[bootman]

A little more than re-branding since you can see that the 4 and 5 have xlr inputs and the power supplies are RoHS compliant.
Last I check those changes are not "free".

 

[Uncle00Jesse]

sorry for such a dumb question, but do these speakers need a preamp/amp to operate?

 

[sulkoudai]

this isn't anything about the speakers that was reviewed but i just needed to ask a question about speakers, i don't think this questions is worth starting a new thread.
 
on catchoftheday.com.au (daily deals site) here in Australia, they have M-Audio stuff like 3 times a week.
 
they frequently have the M-Audio AV20s for 40AUD shipped. Is 40 bucks for the AV20s any good or can anyone recommend anything else for under 50 bucks that i should consider as well??
 
Amazon reviews on those doesn't look very good...
 
thanks in advance.

 

[warpdriver]

 
Quote:

A little more than re-branding since you can see that the 4 and 5 have xlr inputs and the power supplies are RoHS compliant.
Last I check those changes are not "free".

the Q5 has XLR inputs even though their website picture doesn't show it (see their specs)
 
The point is: these QMS speakers are not a Emotiva design, they were already launched last year in China, and Emotiva is licensing the designs for NA market. They added the XLR (which is not exactly a complicated change) to the smaller A4 model, but QMS can easily do that because the XLR+unbal plate amp design already existed in the Q5 and Q6 models.
 
I don't have a problem with them marking up the product after certifying it for NA and providing support/warranty (there is approx $100 premium over the Chinese market models).
 
I find it kind of funny that they are marketed as "PC speakers" in China and "pro" models in NA.

 

[mtkversion]

Interested in trying these out as a desktop speaker but the inputs seem to limit my connection choices.
 
I'd be hooking them to a Fiio E10 which has a 3.5mm line and coaxial out. The speakers have a XLR and single RCA input.
 
I can get a XLR to 1/4" cable then plug in my Grado 1/4" to 1/8" adapter into the E10 but is there any benefit of using the XLR over a RCA to 1/8" cable into the line out?
 
When connecting to a Squeezebox what is my best option?  Single RCA to RCA-Y adapter to RCA? XLR to RCA to RCA-Y adapter to RCA?
 
EDIT : Just noticed each speaker is separate so I'd need a single RCA from each speaker into a RCA-Y to 3.5mm directly into the lineout ... is this right?
 
 

 

[bootman]

Quote:

sorry for such a dumb question, but do these speakers need a preamp/amp to operate?

You would need line out levels to operate.
 

 

[bootman]

Quote:

 

the Q5 has XLR inputs even though their website picture doesn't show it (see their specs)
 
The point is: these QMS speakers are not a Emotiva design, they were already launched last year in China, and Emotiva is licensing the designs for NA market. They added the XLR (which is not exactly a complicated change) to the smaller A4 model, but QMS can easily do that because the XLR+unbal plate amp design already existed in the Q5 and Q6 models.
 
I don't have a problem with them marking up the product after certifying it for NA and providing support/warranty (there is approx $100 premium over the Chinese market models).
 
I find it kind of funny that they are marketed as "PC speakers" in China and "pro" models in NA.

The $100 pretty much covers the shipping and what ever else is needed to get this over the the US.
I understand that.
As far as the marketing terms used in China vs the US.
they are after all marketing terms.
 
You can use any "pro" self powered speakers for PC use, no?
You could in theory do the same the other way around, but speakers marketed here in the US for PC use, do not have XLR or 1/4" inputs that the pro market here in the US needs.
 
Bottom line, do these speakers sound good?
The general consensus is that yes apparently they do. (I haven't heard one myself)
Are they worth the money?
Funny question considering we here would easily spend 2x that much on an amp to feed cans music from an ipod.

 
 

 

[warpdriver]

Quote:

Bottom line, do these speakers sound good?
 
 

I agree. It's nice to know what you are getting these days still.
 
The user reviews seem decent. And certainly Steve likes them (and he can tell the difference between ALAC/FLAC and uncompressed files

).
 
