I'm home sick today shopping online to replace my woeful, cheap Logitech Z320 speakers, which I use at work with a Dell laptop (provided by my employer).
I notice Amazon has a good price on the M-Audio AV40, $115, and I own and enjoy those with my home computer, an Apple.
My only doubt is that I had some M-Audio AV30 speakers at work (replaced, sadly, with the aforementioned Logitech) and they blew a fuse after two years. An Amazon reviewer had the same experience twice with his M-Audio AV40s, so I'm a bit cautious.
I could buy $200 Audioengine A2 speakers, hook those up to my home computer and use my old M-Audio AV40 at work, but honestly I don't need that much power for close listening.
Last night I cancelled an Amazon order for some Creative T40 speakers, about $90, after I read on Digital Trends a review that says they're a bit shrill and not as good as the AV30.
Any recommendations?
On the cheap side, free ship to store:
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Philips-Multimedia-Speakers-2.0/14913321
Or
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16836121014
Posted by: Paul | February 25, 2012 at 12:04 PM
I have a December 2011 new pair of AV30s and yes, the amplifier in the left channel speaker runs hot, and the stereo balance is way off. When the weather warms up, I intend to open the left channel speaker to look at the amp and to drill vent holes in the speaker case to hopefully avoid the pitfalls of a hot amp breaking down over time. The AV 40s? I don't have them but would worry about the same issues. M-Audio clearly does not do any temperature related reliability design based on my AV30 experience. I'd suggest looking for a pair if AR Powered Partners which are in metal cases. You might have to replace the speaker surrounds, but I have had a pair of these since 1987, purchased new, and they sound and work great---I've never over driven them. Check ebay. I don't trust M-Audio. If they would make lousy AV30's (see the reviews on Amazon) I would not think their AV40's would be any better in terms of reliability and attention to overheating of the amplifier. Some on Amazon have said they just cut out the amplifier and used an external amp to drive the AV30s---I will probably do the same.
Posted by: John | February 27, 2012 at 10:24 AM
John, maybe I'm lucky but my M-Audio 40s, which I use at home, have kept up for over 3 years. But like you I don't trust the product. I think I'll go with Audioengine for my next speaker pair.
Posted by: Jeffrey McMahon | February 27, 2012 at 10:54 AM
Considering most laptops are stuck with mediocre integrated audio chipsets in the first place, I wouldn't spend a ton of money on speakers. I've really liked the Genius SP-HF500A that I purchased for use with an iMac, and a MacBook Pro, at my desk:
http://goo.gl/QnwjK
Probably one of the best sets of computer speakers $40 can buy.
Posted by: Ted | February 28, 2012 at 11:37 PM