Anthony Frederiksen
April 9, 2008

Rating: 1/10

The phono sockets are the wrong size; the few plugs that did fit were very tight, but still did not make a reliable conenction. After just a few hours use, one speaker developed a buzz, and the other worked intermettently, then they failed completely with a bang. I can't really comment on the sound, but the build quality is unaccepatble.

Adam Bliss
February 26, 2007

Rating: 9/10

These monitors are cheap and they dont take up a great deal of space, which were the main two reasons I bought them. They have enough power to not have to not to have max them out, and ive never really had to go over half volume to get the kind of volume I need. These things are very sturdy and they're quite heavy for their size, in other words its going to take a VERY big knock to break them.

The only real problem I found was in the lows, they do crack up a little bit at the deepest end, but if you turn on the bass enhancer and crank the bass control to full the sound is fine (if you take the volume up very high it happens a little too). These problems are easily avoided however.

For the price you pay, spot on

Archon
September 19, 2006

Rating: 9/10

as someone whos been getting by with headphones and HI FI speakers and being very frustrated with the way my mixes sounded i love these things.

Id like to have got better quality monitors but these things are a god send, I know the other reviewers have listed some shortcomings as compared to better units but when you compare them to what ive been working with they are amazing! they are functional and useful as reference monitors - i set the bass boost on its first setting so now i can actually hear the low end properly without having to turn its volume up so high in my DAW that it blows speakers when i burn a track to CD.

Also gone is the fizz and hiss i used to have on my guitar sounds = with headphones and HIFI i used to add far too much treble and presence to make them sound right - these monitors just show you exaclty what tone you are commiting to tape (or hard drive anyway).

Also, because they are flat eq - they make excellent powered speakers for all you POD XTL/Vox Tonelab/Digitech GNX users out there who want a small amp solution for jamming with your mates! It means your patches will sound the way you intended instead of getting mutilated by a cheap amp and cab (and they're also about £200 cheaper than the next best solutions like powered pa speakers/Tech 21 powerengine 60/Atomic reactor amps etc..)

so overall = there are better monitors out there - but for the price (these are the lowest ive seen) these things are just incredible - and if you are a guitar MFX user - you NEED these! consider them an alternative to your 15 watt practice amp.

Jon Williams
May 6, 2006

Rating: 2/10

These speakers looked like good value when I bought them a year ago. They do look nice and having a built in amp was an attrative proposistion at this price. But simply put, they sound cheap. The mid repsonse in particular is poor, resulting in a sound that isn't nice, and not very useful as reference monitors (which is how they are described). Save a few extra months and get some real monitors.

John
April 15, 2006

Rating: 8/10

Although I use Alesis Ones for monitoring proper in my home studio, I find that I do so much sketching out of songs on my PC with Sonar, etc. that I thought I'd invest in some better quality PC speakers - and goodness me these Edirols certainly fit the bill. The sound is very tight, precise, clear across the spectrum and the bass is properly defined, i.e. it doesn't sound like it's coming through a blanket. There's a 'bass boost' setting, well, two settings, but I haven't had need to use either. Stereo field imaging is good, and the units are extremely well made, as well as very good looking! At £105 I'd rate these a bargain, and the arrived from Dolphin the next day. Highly recommended all round.

Ian Candler
March 10, 2006

Rating: 8/10

Edirol MA15 D monitors.


The MA15 D monitors are a 2 way ported design featuring 100mm bass/midrange drivers and 50mm high frequency drivers whilst the onboard stereo amplifier provides a reasonable 15 watts rms per channel.
The right-hand monitor houses the control panel for both speakers. The control panel has both bass and treble rotary controls with centre detent setting (very useful for setting a flat response), the volume controls for both digital/ line1 and line 2 inputs and a headphone socket. The headphone socket is a 6mm (1/4” not 1/8” as stated in the item description), and of course the power on/off button.
The connectivity options on these monitors are really quite impressive with both co-axial and optical digital inputs for digital sources, along with stereo phono and 1/8” jack sockets for line sources.
I find these connection options really useful, as my main recording device now is the line 6 toneport ux2 that has a digital out on it. So I have this connected to the digital line input on the monitors and my pc’s soundcard connected to the line 2 1/8” jack input. Doing things this way I can actually play back a track on my pc and play along with it via the toneport. This I find very handy for practising tracks and writing parts to go over previously recorded material.
On the back of the right-hand monitor you will also find the output jack for the left monitor and an output socket for connecting a subwoofer. Very handy if like me your upgrading from a creative soundworks set up as I can still use the sub from my old set with the new monitors.
The last items you will find are the power lead connector (a substantial bulgin type mains lead is provided, so no flimsy plugs to worry about), and a small switch that lets you switch between either 2 modes of bass enhancement or turn the effect off.

On opening the well packed box and reaching in the first thing I noticed was the weight of the monitors, they aren’t flimsy little things, but are solidly built and quite heavy for there size.
After fitting the rubber feet as suggested in the manual (yes its in English and an easy read) I connected them up to my pc using the supplied 1/8” jack to 2 phono lead plugged them in to the mains and turned them on.
I have to admit that the first sounds I heard out of these little monitors belied their size. Whilst they aren’t going to compete with the expensive missions I use on my hifi, there was a certain weight and authority present that I hadn’t expected, I started by listening to a couple of nine inch nails tracks as I knew the deep bass sounds and the energetic synths would give them a good workout. they handled them well. Then on with some recordings of a more gentle nature, just pure acoustic guitar. Again I couldn’t really fault them.
I’ve used these little monitors for everything from heavy rock to pure acoustic solo tracks, industrial synth epics to spoken voice. So far they have handled everything I’ve thrown at them with ease and in some instances have shown more detail than my missions, especially separating the parts in multi layered synth sequences and pads.
These little monitors don’t have huge amounts of bass, but they have enough there to let you mix with confidence. The mid range isn’t completely in your face as it is on some other small monitors and the treble cuts through but without becoming to tiring
The one thing these speakers aren’t though is a modified pc speaker. They are a purpose-designed monitor in there own right. All in all they are a well-rounded package for the home recording artiste who’s short on space and cash and I would heartily recommend them to anyone setting up a small home studio on a tight budget.

Cillian
May 6, 2005

Rating: 8/10

I just got these speakers yesterday and I have to say, I really like them. I make music on my desktop PC in my room and i have these speakers hooked up to the control room out of my Behringer FX1622 desk and the sound is amazing! for little speakers these guys rock! The handy knobs on the front of the main speaker are really good aswell, there's two types of main input, coaxil input and digital input, there's also an output to go to a seperate sub woofer (if you really want one) but these speakers have a bass boost switch on the back with two settings, even with this off they still really pack a punch. I would highly recomend these speakers to anyone who makes or produces music in a small place like a bedroom. 5/5