Surprisingly well defined sound with plenty of power. Unlike many close field monitors (particularly in this price range), the BX8a has an ampule amount of bass. Though it can be a bit loose at times, with a little bit of EQ they sound darn impressive - again considering the price! I was prepared to spend twice as much but am sure glad I found these first.

The biamped speakers are not wanting for power in most situations. I would prefer the speakers had an auto shutoff or else a power switch on the front so they aren't turned on all the time. The MDF construction is a logical choice; it avoids coloration and helps maintain consistency of tone from speaker to speaker. The 8 inch woofer is a welcome addition after having sixes in my other pair of monitors.

Plug n' play! It's that simple. Again, a little bit of EQ can be useful.

Easily the best pair of monitors in its price range. I've heard speakers costing much more sound a LOT worse.

N/A Never had contact with the company - they've worked flawlessly for two years now.

Professional musician

Anything that pays - otherwise it's rock/metal

Certainly the best in my price range. Planned on begrudgingly spending up to a grand but was amazed when guitar center sales guy showed me these! I am mixing african drum rhythms (djembes, djun djuns, bells)with an old Dell computer and I am blown away. Dununba is as deep as can be. Bells are bright. Djembes ring clear and true.

Less is more with these. Just the way I like it.

Plug them in, crank the volume knob, and let them rip! Placement is critical though. I like mine a little lower than recommended.

Heavy duty and built to take a beating. Probably 25 pounds a piece and built to last. Don't drop them! (read below)

By far the best sound and quality in the price range. Better than units in the $1000 range.

The story goes a little like this: In a moment of shear madness, I decided to load these beasts into the car along with my Roland R-09 digital recorder and my drums and haul it all over to a friends for a impromtu drum circle. Yes, I was showing off a bit but it is also a great way to get instant feedback with lots of volume. The short version is that I dropped on of the monitors and sheared the volume knob off of the back. I drove it to the M-Audio distribution center to get an estimate and to leave it for repair. 20 minutes and about $35 bucks later I was driving home with a fully repaired monitor. They actually fixed it while I was waiting.

Are studio monitors supposed to be sexxy? Really this is just a solid addition to my set up that makes me sound pretty good. Actually, they are better at telling me when I sound lousy.

Hobbyist

African Drum / Percussion

These speakers took me by surprise. I went into the store, set on buying the KRK V8 speakers for $1000/pr. The sales guy convinced me to listen to 4 different speaker models, side-by-side. I immediately realized that the KRK V6 and V8 speakers sounded much more "flat", if not muddy! And I was all set to buy the KRK speakers just on what I read about them. They were definately OUT! When I heard the M-Audio Studiophile BX8a speakers, I was blown away. They have great "highs" and very good bass response (not muddy like the KRK speakers). The KRKs may be better suited if you do a lot of mixing/recording, since they are quite "flat" sounding. The M-Audio speakers are a must if you are looking for a more fuller, richer playback sound. The clean bass response will shock you. When I hit the low notes on my keyboard, the whole room vibrated and caused my dog to run out of the room!

There are no fancy features with these speakers, other than they are bi-amplified. The back has a power switch, volume control and the jacks for connecting them to your source.

Quality seem quite good. The enclosures are vinyl-laminated MDF, but this material seems to be more prominent in speakers now. I'm a furniture maker, so I love natural wood products. But...these speakers weigh over 26 lbs. each and have a solid feel. I think they will last a very long time.

In my opinion, these speakers sounded better than models costing at least twice as much -- hands down. Even the sales people in the store agreed with this statement. Superb value!

I just bought these speakers and they work fine, so no experience with the Service Dept. yet.

The speakers have smooth, rounded curves that make them look less boxy and more "sexy". The woofers are also black (like the enclosure), so the speakers don't stick out like a sore thumb like the other models that have white or yellow woofers. I like the "subdued" look better.

