I was looking at buying a set of one of these, but have no way of testing them. I currently use a set of Dynaudio BX5a monitors and a M-Audio Sub. However, I've noticed that I tend to use a lot of sub with little to no harmonic content in the midrange area...so my mixes aren't translating to small stereos / radios. I'd like to use these monitors to get that right. Any opinions would be appreciated.

No one?

I use neither. I think the concept (at least with the mixcubes) is to hear what your mixes will sound like ON small speakers- or in a car. They're designed to be an extra set of references used in conjunction with 'real' studio monitors.

I know the concept, just wondering if anyone has any experience with both...

I have heard/used the Fostex. Serves the purpose..I have not heard the Avantones as in I actually thinking of picking up one ( a pair if I can only by pairs....). ( Avantones)... Good luck..

I have the 6301's. Great little set of monitors. Surprising sound out of these boxes. Mixes translate well on all registers. Recommended as your side-**** boxes..lol.

My main monitors are A7's.

Ok, I've decided I'm going to get one of them, but just confused as to which one is better. I was leaning towards the active mixcubes, but Fostex ones are cheaper...

Why not just turn off your subs?

Fran

I do that as well...

Hello. If you decide to pass on the Fostex ones, let me know where and how much. I'll take them.!.....

I haven't found a set yet... I just noticed that they are $358 vs. $419 for the Avantones. I'm leaning towards the Avantones myself.

I have the Avantones myself and love them. They really have changed the way I mix. They force you to focus on the midrange and now I'm a lot more aggressive about filter eq'ing (cutting) the midrange and choosing mic placement that avoids too much stacking in the midrange.

They sound surprisingly good for such small speakers with no tweeters or bass frequencies. Best investment I've made in my studio by far.

Haven't tried the Fostex but Auratone were the first to design this product and they were pretty stringent to get flat response and good tone.

Good luck and enjoy whichever ones you get!

i just bought an old (70's) Auratone and am now listening to all my mixes thru it MONO...amazing what that does to your mixing! This little thing is badass...i've heard that the nu powered ones are really good.

I would love to buy a pair of active mixcubes, but they aren't avaiable right now... Avantone is redesigning them...

Mixtubes Give another dimension to your mixes...allowing you to compensate for what certain listening systems can do to your mix.
My main set are Klein and Hummels and the avantones definately cover the **** box side of my monitoring system.
Go for them!

...and maybe finally get rid of the hum that's driving me insane dfegad

Makr no mistakes, the active Auratones are great but with all the delays (they finally were realeased about 1 after schedule or something) you would have expected that they work flawlessly to begin with!

Both

Yeah, sign o' the times I think, offer to ship them worldwide and they'll sell in 30 minutes. I did that with my Tube Tech MP1A I couldn't sell for $1500 in the states and put it on ebay for $1700 plus shipping to Europe and it sold in a hour. People seem to have no problem paying the $100-$150 shipping cost.

If anyone wants a single Auratone 5C Super Sound Cube I'll sell you one for $100, or a pair for $150 (with one speaker cabinet being a little roughed up but still in perfect functional condition). I'll even throw in some unused Monster speaker cable.

Ok, and back to the original question...

If they're only going to sit in the studio, the Avantones are the way to go. They're intended for that use and look kinda purty too.

If you're going to take them with you, use them on location or whatever, the Fostex is the better choice. They're pretty rugged and, again, that's what they were intended for.

Or, if you want to save money, get a couple Edirol MA7s.

The 6301b's are very rugged. They're very well built (they're heavy little suckers) and do a great job for what they are. As previously mentioned, I use them as one of my monitoring sources, besides my A7's and they sound good.

Another way I use them is when I'm tracking guits or bass. Since I don't need a very loud source, they translate very well. They're also very good to mix at low volumes (as a second source).

All in all, very worthwhile pair of monitors. You won't be dissapointed.
Have fun.

