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M-Audio BX3 Monitor Review

Rate this speaker:

  • 1. Poor (headless panther)

    Votes: 160 87.0%
  • 2. Not terrible (postman panther)

    Votes: 14 7.6%
  • 3. Fine (happy panther)

    Votes: 7 3.8%
  • 4. Great (golfing panther)

    Votes: 3 1.6%

  • Total voters
    184
"Strange through from 200 to 1000hz"
"Strange through from"
1e06a077e0b1726b3e246496d0878ef9fb-10-Toxic-Avenger-Reboot-Movie.jpg

"Strange"? How? Is this is the first speaker you measured that doesn't measure flat.

"Strange through from"
51bHDV9sAlL._SX397_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg
No, you need to pay more attention:

index.php


It says strange *trough*, not through. Trough as opposite of hill. And yes, it is strange. I had not seen that shape before.
 
No, you need to pay more attention:

index.php


It says strange *trough*, not through. Trough as opposite of hill. And yes, it is strange. I had not seen that shape before.
Hey, Amir. I messaged you. Can you please reply? It will take all of three minutes. Thank you.
 
Lol. That Revel got a golfing panther because it's an outdoor speaker that measures/sounds decent enough. For an outdoor speaker.

Heck, the revel m80xc measures even better. Alas, no golfing panther.

 
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I think you were a bit unfair to these speakers. I bought 2 sets of these speakers second-hand because I needed them as surround satellites to complete my 7.1.4 setup. Having read your review I was expecting something really bad and I was fully prepared to send them back to the shop if I didn't like them, but in the end I kept them. I agree with you to the point that these are not good for music production and actual monitoring. But as PC speakers or satellites they are excellent! If instead of comparing them to monitors you rather compare them to e.g. Logitech speakers or surround systems, these are way better than anything Logitech has to offer. I've tried a couple of their 5.1 systems, the smaller ones are crap, one of these speakers is heavier than the subwoofer of those. And if I compare it to something like the Z-5500, the M-Audio sounds much clearer and has more detail. (Is it possible that M-Audio upgraded these since your review, and the ones you tried are not the same I have?)
 
I think you were a bit unfair to these speakers. I bought 2 sets of these speakers second-hand because I needed them as surround satellites to complete my 7.1.4 setup. Having read your review I was expecting something really bad and I was fully prepared to send them back to the shop if I didn't like them, but in the end I kept them. I agree with you to the point that these are not good for music production and actual monitoring. But as PC speakers or satellites they are excellent! If instead of comparing them to monitors you rather compare them to e.g. Logitech speakers or surround systems, these are way better than anything Logitech has to offer. I've tried a couple of their 5.1 systems, the smaller ones are crap, one of these speakers is heavier than the subwoofer of those. And if I compare it to something like the Z-5500, the M-Audio sounds much clearer and has more detail. (Is it possible that M-Audio upgraded these since your review, and the ones you tried are not the same I have?)

Surround duty is relatively easy on speakers. Surrounds are almost always crossed to a sub, and surround content is mostly ambient sounds with the occasional effect. I am not surprised they work decently in that application.

But...

M-Audio advertises these as "Multimedia Reference Monitors." Their web site imagery shows them in recording applications, and the purchase price includes basic digital audio workstation (DAW) recording software. Judging them against their advertised purpose, they are pretty terrible. The only use I might have for them is to use them to check my mixes on a known crappy speaker to see how it might translate to other crappy speakers.
 
Besides, I'd hope these sound better than the junk Logitech puts out. No surprise there. Heck, you can get much better speakers than these for not a lot more.
 
Hi, I'm a noob to this. Short story: I've upgraded my PC, and Upgradiatias has truly kicked in - so now I'm in agonising inner-battle of thoughts and disputations - looking for compact desktop monitors.

Needless to say my wallet is already suffering shrinkage symptoms, I'm yet to set a budget but looking at entry-level stuff like: M-Audio BX3, Edifier MR4, Eris E3.5, AVE Fusion, and a few others.

Also came across used JBL 104-BT - don't mind the design but the plastic enclosures are a bit of a turn off.

Just need something with a very small footprint as a good computer speaker really. I'm looking to play with EQ and PC'S DSP chipset, so I'm thinking something very basic spec wise (ie without BT or DSP) but not utter junk either. I take it the BX3 is better avoided? Upgrading from my old GigaWorks T20, which I've had for ten years.
 
Hi, I'm a noob to this. Short story: I've upgraded my PC, and Upgradiatias has truly kicked in - so now I'm in agonising inner-battle of thoughts and disputations - looking for compact desktop monitors.

