M-Audio BX3 Monitor Review

[noel_fs]

Thanks Amir for the review! Happy to see more speakers again lately
This looks quite bad indeed
Guess that Jbl 305 for a little bit more money is very hard to beat as a deal

i think its kinda unbeatable, the "only" thing that is improveable is the amp which is kinda lacking and has a mild hiss.

 

[tomtoo]

If i look at the single driver FR. I realy wonder how they could mix the two of them that bad?
Its like take a not to bad steak(bass) ok vegetabel (tweeter) add some butter (port) and get some realy bad dish? Thats speacial.

I realy wonder if changing phase or/and use a stepper lowpass in the bass would change something? And close that port or redesign it.

 

[amirm]

Thanks. May you share the polar pattern of this mic? And how close? Genuine curiosity.

These are generally omni measurement mics. They do pick up the woofer response when testing the tweeter for that reason. To get around that, I limit the measurements of the tweeter once I see the influence of the woofer. In reverse, the tweeter is directional enough that it doesn't pollute the woofer and hence the reason you see full range measurements of that.

 

[PeteL]

These are generally omni measurement mics. They do pick up the woofer response when testing the tweeter for that reason. To get around that, I limit the measurements of the tweeter once I see the influence of the woofer. In reverse, the tweeter is directional enough that it doesn't pollute the woofer and hence the reason you see full range measurements of that.

Cool thanks

 

[Adaboy4z]

I almost bought a pair of these out of curiosity and the cheap price. Glad I didn't, it saved me a return.

 

[fineMen]

How is the woofer even loud enough at 10kHz to achieve significant cancellation, especially when the nearfield measurement shows it isn't loud enough? Sound physics is weird.

Oh, that's easy. A tiny woofer as this might be sufficiently loud on-axis, especially with a resonance, that may occur right at 10k. The 'near-field' measurments don't show that clearly, because the major contribution to a resonance may radiate from the perimeter of the cone. Or / and a residual contribution of the tweeter, in that 'near-field' probing of the individual drivers, would just cancel such a resonance out.

Regarding a negative reaction to M-Audio tagging the 'monitor' decal on it, please remember what a monitor is. Like with the (in?)famous BBC LS3/5 its main purpose is to monitor the sound transmission as such. Maybe some additional quality criteria are also monitored, say overdriven microphones, or a loose, crackling cable, but natively it is not meant to support 'critical listening' in every aspect.

 

[uwotm8]

DSP speakers will probably always have better bass extension

8010s have no bass and no extension
iLoud is a whole different story

 

[ROOSKIE]

OK, does it really matter? Yes typically active speakers use an amp per driver and use electronic crossover at the front end. That's passive XOver vs Active XOver. I understand that. Now that "Active speaker" would be short for "Speaker using active XOvers, maybe, most of the time. Well in this case it obviously don't. Do you have examples of a pair of 2 way speakers that would have all 4 channels amplifications in one speakers along with the crossovers and feeding channel of speaker currents over the next box which would have only 2 drivers in it? Or is it just words? Really, what's the benefit of that?
Yes I would call this a powered speaker too, that's the word I used in previous post. Bottom line, one speaker contain an amp, an active device. What labeling would you have used for "Output to passive speaker"? Output to unpowered speaker? I feel like this is making a fuss about nothing really.

Howdy, yes I get the value is smallish here.
Ideally terms should be used consitently if possible as these terms have value when shopping and making purchase choices.
It is good to use the terms consistently in order to communicate what is happening and for a buyer to be informed.
I am not fussing, I think it is a good idea to to have a way to communicate what an active speaker is and what a powered speaker is and what a passive speaker is.
Yes, these lines are being blurred by manufacturers and marketing and that fact it is a bit confusing in the 1st place which I think sucks a bit.
I don't think it is a big deal and yet of course I feel it ought to be mentioned. Probabily will be very ambiguous terminology soon unfortunantly.