 

 

[lmswjm]

The $100 pretty much covers the shipping and what ever else is needed to get this over the the US.
I understand that.
As far as the marketing terms used in China vs the US.
they are after all marketing terms.
 
You can use any "pro" self powered speakers for PC use, no?
You could in theory do the same the other way around, but speakers marketed here in the US for PC use, do not have XLR or 1/4" inputs that the pro market here in the US needs.
 
Bottom line, do these speakers sound good?
The general consensus is that yes apparently they do. (I haven't heard one myself)
Are they worth the money?
Funny question considering we here would easily spend 2x that much on an amp to feed cans music from an ipod.

 
 

The AirMotiv 6' s sound ridiculously good independent of price. If I wanted to do better I'd be looking at Focals, and I bet that the Emotivas wouldn't get smoked then. The fact that I don't need a sub is icing on the cake. If you have the room for these, it doesn't make sense to get anything smaller that would add the cost of a sub.

In a nearfield situation, it's nice having all of the frequencies right in front of you. A sub can break up the continuity. Besides music listening, I also use these to monitor my bass playing, and they have yet to falter.

 

[insomniac]

Hey Steve, disregarding for a moment that the PSB Imagine Minis are about twice the cost, how would you compare the airmotiv4's to the Imagine Mini's (powered by an appropriate amplifier)?

 

[melie]

What are the big differences between the airmotiv4 & airmotiv5 sound wise? Just a slightly better bass on the 5 I assume cause of the bigger driver? I'm going to use them as desktop speakers so only nearfield, they won't be needed to fill a whole room.
These things look really interesting but a 200$ price difference for an only 0,75" bigger driver seems a little much as the ribbon transducer is the same size on both models.
So is the extra 200$ for the airmotiv5 worth it in a nearfield set-up? I'm guessing probably not?
 

 

[warpdriver]

Actually, the Imagine Minis are not twice the cost. My local dealer had the Minis on sale for $500 CAD (the price is always negotiable), whereas the AM4 are $400 USD. For me, by the time I import the Emotivas they are roughly the same.
 
I notice this all the time in forums, people don't take into account that B&M brands of speakers are often heavily discounted. I've always gotten at least 25% off the retail price of brands like PSB, Paradigm etc. My current dealer actually has a pair of NIB Synchrony Two towers for 33% off at the moment (so tempted, but too bad I just bought tons of stuff recently already)
 
Quote:

Hey Steve, disregarding for a moment that the PSB Imagine Minis are about twice the cost, how would you compare the airmotiv4's to the Imagine Mini's (powered by an appropriate amplifier)?

 

 

[k1n0n3]

Quote:

What are the big differences between the airmotiv4 & airmotiv5 sound wise? Just a slightly better bass on the 5 I assume cause of the bigger driver? I'm going to use them as desktop speakers so only nearfield, they won't be needed to fill a whole room.
These things look really interesting but a 200$ price difference for an only 0,75" bigger driver seems a little much as the ribbon transducer is the same size on both models.
So is the extra 200$ for the airmotiv5 worth it in a nearfield set-up? I'm guessing probably not?
 

The 4s are 50 watts RMS, 58 Hz to 23 kHz +/- 2 dB, the 5s - 100 watts RMS, 52 Hz to 23 kHz +/- 2 dB. Whether 0,75" bigger or more is usually better for the low end extension and mids as well, due to the bigger surface area pushing more air. Going by the prices originally posted in the review, a $100 difference would be justified, $200? I don't think so, as you can get a decent powered sub for $200 for the extra bottom end (if that is what one is after).
IMHO
 

 

[melie]

That's what I thought. I can't really imagine 0,75" (16,66% increase) makes that much of a difference. Anyone who has heard them both for closure on this?
Also, for nearfield, I don't think I will need anything more then 50watts RMS. I have M-Audio AV40's atm, which are 40watts RMS, and I never go past half way the max volume.

 

[Skoobs]

damn, cant bring myself to seriously consider such directional speakers. want, but dont want.
 
though most of my listening is done from sitting at my desk, i still like to bump while walking around sometimes.