( 21 reviews )
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Posted: Jul 22 2009
I recently got a hold of a BOSE brand wave radio, and had it hooked up to my laptop for enjoying my music library. Upon selling the Wave Radio, I bought these speakers at my local best buy for just under $100 and let me say, I'm positive these deliver the BOSE quality; I turn up the volume quite loud, and I enjoy every instrument of a track just as it was recorded. I love a wide range of music, mainly classic rock, indie, SKA, jazz, and piano rock. I've also watched some movies, and the sound detail is amazing. No loss of bass/treble balance at high levels. These pack the power of a much more expensive pair of speakers. Don't settle for less, especially because these are magnetically shielded not to mess up any of your electronics (computer, laptop, cell phones, iPods etc.) Bottom line: attractive look, easy to adjust, comes with numerous cables ensuring connectivity. Only con being they get a little warm after use, make sure not to leave on when not in use. Five stars.
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Posted: Jul 10 2009
I've been downgrading my computer speakers over the years. First I had a 4.1 THX system. That dropped to 2.1 after switching to the Mac which didn't support them. After blowing out my 2.1 system in just 2 years, I went with these speakers aka 2.0 because, after all, I'm just using them as computer speakers. I've owned other "bookshelf" style speakers and expected these to exceed the quality of others which I've had in the past. Well... I used to be a big fan of tuned port speakers. The first thing I've noticed was a hollow box sound. The bass sounded like someone was beating on a drum. There was an annoying echo at the low end. I plugged up the rear ports with foam and that made it sound less annoying, but I didn't like the sound. From within iTunes I used the equalizer to get a good sound by ear, but other applications and games did not use the iTunes equalizer. I did not like the way they sounded. I purchased an inexpensive external equalizer, Behringer Ultra-Compact 9-Band Graphic Equalizer FBQ800, which did the trick. It's a wonderful equalizer, but now I needed to calibrate my sound system. An SPL meter was the same price as the equalizer; but, fortunately I found an SPL meter app for my iPhone for less than the price of a cup of coffee. I had to hunt around for a tone generator for Mac which produced the 9 frequencies found on the equalizer. With the speakers at 75% volume and protective headphones I calibrated my system. I was somewhat surprised at what I found. A tone generated on OS X 10.4 on a Mac Mini through these speakers produces a flat-line response ranging from +12db at 125hz to -12db at 8khz. The equalizer was perfect for getting the kinks out. Below 100hz, there was a rapid fall-off from +12db to below -12db at 63hz - not surprising. What this all means - the speakers have no bass response below 125hz and the high end frequencies are all in the mud e.g. I think those tweeters are just painted on. After you iron it all out, you are left with a set of mid-range speakers. meh. I had really expected to get more for the price. The best sound I get is when I turn the computer volume to full then turn up the gain on the equalizer until the meter reads 0db. The handy placement of the volume control makes it a cinch to quickly adjust for various applications. Onto the design features - very well designed. All the controls are on the left side, perfect for this right-handed person who can operate the mouse while adjusting the volume (and equalizer). There's an aux input and headphone jack on the front of the left speaker. On a switched outlet, the speakers come up quietly and turn off quietly.
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Posted: Jun 25 2009
I purchased the mAudio AV30's with a very special task in mind. I'm a pit orchestra conductor/piano-keybds for musical theatre, and my gigs take me long hours on the road. Unfortunately for me, my 1990 Chevy G20 Van with 192K miles on it is not very adept at accepting modern gear! There is no CD nor DVD player, so I bring my laptop along. After running around some electronic stores looking for USB powered speakers, there were none with ENOUGH power to overcome the wind of a van screaming up the US interstates. I had ALMOST purchased the 6W JBL Duet II when I came across the mAudio AV30. INSTALLING THE GEAR: Since I'm trying the HEAR over the van noise, volume and crystal clear sound were my quest. The mAudio is AC powered (because it needs more power than the mini speakers that can run USB or batteries), so I purchased a 200W DC/AC inverter for $25.00, plugged it into the lighter plug, then attached by AC power supply for my laptop and the AV30 powerline and fired it up. My speakers are positioned TERRIBLY for true stereo soundfield, on is about 2' from my head on one of the arms of the passenger seat, the other approximately 2' further on the OTHER passenger seat arm. They are protected from vibration by the arm padding, and secured in place by a clever application of two wire hangers, bent into a secure position. THE SOUND! Like several of the other reviewers have noted, my cleanest sound (given the close proximity of the two speakers) was about 75% on my Dell Laptop, and 50% on the AV30. Bass Boost OFF. The sound is remarkable and easy on the ears. No clipping, no "ear wear" from the sound being too intrusive. If you think about it, at $99.00 for the speakers, and $25.00 for the AC inverter, you get MUCH superior sound to either "car speakers" from the car audio section of the store, or the MUCH more expensive "computer speakers" in the "computer specific" speaker aisle. I had just a half a day to purchase and install, so I will probably reset the speakers more appropriately in the future (so I can once more have a passenger ride with me!), but for the immediate task at hand: amplifying a laptop audio to a near audiophile level (what do you want for $99?), this is a SUPERB setup. Also, there's no chance of losing laptop power, nor the speakers (or both if you use a USB setup) in the middle of a trip, nor having to buy special amplified 12V speakers (I'm not sure if there IS such a thing). RECAP: So, for the cost of $125.00, I get a magnificent soundstage and no anxiety from constantly checking the "battery level" of the meter to "ration" how much listening I can do while traveling to and from the theatres to ply my wares. It's quite a deal and a KILLER "bang for the buck." If you're looking for great sound in your vehicle on a budget, these speakers strike the best size/sound for the job! Will it handle the extreme heat and cold well? Dunno, but THAT'S what the $14.95 extended BestBuy warranty was all about! (TIP: Tape the receipt/warranty to the back of the unpowered speaker, and it will always be with you when you need it!)
