Lets be honest, with all the will in the World, M-Audio are not renowned for their high end speakers, so all the more of a surprise when we were ushered into a small soundproof booth to listen to their latest and very much greatest speakers. The active EX66 is described as a “Professional High-Resolution Active MTM Reference Monitor� - yeah right, everybody says that. But wait – these actually sound amazing. All the more so as we weren’t listening in an ideal environment, but as soon as they were making noise, we all looked at each other and said “wow�. The bottom end and mid range were very impressive and accurate from initial listening – they sound much bigger than they look. The EX66 is an active speaker with analog and digital inputs, so you can hook this right up to your DAW or soundcard for a really direct monitoring path – I’d recommend a volume control though – I’d hate to think what would happen to your ears (or crockery) if you inadvertently sent full volume to these – they are LOUD. On to the facts and figures:

Features
• MTM configuration yields wide sweet spot with reduced room reflections
• two 6â€� custom linear-piston woofers deliver high durability with exceptional definition and precision
• 1â€� titanium dome tweeter produces smooth transparency without high-frequency smearing
• bi-amplified with 200 watts PWM power per channel
• DSP-tuned cabinets and crossovers for extremely accurate frequency response with no resonant peaks
• high-impedance analog inputs (XLR and ¼â€� TRS balanced)
• S/PDIF and AES/EBU digital input up to 24-bit/192kHz for total digital studio connectivity
• 32-bit digital processing
• OptImage II high-frequency wave guide minimizes diffraction
• Acoustic Space control optimizes low-frequency response based on room placement
• soft limiter circuit to prevent clipping
• calibrated volume control/input sensitivity control
• high-frequency roll-off/boost switch
• mid-range “presenceâ€� switch (low-Q dip or peak)
• low-cutoff switch (37Hz, 80Hz, 100Hz)
• custom-designed MDF cabinet
• internal adiabatic foam absorbs standing waves and enhances low-frequency response and efficiency
• dual flange rear-port design to minimize air turbulence and associated friction noise

We’ll be getting some in for review as soon as we can so expect more objective listening tests shortly. Available soon, UK pricing is expected to be in the region of 1,000 UKP

• www.m-audio.com

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