Alesis M1A320USBXUS Active 320 USB | Full-Range Studio Monitor Desktop Speakers with Bass Boost (Pair)

These monitors are fantastic. I've long been a stickler for 2.1 computer speaker systems, but after a couple of disappointing experiences I decided to try these, given their price was close to 60% that of the 2.1 systems I'd been accustomed to buying previously. The speaker design is compact and very space-efficient (flat sides are good for bookshelf placement, flat tops let you stack up if desk space is limited). The connecting cables are super-slim and not bulky or obnoxious to route to your PC: one USB cable and one connection from the right speaker to the left. The additional inputs (RCA, stereo mini and quarter-inch mono) are useful and very welcome for audio pros with lots of different sources for audio. The USB codec built into the speakers can feed audio back to the connected PC for digital recording... I've never used it but I look forward to trying it soon. Sound quality is very good for speakers in this size and cost segment. I'd say 8.5 out of 10, with a good spectral balance and clarity along with excellent power. For most of my listening, I don't need to push the volume past the 50% mark get sufficient volume. There's a stereo mini headphone jack on the front to the right speaker. The power cable is modular, which is very important in case this cable is lost or damaged. The one teeny tiny demerit as far as hardware design goes is the super-bright blue LED on the front of the right speaker. If you leave the speakers on at night, this LED will really zap your eyes and light up the room. I put a small square of yellow electrical tape over it to mute it to a tolerable dim green color. But don't let this scare you off... this is an excellent set of monitors for their size and cost. I might even pick up a second set for my office at work.

Call me easily impressed, but I just got these babies tonight and plugged 'em right in to my HP notebook, switched over to them as primary sound device, two seconds install, and they are phenomenal as far as I'm concerned. I'm sure they'll require some burn-in time, but man, for a budget pair of USB monitors, or even just to use as a pair of primary PC speakers for everyday usage, these obviously rock! Yeah, the bass might not be overpowering but they sound tight as hell, clean, transparent, and have that crystal clarity that a good pair of monitors should have. They are compact, reasonably light although the right speaker the primary controller one, has a bit of weight to it, but they fit in just fine on my smaller PC desk no problem. I'll come back later on here in a month and see if the sound has burnished in or not. But so far, I'm super impressed with these Alesis monitors and would recommend them with no reservation to anybody trying to build a small home studio, or hobbyists, or just anybody that wants some solid and pro.-level home audio system for their PC, or old-school setup, or whatever it might be. They are attractive, compact, well-designed, easy to use, and the packaging and instructions/documentation are well-executed and well-thought out. The USB is what sold me on these particular speakers: so useful, fast setup, and no software hassles to speak of as long you are using a reasonably recent PC or MAC or whatever your machine might be. Plug 'em in, plug the USB in, and the interconnect L/R speakers and you are off and running! You do not have to be an audio engineer to use these and enjoy immediately. Which just rocks, what can I say. Your average home theater system is a lot more complex than these, that's for sure. They also have PLENTY of power...for a small room it's doubtful you'll ever turn the main knob up past say, 12 or 1 o'clock, the power is that massive. And mind you we're talking about monitors with what, a 3" woofer and small tweeters, basic 2-way setup? Alesis has hit a home run here, methinks. I'm sure their top of the line would be better, but if you want to spend $500-2000 go ahead. Not necessary unless you are doing absolute pro. work and need the top shelf pro. models. Otherwise these will kick your arse! One thing that strikes me about these is in a small room like I'm using them in, the punch and clarity and sheer impact is so concentrated, who the hell needs a massive subwoofer! And, the bass extension switch really does add a nice extra bass punch, and it's not muddy at all to my ears thus far. So they deliver what Alesis promises, a rare thing in pro. audio these days. A lot of new headphones for example do not deliver what they promise performance-wise, but these monitors do for sure. If you want to hear your music with total punch and clarity and transparency, these should be at the top of your home recording/listening shopping list!

I was looking for a small set of active speakers to build into in a custom keyboard stand. These fit the bill perfectly because they are compact and have a really nice sound. They also have up to 4 input sources that are summed (stereo 1/4" rca, stereo 1/8" mini jack, stereo trs jacks, and USB) - this allows you to have multiple sources playing simultaneously if you want. That's nice for my purposes because I sometimes like to play the keyboard along with music on my iPod. The USB is also an output so you can record the output (all summed inputs) on a computer if you want. When the headphones are inserted, the speakers are automatically silenced. I designed the keyboard stand you see in the customer photos to fit these exact speakers. The Alesis are better than most of the built-in speakers you get with a portable keyboard and these certainly offer more functionality. The outer shell of these are some type of hard plastic - they feel well made - not cheap. The only real issue I have with these is that the cable they provide for connecting up the two speakers is too short - only about 3 ft. So if you want to separate these by a distance of more than 3ft. you'll have to buy a longer cable (1/8" mini jack on both ends). Pros: - nice sound - plenty loud - *compact (5" x 7.5" x 6"; Width of front face x Height of front face x Depth of cabinet) - active (amplifier built-in) - 4 input sources - sturdy construction - volume pot is quiet when turned (hopefully will remain that way) Cons: - blue power LED a bit too bright - cable provided for tethered speaker could be longer (it's about 3 ft.) *note that the Alesis manual has mislabeled the dimensions in the pdf manual on their site (as of 121116). The dimensions I provide above are accurate.

