Johnathan
June 23, 2009

Rating: 8/10

I got these monsters about 3 weeks ago and I am very happy with them. I should prefix this with the fact that I am fairly new to music prodction, although I am a seasoned bass guitar player and drummer.

The initial trepidation about having them break 35 minutes after switching them on (being Behringers) proved unfounded they have worked perfectly so far.

The built quality is robust however the lack of attention to detail is obvious when compared to higher end monitors (there was a small amount of glue left on the rubber surrounding the woofer on one of the monitors).

The sound quality is solid, reasonably flat and somewhat uncoloured compared to the NEar08s. The Fostex PM05s sounded better but the neccesity to get the sub with them (for my style of music anyway) put them out of my price range.

A few good listening sessions helped identify the surprisingly few peaks in the response. the crossover frequency was audibly flat. The provided response curves were too smoothed to be of any real use.

The low end is clear, solid and very detailed for monitors of this price, I found I could identify problem areas easily in fairly busy and low basslines. When cranked up, boy do they move air! At high volumes there appeared to be no whistling coming out of the ports.

The high mids were a little disappointing, there was a noticeable lack of detail, and I am still finding myself turning to my trusty Sennheiser cans when making delicate reverb settings.

The top end is quite good and airy. The tweeters seemed quite peircing at first though not as painful as the Tapco S8\'s. I was pleasantly surprised on how detailed the top was, really revealing the depth and shimmer in cymbals.

The sweet spot is not nearly as large as I had hoped. I have mine set up about 2 1/2 feet away from my head and the sweet spot seems to be only a few inches wide. but maybe that is asking too much.

The B3031a\'s really seem to come into their own when driven hard. The clarity at higher levels is great and really provide an immersive experience when compared with for instance the Alesis M1 MK2\'s which falter at really high SPLs.

The noise floor seems quite high but hey they cost under £300 and the hiss is only really noticeable when no sound is being played and ones ears are directly in front of the tweeters.

Overall for the money they are superb. They have a broad and flat frequency response and reasonable detail whilst not colouring the sound too much. You have the ability to tune them to your room which is a godsend for bedroom producers and is also what makes them fun as well for just blasting it. they even have a magical extra 6db of volume hidden at the back for when you really need to get it going!

As a dub step producer, the 8 3/4 Kevlar woofer provides more punch than anything in the price bracket and the ribbon tweeters, although not perfect and in need of some refinement still punch well above their weight. Compared to the B2031a monitors, Behringer have really done their homework and produced a set of monitors that are both broader in scope and richer in detail than the old TRUTHS. The difference is especially noticeable right at the bottom, where the difference in clarity is like day and night. The ribbon tweeters are also pretty cool even though I cant hear above about 18000Hz.

If I was producing acoustic or classical music I would probably probably consider other monitors with more detail up top, but for dance music they are a perfect choice for a first pair of studio monitors as as per usual with Behringer, as long as it works, you always get that bit more than what you paid for.

I am very happy with these and will be annoying the neighbours with them for many years to come. Highly recommended for a first or secondary set of monitors.

ryan
June 11, 2009

Rating: 8/10

after spending the last few months searching for some new nearfield monitors. i have listened to almost all monitors in this price bracket. I would consider these to be amongst the best and definatley the most powerful. altough at top volume there a bit spluttery, you wouldn\'t ever need them that loud anyway!

considering behringers track record for building cheap rubbish. i think they have done themselves proud for the value for money these speakers offer. the tapco s8 i would say is the only speaker in its price range that i have found to be as good and well built.

these speakers are very heavy so take into consideration if using wall mounts!

the ribbon tweeters i honestly cant tell the difference. my ears are not that finely tuned, although the top end is clear and crisp. the bass is solid and chunky no need for a sub!

I use these monitors for home dj\'ing and recording the occasional mix. i would highly reccomend these speakers to any1 for under £300 you cant complain!