Over the past 20 years, M-Audio has developed a reputation for pioneering innovative products that extend the boundaries of music creation. Although the company initially introduced home studio tools, the products’ quality was so high—and the feature sets so rich—that big-budget studios also embraced M-Audio gear. Through two decades of democratizing music creation, M-Audio has become a leader in providing first-rate creative solutions to artists, producers and engineers worldwide.

Studio Monitor Focus

M-Audio has continually expanded its product line by applying proven expertise to new segments of the market. The company began by mastering digital audio signal path fundamentals in circuit design—quickly becoming the worldwide leader in interface technology. In an effort to foster comprehensive end-to-end music solutions, M-Audio then made a significant resource investment in reference monitor research. Today, M-Audio’s studio monitors have become highly successful around the world—and are the best-selling professional monitors in the United States.

M-Audio Studiophile BX Series—Number One by Design

M-Audio designed its first reference monitors to overcome the limitations of conventional near-field reference monitors within the digital audio environment. The Studiophile system delivered a wide range of frequency response via two extraordinary drivers and unique crossover technology—and quickly became a bestseller. Over the years, M-Audio has continued to refine the monitors’ design and recently released the Studiophile BX5a Deluxe and BX8a Deluxe monitors.

The Studiophile BX Deluxe systems feature an enhanced tweeter waveguide providing exceptional high-frequency dispersion for off-axis listening. Additionally, the waveguide’s precise design serves as an acoustic impedance converter, matching the tweeter’s complex impedance for an extraordinarily accurate response.

The BX Deluxe monitors also feature integrated low-distortion amplification (separate amps for each driver) and curved Kevlar woofer cones. M-Audio chose Ferrofluid-cooled natural silk tweeters for exceptional power handling and natural damping. Along with new voicing, a revised crossover and updated support electronics, BX Deluxe reference monitors provide outstanding sonic accuracy and performance.

M-Audio EX66—A Cure for the Common Reference Monitor

The M-Audio EX66 reference monitor was designed to address common problems that have plagued studio engineers for years. When a traditional 2-way loudspeaker monitor is placed on the meter bridge of a mixing console, the dispersion pattern can cause early reflections off the mixer’s surface. In order to combat this widespread issue, M-Audio devised a particular geometric arrangement of three drivers (two identical woofers in parallel and a complementary tweeter—comprising a 2-way system) to channel the vertical dispersion into a narrow pattern. This configuration significantly reduces early reflections, resulting in improved sound and a wider “sweet spot.” When the EX66 monitors are placed on the meter bridge of a large-format console (like a Digidesign ICON, Neve or SSL), engineers can enjoy a wide range of horizontal movement—and still get a proper stereo image even though they may not be equidistant from each speaker.

The EX66 “linear-piston” woofer is another example of innovative problem solving. Instead of using the inexpensive construction materials employed by many speaker manufacturers, M-Audio analyzed the resonance properties of a variety of different substances. This resulted in a customized cone with a tensile-strength-to-weight ratio that pushes breakup modes sufficiently high in the pass band. With a custom surround and spider mechanism, EX66 utilizes 6” low-frequency drivers that exhibit their first breakup mode at about 6.5kHz, at which point the signal is already down by over 30dB. The EX66 drivers therefore provide truly “linear pistonic” action over the entire musical spectrum, revealing more of music's subtle details—and bringing all portions of each musical transient into correct alignment.

For loudspeaker cabinets, unwanted resonation can be a particularly insidious problem because it colors the timbre of music. The human ear/brain mechanism is capable of perceiving even extremely subtle resonances, and it’s this phenomenon that allows critical listeners to distinguish easily between exceptional loudspeakers and mediocre ones. M-Audio decided to address the problem of cabinet resonances by using sophisticated digital signal processing (DSP) technology to tune the cabinet and crossover with exceptional precision. The EX66 eradicates all resonances from the cabinet by using IIR (infinite impulse-response) filters in its on-board 32-bit processor. The EX66 also uses DSP to achieve its precise and maximally flat 4th-order Linkwitz-Riley crossover.

Testing in Real-World Situations

Providing practical solutions for working musicians involves intense real world testing—but not just when the design is complete. M-Audio solicits input from top Los Angeles music producers and engineers throughout the development process. The company collects real-world feedback through evaluation sessions at Hollywood scoring stages and professional recording studios. By the time each new monitor model is released to the public, it has already been scrutinized by an elite group of professional mix engineers and producers.

Continuing the Legacy

M-Audio monitors extend the company’s legacy of democratization by making high-performance monitors accessible to a diverse group of users. Moving forward, M-Audio remains committed to supporting its customers by engineering active loudspeaker studio monitors that outperform the competition.