M-Audio AV32 - Compact Active Desktop Reference Speakers (Pair) for Superior Sound, Perfect for Professional Media Creation and an Immersive Gaming Experience

Speaker are just speakers right? Well that's what I thought before purchasing these - coming up from an older Logitech X5500 system which I always thought was the top of the top for my PC system. (wrong there Tom lad) One of the guys from work is into music production and generally making pinky and perky trashing a pan factory type music, having moved my computer to a smaller room I complained about the X5500's taking too much space. The music making guy told me that some monitors would make my Logitech speakers sound like a pile of crackling humming junk - obviously offended I told him that pinky and perky are rubbish and carried on my merry way. The seed though had been sown and after some consideration I decided to give some other speakers a go (for the record the X5500's do actually hum when turned off and at low volume) - much research on the internet followed and I eventually borrowed a set of Yamaha monitors running though a Focusrite 2x2. Good grief? Something like that. The sound was as clear as beautiful still spring water, absolutely perfect clarity and reproduction - only thing letting them down was the eye watering cost to purchase similar (over £500 per speaker!) More looking on Amazon and I came across the M-Audio AV42's - the cost was right on the money for what I wanted to pay. I compared loads of alternatives but the reviews on independent websites always pointed to the M-Audio being the best of the bunch... I took the plunge and bought myself a pair along with a Audioquest Dragonfly DAP. First impressions on the monitors were.. ok... but I always knew I'd have to 'run them in', so I persevered by playing a CD on higher volume while I went to work for the day and did a back shift as well with the music still on. On returning home my neighbour greeted me with exceptionally red eyes and a strange grimace of anxiety on his face but I was really rather pleased with the now fully 'bed in' sound - even though the CD I left playing had been skipping on the same song all day and night. Being serious though; the monitors are fantastic value for money - don't worry too much about the sound until you've used them for a while as they do seem to 'open up' after a few hours of use. The sound is far better if you place them at head height, don't just put them directly on your computer table as they'll be too low and sound as if the treble needs raising - try and position them so that the tweeter is about level with your ears and the sound is lifted to brilliant clarity. The bass is fine for normal listening - I wouldn't describe the sound as bass rich but is perfect for normal/natural sound reproduction. Volume is good and loud, I have never had them turned right up so can't comment on distortion at highest volume setting. Things I like is that when not in use they don't make a sound; no hum, no quite static noise - nothing at all is heard (yes they are left turned on even with the handy switch on the back), I also like the Aux input on the front - great for connecting your mobile phone/ipod and they aren't physically big on the desk (this is actually one of the main reasons I bought them to be honest) - just make sure they are set up from the surface for best sound quality. Now, down to the sound: I'd say they are certainly far better than the Logitech X5500's because the clarity is really nice and tight - no noises other than the instruments and the vocals are nice and clear, I like that 'quiet' is really quiet... silences in the song is really like you are in the studio with absolutely nothing interrupting the mood of the tune. The vocals are lovely, clear and neat - not too high in your ear of muffled - just right for a lifelike reproduction. (I tend not to use any EQ settings for enhancement) My only dislike is that the volume knob; which was another reason why I purchased these and is a bit on the sensitive side - I tend to leave it set about mid to lower third way around the dial and use the computer slider to alter the volume instead. (one should really set the PC volume to maximum and use the monitor dial to alter the volume for beat reproduction) Would I buy these again? Yes I would, definitely so. Nice sound, small profile, good input options and the cabinets have a quality feel to them. Five stars from me for these!

I've had the AV32's for just about a month now and I can say they are great speakers. I went from a very cheap 2.1 set up, (which I've had for about 8 years and lasted great), to this 2 monitor set up. From some reviews saying they lacked bass and loads of vidoes saying, 2 monitor set ups need a sub woofer, I have not found this to be the case at all, mine are very bass-y and with films, they've been great. I have to say that after reading lots of reviews on monitor set ups, I was slightly disappointed as the sound didn't blow me away like I expected, but I am no audiophile by any means, and perhaps my expectations were pretty high. Despite this, the sound is still very good and seems to have good low and high end, though perhaps the middle is slightly lacking. I was worried about the glossy finish around the tweeter, but honestly it's not as sharp as the pictures unless you have them close by the window for reflections, and they have actually become a nice aesthetic to my set up. Overall, I definitely recommend these, for the price they are great, and smaller then I expected too which was a nice surprise.

AMAZING for the cost. OK..lets start with the good. You basically get some fine speakers and stereo amp for £100. so split 50/50, thats not much cash and for that money, they are pretty amazing. The Amazingly goods Stereo Image - Like nothing you have heard on compact speakers before. Call it what you will, separation, stereo image, ambience, soundstaging etc, etc, they are just unbelievable at this price. I have Hifi costing many thousands more than these that are only marginally better in this respect. The only comparison I can give is, The Stereo effect and instrument positioning is like wearing headphones, but without the discomfort of having to wear anything. Which, I guess, is the whole point with a monitor speaker. Yet to try them for music production but would expect this strength to be a real benefit. Sound - Smooth, detailed, punchy, full ranged, very musical and easy to listen to. The Good Volume - They go loud. Not outdoor concert loud but plenty for a mid sized room. They can be turned up to almost full before distorting, so the controls are well setup to only give max usable volume. Build - Very good, plastic & rubber used to good effect. Bundled cables could be better quality. I Like the poke proof tweeters - kids do like to touch stuff. Look nice on the desk. Features - OK, what you would expect. No Gain control or tone controls but wasnt expecting any on monitors. Has Phono In and 3.5mm Line in. Worth noting these work together so you could use as 2 inputs from 2 sources. The Wish list Now, being very picky here and unrealistic at this price, but if I had to be critical I would like the following: Bass - OK, its deep, punchy, smooth and sounds great...but not really that deep plunging bass you get from larger speakers & subs. They try hard but basically are restricted by the laws of physics. 4" cones cannot go deep enough in my experience. (Although they do very well for this size) Treble - Again, sound great, detailed and not harsh..but my personal taste is more detail and ring to treble that I find can only be achieved with metal dome tweeters (titanium is my favored). But then you would loose the rebound pokeablility of the rubber tweeters used for desktop use, so horses for courses. In Summary Great sounding monitors that punch well above their price and would have to spend a lot more to get better. As a side, I have some very good Creative PC speakers (cant remember model) that cost about £60. Again they sound great and was always impressed for the money and size. These M-Audio's now make them sound very ordinary in comparison. Well worth the extra outlay..

DTM用として購入。1-2万円代の価格帯でいくつか聴き比べて購入しました。DTMではフラットな音質が求められますがこの製品が最もフラットで解像度も申し分なく低音にも余裕が感じられました。ワット高い一つ上のモデルでも同様ですので出力が必要な方はそちらでもいいと思いますが宅内環境ではこちらで十分です。 ちなみに最近パワーアンプなしのKemperを購入しギターのパワーアンプ&キャビネット代わりに使いましたが全く問題ありません。ひとつ上の20wタイプなら2つ並べて小規模なライブのモニターとしてなら使えるレベルです（もちろん実際の音はkemperからPA直）

los monitores M-Audio avid AV32 de 3" son una opción adecuada para los que desean adquirir un par de bocinas de buena calidad a un precio bajo ya que tienen un audio muy equilibrado, por lo que podrás disfrutar de todo tipo de música, ya que tiene un muy buen nivel de altos y bajos por lo que no te perderás de ningún detalle. Ademas si planeas entrar en el mundo de la producción musical, estos son un buen par de monitores para gente con el presupuesto ajustado o principiantes que apenas van a empezar con la producción ya que tienen un umbral de sonido plano, lo cual es perfecto para producción de música como de vídeo, para escuchar el audio en estado puro.

