M-AUDIO BX8a DELUXE!!!!!!!

[elwoodblues1969]

M-Audio has really surpassed themselves in with their most recent revision of the BX series which is now the Deluxe series and Deluxe they are...thicker,juicier and more robust!!
Originally,my plan was to eventually upgrade my budget monitors to all high end monitors,since I've become deadly serious about recording....so with that in mind and prior to the M-Audios,I had purchased a pair of the brand new Adam A3X's.
The AX series of Adam,is the most accurate of their budget line of high end monitors to date,& to be able to pick up a pair of Adams for $600,was a very enticing prospect.
However though,one of my Adam monitors(as it were),had a non-functioning bass driver and I was utterly shocked to find that an Adam product was defective...which is something I won't tolerate from a company of their stature,so I returned them.
As it turned out,it was one of the best gear decisions I had ever made,as I was extremely fortunate enough give the new M-Audio Deluxe line,a go.
From what I have read of the BX8a Deluxe's,the tweeters were less bright,offering a more neutral & balanced high end response,along with a tight & extended low end & improved mid-range clarity.
A couple of magazine reviews had stated that the Deluxes became a bit boomy when pushed hard....one reviewer had said that this occurs at around 60Hz,while another reviewer had said that the bass foggy at the sub frequencies.
These conflicting statements had lead me to believe that these testers had minimal,to no acoustical treatment in their testing facilities and perhaps they also listened at excessive volumes,outside the normal near-field range of listening.
In the last couple of days since my BX8a Deluxes arrived,I have spent a considerable amount of quality time with them...lots of playback material and today,I mixed my first song on them and the recording translated beautifully!
After having done this,I concluded that M-Audio was quite precise in their propaganda of this product-as indeed,the stereo field is generously wide,the mid range is balanced very nicely(vocals are represented beautifully) and the bass is indeed tight.
The bass response is indeed,very strong with these monitors and the rear porting will be a problem if monitor placement and acoustical treatment is not properly applied.
To some user's disappointment,the Deluxes are not equipped with acoustical trimming switches in the rear of the cabinet,but I take that as a an indication,that M-Audio is confident enough in their methods of engineering & design,that these monitors are well balanced enough as they are,when used in a appropriately treated listening enviroment.
Although the BX8a Deluxes are in the mid-grade category of M-Audio's arsenal of monitors,I have managed to achieve the same results in my mixing & mastering as my Adam A7's...so as far as I'm concerened,the BX8a Deluxes are of professional quality.

So this all being said,I have successfully completed my monitor upgrades in my studio!To put a finer point on things,I must say that these monitors are such an utter joy to work with,that they actually inspire me to write music!

Frequency reponse: 40Hz - 22kHz

Priced I snatched them up at: $359!!
(average street price: $499 )

-Thom

[kara]

Sounds like a good move Thom
They have a nice design too
Thanks for the review

k

[Oren]

Thanks from me, too, Mr. S!

Love those speaker stands too - they look like they were custom-dsigned for your new BX8a Deluxe!
Your mp3 sounded very balanced and punchy on my system - proof of your new monitor's accuracy. Schweet

[elwoodblues1969]

Always glad to pass on my good findings guys.

@Oren

It's not actually a speaker stand,but just a shelving unit I picked up at my local discount department store for $40.Speaker stands from music retailers are often outrageously expensive and very flimsy & unstable,which is why I will n-e-v-e-r buy them.


-Thom

[rharv]

Glad to see you gave them a chance.  They are my main montiors for mastering.  I have a few to choose from, as do you, and there is no comparison for clarity and detail.  That word 'detail' is the important one for me.   I have been recommending these to people for months.

The older version had an issue with chemicals in the environment causing 'tin whiskering' and (so I was told) which caused problems for some, depending on where they lived.  I was told M-Audio stopped production and redesigned them.  I'm glad they did.  The new ones are awesome monitors.

Now two of us have told you guys that.  What are you waiting for?    Try them.

To me it was like hearing my CD collection remastered.  The reverb on lead vocals was suddenly crystal clear, the finger work on acoustic guitar tracks was 'real'.  So many details I had been missing.

Oh, and they are indeed loud.  I never turn them up more than 30% or I have to back away. Anyone pushing these beyond 50% must be outside or something. I wouldn't doubt for a second you would have bass rumbling issues at loud volume; probably the dishes rattling in the cabinet too ..  

As Thom mentioned, a treated room does help if you are serious about it.

Thom-
I remember you mentioning once that the specs claim to go down into the 35Hz range and you doubted they could do that.  What are your thoughts now?  Curious ..