputs, and the fact that they fucking DOMINATE for everything else (gaming, computer speakers, music, etc) makes them a winner.

:winning:
 
#21 ·
Wirelessly posted :)yesway:: Mozilla/5.0 (Linux; U; Android 2.2.1; en-us; DROIDX Build/VZW) AppleWebKit/533.1 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Mobile Safari/533.1 480X854 motorola DROIDX)

I picked a set of these up for $100 through Woot. Nowhere near as nice as my Event 20/20s, but smaller, cheaper, and with great connectivity.
 
#23 ·
Wirelessly posted (Metal Shop \m/: Mozilla/5.0 (BlackBerry; U; BlackBerry 9650; en-US) AppleWebKit/534.1+ (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/6.0.0.431 Mobile Safari/534.1+)

Josh said:
Wirelessly posted :)yesway:: Mozilla/5.0 (Linux; U; Android 2.2.1; en-us; DROIDX Build/VZW) AppleWebKit/533.1 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Mobile Safari/533.1 480X854 motorola DROIDX)

I picked a set of these up for $100 through Woot. Nowhere near as nice as my Event 20/20s, but smaller, cheaper, and with great connectivity.
Are you talking about the $600+ Event 20/20s?

If so, uh, no shit?
 
#25 ·
Wirelessly posted :)yesway:: Mozilla/5.0 (Linux; U; Android 2.2.1; en-us; DROIDX Build/VZW) AppleWebKit/533.1 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Mobile Safari/533.1 480X854 motorola DROIDX)

Chris said:
Wirelessly posted (Metal Shop \m/: Mozilla/5.0 (BlackBerry; U; BlackBerry 9650; en-US) AppleWebKit/534.1+ (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/6.0.0.431 Mobile Safari/534.1+)

Josh said:
Wirelessly posted :)yesway:: Mozilla/5.0 (Linux; U; Android 2.2.1; en-us; DROIDX Build/VZW) AppleWebKit/533.1 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Mobile Safari/533.1 480X854 motorola DROIDX)

I picked a set of these up for $100 through Woot. Nowhere near as nice as my Event 20/20s, but smaller, cheaper, and with great connectivity.
Are you talking about the $600+ Event 20/20s?

If so, uh, no shit?
Uh, they are the passive ones. But yeah, $300 for the pair. Obviously gonna be some improvement.

My point was, great speakers but not flat response monitors.
 
#28 ·
Wirelessly posted :)yesway:: Mozilla/5.0 (Linux; U; Android 2.2.1; en-us; DROIDX Build/VZW) AppleWebKit/533.1 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Mobile Safari/533.1 480X854 motorola DROIDX)

Uh, they are the passive ones. But yeah, $300 for the pair. Obviously gonna be some improvement.

My point was, great speakers but not flat response monitors.
I bet they aren't as good as these either. :lol:

Event 20/20 BAS Active Nearfield Studio Monitors at AmericanMusical.com
 
#33 ·
Wirelessly posted :)yesway:: Mozilla/5.0 (Linux; U; Android 2.2.1; en-us; DROIDX Build/VZW) AppleWebKit/533.1 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Mobile Safari/533.1 480X854 motorola DROIDX)

My Events are currently my stereo / home theater speakers anyway. It's not like I'm doing much mixing.
 
#36 ·
Seriously, these are nice though. I prefer them to the Klipsch 2.1 ProMedia system I had because they're more coherent - tighter bass (no super-high crossover to an over-eager ported subwoofer) and have a pretty good tweeter. Good crossover between the drivers. I don't understand why they're so directional, but they sound lovely in the sweet spot.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top