M-Audio BX5a Deluxe Active Speakers

[KfdProd]

I used the BX5A pair in monitoring for all my production services, they sound spectacular!

[littlemimus]

@KfdProd how is the bass on them? im looking at getting some for my room and for small house parrtys

[sifuraul]

@djmharrid..OMG..god blessed you. Those are $500 pair. Kool man. Enjoy and create my fellow audio enthusiasts

[1ROSETV]

@sifuraul correction bx8d2 are 500 $ the bx8a are being phased out in sales being the previous model.....but I'm not join to lie I'm a little jelous that he got them for 209 :( I'm issed out

[djmharris]

Thanks just got the BX8A for only $209 for the pair! on sale at Amazon

[allansc87]

Great review :) thanks a million, you helped me a lot !

[fulminaterecords]

i got the bx8a for 300 :)

[Chris050493]

Great review, thanks for this :)

[fruitypebbles904]

they got these on sale for $150 a pair at guitar center. probably cause the d2's came out, but ill buy these for the price!

[BASCKIT13]

do u havr to plug the inputs into one speakers or do they haver there own input

[Chris050493]

@BASCKIT13 To my knowledge, each monitor is independent and has its own amplifier, you will need one cable for each monitor, and one mains plug socket to power each one as well.

Hope this helps :)

[AleRigo]

Hello I'd like to playing my bass guitar on PC with Amplitube (or guitar rig),are these monitor speakers good? I don't need high quality monitors for producing,just play my bass with some effects and record on drum tracks..

[Armandooooo]

I've owned these, m-audio av40's, krk v6's, and my current monitors, the equator D5's, which blow them all to hell. These speakers are developed by strictly engineers, not a marketing team. I am not affiliated with equator, just one damn happy customer. I think they deserve much more attention than any krk or m-audio monitor in this price range.

EQUATOR D5, GOOGLE IT!

[stringvulture]

these things are $299

bought a set this weekend and i love them !!!

[hallal55]

what do u reccomend the rokit 5 or the maudio bx5a? i have a small room not to big

[ninjaeli]

How do I plug them into to my interface?? I am having trouble I need help. I have an m-audio fast track guitar/mic interface.

[DiegoEsteve]

Just bought new edition of these monitors after this review. I think they sound VERY good for this amount of money (400usd) But you need to position them right in order to hear all soundtage right in front of you. If these are your first monitors after listening to multimedia speakers sound may be a little bit flat for your ears, but then you will find that you can hear EVERYTHING as it was recorded in studio. Sounds without any distortion on loud and low levels.Excellent buy,highly recommended

[Necr0maniac]

I got these badboys faulty for £60 off Ebay.

Replaced some broken capacitors, sealed the cone..

My GOD they are lovely.

[djmara2002]

been using these for 2 years and are really good..however just upgraded to krk rp6 g2's!

[MrPineappleGuy]

Do i a receiver to connect them to my computer? can i just connect them via a normal jack-cable?

[lyricalgza]

Do you think this is worth the upgrade from M audio AV40? or should i save up for a Yamaha HS80M or ROKIK 8?

[bulletinthewind]

I have the BX5a....my buddy just bought these, the BX5a Deluxe....they are they ducks nuts man!!! Honestly....we set them up against a bunch of other monitors in the same range, including some KRK's and a few of the other monitors in this vid....these things blew all the of them away...it's like the sound goes right into your head, bypassing your ears...really changes the way you'll listen to ya tunes.

[theflyingsolo]

great review, thanks for taking the time to make this video, lol if he did get paid by m-audio he just convinced me to take a closer look at the KRKs :-P

[Ronson1989]

which is the site where he sees the others monitor?

[phatgamer69]

This video rocked man, thanks for posting!

[DICACIO1]

I purchased a new pair from Amazon... $237, free shipping in USA. :D

Just got them yesterday.

