Joe
November 19, 2008

Rating: 8/10

Ok, first of all Gav\'s copy and pasted his review from Sound on Sound http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/Aug02/articles/alesism1.asp

Second, Andy, you need to send your pair back cuz their faulty!

i\'ve been using these as my desktop listening and mixing monitors for a couple of years now. I\'ve come to know their responce really well despite their bad positioning in a corner. At the end of the day these are for project studios really and they are most definatly the best things you can buy. Not many other monitors have such a flat responce for the price and great clarity for mixing (and occasionally mastering).

Some acousticly designed stands can benefit but if like me you\'re gunna be using them for all sorts of purposes, getting to know how your fav albums sound on them pretty much eliminates the need anyway!

Best buy for price and spec.

Alan Carson
December 13, 2007

Rating: 10/10

This review is based on the product that you get for the price you pay. £199 doesn't usually get you a monitor of this quality . These are very clear, and when positioned correctly, sound pretty flat (perhaps they are slightly bass heavy) and present a coherent stereo image. They succeed at being what they were designed to be which are entry level monitors and good ones at that. And remember that they are nearfield monitors too, Andy, so if they are distorting then chances are you're monitoring way to loud. I'd say get a good pair of stands (mine sit on sand filled stands with spikes) to isolate them nicely. Definitely recommend these especially if you mix/produce house music and are on a tight budget.

chris
November 21, 2007

Rating: 9/10

im not too sure what andy is saying, if anything it doesnt have enough bass end, and the only way you will get distortion is if you try to turn up the bass real high. on that note the bass does sounds a bit muddy, as in not as true as it could, but so does everything else under 400 pounds. these are amazing for 200 quid, and i recommend buying them, they are better than anything else on the market under 400.

chris
November 21, 2007

Rating: 9/10

im not too sure what andy is saying, if anything it doesnt have enough bass end, and the only way you will get distortion is if you try to turn up the bass real high. on that note the bass does sounds a bit muddy, as in not as true as it could, but so does everything else under 400 pounds. these are amazing for 200 quid, and i recommend buying them, they are better than anything else on the market under 400.

kris
February 11, 2007

Rating: 7/10

For a startup system or budget studio these speakers cant be faulted, they have a solid sound and pack a lot of punch.

The only thing i would suggest with these speakers is to invest in some either decent stands or isolation pads to reduce resonance.

Also be careful where you place them, if they sound too bassy you have them too close to the back wall or corner, and plugging the ports with dense material such as acoustic foam etc will help reduce that boomy 60-80hz and flatten out their frequency response.

All together a good solid speaker and works fine for the setup i have, just be careful where you place them and take time to think about this!

cheers

Gav
July 8, 2006

Rating: 9/10

I've been using the Alesis M1 active Mk2's for around a year now and they have provided me with everything that a near-field monitor should.

When initially testing the speakers using a variety of music CD's they displayed a solid, detailed sound with good tonal balance and excellent imaging. The silk tweeters were crisp and detailed, but without the aggressive edge that often accompanies metal tweeters, and the bass end felt substantial, while still being well-defined and tightly controlled. Clearly the cabinet tuning has been tweaked to keep the bass end nominally flat down to 50Hz, with the result that it rolls off fairly sharply below this, but the internal damping and careful port tuning avoid the 'one-note bass' sound so common in small ported monitors. In all important respects, the M1 Active MkII sounds like a serious monitor and fills the important role of delivering a representative tonal balance, while at the same time providing enough detail to let you listen 'into' the mix without the sound becoming fatiguing.

The Alesis M1 Active MkII delivers everything that's needed from a small monitor, and while there may be more accurate monitors around, it is certainly the best in its price range. I was overwhelmed by their clarity when I first heard them and even now they still blow me away when using them in my home studio.

The speaker market is currently very crowded, but these should definately be the first choice of anyone needing a small two-way active monitor with full-range performance at an affordable price

Andy
August 31, 2005

Rating: 5/10

Listened to this pair, unimpressed at the sound quality, if you love bass and nothing else then get these! as soon as you turn the volume up, they distort before you know it!