Avid's M-Audio subsidiary recently updated its popular AV 40 powered speakers, but you wouldn't know it from the company's website. Some retail outlets are referring to it as the "AV 40 mkII" or, simply, the "new version," but M-Audio didn't give it a new model number, and instead refers to the new version simply as the AV 40 ($229.99 list). Regardless of the name, the AV 40  delivers impressive, punchy sound at surprisingly high volumes. But a few running design changes mean M-Audio has dialed back slightly what the AV 40 was originally capable of at its launch in 2008.

Running Spec Changes

The differences between the earlier version and the current model are relatively minor, but still worth mentioning. The biggest change is removing the rear-mounted Bass Boost button in the new model. M-Audio claims that this promotes more accurate monitoring. The voltage selector has also been removed, which shouldn't matter for most U.S. customers.

A third change is perplexing, though. For a while, on its website, M-Audio reported a slight downgrade in rated power output for the AV 40, from 20 watts per channel to 15 watts per channel, which was picked up in product listings around the Web. Our review pair also states 15 watts per channel on both the box and in the printed manual. But M-Audio's website now lists 20 watts per channel once again. We've asked M-Audio about this discrepancy, and haven't yet received a response. For now, the mystery remains—and it's an oddly pointless mystery, because without a total harmonic distortion figure and other supporting information, a printed power rating isn't worth much to begin with. 

Design, Controls, and Connections
Otherwise, the new AV 40 is pretty much identical to the original, at least design-wise. Each speaker measures 8.75 by 6 by 7.25 inches (HWD), which makes the pair quite large next to most PC speakers, and somewhat small compared with lower-end studio monitors. The medium-density fiberboard enclosures feel sturdy, and do quite a lot to dampen unwanted sound reflections inside. The enclosures are also magnetically shielded. Thick, plastic, textured speaker grilles cover the recessed tweeters and woofers, and there's a large, rear-facing port, which indicates a bass reflex, or vented, design. Each speaker contains a 4-inch polypropylene-coated woofer and a 1-inch, fluid-cooled, silk dome tweeter, with a crossover point at 2.7KHz.

All of the amplification, ports, and controls are on the left speaker. The right speaker is passive, and connects via a very thin piece of speaker wire (which is included) to the left speaker. The right speaker also weighs considerably less than the left speaker as a result; the pair weighs 14 pounds. One nice feature: The left speaker has an internal power supply, and the main power cord is a simple, two-pronged affair. M-Audio throws in a standard stereo 3.5mm-to-3.5mm cord for plugging straight into the headphone jack of a desktop or laptop's internal sound card.

In terms of connectivity, the AV 40 is quite flexible out of the box. A prominent volume knob protrudes from the bottom left corner of the left speaker, with a blue LED ring around it to indicate power. I wish the knob also clicked over to "Off," instead of having to reach around the back of the left speaker to power down the system. The bottom right corner of the left speaker holds two standard-size 3.5mm jacks—one for headphones and one for an Aux in, which is handy to have so accessible for your phone or iPod. The back of the left speaker also contains a stereo pair of RCA jacks, plus—in a nod to professional studios—a pair of ¼-inch TRS inputs.

Performance and Conclusions

In a series of listening tests, the AV 40 delivered the same clean, crisp sound as the original version. At high volumes, the speakers really come into their own, with plenty of clean level and a solid presentation across the frequency range. Near maximum volume, I heard virtually no distortion, even when playing bass-heavy music like The Knife's "Silent Shout," with its pulsing, electronic kick drum beat. Even at those volumes, the imaging and sound staging remained reasonably transparent and free of audible artifacts. The highs exhibited a slightly recessed character, though, and the overall impression is of a slight lack of detail compared to some other 2.0 systems we've tested. The AV 40 lacks that extra sense of air at the very top end.

Listening at lower volumes is a bit more problematic. In those cases, I found that I missed M-Audio's Bass Boost feature. With the Bass Boost engaged, the original pair delivered weighty, full-range sound that belied its relatively small size and power rating. But at low volumes, and without any other kind of EQ or loudness curve compensation—something many consumer speaker systems build in—the 4-inch woofers aren't really enough to deliver a sense of weight. M-Audio intends the AV 40 to stand in as an studio monitor, so the frequency response curve is relatively flat compared with 2.1 systems like the Harman/Kardon SoundSticks III ($169.99, 4.5 stars). But the low-end rolloff below 80Hz is palpable with the AV 40. At lower to medium volumes, the Harman/Kardon SoundSticks III  have a warmer, fuller, more preferable sound balance, with more high-end extension.

If you're looking for studio monitors on the ultra-cheap—and really, if you're going to use low-cost speakers like these, you should also have a relatively high-end set of open-back headphones for monitoring purposes to compensate—then the AV 40 will suffice, although I'd still suggest stepping up to a proper studio monitor with at least a 5-inch woofer if at all possible. For consumer PC speakers, the AV 40 sounds excellent, especially at higher volumes. The Audioengine 5+ ($399.99, 4.5 stars) remains our high-end Editors' Choice, and benchmark, for active stereo speakers that double as studio monitors. But as long as you realize that's what you are getting here—a stereo pair of powered monitors that sound as good as, or even better than, just about any 2.0 set of speakers in its price range, if not a full-blown set of reference-quality studio monitors—you'll likely be quite satisfied with the AV 40.

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