Guitar Center had em for $399

[safcftmtid]

so what voltage do i need to put it on for the uk? and which side of the switch is that?

thanks

[DICACIO1]

@safcftmtid You hit the switch on the back panel at 230v for the UK. There's only two options, 115v AC (USA) or 230v AC (UK)

[kanique1012]

Hi. Great job!

I have a question ? I have a chance to purchase the old bx6 monitors and I heard you refer to a feature that they had that is not on the deluxe .So my question is do you think the deluxe model is better than the old model ? I can get the old pair brand new for 140.00 and the deluxe for 200.00 brand knew. I also can get krk 5 for 99.00 for one( they are a restock from krk them self ) dont know if you got a chance to hear them but what would you purchase out of the three?

thankyou

[frankdbruin]

@Zombbg4

Man, I've been searching for months for some good advice, and you tell me all i need to know in just 3 lines, thank you very much.

[jrwren]

Can anyone help? One of my speakers blows a fuse in 2 secs after switching on?

John

[ceezmanb]

@jrwren Had the power switch on the wrong side

[frankdbruin]

how can you connect them to your computer?

[Zombbg4]

@frankdbruin There are tons of different kinds of adapters that you can use. Are you wanting to plug straight into your computer via 1/8 jack? If so, you can get a Hosa 1/8th in to two 1/4in TRS for like 6 bucks. Works great.

[jetbirdzme]

I am just a MOM who loves music! I recently purchased an ASUS Laptop equipped w/ SRS Labs Premium installed...My issue is I want a sound system that emulates or is 5/7.1 Dolby range..w/o the thump shaking...Can u please advise me on the best (bose) type speakers to purchase? Ur help is greatly appreciated! Thanks In Advance! :)

[Suuhlem]

@sonicstate Dude, i don't see my woofers shakin like this. I just got them.. Is something wrong?

[hightide791]

I just bought these monitors and I am stumped as to the best way to connect them to my mac laptop. I am a amateur producer, PLEASE HELP

[hightide791]

@hightide791 also how would you connect both of these monitors? do you need a splitter or something?

[dinotic]

@hightide791 you have to buy an external audio card.. that way you can plug the speakers into the both output channels of this audio card, and you can connect your laptop to the card with the usb plug given with the audio card

[Adz1184]

Hi SonicState,

I'm thinking of buying these for my DJ setup, would you recommend them?

[bsnider0031]

yeah these are nice just bought mine to day, tried out the rokit 5s exchanged them for these, sonicstate a good site mate nice tutorials on Live.

[joshyboy152]

Would you recommend these with Roland RD-300GX?

[chrisonehundred]

i got a quick question, how would you hook those up to the computer? do you use an m audio interface?

[SergeantCupcake]

@chrisonehundred

Yes you can

You only need a couple cables, a couple adapters and something to complete the " Y " connection.

But as you are having high quality speaker it'd be better to have the audio interface and balanced cables.

[Himynameisreece1]

A quick question, i'm considering a few speakers at the moment

These ones, Alesis Monitor One MK2, KRK RP5, Yamaha HS50M (although the yamaha's are a bit more pricey), what would you suggest.

I need good imaging and "tight, low end" none of this muddy stuff, I;ve spotted a pair of these BX5A's for £160 ?

Thanks and great video, helped me a lot.

[druck502]

i got a question. i have the bx5a monitors, but i know they came out with the bx5a delux monitors. do you know what the differences are? just a slightly new look? thanks for any input.

[matto247]

Hey sonicstate, love the review. I'm currently in the market of getting new speakers, though I'm a little budget conscious as I'm in college, I have been looking at these, the KRK's or the audioengines, I listen to many varieties of music though mainly mainstream. What would you recommend? thanks!

[hilato]

Genelec 8020B rip the hell out of those M-Audio BX5A

[Erithlon]

@hilato dude its more than 2x the price, what the fuck do you expect! xD

[hilato]

@Erithlon yah thats exactly what I do fucking expect it to be way better since Genelec is the leader world wide in Monitoring system for studio production. He even has a pair of Genelec those are very old ones but guess what you could have a 10 or 20 year old genelec and they perform just like you got it it out of the box.

[toddcasse]

what do i use to hook these up to my macbook pro?

[boosh222]

What do you mean by "Switchable?"

[guitarmasterjs]

I got these yesterday after listening to these and all the others he mentioned in this video. Im a heavy metal musician and after listening to some metal at the store I found these to sound the best. the KRKs were good, low end didnt sound as good to me as bx5s. Yamahas had no low end. and the MR5s were good too, but the low end didnt seem tight enough for me. They appeared to have too much boom for my liking. For metal I noticed the bx5s to be the best choice suited to my tastes.

[Journalistification]

@guitarmasterjs Did you try/listen to the BX8a Deluxe by any chance? im looking to buy a pair of good monitors to help with clear sound when mixing in my room and i've heard good things about both the Bx5a and Bx8a deluxe, so im unsure of which ones to buy lol

[guitarmasterjs]

@Journalistification No i didnt get to try the bx8a because i knew i wouldnt have the room for that size speaker. I only tested 5". Though Im sure theyre better than the bx5a as they would probably have more low end. I would say try out the 8s if you have room for em, theyre pretty big.

[Obituaryreader]

Very helpful thank you. Looking for new monitors for home recording and sound engineering.

[idiiidit]

swan mkiii is better for the price

[DollaTwo]

What happens if you push down on the little bubble on the top of the speaker?

[TehGmodAddict]

Are these speakers good for bass songs? Like house and DnB?

[olfkin]

is it good to turn off the monitors without turning down the volume knob to zero...??

[cepilla]

@olfkin better if you turn the volume down

[LSKT88]

Really helpful in my choice to buy a pair myself

Cheers

[rollituplightitup85]

what does the guy mean at 1:40 when he says, ''power supply switchable don't forget its important''

[magoh2000]

@rollituplightitup85 Having the voltage switched wrong could blow them up.

[boosh222]

@rollituplightitup85 Yeah!! I freaked out

[fahaz78]

i bought these bought 4 months ago just for general use music/gaming/movies and there excellent very loud and the sound holds up through the volume, only thing is the low frequencys seem to be louder than the bass might be to do with the monitor aspect though. Good value imo though nothing on this price beats my old logitech crap ;p

[rollituplightitup85]

good vid except when you said, you tried them and they were loud why didnt you play them in the vid and max them out a little, to give us a taste of their sound

[tritonrecordings]

The 8 inch versions of these monitors are our primary monitors. Solid build, nice response, good imaging. They arent totally flat, but no studio monitors are - that's a marketing tool. But these speakers are great and they seem to be overlooked. For the price, you really cant go wrong.

[orangeguy81]

I use these speakers every day and they are amazing. My room, however, not. The imaging is very good, but IMO could be better, but that may be my room. I would recommend them for both mixing and listening. Also keep in mind, if BT mixed a 110 piece orchestra on them I thing they are good enough. Oh, and why would he talk about other monitors in the review if he is getting paid?

[sonicstate]

@orangeguy81 just for the record, I'm not getting paid - our reviews are completely independent

[phobik2000]

@sonicstate Then I would really like to see a comparison with the other ones in the same category, as say, a follow-up and conclusion, to the individual review of each one.

[MrCompositor24]

@sonicstate

I just bought the bx 5 speakers and i bought an stp-201 cable and only i can only hear 1! they both work becasue when i change the cables around u can hear it. So i went to buy another cable and it does the same wat should i do????

[khalilhab]

@sonicstate can I use these speakers to power a guitar effects processor? I am looking for a home practice system to run direct to my Boss GT 10. Thanks!

[Jer0mmel]

Nice review.

But how do they compare to the seemingly identical (except for the wave-guide) ESI nEAR 05 Experience?

Even the view inside the port is the same!

