M-Audio Studiophile AV 40

price, usability, design, size, reliability

90% of the reviews on Amazon.co.uk give this product a positive rating.

price, usability, design, size

85% of the reviews on Amazon.com give this product a positive rating.

Fantastic value for money, big box sound, proper studio monitors

You’re going to need a bigger desk

It’s good, then, that the AV 40 isn’t all stürm und drang – it’s capable of considerable poise when it comes to your more delicate tunes and, of course, its transparency is great for helping you create music too. Casual Mac music listeners are likely...

The Studiophile AV40 speakers have MDF cabinets, 4" LF polypropylene-coated woofers, 3/4" ferrofluid-cooled silk dome tweeters. The AV20 has a 2" woofer and a Mylar tweeter. Today we shall examine the AV40 model.

4” polypropylene-coated woofers 3/4” ferrofluid-cooled silk dome tweeters OptImage III tweeter wave guides for superior imaging 20-watt-per-channel amplifier with Class A/B architecture magnetic shielding 1/4in TRS balanced and RCA unbalanced inputs...

Clean, powerful sound. Reasonable low-end extension for a 2.0 system. Relatively flat response means you can use these as studio monitors in a pinch. Solid build quality. Plenty of connection choices.

Large for powered PC speakers. Slightly recessed high end. Still lack low-end punch compared with similarly priced 2.1 systems. Rear-mounted power switch is a pain.

Performance and Conclusions In a series of listening tests, the AV 40 delivered the same clean, crisp sound as the original version. At high volumes, the speakers really come into their own, with plenty of clean level and a solid presentation across...

Peerless audio quality. Great value.Wake-the-neighbors loud. Magnetically shielded, so you won’t catch abuzz off your cell phone or mess with your laptop’s screen. Handy headphone jack lets you work musicians’ hours while housemates snooze

With 6 x 7.25-inch footprints, they do take up room (and at 14 pounds a pair, you won’t be moving them around much).Backside power switch means you’re constantly doing a reach-around at bedtime

Overall, I couldn’t be more impressed with a pair of speakers. The only downfall is their size, which they more than make up for in quality. I’m going to give these 4.5 out of 5 gears.

Bigger-than-average sound ; Large 4-inch woofer, 1-inch tweeter ; 20 watts per speaker ; Rock solid construction ; Bass Boost switch

Large size (for PC/desktop speakers) may be an issue

The Studiophile AV 40 is a larger-than-average PC speaker system that makes a bigger-than-average sound; large 4-inch woofer, 1-inch tweeter; 20 watts per speaker; rock solid medium-density fiberboard construction; Bass Boost switch.

Large size (for PC/desktop speakers) may be an issue for some buyers.

M-Audio's Studiophile AV 40 is a PC speaker for music lovers who care more about sound quality than compact size or rock bottom pricing.

Delivers full spectrum of sound

Delivers distracting funky buzz, too

Listening to the power funk of Tower of Power’s “Oakland Stroke,” we were impressed by the AV 40s’s ability to deliver the band’s full sonic spectrum, from the belch of Stephen “Doc” Kupka’s baritone sax to the crackle and snap of Dave Garibaldi’s drum...

This was an easy decision because the M-Audio Studiophile AV 40 sounded so good and cost so little. But would we put the bulky, plasticky-looking AV 40 on our sleek executive desks (if any of us had sleek executive desks)? Perhaps not. That’s why we...