Behringer MS20 Digital Monitor Speakers (20 Watts)
These budget-friendly powered monitor speakers from Behringer let you directly connect digital audio sources as well as analog RCA and 1/8" stereo sources.
Overall User Ratings (based on 37 ratings)
Submitted May 3, 2015 by Eric Anderson in San Jose, CA
"I Love the Sound of These Speakers!"
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I've wanted these speakers for years. The idea of being able to use spdif from my sound card directly to speakers always seemed like a great idea, so I finally bought them. When I took them out of the box I was surprised at how solid they were. Hooking them up was a snap, and when I turned them on and slowly turned up the sound, I was totally amazed. Beautiful full spectrum sound! Even at 20 watts, the volume at 2 is plenty at night and is full and convincing even at such a low setting. It's true that the sound is a bit tinny unless you add some bass.
Sound
The stereo separation is excellent. I've still not tried turning the volume higher than 5. At that volume, there was no audible distortion. This is something that separates these speakers from others I've used. I'm so impressed. I would recommend setting the treble to 4 and the bass to 3.
Features
The mixing features look to be quite useful, but at this point, I have only used the Digital -in (spdif) - which is a feature I love.
Ease of Use
If you're using spdif, make sure to switch to it, as the default on my speakers was optical. Very easy to setup.
Quality
Excellent quality. I was really surprised.
Value
I think these speakers are worth much more than what they sell for. If I had known how good they'd be, I would have bought them years ago.
Manufacturer Support
Have not had to contact them
The Wow Factor
These are nice looking speakers. They look like near field speakers that cost hundreds more.
Musical Background:
guitarist, 30 years, playing at home
Musical Style:
Rock, new age, blues
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Submitted April 15, 2008 by a customer from yahoo.com
"These guys deserve much respect"
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Sound
Very detailed, superb sound for such small monitors. I found both highs and lows adequate for the purpose - you are not trying to shake the walls of your house and make your neighbors aware of your new sound system. It is a pair of NEAR FIELD monitors and they do what they are designed to do perfectly. Some users may not fully enjoy these classy speakers because of the inferior analog output of the computer and cheap wires. Also, if you are listening to a low-quality MP3 files with bit rates lower than 192kb or such, you'll hear all the sound compression defects - do not blame your speakers then!
Features
Volume and bass- treble controls come in handy.
Value
This 100$ product as well as similar Maudio monitors is way way better then anything that you can buy for your computer in a Circuit City within 400$
Musical Background:
Music enthusiast
Musical Style:
Classical, Jazz, Dance, Rock
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Submitted September 3, 2007 by a customer from gmail.com
"The best studio monitors for the price."
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I cannot compare these to other monitors in this range, but I am more than satisfied with the quality, and I will only upgrade when I need more volume and more accurate sound reproduction from professional studio monitors.
Sound
These monitors seem to pump out too much bass when the EQ's are set to default. I guess if you listen to hip-hop that is ideal. I usually have the bass knob at about 10 o'clock, and the treble knob at about 2. Otherwise they are loud enough for 10 watts each. They sound awesome when I play my keyboard through them, especially piano. They have a good range, and definitely plenty of bass.
Features
I know I should give it a 10, but it doesn't have mid-range EQ's. I realize it's only $100, but that would have been nice. I like the SPDIF ins and outs, and having 2 inputs is a plus. They don't cause a noticeable interference if you place them within a reasonable distance from your computer monitor. Mine are about 3 to 4 inches away on either side.
Ease of Use
How hard is it to adjust volume, bass and treble?
Quality
These things seem heavy duty. I'm sure they will last longer than I have a need for them.
Value
I'm loyal to Behringer products because of their quality and value, so for the price I don't know if these can be beat.
Manufacturer Support
I haven't needed to contact them.
The Wow Factor
Out of all the studio monitors in this range, I personally think these look a LOT better than any others. I like the sleek black with the white ring around the cone of the bass speakers. It makes my home studio look that much more professional, whereas some others look cheap and child-like.
Musical Background:
Hobbyist
Musical Style:
Comedy hip-hop, Metal, Classical
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Submitted April 20, 2012 by a customer from latigotrails.com
"Very Nice (With a grain of salt)"
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I am not a professional, nor even a particularly advanced amateur, so I may not be the most reliable witness if you want to know about the accuracy of these monitors. That said, I like them very much. They seem well built. The construction is solid and the knobs are smooth and well dampened.
There is a slight hiss, but at a normal distance it is indiscernible unless you have a dead silent room. If this is a serious problem for you, you probably won't find what you need in this price range.
I have found the 20W to be plenty of power. They would easily fill a large room.
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Submitted January 7, 2009 by a customer from physics.utexas.edu
Behringer MS20 Monitor Customer Review
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Sound
Crisp, well defined sound for such small, self-amplified, speakers. I bought them to replace some older stand-alone computer speakers and the Behringer MS20 are so much better. A perfect match for my home computer set up with limited desk space.
Features
I've yet to purchase an optical digital cable. So far I've only used RCA analog cables and the unit sounds great.
Ease of Use
There wasn't much of a learning curve. For me, the ability to instantly adjust the bass and treble are the major benefit. I can quickly adjust the speaker from voice only or internet radio live stream to DVD movies or CD audio. Living in a small apartment, I do use the front head phone jack, which is well placed for my use.
Quality
Speaker cabinets are made of dense MDF wood rather than plastic.
Value
Everything seems to be well made for this price point.
