M-Audio BX3 & BX4: compact, super-affordable speakers that look right on the money
Today, manufacturer M-Audio extended its BX series studio monitors with the additions of the BX3 and BX4. Rated at 120 Watts of amplification power and priced very affordably, these look like great compact speakers for content creators on a tight budget.
M-Audio BX3 & BX4 studio monitors
More along the lines of uncolored-sounding multimedia speakers than actual studio monitors, the BX3 and BX4 could prove a cost and space-efficient choice for media creation and casual listening alike. They are rated at 120 Watts of amplification and sport Black Kevlar low frequency drivers with silk dome tweeters. The BX4 has a 4.5-inch woofer and the BX3 has a 3.5-inch woofer. Both speakers have 1-inch tweeters and are built out of MDF using a bass reflex design.
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- M-Audio BX3 – front · Source: M-Audio
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- M-Audio BX3 – rear
A pleasant surprise is the presence of high and low EQ controls to boost or compensate those critical frequency ranges as required. You don’t usually find much in the way of adjustment on compact, multimedia-targeted speakers like these. Another interesting little feature is the Left/Right Active Speaker Position switch that lets you choose which side has volume control. How come no one else seems to be doing this?!
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- M-Audio BX4 – front · Source: M-Audio
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- M-Audio BX4 – rear · Source: M-Audio
I’m already impressed, but the spec sheet keeps delivering. There are 1/4-inch, 1/8-inch and RCA inputs to let you connect pretty much any playback source. No XLR balanced inputs, but I don’t think these would be of much use to the BX 3 and 4’s target audience anyway. What’s more, there’s a 1/8-inch front-mounted AUX input to let you connect another playback device (like a smartphone or audio player) in an instant. No shuffling behind the speakers! That, and here’s the final kicker – M-Audio has thrown in a 1/8-inch speaker interconnect cable, a 1/8-inch to 1/8-inch stereo cable, and a 1/8-inch to RCA cable. I’ve never ever had the pleasure of purchasing a speaker set that’s ready to hook up and rock out of the box like this. M-Audio cares, man!
Price and availability
The M-Audio BX3 and BX4 are available immediately, starting at GBP 98 for the BX3 and GBP 116 for the BX4 – both prices are for a pair! Tell you what, if I wasn’t a happy owner of the significantly more expensive iLoud Micro, I’d be looking at those M-Audios with glowing eyes. Way to get the job done on a budget, putting in the thought where is due and helping the customer out by supplying cables. Kudos!
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