The obvious benefit of having all the electronics in one speaker, wether active x-overs or not is that you only have to plug in one power chord for a pair of speakers.
The down side is the need for a 4-conductor or more(usually proprietary) connection cable if the speaker is using active x-overs.

There are still examples out there, however with wireless gaining popularity they are mostly replaced now with speakers using such tech and thus both in a pair need to be plugged in for the wireless feature and obviously with wireless one would also require amps be in each speaker.

If the speaker is a 2-way then the connector will be a 4 conductor cable.

Some quick examples, Edifier makes several. My old Focal portable studio monitors(which used a 1/4 cable so one had to be careful not to use a 2-conductor 1/4, and rather a 4-conductor)There are some DIY examples.

The Klipsch model 5,7,9's all use a 4-conductor connection and have 4 discrete amps. However, I actually do not know if the x-overs are active or passive or a combo of both in these. The connection would be suitable for an active design.

 

[JohnBooty]

I wonder if there's an easy way to mod those ports to avoid the chuffing. They actually look to be of a reasonable diameter for a 3.5" woofer.

From Amir's photo, it looks like there's some sort of grill in there, presumably so your kids don't stuff Legos inside the speaker. That thing certainly can't be helping. I wonder if it's part of the problem with the port, or the entire problem.

In my opinion these M-Audio don't belong in any part of the audio journey. But hey, tons of people bought them and reviewed them positively, so what do I know?

Nearly everybody posting on this forum already has far nicer gear, but there's a big benefit to the hobby if we can identify those "gateway drugs" -- affordable gear that performs surprisingly well for its price and helps people get into the hobby.

Maybe I'm just projecting, since that's how I got pulled in.

The average age of audio hobbyists has to be over 50, if not 60, so new blood is important. And besides, even seasoned audiophiles need cheap decent gear sometimes. For traveling, or for a secondary/tertiary setup, or the vacation home, or for the office, etc.

 

[ROOSKIE]

I wonder if there's an easy way to mod those ports to avoid the chuffing. They actually look to be of a reasonable diameter for a 3.5" woofer.

From Amir's photo, it looks like there's some sort of grill in there, presumably so your kids don't stuff Legos inside the speaker. That thing certainly can't be helping. I wonder if it's part of the problem with the port, or the entire problem.

The problem is probabily port velocity.
One the air mass starts to move very fast it loses control and breaks up/turbulence occurs. (you can roughly compare it to a small driver that needs huge excursions to move as much air as a much larger driver would with very little excursion)

A larger port would very likely work. The problem is fitting it in the cabinet. The larger the diameter the longer it also has to be for the same tuning.

I would just seal and/or high pass and add a small sub. You could make the port bigger some-how, at that point I suspect it will be partially outside of the cabinet.

Strange though that high passing it did not help. I have not had that issue. Usually when I pick an approriate high pass chuffing goes away. I wonder what frequency Amir tried. It look to be tuned around 100hrz. I would think somewher in 100-150hrz would cut the chuffing. Then add a small sub and maybe play some video games or watch some videocasts as for such tasks that set-up would likley work just fine.

 

[Weeb Labs]

How is the woofer even loud enough at 10kHz to achieve significant cancellation, especially when the nearfield measurement shows it isn't loud enough? Sound physics is weird.

The cancellation is a product of diffraction within the waveguide. The BX4 shares this waveguide design (although slightly larger) and suffers from the same problem.

I am actually rather surprised and disappointed as the only time I have heard an M-Audio product (I think it was the slightly larger BX5 monitor), it actually sounded very decent.

The BX5 is a very different monitor with a well designed waveguide, active crossover and biamplification.

 

[sealman]

Wow! Someone voted "great" and 3 people voted "fine"? Seriously?

 

[fineMen]

The problem is probabily port velocity.
... for the same tuning.

I would just seal and/or high pass and add a small sub. .