There are a lot of cheap 3"monitors to choose from these days. And the reality is that speaker technology today far exceeds that of my youth. The sound that comes out of small boxes today is truly impressive. That said, how do you decide? I have had a few sets of small monitors. My job requires them. I have had Mackie CR3s, - a fun speaker that is ultimately not very good for monitoring. I have had monoprice - incredibly flat but with poor reliability. I have tested AV32s, as well. At this price point, there are always trade offs. Many are good, but none great. In the end you may decide to buy based on features as the deciding factor as there is no perfect speaker at any price, let alone a C note. That said, where does this set land? I overly stressed and critiqued and reviewed small monitors knowing the above truths. In the end,I bought these Alesis based on size, a volume knob that doubles as a power knob (a must in my book) and the added flexibility of USB - though admittedly, I don't use it - yet anyway. But I really got more than I bargained for. These are truly little gems in terms of acoustic acumen, too. There response is incredibly smooth and linear while still managing to have sparkling highs that are lively but never harsh. They have a great vocal range without either the dreaded u shaped sound signature, or overly efficient and resonant and forward mids - both common in speakers this size. And if you want to make sure the bass isn't getting out of hand on larger systems, flip the bass boost. Unlike others, this boost works well within its range without too much muddiness - just a pleasant and present bottom end. I actually leave it on all the time - it's a bit exaggerated as expected, but keeps my audio tracks from getting too boomy. It is more accurate with it off, but still a useful tool. The only sonic downside is their of axis response. It is pretty terrible. The sweet spot is super sweet but terribly small and hard to achieve in a work desk environment. I guess those wave guides around tweeters help out more than I was want to admit... Get the speakers up and pointed at your ear holes to be truly impressed. Otherwise, just good. One other small thing - the 1/8th inch aux plug is in the back of these cabinets instead of in the front. I see this is a extremely minor infraction for two reasons: they have a superior USB interface, and I just leave a small cable plugged into the back and running to the front door when u want to plug in an aux source. That way the cord is always at the ready, but hidden as well (if need be.) Pros: Smaller than other 3"cabinets Linear response Dynamic Lively highs natural tonal range Useful bass boost Loud with minimal distortion at peak Precise sound stage USB interface Volume/power knob combo Detachable power cord Cons: Terrible off axis response/ Minuscule sweet spot Tacky product badging

I purchased these monitors and used them a few times to test out - they sounded good enough for their size. But, after not using them for 4 months I finally installed them in a vocal booth and after just 1 day of moderate use the power supply blew out. No power, no blue light, nothing. There is still some spark visible when I plug the cord into socket so there is some power going into the box, but nothing works. This is apparently a known issue with Alesis and I've read other reports of similar problems which is a design flaw in the power supply board. Don't waste your time or money.

I wanted a pair of decent sounding powered speakers with a smaller footprint than my current ones at a less than $100 price point. These seemed to more than fit what I wanted since these have been discounted to $80 and had some good overall reviews here so I bought a pair. The Good: Sound quality is subjective but I found them to be pretty good especially for $80 with decent sound reproduction throughout the range given the physical size of the speakers. I will say that if I'd paid the original list price of $200 I'd probably be disappointed with the sound as I've heard better powered speakers at that price point. Besides the sound I do like the fact that you have the option to connect them with several analog connection types (RCA, 1/4 inch, 1/8 inch) as well as using them as a usb audio device with a computer. My current desktop computer's analog audio out is a bit more noisy than I'd like and connecting them via usb is a great solution. The Bad: The biggest negative I've found is simply the build quality of the speakers. These are the second pair I've had as the first ones were defective with the left speaker outputting no sound at all until you turned up the volume pretty high and even then the sound would drop again after a short period of time. After a bit of troubleshooting the issue appeared to be in the actual speaker itself not the cable(s). Amazon as usual was great about the issue and simply shipped me out a new pair. The second pair did not have this issue but I noticed at lower volume levels there was a balance issue with one speaker being at a lower level than the other. I solved this by simply decreasing the volume output of the software I use and turning up the actual speaker volume. It looks like my experience with quality issues is not uncommon with these as many reviews here seem to echo this and I really don't expect them to last a really long period of time and when they die I'll simply buy a better set. A side note related to this review: In case people aren't aware Amazon classifies speakers under the hazardous materials category apparently because of the magnets inside that don't allow them to be shipped via air freight . This means that if you go to your order history and try to return them there is no option to do so even though in this case these were shipped to me from two states away by ground and I would expect them to be returned the same way and never have to be sent via air. When the pair of speaker I got were defective and I realized there was no return/exchange option on my order page I simply e-mailed customer support and they sent me a new pair out right away without requiring me to return the defective ones. This was great but what was I supposed to do with the defective pair if they didn't want them back? I simply did what I guess most people will do, I threw them away where they'll end up in a landfill. I really think they should re-think this policy a bit as having tons of defective items purchased from Amazon simply being thrown away may not be the best thing.

