[arijspieter]

i have heard a lot of good things about m-audio speakers/monitors (bx5, av40,...) because of their great sound for a such a small price (i don't have any myself).
but, i've also seen multiple posts of people whose m-audio speakers are broke within 2years of normal use(broken capacitors and tweeters)...that's not really a good thing at all
 
anybody here who can confirm this? or who has a pair of m-audios for minimum 2-3years?

 

[paullindqvist]

There is a reason M-audios entry stuff is cheap, that's because they are cheap...
 
With that said even a 10k monitor is bound to fail at some point. 

 

[arijspieter]

Quote:

 
With that said even a 10k monitor is bound to fail at some point. 

 
thanks for response.
yes, but a decent pair of speakers shouldn't fail so quick as i read...
i also have other speaker such as a very old pair of b&w bookshelves and they still work fine. i even have a cheap €250 philips system that still works great after 3-4years.
 
but if more people here think it's a big risk buying m-audios, i will go with something else...

 

[paullindqvist]

While m-audio do have reputation of having questionable QC for their cheaper stuff, you shouldn't take the all the negative reviews/experiences as an absolute benchmark.

 

[Wh0l3]

Quote:

While m-audio do have reputation of having questionable QC for their cheaper stuff, you shouldn't take the all the negative reviews/experiences as an absolute benchmark.

I think people who are happy with their purchases are less likely to review/discuss their purchases than people who have been absolutely floored/really let down.
 

 

[John In Cali]

Quote:

i have heard a lot of good things about m-audio speakers/monitors (bx5, av40,...) because of their great sound for a such a small price (i don't have any myself).
but, i've also seen multiple posts of people whose m-audio speakers are broke within 2years of normal use(broken capacitors and tweeters)...that's not really a good thing at all
 
anybody here who can confirm this? or who has a pair of m-audios for minimum 2-3years?

What are you going to be using the monitors for? Listening to music, or mixing tracks?

 

[arijspieter]

they will only be used for listening music

 

[mtkversion]

You also have to factor in the people who are using them.
 
Some people use and maintain their equipment with care, others don't.
 
Simple things like turning the volume down before powering on/off speakers, making sure they are ventilated properly and using them for reasonable periods of time at high volume might prevent many issues. 
 
I don't know if it goes deeper with quality control issues with the M-Audio line but I wouldn't let a few bad reviews sway you when generally the reviews are pretty favorable for the M-Audio speakers. (Based on a quick look at the Amazon page for the AV40's at least)

 

[ACDOAN]

Funny thing is I bought an old M40 pair @ pawn shop for my son . My son leaves them on 24/7 and the M40 pair still works as the day I took them home which was over a year ago from a pawn shop. I also have a 10 year old el cheapo $300.00 Pioneer AVR which I bought over 10 years ago for my son. He left them on 24/7 since then and now he passed it on to his younger brother for gaming and the darn thing still kicking ....

 

[RonaldDumsfeld]

I had a pair of AV40s. They broke within 9 months.
 
It's an issue with the QC on the capacitors they use. You can sometimes convince M-Audio to fix it themselves but they just fit the same quality capacitors so it's a crap shoot over whether you are lucky to get a good or bad part all over again. There are user instructions on the web site on how to fix it yourself with a screwdriver,soldering iron, sharp knife and a > $5 part.
 
M-Audio make and sell a lot of gear so it's hard to say if they get a disproportionate number of returns but I'd say they do. You pays your, to be fair -  very little, money and you takes your chance.
 
I was so delighted with the high quality, desktop monitor paradigm I bought a pair of ADAM A3X. They cost 4 times as much as the AV40s but since the guarantee lasts 5 times as long I reckoned I was quids in even before counting all the other benifits. If I was skint I'd buy an equivalent pair from Fostex.