Heading back to an apartment, I knew that the Logitech X-530 speaker set I had for years wasn’t going to be cutting it any more. It wasn’t just the extra noise factor from the subwoofer, it was also the extra speakers that just weren’t being used, and the audio quality wasn’t up to par with my headphones.
My search for affordable speakers started in August of 2012. I knew I wanted something that was a lot more flat than what the bass heavy X-530s were, and also something that was a bit more space saving. I didn’t want to spend an arm and a leg, so AudioEngines were out of the question. I had looked at the M-Audio AV series for a while, and after deciding the extra bulk of the AV-40s wasn’t worth the extra cash, and the fact that the AV-30s were available in store, I purchased them in Moncton.
The Hardware:Overview And Opinions
The speakers are a nice solid wood cabinet, with a 3” woofer and a 1” tweeter. On the front of the left speaker (where the amp is housed) is the volume knob, which is illuminated with blue light when the speaker is on for easily identifying power state. Also located on the front is a 3.5mm headphone jack, and 3.5mm line in. The sides and tops are bare, however, the back houses the bass reflex port, the speaker wire terminators for linking the speakers, the power on/off switch, and also the standard ⅛” RCA jacks. On the bottom of each speaker is a thin foam pad that absorbs any vibrations.
Overall the speakers sound great. They’re similar in response to my HD555s, which is what I was looking for in a speaker. The crossover between the woofer and tweeter was engineered great, with little discernable crossover. Lows fade really well into highs. In listening to my daily playlists, which can consist of anything from rock to pop to dance, the speakers performed admirably, and I was pleased with the reproduction of audio in comparison to my headphones. They perform awesomely for games as well, specifically real time strategies where I don’t want to wear headphones for an extended period. I also like the fact that there is a headphone out and a line in on the front for easy access. The standard ⅛” RCA jacks on the back mean I can connect these to many different pieces of equipment if necessary. The magnetic shielding ensures they don’t interfere with my monitors and other electronics in the room.
One thing I don’t really like about them is the power switch is located in the back. This isn’t a huge deal if you’re just leaving them on, and it’s nice to have a physical switch to turn them off. I believe better positioning may have been combining power with the volume knob, or instead a separate button on the front. Another thing would be that they don’t handle vocals quite as nicely as I’d like them to. I’d like to be able to keep youtube videos at a lower volume while still having the voices clear, however, I find I need to turn the volume up. This is more than likely just the way they set the audio channels on the videos, but I do wish these would handle vocals better without the need to turn them up. EQing may solve this problem, however I haven’t played with it yet. It could also be fixed with proper positioning, but my desk doesn’t currently support it.
Conclusion
If you’re looking for an affordable pair of balanced studio monitors that still pack a decent punch, the AV-30s may satisfy you. Expect them to fill a small to medium room with decent sound, but don’t expect much beyond that. The size makes them semi-portable as well, so it wouldn’t be a huge deal bringing them to a hotel room if travelling.