Reddit mentions of M-Audio Studiophile AV 40 Powered Speakers (Previous Version)

M-Audio AV 40's are great if you want to plug straight in to the speakers and bypass amp/reciever etc.

I've heard amazing things about these

My suggestion is to go here and buy the best Swans you can afford, or maybe a pair of M-Audio AV 40s. Either would be a step up.

These are my favorite budget speakers for tone/music quality

Source: I work with audio for a living.

"Gaaarrrr!! you have to buy top of the line yamaha ones or you're stupid!"

"No I love my cheapie ones they sound so great!"

"You better get some isolation pads."

"I just mix on headphones, it works fine for me."

FWIW I went through a whole long discussion on this and ended up almost spending ~ $200 on these two things, but then I decided I should get something better if I'm going to bother buying monitors (I can't make a whole lot of noise currently so I was chopping for something small):

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000MUXJCO/

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002D0B4K/



I'll see it I can't dig up the old thread for you.

My friend had a pair of M-Audio AV 40s and the Dayton sub 1000. I ended up getting the sub as well because of clean the bass is. Inside the room it would feel like a hurricane and outside you could only hear the doorknob rattling. Perfect for the dorms. As for the monitors something from Audiengine or KRK would do well even without the sub.

People seem to have very good luck with the M-Audio AV40s:

LINK

>do I just need a pre-amp and then powered speakers and I'm good to go?

Yes

>When will I need a receiver?

If you ever wish to use unpowered speakers

>How will I know if speakers are "powered?"

Do they plug into an electrical outlet? If so, they are powered.

>Does anybody have any recommendations?

For powered speakers in a small room, I recommend M-Audio AV-40's. They will do quite well in any room under 200 ft^2. or so. Bigger than that, and you should really look at full size unpowered cabinet speakers with an appropriate receiver.

http://www.amazon.com/M-Audio-Studiophile-Powered-Speakers-Previous/dp/B000MUXJCO

> have yet to hear a better 2.1 system that's under $150.

It's a 2.0 (with those sort of, build in woofer channels? not sure what you call those), but I am loving my M-Audio speakers:

http://www.amazon.com/M-Audio-Studiophile-AV-Powered-Speakers/dp/B000MUXJCO

The R8 must have line level outputs. The speakers are almost certainly passive. You will need to connect the R8 to an amplifier to drive the speakers -- or use powered speakers which have their own amp.

What is the make and model of the speakers?

[EDIT]
The R8 has balanced audio outputs using a 3 conductor TRS jack. Many powered speakers have balanced TRS inputs. Here is an example:
http://www.amazon.com/M-Audio-Studiophile-Powered-Speakers-Previous/dp/B000MUXJCO

I have never owned a stereo amplifier with balanced inputs. I don't know how hard they are to find. Are you using a computer with this? It might be better to drive your speakers from the computer (with an amplifier).

Just to be sure, the R8 won't drive your speakers directly.

Look no further than the AV40's: http://www.amazon.com/M-Audio-Studiophile-AV-Powered-Speakers/dp/B000MUXJCO

My M-Audio Desktop Speakers disagree with you.

Just read your post (very informative) and I looked on Amazon, and there are two versions: "newest" and "previous". Any insight on that?

Monitors are great, definitely worth the investment...
I use these at home
http://www.amazon.com/JBL-LSR2328P-Bi-Amplified-Studio-Monitor/dp/B001PYOVJ6/ref=sr_1_15?s=musical-instruments&ie=UTF8&qid=1334993953&sr=1-15
and these at school
http://www.amazon.com/M-Audio-Studiophile-Powered-Speakers-Previous/dp/B000MUXJCO/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1334993816&sr=8-2

I would recommend these M-Audio AV40. Note that the link goes to the older version. The new version is crap compared to the older one.

These are excellent sounding speakers for the price, but I have no idea how well they will last. In your price range I don't think you can find anything that last more than a few years.

You want these:

http://www.amazon.com/M-Audio-Studiophile-AV-Powered-Speakers/dp/B000MUXJCO/ref=pd_cp_MI_1


Or maybe even these:

http://www.amazon.com/M-Audio-Studiophile-Bi-amplified-Reference-Monitors/dp/B0014IEBM0/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top


Trust me. You won't be disappointed.

I'm not really in tune with the audiophile world so maybe these aren't up to snuff but I have the M-Audio AV40 - and they just take RCA input.

I would advise against those "home theater systems." They are nice and compact, but "nice and compact" isn't usually a good thing for speakers.

If I were you, I would pick up some nice powered monitors with a >5" cone, and no sub woofer. The sub that comes with those packages probably has a 6", maybe 8" driver, and often is turned up too much, which is why a lot of cheap systems sound kind of "farty." If you get a nice monitor you will have much clearer sound. Powered monitors usually have 1 RCA connector, which would probably go to the TV's sound output. Then if you have a DVD player hooked up to your tv over HDMI, you can also get sound from that.

I use some bookshelf speakers (dm-602's from ebay) and a reconditioned denon reciever from ecost (you can get one of these for >$150). I've heard good things about these as well.

