Getting a decent studio monitor is a good idea but after going through several threads, I have gathered it's not enough to just buy a pair of good monitors. One has to get the room acoustics right as well, which is not possible for me. So, rather than buying any plastic computer speakers I thought of going for at least some decent speakers. The main reason is presently I am using Audio Technica M-40 headphones for creating/mixing my tunes. Even though they are super comfortable for long hours, my ears hurt and I think that's because of using headphones all the time. It goes back to normal if I take a break for 2-3 days. I saw a thread on this speaker some time ago, cannot find it anymore. The reviews on Amazon are also good except for 1 or 2. What I like about these are the portability, USB powered option, international input voltage switch, etc.

http://www.ionaudio.com/products/details/desk-rocker

Amazon link: http://www.amazon.com/Ion-Powered-Conversion-Speakers-Pair/d p/B001BN35DO/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_nC?ie=UTF8&colid=30B61YWJ3 JO3N&coliid=I3KM4B6S1AZDNR

AKAI RPM3 is also within the same price range:
http://www.amazon.com/Akai-RPM3-Production-Monitors-Interfac e/dp/B004LU9HEA/ref=pd_cp_e_1
but the reviews are mixed. From the review, I am worried about the "boomyness" on this one.

Alesis M1Active - same price range, little bigger in size.
http://www.amazon.com/Akai-RPM3-Production-Monitors-Interfac e/dp/B004LU9HEA/ref=pd_cp_e_1

I have checked M-Audio AV20 also but the reviews are not so good plus it's missing quite a few features in comparison to ION and AKAI.

Local Guitar Center does not carry any of these. So, no way to find out. Does anyone has any experience on these speakers? or similar ones within $100 price range?

I got the Ion Desk Rockers new for $30, for that price they are very useful, well for casual listening, not for precision.

About 3" speakers with a smaller tweeter, and a bass boost switch on the back. Delivers low end pretty well considering the size.

I don't use the USB, because then it would require an Asio4all wrapper, and at first I tried that and quickly it caused a blue screen reboot(Asio4all and usb cards are bad). It has a 1/8" input on the back, but if you record with it and USB, you hear the clean tone as well as effected, a direct monitoring situation, I didn't like that.

My main requirment was dirt cheap, and no booming lows(I have neighbors).

Thanks for your input, where did you get it for $30? The lowest I have seen so far is $89.48 at Amazon. I am in New York btw. I just read 3 pages of reviews on Alesis on Amazon. Not bad, I will check with GC later if they have it on display.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news-but more than likely,all 3 of these "studio monitors" are made of plastic.
Haven't you noticed some distinct similarities between all 3 of these brands???
With the exception of the varying color schemes,all 3 of these multi-media speakers have the e-x-a-c-t same front face designs.

Also,all 3 of these brands have the e-x-a-c-t same specifications.That being said,just what was your method of determining that the Alesis brand is bigger in size??

Both the Alesis and Ion brands are in the $100 range,but the price of the Akai's are much lower.
You live in NY?Have you ever thought of checking out BHphotovideo.com??They're in NYC and they have the Akai's for $73.

They're all the exact same speakers,so which price would you prefer to pay?

By the way,just about any powered speakers you buy,are going to be a significant improvement over your headphones.
Reason being,is that unlike studio monitors,the sound waves from your headphones are not effected by the dimensions of your room-because obviously the speakers are right up against your ears.
This may seem ideal in theory,but the problem is that the subtle or low volume tracks sound louder on your headphones..thereby seeming to be balanced,but when you play that mix back on monitors or a home stereo,the mix will be off-balance,because those lower volume tracks you could hear clearly on your headphones,will be too low in volume during playback on any other audio system.



Go to Akai's website and click on SPECS; http://www.akaipro.com/rpm3

Go to Ion Audio's website and download the quick start guide;

http://www.ionaudio.com/products/details/desk-rocker

Alesis's website; http://www.alesis.com/m1active320usb


By the way....I'm placing an order for the Akai RPM3's tomorrow...so I'll let you know how they sound.