[dabozzcrg]

170€

[Skicolorado75]

I own a set, and his assessment is acurate.  I got the pair for $250 on sale at guitar center. For the price, I think they are exceptionally clear on the high end, but are lacking in bass response versus the Bx8's, for the price, they are a great buy.

[bmc510]

how do i connect these to a m-audio fasttrack input? if you answer I'll sub. lol

[YukiLT]

Can these speakers beat through acoustic drums?

[robdrums69]

check out ik multimedia site for Sample Tank Group Buy $49.99 .... Great deal !

[niall2552]

i've had these awhile now, there cheap and cheerful! had good results with them and you deffo wont get another set of monitors as good for the same sort of money!

[upindatassasaurus]

People always talk about which monitors are good and which are crap. For every one that says a particular monitor is nice, another will call it garbage. But, I'll tell you that room acoustics are about just as important as the monitors themselves. You have to have decent acoustics to even tell if a monitor is accurate or not. Some think that they can slack on treating the room. If you think that, you have alot to learn, generally speaking...

[CS5n531]

I understand that this video is two years old, but these fit my price range and seem to be worth the cash. Is there a better set that is similar (can be other brands than M-Audio) that can handle heavy bass in a loud fashion?

[Dartbullet]

i think there are better monitors than these.. however it a good balance between price and quality. i personally like alesis but thats just me.. thanks

[SandBox86]

this seem to be a paid video from m-audio.. long live propaganda..

[sonicstate]

@SandBox86 Actually no you are wrong. We are independent - I just thought they were good value.

[SandBox86]

actually, I mean ACTUALLY, BX5 400$ without a proper EQ, I mean +300$, without the proper calibration system, I mean +250$ only a good mic for analisys purposes, and a cheap audio interface let's say +250$ again.. and well let's skip the software you would need, for resulting system with no REAL bass response in a total of.. 1200$, whhoooaaa now that's value, see you are paid by m-audio.

[sonicstate]

@SandBox86 I dont get your point, but maybe I missed something

[SandBox86]

@sonicstate what you dont get? tell me..

[theSOUNDinterpreter]

@SandBox86 you have issues.

BTW sonicstage, it sounds like you have a small clip of radiohead's backdrifts in your introduction. am i right?

[cbettin77]

@sonicstate im making my home audio studio, you think that the BX5a its the best option for me???

I have 300us aprox.......youll maybe know a better product...please help me.

[jerzyb0rn]

@SandBox86 your comment doesnt even make scence

[CiaranVanDon]

@SandBox86 Hi would these speakers work connected to a TV or would they just be suitable for monitor purposes only? Would they sound good with films, techno and trance?

[TheNostromos]

@SandBox86 what a schmuck

[anchor213]

i've this speaker nd they bump i love them.

[cialino00o00o]

i have a pair of these..one broke just a week ago but i have warranty so they are going back..dont take this wrongly they are great speakers and i am more then happy with them..gonna get av40's as a second set for decks

[Bobbyrock13]

Thank you I was on the fence with the Mackie MRS and the BX5A these seem like the right fit.

[yigitatli]

Hey guys, does anyone have any ideas on how these bx5a's compare to the new cx5 speakers? They are about the same price range. Thanks.

[djaoki]

Great review.

I have the BX-8a Monitors combined with the M-audio subwoofer. I'm very happy with them for dj purposes at home.

They wouldn't be my top choice for producing tunes. I am very happy wtih my M-audios.

[haakondale]

I ordered the BX8a Deluxe for 300$ today. Christmas sale for the winners.

[duperman]

Ahh i've the speakers for awhile now- they're really nice, but I think I'll need to pair it with a subwoofer. Any recommendations that won't cost twice the speakers =/

[TBasianeyes]

Resolv 120a

[DimitriDas1]

pair it with the m-audio sub

[KlipschEAR]

Solid low budget monitors,they are neutral enough considering the price. SQ is good as long as you position them properly.

Exceptional detail...not really. You want to hear exceptional detail get ADAM monitors. You want superb neutrality Genelec does it.

For the price the Yamaha MSP50's do a good deal better IMO. These are HiFi'ish, loud ...being nearfields almost all near field will play loud..enough.

[Nut360]

do these speakers work on a mixer?

[tuamigojoa]

thanks for the super good review, there's a new version of these speakers with a 30hz to 24khz frequency response yee

[Kapseros]

@tuamigojoa is there? 5" woofer goes down to 30Hz? naaah

[tuamigojoa]

ya seriously, check out the back pictures of the monitors, there you can read "Frequency Response: 30Hz-24kHz" it's amzing

[DjRalfy]

@tuamigojoa 56hz - 22khz... for the lower end a sub woofer will be needed. No sub bass and i ordered it monday without a subwoofer and that driving me crazy

[SandBox86]

haha this dickhead LITERAALY DICKHEAD, is a fucking noob

[duperman]

Does using 1/4" cables for a balanced output make a large difference in sound quality? Or should 1/8" adapters suffice.

[jjcvk]

any idea if these come with trs to 1/8" lineout cables?

thanks

[sonicstate]

I'm pretty sure that they dont, at least in the review boxes we had there was none. it is possible that there were some in the box that were removed by a previous reviewer, but I would assume not to be safe.

[abcmaster9]

no they dont

[DimitriDas1]

they dont come with them, your best bet, use the low empedence xlr to rca, no noise! good luck

[jcab594]

very helpful. best review out there, made me buy em. thanx

[thevoicetoldmetodoit]

i just cant understand why they would get rid of the kill switches that were on the origional??!

[menolyrics]

I bought those monitors and I am satisfied with them

There are perfect for monitoring your mix at a flat level, because if you rely on huge bass, then your music might sound too exaggerated on other audio systemin terms of bass level

[yayMikester]

I ordered those and cant wait :)

[festeradamz]

these are really poo dont by them

[taz4good]

Hi Sonicstate, I have a problem when connecting the BX5a Monitors to the Audiophile 192 PCI sound card with a TRS Cable, there is no bass coming out of the BX5a what so ever. please help? Thank you very much.

[blackcarriage]

Is there a "Bass Roll-Of"-switch on the back of you monitors? If there is, maybe that's the problem! Turn it off and try again!

[taz4good]

no there is bo switches except the power switch. there is bass but not much, is it normal for monitors to have little bass not very much bass. thank u

[robnhay]

yes, they are studio monitors, not hi fi speakers, look it up on the internet, the y emphasize mid and high, literally no lows, get a subwoofer

[taz4good]

thank you very much for the infi, how stupid from me lol :)

[robnhay]

I just got a set and am pretty satisfied

[eisblitzz]

I've listened to almost every monitor in this size at Guitar Centre and think that this monitor is about the best bass and high response in the category. They're Very loud for what you pay for.

[hacker101c]

sonicstate i have a question for you i want to know if these speakers hook up to any computer because i was think of getting the Studiophile BX5a Deluxe or the Studiophile AV 40. please hit me back asap

[sonicstate]

Yep, with the right connections, you can hook them up, all you need is a stereo line level output and the correct lead, and your there. I would recommend having some king of level control easily to hand though so you can quickly turn down the sound source should you need to.

[hacker101c]

thank you for the help ^^

[ElMontu]

Hello, can be connected directly to a laptop headphone output, using an adapter into TRS Monitors input? or do you need an audio interface?

Cheers!

[SandBox86]

so u are a f... bastard... u are judjing over "speakers" where the manufacturer doesn't even gave u a freq response... u are a bastard old mofo.any pro would know why m-audio is a homemade products line.. so.. fuck u.

[sonicstate]

Your too kind, and also wrong on so many levels.

[SandBox86]

keep thinking in home studios and homemade stuff.. your are very right!! :)

[SandBox86]

oh and i removed the insults.. because I thought you were going to call animal society to protect urself against my terrible way of talking. U FAG.