Old thread, but my cents. Was using KRK Rockit 5s as my "crappy 2nd set" but they were too good for that . Switched to the Fostex and have found them very useful for a 2nd set of "bass challenged" monitors. My mains are Genelec s30d's. When I switch to the Fostex I hear something totally different, which is good. They are not ported, so there is no attempt to create the illusion of bass that is not there. If you can get the bass to translate a little on these little guys, usually it will sound good on other bass-challenged systems.

I was thinking of such a 2nd set too, but it's very hard to spend 430 euro's on a pair of 'intended' crappy speakers (the Fostex or Avantone actives), when you can get BOTH a pair of Edirol MA7A's AND a pair of Yamah HS50M's or KRK RP5 G2's for that 430 euro's...
Must... resist...temptation...to buy half-decent speakers.

This is an old thread, but I was a little surprised that no one really compared the monitors. They are quite different and serve very different purposes.

The Auratones (I don't know the Avatone clones) are great mid-range speakers. They have an incredible resolution for what they are, and they show you right away whether the midrange is correct or not. I use them all the time for mixing and mastering. I haven't heard another monitor that does what those little cubes do (and no, please don't mention the ugly NS-10).
The Auratones are indeed studio monitors, quality-wise, just with the whole focus on the midrange.

The Fostex are much fuller, i.e. more bass, but the soundstage is not as good as on the Auratones. They are great small monitors for live concerts in small venues. I will use one to support my steel string guitar in small folk duo concerts (fiddle or uillean pipes with guitar or bouzouki).

However, the Fostex do not at all replace the Auratones in the studio situation, because their frequency range is simply too extended in the lows. You will get an impression of the reproduction on bass-lighter monitors with the Fostex, but it's not at all the same as with the Auratones, which show you accurately how your midrange is sounding.
On the other hand, I wouldn't want to go gigging with an Auratone...

The Fostex can be useful to show you if there is too much lower midrange and bass in the mix, because it will sound too dull and constrained. The Auratones can show you that, too, but in a different way, and you have to deduce it from what you hear (that certain stiff sound), because they just can't reproduce the lower frequencies.

So, the gearslutz conclusion: have both.

I have been wanting to purchase the Avatones for quite some time now ...

The only problem is that they are FUGLY! So very very fugly. Just thinking of that I would have to stare at something that incredibly ugly really makes me shiver. And I'm not speaking of the shape or anything but this lame lame skin/pudding color.

YMMV and it surely will but I'm sure that company would have sold tons more if they would be anywhere near bearable to look at. Is black/greay/white finish too much to be asked?

6301's are really well built and they're probably more durable than the Avantones.

I love my passive avantones.

Has anyone compared them to the Fostex 6301?

Or whatever similar model Fostex now makes.

(?)

I think Fostex still makes them. The various models have been the 6301, 6301B, 6301BE, and now I think they're coming out with another variation. They're all the same basic thing. When they first came out (1990-ish?) they were pretty unique because they were small and active -- there was nothing else like that available. Other than a few crummy computer speakers, not much in the way of active, powered anything. Soundwise they were a lot like the Realistic/Radio Shack Minimus 7, which is to say much more pleasant than Auratones. Way more expensive, too. Personally, I used them a lot, not primarily for mixing but more for "worldizing" sfx, setting up talkback/cue for people who didn't like headphones, and monitor/playback for remote situations.

But comparison with Avantones? For me, they have different purposes. The Avantones (and Auratones) are for setting balances at low levels with a single, crossover-free driver. The Fostex have extended bass & treble (and an amp, duh) and are more like utility tools.

Yes, exactly.

I also use the Fostex to slightly raise the level of my steel strung acoustic guitar in concerts, without sounding amplified. I can carry one in my rucksack to the gig, and it makes quite a big difference to unplugged, without sounding "plugged".

As far as I know, the Fostex were originally invented as an add-on to their 4-track cassette tape machines. Those were great, too! I am glad that I learned the basics on such a machine, and not on a full-featured DAW. I would have got lost in the possibilities. The 4-track recorder you had to squeeze to get the maximum out of it.

6