Are the M-Audio Monitors any Good?

chrisrulesmore · 25th February 2006

I recently picked up a set of Tapco S5 monitors for about $175 bucks and they sound great except I do not believe they are magnetically shielded and are wreaking some havoc in my small room, particularly interference through my P90 equipped guitars into my Mesa head.

Put simply, are the M-Audio monitors any good? I have a chance to pick up a set of BX8a's for $299 on sale...

Are there any other Sub-$300 monitors that are better?

-Chris

nathanvacha · 25th February 2006

I have not heard the tapco... but i would use the m-audio before knock-off mackies, personally (imho,ymmv, all that stuff.)

drosophila · 25th February 2006

I haven't gotten to audition them, but in that price bracket, i've got the Event ALP5's on my list of contenders. Not sure where i'll be able to hear them, but I may just pull the trigger and check 'em out. The $300 range is kind of tough to pick through, and most of the monitors that fit that price aren't worth the money, IMO.

As for the M-Audio, i've not liked the sound of any of them - i'd sooner swap the Mission m32i's from my home theater setup and mix on those. It's all a matter of preference, though.

hopeless_opus · 25th February 2006

I really like the KRK Rp5's a lot for $300. I went down to GC and spent quite a bit of time auditioning monitors. In the $300 range they really stood out to me. I had the older M-Audio's which I sold, however I have not heard the newer Bx5a's so YMMV.

Definately check out the Krk's.

ShamansDream · 25th February 2006

I have a set of the BX5's and they are great. A little lacking in the bass, but that's not what I need. I also have a pair of 824's. between the two, they provide a decent reference pair. The BX5's put out some excellent clear levels throughout their range.

SLW · 25th February 2006

i have some rp5s. they are OK for the price, BUT they dont translate good at all and colour the tone a lot (wich i of course first found out when i mixed on them :().

i did a lot of shootouts in the 1000-3000 € area in the last weeks. (found a pair of monitors that is built by a one man company that is not even on the market yet ...

)

one of my favorite dealers also showed me ESI nEar05 eXperience (or not experience.. dont know anymore) by switching through the patchbay... of course they cant compete with over 1000 €monitors. but they are definitly my new favorites in the low budget area. they are good to "work" with (a lot more neutral than the rp5s).

do a shootout yourself. and dont only compare in your 300 euro pricerange. compare to the real expensive ones to get the ones that come nearest.

good luck

Shizampah · 25th February 2006

I use the bx8's and for the price I really cant complain. They're definately weak in the low end, but after playing around with positioning in the room and those handy eq switches on the back, they've come to translate fairly well.
Of course, with any monitors, there's going to be a learning curve...after a while you'll understand what they're trying to say.

ps...the musicians tend to love the way they look ("dude, look at the super-speakers"), which is valuable in itself.

MASSIVE Master · 25th February 2006

I had a pair of BX8's I used for mixing... Surprisingly decent (but very picky about postioning), good translation, etc.

copperx · 26th February 2006

I get better mixes with my M-Audio SP-5B than with HR824's, even though I have more information with the HR824s. I went to GC to audition a bunch of monitors to complement my SP-5B but I hated them all except a pair of Dynaudios which sounded kinda like my SP-5Bs. There's something good about the M-Audio aluminum cones, but newer ones are made of Kevlar.

I'm happy with my SP-5B and I'll keep them around for a while ...

copperx · 26th February 2006

Oh, BTW, you know what I would do with $300?

I would buy a pair of Alesis Passive Monitor One's ($200) and a T-Amp http://www.tnt-audio.com/ampli/t-amp_e.html

That would set you back about $230 and give you a pretty decent-for-the-money monitoring setup (IME, Monitor Ones translate beautifully, although I've only used the active version).

Another option is to buy the $300 B&W speakers, which are pretty flat and the T-Amp, that would be about $330.

And third of course, the M-Audios.