I'll only be using the Akai's for my MP3 player in my kitchen,but I will being storing most of my own songs that I did in my studio that I recorded and mixed on my Adam A7's....so the differences between the two systems should be interesting and perhaps,a review of such,may be useful to you.

Purely from the specs:
ION is 7.5 x 6 x 5 inches ; 7.5 pounds
Alesis is 10 x 6 x 7.5 inches ; 8 pounds

The woofer and tweeter size is same in both. I was talking about the entire box dimension. I overlooked the plastic box part, thanks for pointing that out. I have not yet made up my mind and because of the work it will take another 3-4 weeks to decide on any these.

I saw a new one from Alesis in GC the other day. It's called Elevate 3. The price is $99. It's made up of wooden box. Size of woofer and tweeter is 3" and 1" respectively. The GC guy told me that they are going to put it on display/test center in couple of days. I am planning to visit some day and listen. Strangely Alesis site does not have it, you can check here:

http://www.guitarcenter.com/Alesis-Elevate-3-Studio-Monitors -107618431-i2368768.gc

I will wait for your feedback on RPM3.

I saw a new one from Alesis in GC the other day. It's called Elevate 3. The price is $99. It's made up of wooden box. Size of woofer and tweeter is 3" and 1" respectively. The GC guy told me that they are going to put it on display/test center in couple of days. I am planning to visit some day and listen. Strangely Alesis site does not have it, you can check here:

http://www.guitarcenter.com/Alesis-Elevate-3-Studio-Monitors -107618431-i2368768.gc

I will wait for your feedback on RPM3.[/quote]

Honestly,if you are restricted to a budget of only $100,I think you should seriously consider disregarding my review of the Akai's(whatever the outcome is)and just go for the Alesis Elevate monitors.

Seriously,how can you really debate the two?Just by virtue of the Alesis speakers having a better design and materials,the Elevate monitors seem like the clear choice.
It certainly seems that Alesis put a lot of careful thought into making the best possible entry level desktop speakers,by allocating their budget by putting more money into the cabinet and driver components and leaving out the audio interface.

I've never been a big fan of Alesis,since they were bought out by Numark...but Alesis seems to have made a really exciting and worthwhile product(considering the price range).

My purpose for buying the Akai RPM3's is obviously not for critical listening purposes,so the price and the USB connection for charging my MP3 player,are the primary reasons for me choosing the Akai's(although at some point,I would love to also buy the Alesis Elevate's...just for reference monitoring,to see how my mixes translate outside my studio.)

Considering your occupation,may I ask why you are limiting yourself to budget multimedia speakers?
I mean...your obviously serious about your music making and you certainly seem to have the wallet to get more serious about your monitor purchase.

the Elevate specs are pretty much the same as the M1Active 320s....

And your point is what exactly?I never said-nor did I imply,that the Elevate 3's performed beyond the 80Hz-20kHz range....but rather,I implied that the quality of bass is improved(not quantity).
Bass response in a wood cabinet is generally more natural & tighter sounding,than in a plastic cabinet.
Also,the Elevate 3's having an elliptical waveguide for the tweeter,which disperses the high frequencies over a broader area,giving the listener a bigger stereo field.

A good cabinet design,as well as upgrades in components,are just as important as size.

As much as I like the design of the Elevate 3's....I'm even more skeptical now,as I tried to contact Alesis via e-mail,& the mail server is unreponsive.
I also called them and only got an answering machine & it sounded like a private residence.
Like I had said,Alesis was bought out by Numark and they are a bunch of jerk-offs...as they burned a lot of Alesis Fusion keyboards owners,because they failed to provide product support for their many defective keyboards.

I've also been reading customer reviews on Alesis speakers that were replete with complaints about defects.
If you do decide to buy the Alesis monitors,you may want to buy an extended warranty(I know it sounds silly to buy an extension for a cheap pair of monitors,but you may need the protection and in the event there is a problem & you need to contact the company...I don't...maybe contacting Numark via their website may be a good idea,since they own Alesis. Honestly though,I don't know if an extended warranty will help you at all....but be warned,Alesis support sucks hard.

There are many choices out there,so keep your eyes peeled.BHphotovideo has a great selection of desktop speakers,so look long & hard,before you pull the trigger on a pair.

I'll let you know how the Akai's sound on monday....

Thanks a lot for your posts Elwood, very helpful. I have made a note of the points that you have made. I still have to contact GC whether they have put Elevate on display or not. I am not in a hurry right now so will compare and check some other speakers before finally buying one.

I didn't know Alesis has been bought out by NUmark, I was surprised when I didn't see Elevate on their site.

Satya,

Since you're not in any hurry,I would wait & see what develops with the new Alesis monitors-because as it is now,only GC,MF & some obscure site call Brass & Woodwinds(if I recall),carry the Elevate 3's.

As I've probably said before,the Elevates just sprung up out of nowhere,with no announcements from anyone...including AES & Namm conventions...which in my mind,doesn't give much credibility towards these new speakers.

It's possible that Alesis(Numark),is trying to cut their budget,by not spending money on advertising-as they are a small company now....but I still find the whole state of affairs unsettling.

As for the Akai's,there has been a delay in my shipment(due to BH's unusual store hour scheduling),so I won't be receiving them until tomorrow.

In the interim,I will keep my eyes peeled for other monitors that may suit you(as I am an insatiable gear-head & I'm always window shopping on the internet for monitors & such).

I'm always on the lookout for the best possible deal & I like to keep abreast of the latest gear.


-Thom

Shot at 2012-08-07


Wow....I was impressed with my old Akai PJ-33 ghetto-blaster stereo I bought about 25 years ago,but the speakers in that stereo were 4 inch & it cost $469.
That being said,$73 bucks for the enormous sound coming out of these tiny little boxes with 3" woofers,is shockingly good!
Nice representation of highs & mids and as for the bass...well,with bass-heavy songs....they sound fun for general listening,but it might be pertinent to keep the "bass-boost" switch in the off position for mixing...as the low end is a bit boomy & overwhelming.

As I had said,the sound is huge(namely the bass response) and in fact,it will have your friends wondering where the sub-woofer is hidden.
As for mixing..well...that's not what I bought them for obviously,but if you must mix on them,I strongly recommend acoustic treatment(if you're strapped for cash,some heavy fabric stretched over a couple of 10" X 12" picture frames will suffice).
Seriously....DO NOT mix on these speakers in a room with bare walls & no carpeting...because you'll be in a world of chaos if you do.

As for he speaker cabinets,they appear to be plastic,but I peered into the bass port holes in the rear and they are made of fiberboard.

The included speaker cable,is about a 4' cable,it's very thin and it's not shielded(which is why I went to RadioShack beforehand,& bought a shielded 6' cable.

These monitors are amazing for my purposes,but as for mixing,I can't provide an accurate assessment on how they will behave exactly and how your mixes will translate to other systems.

$73 is absolutely unbeatable...but if you have $200 or more to spend,I'd go that route.

By the way,I have my MP3 player's volume set to about 3/4 of the way up and the volume on my Akai's are just under half and they're loud!!

Since they're budget speakers,I would not recommend turning them up past the mid-way point.





Shot at 2012-08-07




-Thom

Congratulations, Thom. Thanks a lot for your feedback. Floor is carpeted in the apartment that I am living in, unfortunately I cannot do any acoustic treatment to the walls.

The 4' cable is not shielded? Is that the main cable or the one that goes from one speaker to other?

By the way, how is your songs sounding on these speakers? Can you do a comparison with your other monitors?