Alesis M1Active 320 USB Stereo Monitoring System

Comments about Alesis M1Active 320 USB Stereo Monitoring System:

I'm using these speakers for studio recording/monitoring and casual music-listening. I had high hopes, but was somewhat disappointed by these. I guess "you get what you pay for". Physically, the speakers are a hard plastic and look and feel rather cheap.

Sound-wise, I found the highs and high-mids to sound really nice and crisp, but the mid-lows are WAY too loud in comparison to the rest of the mix, even with the bass boost setting off. It's almost painful to listen to the loud mid-lows on music that emphasizes those frequencies; for example rap or R&B songs. Also, these speakers completely lack deep bass. They sound more like a pair of mid-level prosumer computer speakers than professional studio monitoring speakers.

I ended up pairing them with a small subwoofer, and they sound a lot more acceptable now. The USB feature is really handy and works well.

Comments about Alesis M1Active 320 USB Stereo Monitoring System:

Use on a Laptop and with a DigiTech 4 track recorder.

Excellent sound, great selection of connections to choose from.

Comments about Alesis M1Active 320 USB Stereo Monitoring System:

Only 12 months after I bought a pair of these (exactly when the 1 year warranty expires!), the left speaker on a regular basis, after just a few minutes of listening at moderate volumes, dropped down in level by about 10db below the output of the right speaker, causing a severe and distracting balance issue, that can only be remedied by turing the volume knob way up on the right speaker (the speaker which houses all the inputs, outputs, and amplifier stages). That would temporarily kick the left speaker back into gear and resolve the balance issue, but the problem will return with a few minutes of listening at regular volumes. I am an audio engineer who troubleshoots complex audio systems on a regular basis, and trust me, I eliminated the possibility of it being a bad cable or audio source. These speakers are cheaply built and I don't trust that they'll work for more than a year or so. I called and the technical support personnel at Alesis did nothing to help, except direct me to take them into have them fixed on my own dime at an authorized repair facility two states away, in New Jersey! (I live in Massachusetts). To sum it up, I wish I hadn't spent my hard earned money on an Alesis product.

Comments about Alesis M1Active 320 USB Stereo Monitoring System:

I almost didn't buy these due to a previous reviewer. I got a chance to listen and compare alongside a number of $100ish powered speakers at another store. The complaint about heavy bass is mute, now there is a bass boost switch, just flip it off. The bass is tight and punchy. They're perfect for traveling as they fit in a small backpack with my netbook and portable keyboard. They'd be absolutely golden for my purpose if they were able to take power from usb 2.0 in addition to the existing ac plug.

Comments about Alesis M1Active 320 USB Stereo Monitoring System:

Granted, I was using ALESIS M1 ACTIVE monitors on a daily basis before I moved to these (now have to have a mobile office), but I've also used other $100 speakers like the Bose set. Yes, these are USB, which is a nice feature, but the sole reason I have put these at 3 stars is the heavy bass balancing. The only thing I care about in my monitors is a even balance across the spectrum. These come no where close. If you don't NEED the USB feature, then go with the Bose speakers. I know they've just gone through a redesign recently (Jan 09) so I'm not sure how they have changed.