Just to give you more options

25th February 2006	#1
chrisrulesmore Lives for gear Joined: Apr 2005 Posts: 684 Thread Starter	Are the M-Audio Monitors any Good? I recently picked up a set of Tapco S5 monitors for about $175 bucks and they sound great except I do not believe they are magnetically shielded and are wreaking some havoc in my small room, particularly interference through my P90 equipped guitars into my Mesa head. Put simply, are the M-Audio monitors any good? I have a chance to pick up a set of BX8a's for $299 on sale... Are there any other Sub-$300 monitors that are better? -Chris

25th February 2006	#8
MASSIVE Master Lives for gear Joined: Mar 2004 Location: Chicago (Schaumburg / Hoffman Est.) IL Posts: 2,709	I had a pair of BX8's I used for mixing... Surprisingly decent (but very picky about postioning), good translation, etc. __________________ John Scrip - Massive Mastering, LLC - www.massivemastering.com Spoon-feed a newb some answer and he'll mix for a day - Get him to think about it and figure it out for himself and he'll mix for a lifetime --- JS

26th February 2006	#9
copperx Lives for gear Joined: Sep 2005 Location: Ciudad Juarez, Mexico Posts: 530	I get better mixes with my M-Audio SP-5B than with HR824's, even though I have more information with the HR824s. I went to GC to audition a bunch of monitors to complement my SP-5B but I hated them all except a pair of Dynaudios which sounded kinda like my SP-5Bs. There's something good about the M-Audio aluminum cones, but newer ones are made of Kevlar. I'm happy with my SP-5B and I'll keep them around for a while ... __________________ Gearslutz.com: 'cuz it sucks to know that the gear isn't the problem ... "Do everything else right, and the equipment will disappear in insignificance." - Steve Albini "Photographers — idiots, of which there are so many — say, “Oh, if only I had a Nikon or a Leica, I could make great photographs.” That’s the dumbest thing I ever heard in my life. - Andreas Feininger

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25th February 2006	#2
nathanvacha Lives for gear Joined: Dec 2005 Location: Orlando Posts: 1,231	I have not heard the tapco... but i would use the m-audio before knock-off mackies, personally (imho,ymmv, all that stuff.)

25th February 2006	#3
drosophila Gear addict Joined: Nov 2004 Location: Portland, OR Posts: 321	I haven't gotten to audition them, but in that price bracket, i've got the Event ALP5's on my list of contenders. Not sure where i'll be able to hear them, but I may just pull the trigger and check 'em out. The $300 range is kind of tough to pick through, and most of the monitors that fit that price aren't worth the money, IMO. As for the M-Audio, i've not liked the sound of any of them - i'd sooner swap the Mission m32i's from my home theater setup and mix on those. It's all a matter of preference, though.

25th February 2006	#4
hopeless_opus Gear addict Joined: May 2005 Posts: 429	I really like the KRK Rp5's a lot for $300. I went down to GC and spent quite a bit of time auditioning monitors. In the $300 range they really stood out to me. I had the older M-Audio's which I sold, however I have not heard the newer Bx5a's so YMMV. Definately check out the Krk's.

25th February 2006	#5
ShamansDream Gear addict Joined: Feb 2006 Posts: 392	I have a set of the BX5's and they are great. A little lacking in the bass, but that's not what I need. I also have a pair of 824's. between the two, they provide a decent reference pair. The BX5's put out some excellent clear levels throughout their range.

25th February 2006	#6
SLW Gear Head Joined: Dec 2004 Location: Braunschweig/Hamburg, Germany Posts: 47	i have some rp5s. they are OK for the price, BUT they dont translate good at all and colour the tone a lot (wich i of course first found out when i mixed on them :(). i did a lot of shootouts in the 1000-3000 € area in the last weeks. (found a pair of monitors that is built by a one man company that is not even on the market yet ... ) one of my favorite dealers also showed me ESI nEar05 eXperience (or not experience.. dont know anymore) by switching through the patchbay... of course they cant compete with over 1000 €monitors. but they are definitly my new favorites in the low budget area. they are good to "work" with (a lot more neutral than the rp5s). do a shootout yourself. and dont only compare in your 300 euro pricerange. compare to the real expensive ones to get the ones that come nearest. good luck

25th February 2006	#7
Shizampah Gear interested Joined: Jan 2006 Location: New Joisey, USA Posts: 29	I use the bx8's and for the price I really cant complain. They're definately weak in the low end, but after playing around with positioning in the room and those handy eq switches on the back, they've come to translate fairly well. Of course, with any monitors, there's going to be a learning curve...after a while you'll understand what they're trying to say. ps...the musicians tend to love the way they look ("dude, look at the super-speakers"), which is valuable in itself.