The Wow Factor
My PC, keyboad, mouse and monitor are black. So, the speaker cabinets look great.
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Submitted April 19, 2009 by a customer from optonline.net
"Great monitors"
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I bought these for my home studio. I needed clear audio for recording. These are great. The bass sound and tweets are great. I recommend these to anyone looking for good near field's.
Sound
The sound of these speakers is great. Very clear and allot of seperation. the are the clearest pair of speakers I have. They shoould be they are reference monitors.
Features
Digital in and analog in are great.Each with it's own volume knob. perfect
Ease of Use
They are speakers. Plug in and go
Quality
Very nice enclosures. Speakers are well made.
Value
Can't beat the price on these.
Manufacturer Support
I don't know. Never had to contact Behringer on any of the products I own. That's great!
The Wow Factor
I want it? I have em. Nuff said
Musical Background:
Active musician,recording engineer
Musical Style:
Rock, Hard rock
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Submitted November 12, 2012 by grabe jud
"awesome and detailed"
for its size and price, i think these are awesome reference speakers. they might be a little small sounding but they have a flat response for critical mixing.
Musical Background:
i play drums guitars and do occasional vocal mixing
Musical Style:
rock, alternative, grunge, slow rock
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Submitted February 21, 2012 by a customer from northcoast.com
"Just right for my use."
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I have had powered monitor speakers on my "someday" list for years. I use headphones while I do my audio work, but I sometimes need to play my results for others. I have my computer hooked into my component stereo for when I need to do that. But I have always hoped to some day have a nice pair of powered computer monitors. Of course I've used the cheap ones that sound, well, cheap. So that's why I plug my computer at home into my stereo.
It wasn't until I got involved in video production that I found what I was looking for in the MS20 pair, which was part of a Mac workstation that had been assembled as the best possible solution with a practical budget in mind. The CPU had to be high-end, and for running FCP, a powerful Mac was a given. The people that put together the workstation decided to have powered computer monitors in the Mac alcoves, rather than the headphones that were supplied at the PC workstations in a row on an open counter.
I was skeptical, because price-wise, Behringer is not high-priced gear. But uality-wise, I have always found their products quite competitive at any price. It's as if the product development team at Behringer actually get out and use the gear they produce. Imagine that! But I digress. If you are looking for high-end home theater
sound, the MS20 may leave you wishing for more. But if you are used to listening to your work on typical computer speakers, you are in for a pleasant surprise.
If you need to fill a cubicle-size room with good sound, get the MS20 and you're set. If you need to fill a classroom or a lecture hall on a regular basis, you might need to spend more and get the MS40. It all depends on your listening environment.
Most of the time I am on headphones when I do my editing. I seldom need to play my work for more than a few people at a time. My position in the video production team is usually audio. At home, my MS20 monitors are used to give room sound to an audio production setup where I feed a keyboard into a multi-track digital recorder. It's nice to hear what I have done before I import it into the computer for further editing.
Sound
Better than I expected - 5.0
Features
More than I need - 5.0
Ease of Use
Plug and play - 5.0
Quality
Good, solid construction - 5.0
Value
Excellent - 5.0
Manufacturer Support
Have not needed - 5.0
The Wow Factor
They look impressive on the desk - 5.0
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Submitted May 9, 2011
Behringer MS20 Monitor Customer Review
Sound
Great connectivity, good looking speakers, crisp sound.
I use them connected to the optical out on my Apple TV 2 to replace the average sound from my bedroom TV
Also used with my computer and iPhone
Plenty of base and good value
Features
Optical in
Quality
Good quality construction
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Submitted November 17, 2009
"Extremely DISSAPOINTED."
Replace immediately.
Sound
Sound is great except you cant turn the volume up past 1 without the speakers whistling and burping at high pitched squeeking and shaking.
Features
NA
Quality
Easy.
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Submitted November 13, 2007
"Helium sound"
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I am returning them right away.
Sound
These speakers (Behringer MS20) sound like someone with nasal speech who has just inhaled some helium. The sound was slightly less irritating with the BASS dialed to about 8 pm and the TREBLE to 9 pm. I received them yesterday, but they are going back ASAP.
Features
No complaint here. Good features with digital and analogue inputs and headphone out.
Ease of Use
Straightforward, quite easy to use.
Quality
Very low-quality drivers. Can't tell about the electronics. These don't seems to be designed like some of the more expensive "monitors" (no active crossover), which is expected at this price.
Value
Cheap, but don't deliver where it matters - the sound. In the end you get far less than what you paid for.
Manufacturer Support
Don't know.
The Wow Factor
No, I don't want them.
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Submitted September 7, 2007
"I'm Very Immpressed"
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Sounds are Incredably detailed and so simple and straight forward and packs more power then I thought.
Sound
I was getting Some Monitors for my little home studio and heard great things about behringer. So I got some affordable monitors the MS20. I hooked up my Mp3 player and played a deep house song, I was impressed the Bass reproduction. And on a progg metal song I heard Some sounds Ive never hear on my $600 stereo.
Features
I like the selection of inputs
Ease of Use
I set it up in about 60 seconds, Just push (power) and select the desired volume.
Simple
Quality
The Frame Is very solid and well constructed.
Value
YES ! for a hundred bucks this thing is probley the best for a little home studio.
Manufacturer Support
never neded any
Musical Background:
Guitar, Keyboard, Composer, Recording
Musical Style:
Elecronica, Jazz, Metal, Ambeint, Orchestral
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