Please have a second look to where in the spectrum the port's resonance is situated: 115Hz! Third look might scrutinize the exceptionally colorful distortions at even lower listening levels. The comment in the original review saying "not usable" is on the spot. This may apply to the offer in total, or you are eager to 'monitor' if the transmission chain is working at all, but without any concerns regarding quality by which criteria whatsoever ... C'mon! Your next achievement?

 

[quimbo]

I recently picked up a pair of these for my work desktop for $90. Schiit Modi 3+ > Loki Mini > IEMagni. Speakers raised off the surface, 4 feet from ears, 6 feet apart. 3 different input sources, all lossless flac, differing bit-rates

These are more than suitable for work where I am more focused on slinging code then looking for the perfect sound. Good enough sounding with multiple genres. Multiple IEMS ($400 to 1600 retail) if i really need more perfect sound while at work

 

[dogmamann]

Volume is always tricky to visualize.
The electronics often take up only minimal airpsace. It might look cramped to the eye but internal volume is not changed much.

It is will also only affect the bass frequencies which are usually expereinced as a sum between the two speakers.

The electronics might only take up .005-.1 cuft depending on the size of the amps and stuff. However the are usually relatively constant. Bigger amps with more displacement in larger speaker with more internal volume to give.

I bet the amp in this pair is tiny.

This M-Audio is a really small speaker but for example if I model a 5" woofer in a .37cuft enclosure and then in a .33
I might lose 1db of bass @55hrz ---->who cares?? (Plus with DSP if the sytem has it, I can basically add it back.)
Nobody is going to notice ever that one speaker has slightly less bass.

View attachment 269373

From 3 cheap speakers I had in the past there was a noticeable difference in tonality in mids between left and right speakers. The ones I had were - Bose companion 3, micro lab b77 and Samson mediaone BT3. All three had different tonality in the left and right channels, Bose sounded the least different, but still playing the same sound as mono through both the channels, it was obviously noticeable. After that experience no matter how good the reviews are I was no longer interested in getting one with amp in one side.

On a large speaker the electronics may take very less space of the overall volume of the cabinet, but on smaller ones like this the one with the amp has significantly lower volume. Again, when you say, it only affects bass, it must be taken into consideration that none of these speakers produce any Lower notes instead the roll off from them is somewhere where the vocals still have parts of signals, which means can have an audible tonality in human voice. DSP built in speakers like the JBL BT 104 may have some tricks to fix it but the ones I mentioned except the Bose had none!

 

[heflys20]

The BX5 is a very different monitor with a well designed waveguide, active crossover and biamplification.

Yeah, even on the website, it's hilarious how they distinguish the BX5 and X8 from its smaller "cousins." The smaller range is called a "multimedia reference monitor" vs the "reference studio monitor" label of the larger models. These are little more than glorified "computer" speakers on the level of something like Creative Gigaworks (sound wise), Those photos of people doing serious mixing on these gave me a chuckle.

But maybe I am too picky. The BX-3 has over 1000 reviews on Amazon with 4.5 star average score!

LOL. More likely these people haven't heard anything better at their desk. It's amazing some of the things I've seen pass as "speakers" that people use at their computers.

Wow! Someone voted "great" and 3 people voted "fine"? Seriously?

Folks be trolling around here. LOL. Even some benchmark speakers on here have been rated "poor" or "not terrible."

 

[Hipster Doofus]

Thanks for the warning…

and on that note, I contacted Apos Audio for a price match on the shrinking supply of Topping PA5 amps. Theirs was $350… I was told that while they still had some in stock according to their website they would not match Shenzhen Audio price because they were deciding not to bring anymore in. Hey I thought a price match was a price match…any way I got the blue one( only color left) from Shenzhen and was glad I did… in their photo the blue one looked like a primary color. The one I received was a wonderful metallic blue for only $300. WOW AND DOUBLE WOW. The amp and a E50 Toppings dac, also blue, both for under $500. And it came from china in maybe 5 days.

 

[audiotron]

Nice review. This review probably wasn't worth your time!

