Is buying the cheapest M-Audio monitors a waste of money?

[FullCount]

If you don't really have any other options then buy them; you have to start somewhere. Save your money and then buy some nice monitors a few months from now.

[brianellefson]

I wouldn't worry too much. Get em, mix and listen on them as much as possible, and then take those mixes to your car. Seems like we all know our car speakers really well. See how the mixes from your M-Audio speakers translate to your car then adjust accordingly. Use your favorite music as reference in your DAW to see how the M-Audio speakers handle songs you're really familiar with. Adjust accordingly. Just takes more work and time.

[DirtyMan]

Try to get the 40s they are more money but the difference between 20/30 40 is huge 20s and 30s are like loud laptop speakers 40s i've managed decent mixes with

[Louis_Diaz]

Waste of cash.

[Dayl]

These speakers are really not that good, even for starting out. I usually prefer to say do the best with what you can afford but there are exceptions, these are one. But being fair, is saving a viable option? or would it take forever? I ask because I thought these were ass to create music on, let alone mix with. Maybe some ATH M50 headphones to begin with couple with the usual car stereo checks etc would help more

[MusicLuvv]

You can always train your ears to them...
I wouldnt call it a waste..

[ksandvik]

Originally Posted by MusicLuvv

You can always train your ears to them...
I wouldnt call it a waste..

I would call that waste.

Anyway, get something better.

[chaseofbase]

You'll probably just get frustrated. Trying to hear what's actually going on in a (presumably) untreated room with (presumably) untrained ears is tough enough. Your mixes won't translate and you'll give up. If you're serious about learning, spend some money. You're going to eventually buy better speakers at some point-- why not save a little now and get something that'll last you longer?

[Louis_Diaz]

Originally Posted by chaseofbase

You'll probably just get frustrated. Trying to hear what's actually going on in a (presumably) untreated room with (presumably) untrained ears is tough enough. Your mixes won't translate and you'll give up. If you're serious about learning, spend some money. You're going to eventually buy better speakers at some point-- why not save a little now and get something that'll last you longer?

Very true

[Bill@WelcomeHome]

usually, buying the cheapest -anything- is a waste of money. Stepping up a class or two often yields results that will be useful for a much longer time.

[dergit]

If you're a recording artist or something... get them. Bad monitors are better than no monitors.

If you're getting into mixing and plan on being more serious about it, don't waste too much time and effort on trying to get used to them, if you're going to "buy something more serious" anyways.

[fastlanestoner]

Always consider how your room sounds and any deficiencies in it. Monitors are not a fix all.

[toddreloaded]

If I was you, I would wait to see what the new cheaper ADAM F-series sounds like.

[machoboy]

M-Audio's low end monitors are no better for monitoring than random home theater speakers from walmart. On one hand, they're really cheap monitors, and on the other hand they're really overpriced crappy speakers.

[ramonovski]

What's your budget?

I would recommend a "decent" pair of headphones.

[joelpatterson]

What an interesting OP! A first and only post... always on the curious side... and a first post that targets a specific product, and then the contradiction that "a friend is offering them" with the note that they are "the cheapest on the market."

[Stevil]

if you were buying new i'd say invest in something better,
but if you're getting a deal used they're better than nothing.

[PapaSon]

Originally Posted by Ojo de Agua

A friend is offering me a pair of M-Audio Studiophile AV 20

So you are not paying anything?
Well, why not try it. If you think its crappy, throw it out, resell , or give it back.

[Chrislineham]

I used to have a pair, stunning speakers for the price, however, as mentioned above, try to push for the AV40's. A shop called GAK in the UK are selling them for about £90 at the minute which is a bargain, maybe M-Audio are going to bring out new models so are lowering the price everywhere, shop around

[Dreamcaseal]

i use av 40 speakers by m-audio. been using them for almost 5 years. they get the job done thats for sure. i know when something sounds like crap with them very easily. they were and are well worth the money. idk about going any cheaper though.

[Call_me_Switters]

Search for a second hand, a deal or a b stock pair. Save a bit of cash more and get something decent. I believe it worth the fuss and you will be surprised what can you find digging around...

[stgaudio]

If your just starting out get some used KRK rokets. They're by no means amazing but people who know them turn out good mixes with them. They're in a shed load of home/project studios over the world and for the money, they're not a bad little cone.

[toddreloaded]

KRKs are ok but take a long time to learn since they are not really transparent. In that price range though, I don't think anything is.

[sleepyhollos]

Originally Posted by joelpatterson

What an interesting OP! A first and only post... always on the curious side... and a first post that targets a specific product, and then the contradiction that "a friend is offering them" with the note that they are "the cheapest on the market."

And he hasn't returned to the thread!!!

[narcoman]

Originally Posted by machoboy

M-Audio's low end monitors are no better for monitoring than random home theater speakers from walmart. On one hand, they're really cheap monitors, and on the other hand they're really overpriced crappy speakers.

Exactly.

Be better off getting some bookshelf monitor speakers from a hifi shop.

[joelpatterson]

Originally Posted by sleepyhollos

And he hasn't returned to the thread!!!

Probably there's a simple explanation... amnesia? I get a feeling there's a whole crew of chronic amnesiacs who make it their business to create threads to disparage/promote this or that piece of equipment... thinking up new names all the time must be a challenge... you just hope in the end that medical science will come up with a cure.

[polaris20]

As a former owner of DX4's, I'm of the opinion M-Audio speakers, at least the low end ones, suck.