According to ALesis technical specs they are rated at 10 W/channel RMS, 80 Hz to 20 kHz. Each speaker unit contains a 1" silk dome tweeter and a 3" woofer. The bass response is limited, but very tight. These speakers are well designed for critical listening. The clarity is amazing. The mid range and vocals are clear. There isn't any noticeable hiss at the high end (at normal listening levels). I connected these speakers to a small SONY Mini-disk player and the sound was amazing. I heard things I had never heard before. The vocals were much cleaner. The bass was solid and well controlled. I also connected them to a YAMAHA piaggaro NP11 keyboard (via its earphone connection). The keyboard wasn't any louder than with its built in speakers, but the piano voice sounded much more realistic. I tried the USB connection with a Windows 7 PC. The USB connection crashed that PC 3 times (I gave up). There may have been other issues involved, but I couldn't get it working with Win 7 in the USB mode. It did sound very good on that PC when connected as speakers on my existing sound card. I tried the USB connection on an old DELL laptop with Windows XP Pro. The XP based PC recognized the USB connection with no problems. I have not attempted to use the USB interface for recording. ALesis makes much better interfaces for that purpose for about $65 (US). The inputs on the speaker are additive and produce a single combined output to the unit's amplifier. It's a nice touch, but for all but the most basic uses you would be better off with a separate USB interface unit. All that being said ... I think that these are a super pair of speakers for their size and price. Unless your intention is to produce a throbbing bass heavy musical creation these speakers could serve well as a low cost studio monitor system for a beginning song writer/musician. These monitors paired with a relatively inexpensive USB audio interface and a lite version of a DAW such as Pro Tools, SONAR,Cubase, Ableton etc. could form the basis of a modest, but functional home studio. Note: Licensed copies of the aforementioned lite DAWs are often provided by the USB interface manufacturer. Several DAWs are available free or at a minimal cost on the Internet, however you will need an audio PC interface anyway so the supplied software is a good deal.

Short attention span version: Sound fine, died after a year and some, support was responsive but wouldn't budge on warranty. I will be seeking other solutions for a replacement. I bought these for the built-in DAC so I wouldn't have to worry about futzing with sound drivers for different operating systems. In that regard, and in basic sound performance, they worked just fine. The handy headphone jack on the front was nice. A year and a half into their (relatively light) service, the right speaker started intermittently experiencing volume drops and distortions. Turning them off and back on again clears up the problem temporarily but it comes back within minutes. There is at least one more review here where the customer had the same problem, and that review has a string of "me too" comments after it, so let the buyer beware. Given the number of five star reviews you'll likely get a good pair, but if you get a bad one, you'll be out of luck after a year. I reached out to their support team to see if they could offer any assistance, but they stuck by their one year warranty as the limit. They referred me to a number of service agencies, but given shipping and labor costs, I'm sure it's more cost effective to invest the money in new gear. Next time around I'll probably go with a separate DAC and speakers rather than getting something integrated like this. Though there are those that say the DAC may not be worth it unless you're a real audiophile - check out http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/high-end-pc-audio,3733.html .

Realmente se adaptan para la producción musical y masterización básica, son buenos y muy accesibles por el precio. Se adaptan a cualquier equipo y tanto la función usb como conectarlo a un interface, da la misma resonancia clara y audible.

Pour compléter mon interface Audio Yamaha AG03 et respecter un rapport Qualité/Prix équivalent. Absolument conforme aux promesses décrites. Je recommande vivement.

these are exactly what I needed for myself thanks a lot

Avec Alesis on est jamais déçu, ça ce confirme avec ce modèle. Petit bémol sur l'emballage qui aurait mérité plus de soin mais le produit était intacte donc : très satisfaisant.

The speakers are awesome, the build quality is good. But all these go for a toss when you with have a Logitech Mouse connected or (any) Wireless Mouse or if you happen to have an AMD system. For weeks the speakers outperformed every minute I played it, but all hell broke loose when the WIndows 10 upgrade happened from WIndows 8.1Pro. The USB port started acting up and slowly any port I attached it to started saying USN not recognised. I am still trying to resolve this with the help of the Alesis Support Community (Active Thread - http://gsfn.us/t/4s5yc). If you have an Intel system and no Logitech or Wireless Mouse go for apparently there is conflicts and since this is a USB based speakers there is no easy fix, no drivers, no work around. You have to endlessly keep testing this and create a perfect scenario for the speakers to work. I feel a bit cheated by Alesis product page, if they had an issue with AMD and Logitech systems, they should have warned before hand. This is classic case of mis-selling right here. But the speakers are good whenever they come on. I am looking at selling these as I see no hope of this getting resolved any time soon.