Sonic LAB: M-Audio BX5a Deluxe Active Monitors

US Will these near fields go far? 26/09/08

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The original BX5a speakers were mighty popular, the diminutive, portable, do-it-anywhere monitors were a good fit for the laptop musician or space-challenged studio. The latest in the range, the BX5a Deluxe boast a new waveguide (fancy talk for re-molded front panel), tighter bass and excellent imaging - according to the sticker. Now lets see about that...... Actually, I was quite pleasantly surprised by these little speakers, plenty of power , good range (for their size) and a listenable top end, due to the silk dome tweeter no doubt. Imaging was good too and the overall performance impressive. The only gripes I had were that there were no parameters to tweak such as HF or LF level, or bass rolloff which you might want if you were going to pair this up with a sub unit. I also don't like the power on the back, but I can appreciate the clean lines would be spoiled by a switch on the front. All in all, the BX5a Deluxes represent excellent value for money, and deliver a sound worthy of a larger speaker. Specs: 70watt, active, bi-amped speakers, 56Hz-22kHz range, 1 inch silk dome tweeter, 5 inch Kevlar bass driver, TRS and XLR inputs + volume control and power on rear. Available now. Pricing
$399/Â£199 a pair RRP, seen for as little as: