M Audio AV40 & Behringer UCA202

[jonathanRD]

Looking to replace my 13 yr old computer speakers, I fancied getting a pair of active speakers and setting a budget of say £100. Apart from general computer use, I am finding I am listening to more music on the computer these days, so an improvement in sound quality for a modest outlay would be nice. Advice given on this forum was to do some research on a well known pro-audio site. So after quite a lot of reading today I narrowed it down to the following;

M Audio AV40 or AV30

Behringer MS40 or MS20.

The reason for choosing these was that they both had volume controls at the front, which makes them easier to use (we are used to using the volume control on our old speakers), and their size is about right for my desk. I was erring on the side of the smaller models for each brand, and wondered whether the porting would make much difference - M Audio are rear ported, the Behringer are front ported. Ideally they will be placed on the desk, but could be wall mounted. It's only a small computer room (2m x 1.7m) and the speakers will be either side of my computer screen - no more than 70cm apart (could be slightly more if they were wall mounted).

So I telephoned for some advice, but unfortunately whilst the salesperson gave me some good advice, he also made me feel a little stupid, and even worse - that I was wasting my time unless I spent more money. The stumbling block was how I wanted to connect them - and this is where I was not very sure, and the salesperson not very good at - well helping or selling something. Basically he said that I needed a A D D A converter/interface - which of course I already knew all about :?

Anyway, we completed the call and I have done a lot more reading since. The salesperson FWIW said to go for the M Audio AV40's.

So, although I'm still not sure whether to go for the AV40 or AV30 (would the AV40 be too big?), I do think I will add a Behringer UCA202 USB Audio Interface based on advice given.

Does anyone have the M Audio AV40 or 30's and can comment.

Is it a 'no-brainer' to add the UCA202 (only £30)?

 

[pauln]

I've got the AV40, they are used in the kitchen for TV and radio. Sometimes I plug my laptop into the front auxilliary socket. They sound pretty good and I'm quite happy with them for general listening although there's a couple of issues - they are quite boomy if near a wall (mine are on a shelf) and I've stuffed socks in the rear ports to reduce that. They also hum if left on, it's noticeable in a quiet room. There's also quite a loud 'thump' (technical term) when they are switched off. Another handy feature is the front headphone socket, I just wish the on/off switch was at the front too! Everything else is.

If you are using them with a computer then you could buy a USB dac like the UCA202 as well but really I can't see the need at this level, the dac in your computer will do the job. Others may disagree. You could always add one later if you wanted too.

I'd say they are good value for money and recommend them.

 

[jonathanRD]

I've got the AV40, they are used in the kitchen for TV and radio. Sometimes I plug my laptop into the front auxilliary socket. They sound pretty good and I'm quite happy with them for general listening although there's a couple of issues - they are quite boomy if near a wall (mine are on a shelf) and I've stuffed socks in the rear ports to reduce that. They also hum if left on, it's noticeable in a quiet room. There's also quite a loud 'thump' (technical term) when they are switched off. Another handy feature is the front headphone socket, I just wish the on/off switch was at the front too! Everything else is.

If you are using them with a computer then you could buy a USB dac like the UCA202 as well but really I can't see the need at this level, the dac in your computer will do the job. Others may disagree. You could always add one later if you wanted too.

I'd say they are good value for money and recommend them.

That's helpful thanks, I was wondering whether the rear ports maybe an issue - if placed on my desk there would be only 10cm clearance behind them to the wall. The Behringer's are front ported but don't get quite as good reviews, or maybe the AV30's might work better in such a small room.

I thought that this was going to be a quick and easy decision :doh: