Alesis M1 Active mk2 Biamp Monitors

Active, biamplified reference monitor for superb sound reproduction.

Overall User Ratings

Overall:
* * * * * * * . . . 7 out of 10
Features:
* * * * * * * . . . 7 out of 10
Quality:
* * * * * * * . . . 7 out of 10
Value:
* * * * * * * * . . 8 out of 10
I Want It:
* * * * * * * * . . 8 out of 10
Sound:
* * * * * * * * . . 8 out of 10
Ease of Use:
* * * * * * * * * . 9 out of 10
Support:
* * * * * * * . . . 7 out of 10

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"Best deal for studio monitors on the market."

Overall:
* * * * * * * * * * 10 out of 10
Features:
* * * * * * * * . . 8 out of 10
Quality:
* * * * * * * * * * 10 out of 10
Value:
* * * * * * * * * * 10 out of 10
I Want It:
* * * * * * * * . . 8 out of 10
Sound:
* * * * * * * * * . 9 out of 10
Support:
* * * * * * * * . . 8 out of 10
 
 
 
Feature:
I like the Biamp, and two hole design. I think it would have been nice to add switches in the front, and have caps to cover the bass holes for acoustic tuning.

Quality:
Sturdy, solid, and clear. What more can i ask for?

Value:
Seriously, i put a lot of research into this, these are the best for youre money, the only speakers I'd consider getting next are Mackies. But I've had these for a year and a half and I don't really even want Mackies now.

Desirability:
Very standard and semetrical design, they match my Kurzweil, and computer well. I'm so used to the sound of these now that I can tell when a mix is off, or whether it will sound level on another play back device or not (well not perfectly, but no one can really).

Sound:
They really do sound great. It sounds very clean and equalized. They can get loud, but its hard to judge the real deep bass. But I think everyone should have some sort of sub to flip on and off to check the low frequencies. Don't get me wrong though, the bass sounds good and clear.

Support:
Haven't needed to talk to them, because they work perfect. Is that pre-emptive support?

Overall:
If I mess them up I'll fix them, I have no need for anything else for many years to come.

3 of 3 people (100%) found this review helpful. Did you?

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"Not a budget monitor at a budget price."

Overall:
* * * * * * * * * * 10 out of 10
Quality:
* * * * * * * * . . 8 out of 10
Value:
* * * * * * * * * * 10 out of 10
I Want It:
* * * * * * * * . . 8 out of 10
Sound:
* * * * * * * * * . 9 out of 10
 
 
 
Feature:
They are active and so have two volume controls They have two front ports that can be plugged to reduce the volume of the bass. I judged that the mixes I was producing were bass light so I plugged them with some foam lagging used for plumbing. This reduced the volume of air let through but did not completely stop it. Now the mixes are translating well. It's important to lest some air through because the amplifiers inside use this to cool them.

Quality:
These speakers have carbon fibre woofers and silk dome tweeter. Carbon fibre drivers produce the best bass of any material but need to be crossed over low in order to avoid two nasty resonances. This can cause problems in the mid-range but not in this instance, so top marks to Alesis They also take at least TWENTY HOURS to run in! It's a known 'feature' of carbon fibre units. Thay are nicely finished.

Value:
I paid 170 pounds for these speakers. I would say I would have to pay 500 pounds to better them, and then choose carefully (Adam!). Buy these and spend the extra money on sone rockwool bass traps and decent rigid stands.

Desirability:
They have blue lights on them if you like this sort of thing.

Sound:
I set up a recording studio about six years ago to record albums for a band that have since become very successful in their particular genre. I would characterise these monitors as being very tight with an excellent bass. Rare for reflex speakers in this price range that usually exhibit one note bass. The midrange and treble are nicely detailed but not over bright,

Ease of Use:
They are speakers their feature is to turn electrical activity into sound! I use these on top of very heavy atacam pro 10 speaker stands. They make a big difference so don't skimp! My room is also fully treated with bass traps, diffusers and absorbers. You can't tell what a speaker is like with a bad room. Speakers with a good bass respone will be considered boomy and overblown!