 

[PeteL]

These are little more than glorified "computer" speakers on the level of something like Creative Gigaworks (sound wise)

Sure, but they are about 50$ cheaper than those.

 

[Morpheus]

This is a review, detailed measurements and listening tests of the M-Audio BX3 powered monitor speaker. I purchased it from Amazon by request from membership. It costs US $107.
View attachment 269195
The speaker looks like many professional monitors we review. However, when you hold it in your hands, it is extremely light and pretty small. So light that its stiff power cord drags it left and right by its sheer weight! The little 3.5 midwoofer though seems to be of high quality with high excursion for its size. Back side shows pretty rich feature set:

View attachment 269196
A single cable carries the output to the slave speaker.

Measurements that you are about to see were performed using the Klippel Near-field Scanner (NFS). This is a robotic measurement system that analyzes the speaker all around and is able (using advanced mathematics and dual scan) to subtract room reflections (so where I measure it doesn't matter). It also measures the speaker at close distance ("near-field") which sharply reduces the impact of room noise. Both of these factors enable testing in ordinary rooms yet results that can be more accurate than an anechoic chamber. In a nutshell, the measurements show the actual sound coming out of the speaker independent of the room.

Reference axis for measurements was the tweeter axis. Room temperature was rather cold at around 60 degrees F.

M-Audio BX3 Measurements
Let's start with our suite of frequency response measurements:
View attachment 269197

Wow, that is one uneven frequency response! I don't know what they had in mind with this. The trough at 10 kHz is quite curious. I guessed at the dual drivers being active and causing cancellation and 3-D soundfield radiation seems to show that:
View attachment 269198

Here is our near-field response of each radiating source:
View attachment 269199

We can see that the mid-woofer is going strong to 10 kHz and beyond.

Directivity is good resulting in early reflections to be similar to on-axis:

View attachment 269200

Speaking of directivity, response is indeed good in horizontal direction:
View attachment 269201

View attachment 269202

No doubt this is due to small midwoofer not being much larger than the tweeter. Vertical response is quite narrow as the two drivers work hand in hand to beamform:
View attachment 269203

So be sure to point the tweeter at you (elevate or tilt the speaker back).

Now we get to another problem area: distortion. Even with hearing protection I could tell the speaker was complaining, creating secondary tones during even 86 dBSPL sweeps:

View attachment 269205

View attachment 269206

I usually go to 96 dBSPL but no way could the BX3 handle that. So I settled for 90 dBSPL. As you see, the results are not pretty there.

I forgot to run the waterfall test but here is the step response:
View attachment 269207

M-Audio BX3 Listening Tests
I started to listen to the BX3 and attempt to develop filters to it. But no matter what I did, I kept hearing some artifacts. I traced this to the port. Boy, what comes out of that hole is ugly! In all but the faintest volumes, it would both chuff and spit out highly distorted version of the front wavefront which by the way, sounded decent! I stuffed the port but then that high reduced the low frequency response. I put in high pass filters of different shapes but none would reduce the distortion enough. And this was with the port some 1 meter/3+ feet away from the back wall. If you put it any closer to the wall, it would get even worse I am sure. So I gave up.

Conclusions
I don't know how companies manage to sell a pair of active speakers for just $106. But sometimes cheap is too cheap. The distortion here and uneven response is just too much to handle causing the speaker to fall below my minimum standard for good sound. But maybe I am too picky. The BX-3 has over 1000 reviews on Amazon with 4.5 star average score! So if you fall in that same bucket, and want something that is better than your laptop speakers, this will do. For me, it won't and I want to encourage to spend more and get something better.

I can't recommend the M-Audio BX3.

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I heard these at a couple of shops and though" how does this sound so liveless, no meat in the bones in voices, but not detailed at all, no highs there either..? "Good to know my ears don't deceive me, but this was all too obvious, and for the price there are no miracles..Actually even so, the price is a miracle, or plain dumping.