J'utilise ces enceintes en remplacement d'un système hi-fi et la qualité est totalement différente, le son est bien plus clair, bien plus profond et l'image stéréo est étonnante. Les basses ne sont pas accentuées artificiellement ce qui donne un son très précis et fidèle à ce que l'on écoute. Elles conviennent au monitoring dans ce sens car elles permettent de régler finement sa production, bien plus que n'importe quelles enceintes hi-fi cependant des enceintes plus chères conviendraient peut-être mieux car on sent que la qualité peut être encore améliorée. Elles sonnent néanmoins mieux lorsqu'elles sont isolées du bureau avec des tapis type mousse isolante, et elles nécessitent une carte son de bonne qualité (j'utilise un fast track usb de M-audio pour mon écoute personnelle). Aussi, leur petite taille ne permet pas de sonoriser une grande pièce (elles ne sont pas faites pour) à cause de leur puissance, elles conviennent à l'écoute de proximité et de bureau, mais elles peuvent être poussées assez fort sans subir trop de distorsion. Je n'ai pas pu essayer d'AV-40 avant d'acheter les AV-42 mais elles sont censée être une upgrade (avec une réponse à partir de 75hz contre 80hz pour les av-40). Pour le prix, ces enceintes sont de bien meilleure qualité que ce qu'on trouve dans les grands supermarchés et les systèmes hi-fi, parfaitement adaptées pour les gens qui recherchent un son précis et clair dans leur écoute de musique. Pour le monitoring, elles font le travail si on a rien d'autre, mais pour une production musicale professionnelle mieux vaut se tourner vers des modèles supérieurs.

A little bit about me, if you have looked at any of my previous reviews (or if not) you will find out that I dabble in music production (particularly 90s east coast drum style Hip Hop, down-tempo Electronic, a lil dance styles etc) and also that I am into gaming (online and offline PC gaming all the way). Well the M Audio AV 32's happen to meet these two areas of interests very well in my opinion and I'll explain why, while also addressing some of their criticisms: 1) I also own a pair of the M Audio AV 40 s (the old 20 watt version) which have been replaced by the AV 42 speakers, and many people complained about the bass output and made similar comments about how they weren't good for Hip Hop, etc. First and foremost these are (admittedly low price) monitor speakers, they are not supposed to have overwhelming bass, like most computer speaker 5.1 sets with sub-woofers come with, I actually replaced my old Logitech 5.1 system with the AV 32's because while the bass did sound good (still does) on the Logitech's, I got a little tired of the "boom-i-ness" while gaming, and wanted speakers with more clarity, also wanted speakers that took up less desk space than the 5 speakers plus a subwoofer I had been using. 2) For gaming as another user has mentioned these are great,and actually provide more clarity and direction awareness than the 5.1 speaker system I had been using. I think this is due to the fact that they have much flatter frequency response than most computer speakers allowing you to hear things like footsteps from enemies and sound effects clearer, while also maintaining the boom of sound effects like explosion and gunshots ( you do lose some of the deep bass end w/o having a subwoofer). 3) Music Production - For basic recording and mixing already completed or near completed tracks, I would say that these speakers are adequate, but the rule for music mixing still applies, A) any ported speaker (period) distorts the bass, B) For Hip Hop, Dance, and other bass heavy styles more woofer (size not sub) is definitely better. C) Always use a good pair of cans (headphones) as your final reference check. - That being said, yes these are not high end Tannoy or KRK monitors like I've used and seen at some studios, but if you combine them with some good headphones like Audio Technica ATH M40's or 50's and I think you can do some basic beat-making with them, and if you are using computer speakers to do that invest in these or the AV 42 right now, do you and your mixes a favor. 4) As far as hooking them up to a Flatscreen "Smart" tv and poor sound quality I can't speak to as another user has noted, but you probably would need some kind of basic EQ or "middle- man" device to get the best sound out of these because most standard audio out of flatscreen TVs is poor anyways, and like I said these speakers are "flatter" than what most people who are used to using computer speakers are used, although like I said they are a little brighter on the mid- high end than the AV 40's ! Other Monitor Speakers of interest for Music Productions: 1) Tannoy Reveal 402 Studio Monitor 2) JBL LSR305 Studio Monitor 3) And of couse! - KRK RP5G3-NA Rokit 5 Generation 3 Powered Studio Monitor

They have a good sound. The design is beautiful, very good for home use. Easy connections, all wires and cables provided.