Serious hobbyist

Smooth Jazz, New Age, Rock

i've been in the studio room at guitar center in Virginia Beach, Va and heard various monitors and the BX8a's sounded great, better then some of the more expensive pairs. I traded up to get these speakers from Alesis MKII'S they were alright but they were sixes so I couldn't get the bass response I needed.

the back only had a volume knob, I wish it had a switch for flat response or an selector to adjust the frequences.

The kevlar cone is durable and I believe will last a long time because of the material, and the box that surrounds the speaker is well constructed, I son't think I will have any problem with this product.

This product is priced just right..

I don't think anyone who invest's in this product will have any regrets. I havent had to contact the company and don't think I ever will.

Over all looks great not to bulkey looking, sleek rounded cabinet.

Recording engineer

Gospel, Hip Hop, and R&B

the sound is great. compared them to all of the krk rp series and these sounded much crisper and better lows imo. i do a mixture of hip hop drums mixed with piano and bass, also for my guitar recordings as well and these are perfect for me.

only volume control in the back so not too much but even if i had alot of features to mess with i'd prob just find one thing and stick with it so its not a big deal to me

hooked up to my interface and its ready to go

Very sturdy and m-audio packs their monitors very securely so it came outta the box looking great.

i paid 500 for these and unless I was wanting to drop another 500 for some dynaudios then i didnt hear anything else that would be worth it for around the same price range. thank god i went and did a couple 1 hour listening sessions before i made this purchase because i almost jumped on the krk bandwagon just going by reviews

havent used it but with m-audio in the past they worked great compared to most technical support

blue lights look alright but the looks didnt make the purchase happen

active musician, producer, composer

hip hop mixed with piano and then some downtempo ambient stuff, and acoustic guitar as wel

Good sound. Highs may be a bit too much, but haven't really tested the extremities.

Just a volume knob.

It's definitely a good option for the price range. Make sure to look at the Event TR series too. I got mine for $350 so I am pleased for the deal.

Haven't had to deal with them.

Look great.

Producer/Electronic Composer

Symphonic Electronica

After mixing and mastering with normal stereo speakers...The BX8A's are amazingly clear I would have to admit that the hi's are a little much but i dont mind. If your mix is good the BX8A's won't lie to you. But if your mix is bad the BX8A's will tell you right away and i realy love that about these Monitors. They alos have Amazing Bass & never distort even at full volume.

Volume Knob, On/Off Switch, Voltage Switch. Easy as it gets.

Plug them in, sit back and enjoy.

Very well made. I like the fact that they are heavy. I alos Love the Kevlar Sub and the silk tweeker. They were also alot bigger then i thought they barely fit on my desk.

Very good buy. anything cheaper then this is not worth it and you get alot for the price for these monitors.

hopefuly I won't need any.

Very nice looking, gray and black With Blue Light. Nothing to colorful, but a real simple look that I like.

Recording Artist / Music Producer

Hip-Hop/Rap/R&B

I've been making instrumentals since 1998, I am using the Bx8a's for computer speakers and studio monitors. My first impression was well balanced and crystal clear, even with unbalanced TRS cables. I have the volume on them at halfway and my windows mixer at -24 threshold and that is what seems to be the comfortable hearing zone. The bass isn't really prominent, I'd have to load a real big kick sample in order for the bass to boom, but that it did.

The enclosures are smooth, and I like the fact that it has two types of inputs, TRS or TS and XLR Balanced. It doesn't come with cables, only the power chords. You need to set them up so you have easy access to the volume on back of the monitors. They have power switches for the amp.

They say the woofers are made of kevlar but upon touching it lightly, it felt real thin almost like paper, I was expecting it to be stiff and more sturdy. With the pair I bought, one volume knob adjusts easier than the other.. weird

I couldn't be happier with them

Music Producer

New School Hip Hop

The sound on these speakers is great. Much better than the JBL 4208's that I used to have.

Features are fine - pretty much covers my needs.

Pretty easy to use, although I would echo the comments about moving the power switch and volume control to the front.