Support:
I haven't used their user support yet, so can't comment. These speakers have to be used with a poweer surge protector, because they are sensitive to badly fluctuating supplies. I have them so that I can switch them on after the main power on, just in case!

Overall:
I use these for mixing and have other speakers I can switch in to check for certain things. A Sub woofer to make sure their are no sub sonic rumbles. I also have some cheap Ariston speakers that I use to emulate car speakers and make sure the bass level is correct. Some other cheap speakers that just happen to hi-light reverb levels. I would replace them if stolen.

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"cant find anything bad to say!"

Overall:
* * * * * * * * * * 10 out of 10
Features:
* * * * * * * * * * 10 out of 10
Quality:
* * * * * * * * * * 10 out of 10
Value:
* * * * * * * * * * 10 out of 10
I Want It:
* * * * * * * * * * 10 out of 10
Sound:
* * * * * * * * * * 10 out of 10
Support:
* * * * * * * * * * 10 out of 10
 
 
 
Feature:
Simple hook up... solid sound.... whats not to like??

Quality:
These monitors are heavy and appear to be very well constructed!

Value:
I cant believe monitors this good are available at this price... I HAVE heard better.... but not for anywhere near the $$$$$

Desirability:
If you have a home studio.... BUY THESE!

Sound:
These monitors sound so good that my first inclination was to assume that they color the sound and would not be good reference monitors!!! I have been VERY pleased the crisp highs, full lows, and total lack of harshness with these monitors!

Support:
No need for cust support..........

Overall:
Can you tell I'm hooked????

2 of 2 people (100%) found this review helpful. Did you?

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"I love the sound, but wish they lasted longer."

Overall:
* * * * * * * . . . 7 out of 10
Features:
* * * * * * * . . . 7 out of 10
Quality:
* * * . . . . . . . 3 out of 10
Value:
* * * * * * . . . . 6 out of 10
I Want It:
* * * * * * * * * . 9 out of 10
Sound:
* * * * * * * * * * 10 out of 10
Ease of Use:
* * * * * * * . . . 7 out of 10
Support:
* * * . . . . . . . 3 out of 10
 
 
 
Quality:
The power supply on one of my speakers has just failed (after 3 years use). They cost £99 to replace (basically the cost of a new speaker). Alesis deny this is a common problem, but it obiously is the result of a design fault.

Value:
Its relatively cheap, excellent sound, but you may only get a few years use out of it...

Desirability:
Quality issues aside, pretty appealing

Sound:
Sound excellent. They sound transparent but not too thin- music does sound good through them if it's been produced well. Superb near field monitor speakers- and good for casual listening as well.

Support:
Just phoned the UK branch. They will sell a new PSU (for a rip-off price), but don't provide any information on how to install it, which, given the evident frequency of this problem, is very poor service.

Overall:
Hard to rate- theres a serious conflict between sound quality and reliability here.

7 of 7 people (100%) found this review helpful. Did you?

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"Amazing value, and a huge step up from a super expensive passive system."

Overall:
* * * * * * * * * . 9 out of 10
Features:
* * * * * * . . . . 6 out of 10
Quality:
* * * * * * * * * . 9 out of 10
Value:
* * * * * * * * * * 10 out of 10
I Want It:
* * * * * * * * . . 8 out of 10
Sound:
* * * * * * * * * . 9 out of 10
 
 
 
Feature:
Not much here, but what do you really need? You can do all that fancy stuff with Preamps.

Quality:
Solid pieces of no-nonsense sound machines.

Value:
Absolutely astounding value.

Sound:
Incredible sound for the price, right out of the box! These are worth every penny and then some. I'm Thinking about just adding five more to my home system.

Support:
??? Haven't needed any.

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"Great unit but you need to get lucky too."

