M-Audio Ex66 Bookshelf Speakers

M-Audio Ex66 Bookshelf Speakers 

DESCRIPTION

Active speakers with built in DAC and pre-amplifier
MTM configuration (midwoofer, tweeter, midwoofer)
2 x 106 watt mono amplifiers per speaker
Frequency range from 36 hrtz to 21 khz
Max SPL: 115 decibels
DSP controls for adjustment of high end, midrange and bass
Digital inputs: SPDIF / AES
Analogue inputs: Balanced / TRS
High quality analogue potentiometer on back of speakers

USER REVIEWS

Showing 1-1 of 1  
[Jul 25, 2008]
non conformist
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

Coherence
Full frequency response
Wide dynamic range at every volume setting
Capable of very high SPL levels if required (115 decibels)
No hassle, just plug it into a digital source and you are ready to go
Flexibility to adjust according to your room and your musical taste

Weakness:

No grill covers, although its not a bad looking speaker

No remote and volume control at the back of each speaker, can be a pain. Am thinking of getting a mac mini to help me solve this issue

Presentation is very direct, nothing like valves

Any tracks with high frequency junk will be punishing

Just a bit of background, I have been an audio enthusiast for a couple of years now. I had a modest setup in my house, but my friends have high end setups with them which I have been admiring for a while. I have a fair idea of what big buck systems costing as much as a car sound like.

When I first wired my system up, I put in a bit of Boney M and found it extremely stark and jarring. I thought I had made the biggest mistake of my life going from a Cambridge Audio system I really liked. The M audios were soooo bright! Oh my god, so much bass I wasn't used to that got straight to my gut.

But then I made a couple of adjustments; I trimmed the treble down 2 decibels to ease the treble a bit, I boosted the midrange 2 decibels to warm things up and to bring the leading sonic images forward and set the bass to half space. After about 3 hrs of break in time with these settings, I began to discover what this speaker was really made of.

All my music came alive. Treble was pleasant, extremely dynamic and detailed. Midrange has a palpable presence, bass was lightning quick and supremely extended. My bookshelves don't sound like bookshelves, they sound like large floorstanders.

Dynamics are supremely impressive, even at low volume settings. I have an SPL meter and have measured transients that exceed 8 decibels which is huge, and that too at less than half volume

Imaging is the speakers greatest strength in my opinion. It is so crystal clear, separation in my opinion matches my friends Krell / Martin Logan Summits.

Stings live album comes alive in every minute detail. I can hear the audience clap, the sax player breath. Sting is present in the room, but not in an overblown and unrealistic way.

Goa trance sounds like you are in a really good club, minus nothing.

Bon Jovis 'Everyday' sounds sublime. A huge soundstage opens up, every instrument is loud, grungy but crystal clear. You can hear a guitar screeching away behind the speakers. An amazing experience.

Similar Products Used:

Cambridge Audio 640 A / C, Mordaunt Short 914 (my old system)

Krell SACD Standard, Krell 280 P, KAV 2250, Martin Logan Summits

Pass Labs amps married to Sonus Faber Stradivaris

Parasound Amps married to Totem Forest Speakers

Marantz / Denon / KEF / Mission gear (not impressed by this lot)

High end Tannoy studio monitor setup at friends studio (loved these babies)

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
Showing 1-1 of 1  

(C) Copyright 1996-2018. All Rights Reserved.

audioreview.com and the ConsumerReview Network are business units of Invenda Corporation

Other Web Sites in the ConsumerReview Network:

mtbr.com | roadbikereview.com | carreview.com | photographyreview.com | audioreview.com