Retail price of this shielded recording studio monitor is $299.00 but most music stores that carry this product will discount them. This is probably the best speaker that Alesis builds in term of cost vs. performance. The only downside is cosmetics. The speaker does not come with a grill cover so not eveyone will like it's appearance. Don't evaluate these speakers based on what you hear at the music stores. Most music store employee's don't have the knowledge of how to set the speakers up properly. Depending on how low a price you can purchase these speakers will determine it's "star" qualities.

I would say that these little reference monitors deliver way more than meets the eye. These are great for the home recordist who still wants the quality without giving up your shirt for a set of genelecs. Excellent value, good little reference speaker.