Overall:
* * * * * * . . . . 6 out of 10
Features:
* * * * * * * * * . 9 out of 10
Quality:
* * * * . . . . . . 4 out of 10
Value:
* * * * * * * . . . 7 out of 10
I Want It:
* * * * * * * * * * 10 out of 10
Sound:
* * * * * * * * . . 8 out of 10
Support:
* * * * * . . . . . 5 out of 10
 
 
 
Quality:
I think there is 50:50 chance for us to receive a defective unit. So you need to be lucky to receive a good pair. I have known this fact before I purchased this unit and I actually ended up getting one defective speaker out of a pair. I still either have a choice of returning them or getting a warranty repair but I just decided to keep them because I feel sorry for the reseller(who were very nice with price matching and packaging as well) if I return them, and I know the speaker will come back all torn up if I go through the warranty repair. Yes, like lots of other disappointed reviewers', I one of my speakers leak and rattle so bad to an extent that I can't stand at certain frequency. The other speaker sounds very tight and great. So, if you get lucky and receive a good matching pair, then this will be a great buy. If not, then you will be wasting money just like me and other negative reviewers did. So, I just wish you a good luck.

Value:
If you get a good pair then the value will be more than 10. If you get a bad pair then the value will be less than 1.

Desirability:
Great concept, great appearance. and great features only provided that they maintain the quality consistent.

Sound:
The sound quality is very good. That's for sure, especially at this price.

Support:
I haven't dealt with the company directly even though I live only one hour away from the company. I don't bother to deal with them because I heard their customer service is the worst.

7 of 8 people (87.5%) found this review helpful. Did you?

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"They are very accurate monitors"

Overall:
* * * * * * * * * * 10 out of 10
Features:
* * * * * * * * * * 10 out of 10
Quality:
* * * * * * * * * * 10 out of 10
Value:
* * * * * * * * * * 10 out of 10
I Want It:
* * * * * * * * . . 8 out of 10
 
 
 
zZounds has verified that this customer bought this product from us.
They do a great job for a home studio setup-which is what most of us deal with- If you are not on a budget, spend the big bucks for the 15" Tannoys or Mackie monitors, but be sure you have the processing to back up their need, or you are wasting money.
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"Still the best value Monitor around !!"

Overall:
* * * * * * * * * . 9 out of 10
Features:
* * * * * * * . . . 7 out of 10
Quality:
* * * * * * * * . . 8 out of 10
Value:
* * * * * * * * * . 9 out of 10
I Want It:
* * * * * * * * . . 8 out of 10
Sound:
* * * * * * * * . . 8 out of 10
Support:
* * * * * * * * . . 8 out of 10
 
 
 
Feature:
They could have done with some bass attenuation switching on the rear - though plugging the ports works too. Level switches are on the back which is a bit inconvenient. No bells or whistles is to be expected at this price. Not that its a bad thing really - less to go wrong. That blue led is very cool though !! ;O)

Quality:
Good finish on mine. Feel solid and well built. Better than i thought at the price. Look quite sexy too !! Especially mounted horizontally. All good so far. Hopefully things will stay that way !!

Value:
Are there better value monitors than this? At
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"Excellent Monitors"

Overall:
* * * * * * * * * * 10 out of 10
Features:
* * * * * * * * * * 10 out of 10
Quality:
* * * * * * * * . . 8 out of 10
Value:
* * * * * * * * * * 10 out of 10
I Want It:
* * * * * * * * * * 10 out of 10
 
 
 
These are really excellent monitors. They have
good dynamic range, and produce clear sound.
The bass response will knock you off your seat.
One of Alesis's best products.
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"great stero imaging, tight responsive bass,use them for tracking and mix down"

Overall:
* * * * * * * * * . 9 out of 10
Features:
* * * * * * * * . . 8 out of 10
Quality:
* * * * * * * * . . 8 out of 10
Value:
* * * * * * * * * * 10 out of 10
 
 
 
researched many reference speakers in the same price range, these alesis speakers have all the features I need for tracking and mix down. If you ever tried to acomplish this with headphones, you will be delightfuly surprised with the quality of your track and mixes using these reference monitors. A1 in my book!
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"BUYER BEWARE!"

Overall:
* . . . . . . . . . 1 out of 10
Features:
* * * * * * * . . . 7 out of 10
Quality:
* . . . . . . . . . 1 out of 10
Value:
* . . . . . . . . . 1 out of 10
Sound:
* * * * * * * * * . 9 out of 10
Ease of Use:
* * * * * * * *