Accessories

Surprised, pleasantly, by sound quality and power
I bought these speakers to bring what I expected was probably above average quality sound to a secondary computer, but I think I'm going to be using them on my primary computer. They're really impressive.

They do offer a fairly flat response, which is what I had expected from studio monitor speakers, but if you want to color the frequency spectrum a little, there are plenty of options with sound card softwares and things like Windows Media Player.

The sound is very precise and sharp, but not harsh. The highs are more reserved than, say, on your typical Klipsch speakers (which are my standard favorites), but the depth of the boxes on these allows for a surprising amount of bass. Really surprising amount of bass! Of course, they don't reach extremely low frequencies, but they firmly support the lowest frequencies that they are designed to reach.

To my classically-trained ear, I prefer NOT turning on the "Bass Boost," for it just makes the sound too boomy in the mid-low range. They've got plenty of bass without needing much tweaking. I find they need a little boost on the highs more than the lows. Right now, I've got Dream Theater's Images and Words playing with the volume about a 1/4 of max, and it's PLENTY loud, and the sound is TIGHT.

Their "presence" is much like that of the Grado Prestige Series SR80 Stereo Headphone -- you feel as though you're essentially on stage with the performers. They do not offer an artificial "audience presence" that is popular on some of the other brands of high-end speakers and headphones. They are truly studio monitors, as advertised. I'm very pleased with them.

I'm shocked that they're just rated at 20W. Whether listening to classical or rock/metal, I find that I really don't need to turn the volume up much at all, and cranking it up I can even reach a pain threshold -- but there's still very little distortion at high volume levels, so these could be used to fill a fairly decent-sized room. Of course, you'd be missing some of the frequencies below 85Hz, as advertised, but they have no problem providing clear sound at that frequency level.

Very fine speakers, and VERY solidly built. The TRS cable inputs are an added bonus, but I guess they should be expected since these are, in truth, Studio Monitors. Very good speakers/studio monitors for the money. I will be shopping for M-Audio products in the future.

I Don't Review Any Products, But I Am Making An Exception
I am not a multimedia type by any stretch of the imagination. Recently, I discovered the Jango website, was intrigued by the fact that I could stream the type of music I enjoyed & of course was not fulfilled by the quality of sound emanating from my laptop speakers. So I embarked on a research mission for quality speakers. Reviews led me to this product, The M-Audio Stereophile AV 40. I am an audiophile on a budget & have probably spent over $100,000 on audio products in my lifetime. This is the first review I have taken the time to write. My home audio system consists of Parasound separate electronics, Platinum Audio speakers, Musical Fidelity CD player, and Hsu Research powered sub. I have listened to the AV 40s and find these gems possess accuracy, tightness, realism, & a very full sound. I do not think you can go wrong purchasing these if you are a music lover. I took the advice of other reviewers and upgraded the speaker wire to a quality 16 gauge wire and replaced the 1/8" to RCA plug to a Radio Shack Gold interconnect. This does make a difference in the fullness & tightness of the sound. The bass boost switch is not necessary. These speakers provide a very balanced sound with it off. I am streaming Jango off my laptop and also use a Sony D-EJ925 Walkman is a CD source & could not be happier with the sound quality I am receiving from these speakers. If tight, accurate reproduction of an audio source is your goal, these are the speakers for you! Highly Recommended!!!!

Great sound.
These are not too large on my desktop and sound enormously clearer, more detailed and far more pleasing than the speakers they replaced (MegaWorks THX 2.1 250D 2.1). They represent a bargain ($139/pair) and work very well with the M-Audio US41750 Audiophile 192 audio card that I also purchased.

I like 'em
I think these are pretty good speakers. I had the Harmon Kardon Soundsticks for about 6-7 years and they finally died so I got these because I wanted something that I could move to my backyard for BBQs (no sub-woofer to mess with). I'm not sure if the sound in these M-Audios is any better. I've noticed the base on a few songs in my library sounds a little off. But overall I would say they are good speakers and worth the price.

very solid
these speakers r the best ive ever heard in terms of affordable speakers. i wonder tho if the newer 5.1 speakers have higher quality playback (i doubt it)