EARTHQUAKE Sound MPower Series 8-inch Studio Monitor, Matte Black

I know what you're thinking. Who is Earthquake? Why haven't I heard of these and most importantly, how do they sound?Seems like the line-up of choices when it comes to studio monitors is pretty cut and dry. Yamahas, Presonus, KRK Rokits, M-Audio, Adam Audio, Mackies yadda yadda yadda. One could spend weeks if not months trying to decide which are the best ones. I know this because that's exactly what I did before buying these. I went to Guitar Center and heard them all, out of the bunch the Yamahas HS8's stood out to me like they do to many but that's because they are pretty colored for a studio monitor specially the mid to low frequencies which sounds great for playback. Not so much for mixing.Generally speaking, any standard studio monitor tends to focus higher frequencies in a forward direction, becoming less and less focused in the lower frequencies. Well, not the Earthquake's. The balance on them is something out of a dream, the low end is rich and full and the mids crystal clear thanks to the ribbon tweeter. I couldn't believe how great they sounded. The low end is crazy, how they managed to get them to go down to 35hz out of a small woofer is beyond me.Another tough decision was choosing between the 6.5" and the 8". I think we have the tendency as consumers to think "bigger is better" specially when it comes to speakers. It's all about the bass right. What people dont realize is that when it comes to music production and studio monitors more bass isn't necessarily a good thing. Unless you're willing on spending thousands of dollars on sound treating your room to control the low end frequencies. Remember that the more bass you have the bigger the problem gets and the more you will drown out the mids and highs leaving you with all sorts of acoustic problems. People usually dont think about this and just go for the bigger monitors because they think they'll sound better. I thought this too until recently.My room is 11'x14' which is considerably big for the standard bedroom and the 6.5's are more than enough. The whole room shakes when I turn them up and go so low that it sounds like I have a subwoofer. I'm so glad I didnt get the 8 inch, it would have been a big mistake. Creating an array of problems when it comes to room acoustics.If you're on the fence about these dont be, set them exactly how the diagram in the manual indicates. Then just sit back and be blown away. Turn the high frequency knob one notch down (-1db) and you have a perfect balance of lows and highs. They sound better than the gimmicky brands yet cost so much less (not to mention they're beautiful). I really hope this review helps others decide. I usually dont buy products from brands I've never heard of but this was a pleasant surprise.

Nobody even knows of these. They sound excellent. I do not like the grills though. The magnetic magnets slide around and messes up the satin black vinyl wrap on the speakers. A real bummer. It just scratches the speaker housing on the front. And this is right out of the box because the stupid grill slide down on the vinyl wrap. I do not like this grill and embedded magnet design at all. But they sound awesome. Not too boomy and no ear fatigue. I'm kinda glad nobody knows about these beautiful sounding monitors. I don't know anyone else who has these. I've had so many powered monitors that have sounded like garbage and these are the best monitors I've ever owned.

Waiting on some stands and foam decoupling pads but wow what amazing sound. I used to have a hardwired Logitech Z906 THX surround sound and the difference minus the imaging from the “surround” is mind blowing. I’ll gladly give up a center and rear surrounds for audio of this quality any day. Audio is processed through a EPOS GSX1000 then to a little dot mkii before going to the studio monitors. All I can say is if you’re on the fence, it’s well worth it.

Well, I did a research about every single 5,6 and 8 inch active or passive speaker out there(up to 500-600$ for pair) and ended up ordering those M6. Kind of wanted to get the M8 but the prise difference was significant so... As a reference currently I have a set of passive 3 way 8inch sub JBLs decade series which suck big time, and an active yamaha sub to compensate for the total absence of any bass on the JBLs. And I'm so happy about my new purchase it's quite unusual. Those M6s kick ass, they are listed to go down to 35hz and I'm sure they do. The house is rumbling. Super minimal distortion if any, just pure sound. Sleek style, very clean and esthetic to me. I just love them. The other day I visited a nice audio store, and a kind gentlemen let me audition some of the greatest sounding system to mankind, electrostatic Martin logan with some crazy McIntosh tube amp and ofcourse they sounded AMAZING, and my point is for the praise I got the M6 they are truly unbeatable. Also I had a roommate for a while with yamaha ns8, so I know those well too. Earthquake sound is no Hype, just performance as somebody else commended, and I agree.

These speakers are very balanced for studio monitors. The ribbon tweeter is very fast and warm. The bass is not exaggerated but very controlled. Though this model is designed by a high powered speaker system company, they are definitely a studio level monitor. No hype. Just pure balance.

Bought a pair based on Sean Malone's review as his is the only review I found on the net.Also the price was cheap ($126 ea) and I'm a junkie for ribbon & electrostatic.Compare with my ML LX16, HF has slightly less ambiance and air and LF is slightly less quick & tight (just nitpicking).The sound is very neutral & detail as described by Sean.Great for mix though I use them as desktop speakers.Thank Sean for his review or I wouldn't try them.

Incredible sound. I put these in my bedroom hooked to my tv (it has an aux headphone out, allowing me to control the volume with the remote) at first I added a sunfire subwoofer to the mix but soon realized it was too much bass. On their own, they have all the bass you need. It's crisp and perfect. These absolutely destroy the samsung sound bar that cost the same amount of money. That being said, they are studio monitors and I've found controlling the sound remotely is impossible unless your tv has a volume control aux out. Of my 5 tvs, only the bedroom one had it. So, I guess I wish they were more friendly to a home theater application rather than just a sound studio.

All I can say is WOW because these speakers are so clean for this price range you can not go wrong!The best studio speaker for the price range and you don't need a sub woofer.