Needless to say my wallet is already suffering shrinkage symptoms, I'm yet to set a budget but looking at entry-level stuff like: M-Audio BX3, Edifier MR4, Eris E3.5, AVE Fusion, and a few others.

Also came across used JBL 104-BT - don't mind the design but the plastic enclosures are a bit of a turn off.

Just need something with a very small footprint as a good computer speaker really. I'm looking to play with EQ and PC'S DSP chipset, so I'm thinking something very basic spec wise (ie without BT or DSP) but not utter junk either. I take it the BX3 is better avoided? Upgrading from my old GigaWorks T20, which I've had for ten years.

If you're looking at extreme budget, MR4 is decent for the price. 1280T was also recommended by amirm.


 
Altough i rate edifer for making quiet gooed speakers for a little price, i would still more recommend the kali LP-6 as real budget monitor. It does a few things quiet a lot better than the Edifer and does not cost a lot more.

The review: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/kali-lp-6-review-studio-monitor.17978/
Appreciate your suggestion. Forgot to mention - I'm in Australia - stuff here is generally expensive and sometimes priced very differently in comparison to the US.

Like one $100 set in US would be $160 here, and another $100 set would be over $200 in USD equivalent. Some brands simply aren't available - due to the market size I guess?

Had the MR4 on sale last week for $74USD, but it seemed very cheap, too cheap almost. The volume knob and the red/greed LED at the front would be annoying too I think.

Considering the AVE Fusion 4, it's on sale for $108USD - seems to be a slight improvement over the MR4?

https://www.avecorp.com.au/product/ave-fusion-4-black-studio-monitor-pair-4-inch/
 
Like one $100 set in US would be $160 here, and another $100 set would be over $200 in USD equivalent. Some brands simply aren't available - due to the market size I guess?

I looked up the price in Canada. It's 270 CAD per monitor. Two monitors with tax would be over 600 CAD, or 450 USD. I imagine it's similar price in Australia.

Another option is a Chinese class D amp with passive speakers. With passive speakers there is more used options.

Although my personal rule for buying speakers is that if it doesn't hurt financially, that means I am not spending enough.
 
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I looked up the price in Canada. It's 270 CAD per monitor. Two monitors with tax would be over 600 CAD, or 450 USD. I imagine it's similar price in Australia.

Another option is a Chinese class D amp with passive speakers. With passive speakers there is more used options.

Although my personal rule for buying speakers is that if it doesn't hurt financially, that means I am not spending enough.
A similar sentiment re: spending, I don't want to cheap out and regret.
As it stands now, the range is between $74USD MR4's and $230USD HS3's, but some items aren't worth the $ - overpriced or just plain cheap / horrid.
 
Considering the AVE Fusion 4, it's on sale for $108USD - seems to be a slight improvement over the MR4?

https://www.avecorp.com.au/product/ave-fusion-4-black-studio-monitor-pair-4-inch/
These are quite oldschool, but what isn't in this (size/price) class. I found the mention of an "Optimized directivity high frequency waveguide" hilarious in the face of pictures that clearly show a basically flat-baffle tweeter lacking all but the merest hint of a waveguide. Not like it's terribly necessary to have one in the 4" class, but still.

A similar sentiment re: spending, I don't want to cheap out and regret.
If you can accommodate them (space-wise and financially), I would recommend something like a pair of KRK RP5 G4s (they commonly seem to sell for about 249 AUD a piece, the lowest I've seen being 189 AUD). These are some actual active monitors (not just powered ones with often rudimentary passive crossovers), and you'll be much happier with the low end as well. These are decidedly entry-level still. A pair of M-Audio BX5 D3s would be about the bare minimum (no DSP, definitely needs some EQ, bass won't go nearly as deep even then, and you'll arguably want to stick on some external heatsinks as the back gets rather toasty). Oh, there still seem to be some JBL LSR305 MkII for even less, they're a bit hissy but a good budget buy otherwise.

(Getting the cabling right for "classic" monitors can be a bit tricky though, we'll have to discuss that again. You probably don't want to end up hearing any mouse movements and GPU action loud and clear. If you need desk stands - and most of us do -, stacks of old books or similar should do in a pinch.)

I assume the HS3s are decent for what they are (entry-level powered speakers with hopefully better response than most of the competition), but the specs of 85 Hz at -3 dB and 70 Hz at -10 dB are quite typical for the 3" class - these are going to sound like small speakers if you don't apply some rather drastic EQ (and be overwhelmed rather quickly at higher levels if you do). The HS4s still aren't that great at 83 / 60 Hz respectively (for comparison, Genelec 8020s make it to 60 Hz at -3 dB) but at least you can tell they're not totally dropping like a rock. For comparison, RP5 G4s make it to about 55 Hz at -3 dB and 43 Hz at -10 dB, and trust me, that's a major difference in bass coverage! (The JBLs are at about 50 / 42 Hz, respectively, so a hair better still.) Even for casual listening I'd rather want to have my -10 dB point in the mid-50s at least. You can live quite happily with about 40 Hz and not miss out on very much in music.

