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M-Audio Studiophile AV30 Professional Reference Speakers

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The M-Audio Studiophile AV 30 compact powered speakers make it easy to enjoy full, rich sound even when space is limited. They’re designed with the same critically acclaimed technology that has made M-Audio monitors popular in recording studios around the world. The Studiophile AV 30 speakers deliver clear, crisp highs and deep lows, along with superior clarity and imaging. Designed for the traveling musician or multimedia enthusiast, the Studiophile AV 30 system is the perfect audio upgrade for desktop production systems, portable video games, personal DVD players and more.

The Studiophile AV 30 speakers feature the same core technology used in all of M-Audio’s acclaimed professional monitors. Designed for a variety of mobile and desktop applications where space is at a premium, the speakers include audiophile-grade amplifier architecture as well as RCA inputs, making them compatible with practically all professional and consumer audio products. In addition, dedicated ¾” ferrofluid-cooled tweeters and composite woofers work with built-in crossovers to ensure optimal fidelity.

Extended Low End
The Studiophile AV 30 speakers allow you to get the most out of today’s urban/dance music, movies, and video games. Unlike the “acoustically challenged” plastic found in many speakers in this price range, the Studiophile AV 30s feature dense wood cabinets, bass reflex design and an integrated bass boost switch to deliver tight, accurate low-frequency response.

Magnetically Shielded for Audio/Video Production
The Studiophile AV 30 speakers are magnetically shielded and designed to coexist with all manner of electronic equipment without interference, making them perfectly suited for video editing and multimedia work.

OptImage III Technology
M-Audio’s proprietary OptImage III wave guide improves overall detail and clarity while minimizing sound issues that can plague other compact speakers. The system works by improving the overall efficiency of the tweeter as well as time-aligning the drivers. This ensures that the sound from each driver reaches the listener at the same time, guaranteeing precise stereo imaging and accurate response.

M-Audio Studiophile AV30 Professional Reference Speakers Features

3″ Composite woofers
3/4 Ferrofluid-cooled silk dome tweeters
OptImage III tweeter wave guides for superior imaging
15-Watt-per-channel amplifier with architecture
Magnetic shielding

M-Audio Studiophile AV30 Professional Reference Speakers Reviews

For the price and size, these are great
I bought these speakers to listen to music and news at my desk in my apartment, and BOY do they fit the bill.

I’ve put them through the ringer–rock, folk, house, drum & bass, hip hop, samba, All Things Considered–and they sound remarkably good in all applications. Everything but D&B and hip hop sounds almost as good as on my other monitors (KRK 5’s) that cost twice as much. The fidelity is impressive, and the response is remarkably flat. If you’re used to or prefer the more U-shaped sound of non-monitors, be sure to turn on the appropriate EQ in iTunes; they’ll sound tinny otherwise, but that’s what a flat-response monitor will sound like compared to regular 2- or 3-way stereo speakers. It’s all those mid-range sounds you’re used to covering up.

They also handle a good deal of volume. With the volume knob at 50% and my MacBook volume at 75%, it’s “Turn that noise down!” loud and still as clear as at lower volumes for most types of music.

The bass lines in the D&B have some drop-off on the bottom end, but that’s a LOT to ask of a value-priced monitor with a 3″ woofer. I listen to really nasty stuff with super-low bass–Technical Itch, Dieselboy, Bad Company, and the like–so I expected that this would be the one area with less than amazing reproduction. I was right. (Roni Size’s “Brown Paper Bag” is much more within their range.) Hip hop beats can lose a some punch, too, and this is the one area where you’ll notice a little distortion at higher volumes. (The kick drums in D&B are usually a little more like real kicks than in much hip hop, and these sound great even at higher volumes.)

Again, for the size (don’t have a ruler–each speaker is maybe 5″ wide and 6″ deep) and price, they do surprisingly well. Other challenging types of music with lots of bass that just isn’t as low, e.g. House, come through remarkably well.

The 4″ version was very well reviewed, so I thought I’d give these a shot because they cost less and take up less room. Also, the primary difference would be in the bass response, and I live in an apartment building, so for me, having less bass was actually a good thing. They still get too loud for me to play them anything close to maxed out, and they sound great.

One more thing: I like the design. M-Audio knew this would be more for desktop listening than studio applications such as mixing (for which I got the KRK 5’s). Thus, they put all the inputs and controls on one speaker, which is nice because it only requires one power cable and you don’t have to split an RCA cable to run one line to each speaker. It comes with a 1/8″ to RCA cable (connects your computer’s audio out port to the RCA jacks in the back) AND a 1/8″ to 1/8″ cable (connects your iPod to the Aux In port on the front). The volume knob in front is also nice.

If you want reasonably high fidelity for a low price at your desk, and you don’t need subwoofer-type bass response, I’d recommend these speakers. Highly.

Very Good Speakers But Pale in Comparison to Their Bigger Brothers
I gave a 5-star review to my M-Audio AV40 speakers, which I use with my home computer. They are so rich and loud that I barely turn up the volume while I’m sitting at my desk.

I wanted an upgrade for my work computer so I contemplated getting another pair of M-Audio 40s for $140 but since I don’t need so much volume at my desk I decided to save $40 and get the AV30s.

The AV30s are great and if I had never heard the 40s, I’d probably give the 30’s five stars. But alas, they lack the richness of the 40s and I think the 40s are worth the extra 40 dollars.

Blew me away!
I was looking for speakers that I could use if I decide to get an electric guitar and plug it in to my Macbook Pro. That was my main focus, but music and movies sound incredible too! They aren’t very big which is good, they pack a lot of punch for being small squares. They give my towers a run for the money. I’m happy with this purchase even though it’s been only a few days that I’ve been able to use them.

The cool thing is that all the cables come with the speakers which is a bonus. You get the power cord (obviously), speaker wire (goes from left to right speaker), line-in (from laptop headphone to speaker) and an RCA cable for another option as an input. It has headphone jacks on the front of the left speaker which is handy. The volume knob is backlit and is large enough that you can really fine tune the volume.

They are solid speakers and I’m waiting to re-discover my music collection through these speakers. One example I can think of was a live Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds song I was listening to. It was so crisp you could hear their fingers on the strings and if you have the speakers placed properly you don’t get a lot of, “this is coming from the left and this is coming from the right” type effect, it’s in front of you. Which is how it’s supposed to be.