Also, speaker stands. If you do go the monitor/bookshelf route (and you should), get some speaker stands.

http://www.amazon.com/M-Audio-Studiophile-Powered-Speakers-Previous/dp/B000MUXJCO

I use those with my AT LP120 (directly plugged in) and they pack quite a bassy punch. Not gonna be the same quality as $1,000 speakers, but for the price and size I highly recommend them

I'm looking for a solid set of speakers (2.0 or 2.1 setup, I'm flexible) for my room at college. I'm in a single-person dorm room, so pretty small, hard surfaces if people factor that in. I like really neutral sound reproduction (I have Shure SRH 840s, and I love the way they sound), especially considering that my music tastes go all over the place. I listen to mostly rock and metal (everything from Zeppelin and Floyd to Dream Theater to Fear Factory to Animals as Leaders, etc. etc.), but also some punk, electronic, pop, rap, folk, and country. I also probably will end up watching TV or movies with these, so that's a factor. I'm gonna be driving these from my custom PC build (no discrete sound card, but I'm willing to add one if it's going to make a huge difference). Only having a wired connection works, but something with Bluetooth would be nice so I can stream music from my tablet or laptop, but it's not a necessity.

So far, thing's I've looked at are:

[Edifier Exclaim e10] (http://www.amazon.com/Edifier-Exclaim-Bi-Amped-Speaker-e10/dp/B009XGH2HG)

[Harman Kardon Soundsticks III] (http://www.amazon.com/M-Audio-Studiophile-Powered-Speakers-Previous/dp/B000MUXJCO)

[Audioengine A2+] (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DQMJE7E/ref=twister_B00KVM3HNO?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1)

[M-Audio Studiophile AV-40] (http://www.amazon.com/Harman-Kardon-Soundsticks-III-Multimedia/dp/B0042F3K9W)

Anything I'm missing, or is one of these a solid option?

Thanks all!

I have been really impressed with my:

http://www.amazon.com/M-Audio-Studiophile-Powered-Speakers-Previous/dp/B000MUXJCO

I didn't really have room for a subwoofer or receiver at the time, but I think they work pretty well for standalone.

I really want a full 5.1 setup with receiver, etc... but just don't think I have the area currently. Average size desk and not much room behind me. Ntm emulated surrouned is pretty good on headphones.

Bought these a ~year ago, also using an old m audio sound card....nothing too fancy but the sound is great so far.

What are your thoughts on the Audioengine A5+? I currently have a pair of M-Audio AV40s and am looking to upgrade. Are the Audioengines good or do you suggest something different? Thanks!

I like my M-Audio AV40's. They don't have a sub or anything, which is exactly what I wanted. They do sound incredibly good, at least to my ears.

http://www.m-audio.com/products/en_us/MAudioAV40.html

$149 - http://www.amazon.com/M-Audio-Studiophile-AV-Powered-Speakers/dp/B000MUXJCO

meh(scroll down to the UPDATE: area to see the relevant section).

Before even seeing that review, I was going to recommend Klipsch ProMedia 2.1, which can usually be found for less than a hundred dollars on your local Craigslist(I got a perfectly working set from 2009 for $70). Yes, they're old, but yes, they're still the king of awesome/cheap, for the most part.

Don't bother with the wireless ones unless you find them at a comparable price (which you probably won't).

Otherwise, there's always the M-Audio AV40 (mark I, not II) if you're more into accurate reproduction of sound.

If neither of these is expensive enough for your tastes, I shall bow and take my leave, as you will need to find another product specialist to help in your higher-end range. I've never felt the need to spend $400+ on computer speakers, but perhaps when I own a home I'll get something along those lines. The z5500 is still an excellent set, though, so I'm not sure what you're looking for...

I don't personally have experience, but a few years ago I did a ridiculous amount of research into computer speakers - Came up with these as the most interesting: http://www.amazon.com/M-Audio-Studiophile-AV-Powered-Speakers/dp/B000MUXJCO

Everyone seems to love them (check Amazon's user reviews)

Hope that helps

Since you seem to know things about audio ($800 sound card, $1000 speakers, etc.), what would you recommend for a simple, not very expensive setup?

I currently have some M-Audio AV40s plugged directly into my computer, but they're lackluster. Not much bass to speak of and whenever I plug headphones in they're very quiet, presumably because the output isn't amped or preamped.

Thank you once again, but I am just not sure if I want to shell out $200. What do you think of these?

Haha, I already found a amazon link for them. Just looked at the comments and noticed you already suggested them.

http://www.amazon.com/M-Audio-Studiophile-Powered-Speakers-Previous/dp/B000MUXJCO/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1318541048&sr=1-1

If you can tolerate the monitor speakers long enough to save another $50, the Audioengine A2s are fantastic. I've got a pair and they are great, a lot of power in a very compact space. Plus they look really nice (I think so anyway).

If $150 is a hard limit, I've seen the M-Audio Studiophile AV 40s on a few people's setups and they seem to be well liked. Plus they're on sale at the moment. I can't speak for how they perform though.