Despite the great sound I'm surprised my speakers worked as long as they did (3 or 4 years now). One of them died due I think to cheap components (capacitors) on the circuit board.

If you get a working pair they sound great for the money. But even if they work - how long will they work? I have replaced the cheap capacitors in my one working speaker as a little insurance policy against ever having to go through this again.

I rate this in the middle since I couldn't really use the support. My speakers were well out of warranty when one failed. I had to buy a new circuit board for the failed monitor. That also failed. They sent me another free of charge (so I give them a few points for that). That one also failed. Just received another one today...I hope it works.

It's got sex appeal when it works.

Hobbyist

Progressive Rock

The sound is good... when they work.

One of the monitors failed after a year and a half. Since M-Audio sells everything in pairs, it's not possible to replace just one. M-Audio monitors are legendary for their high failure rate.

I want a replacement.

Home Composer/Producer

All

These monitors are great. When I first got them I was impressed with how much detail there was in the sound. Then when I got them properly positioned in the room and added some acoustic treatments I was literally blown away with how crystal clear they were. People have said that the highs are too harsh, but I'm guessing that's because they have them positioned too low with the tweeters right in line with their ears. The manual has good instructions regarding setup. Positioning makes a huge difference. I have owned these for months now and have yet to crank them up to 11. There is way more gain than you should ever need on these monitors.

Just volume.

Just plug it in. Again, though, positioning is imperative for good balance and imaging.

Very durable. And heavy. Like all monitors, the cones are exposed, and I worry about my kids poking them, but that just comes with the territory.

There's nothing at this price point that even comes close. I did A/B comparisons with a lot of other monitors in all price ranges, Yamaha, KRK, Alesis, Behringer, Mackie, Genelec, and the only ones that really obviously topped these ones were $2500 Genelecs. Mackie's were only marginally better, but more than twice the price.

When bands come to record, the general response I get is, "Hey, nice monitors."

Recording Artist/Engineer

Rock, Electronic, Ambient

I would say that the bx8a monitors have good sound but to keep it to the real dont get me wrong they make your house go boom boom but in all that boom boom coming from krk 6 I do see why some people say that 8s in general have a bit of clarity issues not enough to make me not want them though M-Audio did a good job on these.

Not Bad.

Very easy to use.

I give a nine ive only had them for 2 days I dont no.

Yes I bought mine for 325.00 from a buddy.

Dont ask me why did you read my last answer

The monitors look good nothing more or less than the pictures just bigger in person they are right on time.

great

all

the tweeter is metallic and middle is not present... bass ok... for me this is not a good monitor for studio... www.roymorris.tk

is a commercial product not for professional music...

years procucer

various (electronic)

Perfect sound, not coloured. A must have in semi-professional studio.

Sound like the most professional monitors. Incredibe sound

Great quality. Great price and value

Poor support! I emailed them question regarding the BX8A about a weeks ago but still haven't heard anything so far. I tried to call the sales rep but they don't have the answer. Then I call the tech support twice but they put me on hold for more than 20 minutes... but no one answer the phone. Not professional at all... Really piss me off! By the way, do you know my question is? Very simple Does BX8A has the built-in overload protection feature? I ask this because most retailers say no, but M-Audio website mentioned yes, but their manual didn't say anything about it. I wasn't sure so I asked...

They don't necessarily sound "good", they tell the truth. If the mix is good they sound great, if it's not, the BX8a's will tell you. I like that in a monitor. These babies are extremely full range. Deep lows and strong highs. The highs are almost too powerful and you get ear fatigue a little more quickly because of it.

I understand the BX8's had a high frequency control; that would have been nice for them to retain. You don't need perfect high's for everything you do, such as tracking drums, and the control would have helped to reduce some of the fatigue you experience with those perfect tweeters.

Solid and well made.

These monitors are better than the Mackie's that are almost twice the price.

Don't know, hope I never find out.