The 5" class tends to be kind of a sweetspot for desktop audio. They still have small enough driver spacing for good integration at <0.8 m and the drivers don't cost an awful lot more than 3" and 4" ones while having a substantial innate advantage in terms of level handling just due to surface area and excursion. At the same time the enclosures provide enough space for some decent electronics without having to go overboard on tiny parts. You may have noticed that a majority of 4" and 3" class speakers are powered sets... there isn't that much to be saved in drivers but cutting down on electronics will still save a fair bit, and most people just aren't willing to spend almost as much on less capable speakers. (Sure you'll need a passive crossover then, but when a single lone electrolytic cap is deemed adequate as such...) A decent pair of 3" class monitors will actually cost you more than some decent entry-level 5" ones, and there's not a ton to choose from either. Fighting physics is an uphill battle...

Honestly, this discussion should probably go in a new thread in the newbie department.
 
These are quite oldschool, but what isn't in this (size/price) class. I found the mention of an "Optimized directivity high frequency waveguide" hilarious in the face of pictures that clearly show a basically flat-baffle tweeter lacking all but the merest hint of a waveguide. Not like it's terribly necessary to have one in the 4" class, but still.


If you can accommodate them (space-wise and financially), I would recommend something like a pair of KRK RP5 G4s (they commonly seem to sell for about 249 AUD a piece, the lowest I've seen being 189 AUD). These are some actual active monitors (not just powered ones with often rudimentary passive crossovers), and you'll be much happier with the low end as well. These are decidedly entry-level still. A pair of M-Audio BX5 D3s would be about the bare minimum (no DSP, definitely needs some EQ, bass won't go nearly as deep even then, and you'll arguably want to stick on some external heatsinks as the back gets rather toasty). Oh, there still seem to be some JBL LSR305 MkII for even less, they're a bit hissy but a good budget buy otherwise.

(Getting the cabling right for "classic" monitors can be a bit tricky though, we'll have to discuss that again. You probably don't want to end up hearing any mouse movements and GPU action loud and clear. If you need desk stands - and most of us do -, stacks of old books or similar should do in a pinch.)

I assume the HS3s are decent for what they are (entry-level powered speakers with hopefully better response than most of the competition), but the specs of 85 Hz at -3 dB and 70 Hz at -10 dB are quite typical for the 3" class - these are going to sound like small speakers if you don't apply some rather drastic EQ (and be overwhelmed rather quickly at higher levels if you do). The HS4s still aren't that great at 83 / 60 Hz respectively (for comparison, Genelec 8020s make it to 60 Hz at -3 dB) but at least you can tell they're not totally dropping like a rock. For comparison, RP5 G4s make it to about 55 Hz at -3 dB and 43 Hz at -10 dB, and trust me, that's a major difference in bass coverage! (The JBLs are at about 50 / 42 Hz, respectively, so a hair better still.) Even for casual listening I'd rather want to have my -10 dB point in the mid-50s at least. You can live quite happily with about 40 Hz and not miss out on very much in music.

The 5" class tends to be kind of a sweetspot for desktop audio. They still have small enough driver spacing for good integration at <0.8 m and the drivers don't cost an awful lot more than 3" and 4" ones while having a substantial innate advantage in terms of level handling just due to surface area and excursion. At the same time the enclosures provide enough space for some decent electronics without having to go overboard on tiny parts. You may have noticed that a majority of 4" and 3" class speakers are powered sets... there isn't that much to be saved in drivers but cutting down on electronics will still save a fair bit, and most people just aren't willing to spend almost as much on less capable speakers. (Sure you'll need a passive crossover then, but when a single lone electrolytic cap is deemed adequate as such...) A decent pair of 3" class monitors will actually cost you more than some decent entry-level 5" ones, and there's not a ton to choose from either. Fighting physics is an uphill battle...

Honestly, this discussion should probably go in a new thread in the newbie department.
Agree re: new thread, I was researching the BX3's - replied and then it went all over the place! @mods - please move if possible.

I'd go for a larger set but really am limited for desk space, even a typical 4"-class footprint is already too much.

I'm "sampling" this as a new hobby - to play around with EQ and train my ears a little, if need be a subwoofer may be an option down the track but at this stage just wanted to get half-reasonable basic speakers with as least electronics.
 
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