[SandBox86]

yeah? wrong.. wrong was ur mother in bed. who fucked a monster to have u as a child.

[tuamigojoa]

do you ever shut up ?

[crissadorable]

@tuamigojoa do you ever stop writing bullshit? dick

[pianistchicks]

This was very helpful. Thanks so much!

[BreakbeatNightmare]

Monitors are designed to give you a flat response, meaning you will hear exactly what is playing. If you want speakers you 'just' listening purposes, invest in some Hi-Fi speakers, they are designed for your listening pleasure. Hope that helped. :]

[tournament34angler]

I love them!

[presa1200]

do u actually switch on/off behind the monitors every time you start your pc? or just use the power source/socket?

[chilla2]

gotta switch from behind,yes it's a pain.

[presa1200]

thx n i think ur rite anyway. i tried switching it on/off straight away from the power source and the speakers have a popping sound... i'll stick with what u said...

[sonicstate]

I hate to burst your conspiracy bubble, I have no experience of the Samsons which is why I didnt mention them. But thanks for bringing them up as an alternative. Are they the ones with the Ribbon Tweeter?

[philobeddeo]

If you can burst my conspiracy bubble,then great..I always love a good debate.

I find it terribly odd that according to your online research,you have not been able to find comparable monitors in this price range...but for most companies...this is the objective,as they're paid to endorse a particular product(s) & deliberately omit the most threatening competition.I always operate under this assumption.

To answer your question,no...I was not referring to the old Rubicon series-but rather,I was...

[johnsoncp13]

In the UK the typical price of the BX5A is about £150. The price of the Resolv A5 is £200 so is it fair to compare them? I don't know.

Does anyone know how they compare with the Harmon Kardon Sounsticks II?

[philobeddeo]

It's interesting how this guy from SonicState ONLY does price comparisons with more EXPENSIVELY priced monitors...in an effort to convince people that the M-Audio's are the best monitors on earth for $300........BULL FUCKING SHIT!

He very conveniently left out the Samson Resolv A5's,which are every bit as loud & clean as the Deluxe's & the frequency response of the Samson's exceed the M-Audio's with 50Hz - 30kHz....as supposed to M-Audio's 56Hz - 22kHz

[overloadevents]

would these be a better buy than the tapco s5 speakers ?? i am stuck between the 2 ??

[ussardor]

i have bought the Bx5a Deluxe speakers after this video? but it came with only power plugs. what else i need to connect it to my pc? do i need amplifier? if yes,what kind of amp? and what kind of cable? please tell me about all, thanx! :)

[nutkins112]

You don't need an amp. If your just connecting it to a built in sound card you will probably on need a 1/8" to 1/4" cable. Google it and check it out.

[sonicstate]

Hi, all you need is a cable from your pc into the speakers. I will take a guess and suggest that it might be a minijack stereo. So you need a mini jack to two mono 1/4 inch jacks. plug the mini into your computer audio out, and the mono jacks - one into each speaker. Turn your computer on before the speakers, and start with the volume down low and increase it until it's the volume you need

[philobeddeo]

Let me see if I have the chronology of the events straight...you bought these monitors & opened the box & at that particular point in time,you had not ascertained that the speakers are powered?All you had to do was look at the exterior of the box-which clearly states that these are ACTIVE speakers & if that wasn't enough for you,all you had to do was read the manual.

Yet another thing you could have done was to look at the rear of the speaker cabinet & you would have noticed a volume knob...

[philobeddeo]

...why would that volume knob be there if the speaker wasn't powered?Why would there be audio inputs in the back if the speakers were not powered?

This is why these monitors are $300,& not $150..as you are paying extra for the amplifiers inside the monitors.

How could you go out and buy a pair of monitors without have any clue as to what you were buying?

I'm just extremely curious,is all.

[montezumasrevenge]

Thanks

[scasey1960]

You should post more often.

[danielsonIII]

thank you!

[Yngwie811]

Coooooooool!