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M-Audio AV40 vs. Akai RPM3

post #1 of 16
5/25/11 at 12:04am
Thread Starter 
Not sure where this thread would go. I'm a producer with a budget home studio setup. I'm looking for some top-of-the-line studio monitors for making beats and mixing/mastering recorded sessions. These will also be my speakers for everyday music/gaming use. My choices are the M-Audio Studiophile AV40 vs. the Akai RPM3. Both are powered(active) monitors and have mainly the same features. The main difference that I've noticed would be the USB with audio interface on the Akai and the auxiliary input on the M-Audio. The Akai is also much smaller and lighter than the M-Audio. Wanted to see if anybody here had an idea of which would be the better choice. Thanks for any responses.

http://www.asavings.com/p-83408-m-au...ers-av-40.aspx

http://www.zzounds.com/item--AKARPM3
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post #2 of 16
5/25/11 at 6:03am
The M-Audio AV40 are very highly recommended on this forum and on head-fi. I'v been looking in to them for a while now and they seem to be a very good band for buck option.

Never read any recommendations for the Akai RPM3. So based on this I'd go with the AV40s

Good links:
http://www.overclock.net/sound-cards...-speakers.html

http://www.overclock.net/sound-cards...-products.html <<< VERY GOOD
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post #3 of 16
5/25/11 at 6:52am
Quote:
Originally Posted by hirolla888 View Post
The M-Audio AV40 are very highly recommended on this forum and on head-fi. I'v been looking in to them for a while now and they seem to be a very good band for buck option.

Never read any recommendations for the Akai RPM3. So based on this I'd go with the AV40s

Good links:
http://www.overclock.net/sound-cards...-speakers.html

http://www.overclock.net/sound-cards...-products.html <<< VERY GOOD
That's a pretty silly assessment.

There are so many speakers out there. Not everybody is going to try them all. Even then one of the reasons the AV-40s are popular due to them being from a big company (M-Audio), and are easily available.

There are other popular speakers in audio world, but they tend to be "underground" so-to-speak. They aren't mass manufactured and sometimes you have to wait months to get them.

With that being said. I can't find any specs or detailed information about the Akais. It's a 3" woofer, so they are smaller. Bass response is going to be less compared to the AV-40s 4" woofer. If anything it would compare closely to the AV-30s. Which have a 3" woofer as well.
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post #4 of 16
5/25/11 at 7:02am
Quote:
Originally Posted by aksthem1 View Post
That's a pretty silly assessment.

There are so many speakers out there. Not everybody is going to try them all. Even then one of the reasons the AV-40s are popular due to them being from a big company (M-Audio), and are easily available.

There are other popular speakers in audio world, but they tend to be "underground" so-to-speak. They aren't mass manufactured and sometimes you have to wait months to get them.

With that being said. I can't find any specs or detailed information about the Akais. It's a 3" woofer, so they are smaller. Bass response is going to be less compared to the AV-40s 4" woofer. If anything it would compare closely to the AV-30s. Which have a 3" woofer as well.
How is it a silly assessment?

What do you base recommendations on?
1) personal use/experience
2) reviews
3) others' use/experience

Clearly OP requested a recommendation and I used points 2 and 3 to give him/her one.
As you clearly said yourself you can't find any specs or details about the Akais, so the best option would be to recommend the AV40s because at least you'd have an idea what your getting.
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post #5 of 16
5/25/11 at 7:23am
Because they aren't recommended. Ok ok I know that usually products that aren't recommended, it's for a reason.

These are still relatively new and there doesn't seem to be any reviews. At least professional reviews.

Though I do agree with you on with the AV-40s. Better to get something with an idea on it's performance.
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post #6 of 16
5/25/11 at 11:52am
The RPM3's being advertised as portable and lightweight, while not even bothering to mention the frequency response or any other specs is a pretty big red flag.

Considering that their weight is half of the AV40's I doubt they have decent magnets on their drivers. Plus I don't know why you'd go for 3" woofers over 4" at the same price range.
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post #7 of 16
5/25/11 at 1:34pm
Thread Starter 
The RPM3's were just released a couple days ago. Got an email from Akai about it. I've been looking at monitors and thought "Wow, convenient that they just released these." I've had my mind set on the AV40's for a long time but I'm curious about the RPM3's. Though the AV40's have bigger woofers and all, do you think the USB audio interface in the RPM3's would come to any use over the AV40's? Akai boasts "If you need quality monitors and audio recording that won't dominate your desktop, grab a pair of Akai RPM3 monitors and start recording."
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post #8 of 16
5/25/11 at 5:51pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by ChicknWafflZ View Post
The RPM3's were just released a couple days ago. Got an email from Akai about it. I've been looking at monitors and thought "Wow, convenient that they just released these." I've had my mind set on the AV40's for a long time but I'm curious about the RPM3's. Though the AV40's have bigger woofers and all, do you think the USB audio interface in the RPM3's would come to any use over the AV40's? Akai boasts "If you need quality monitors and audio recording that won't dominate your desktop, grab a pair of Akai RPM3 monitors and start recording."
Actually, USB is pretty nice if you're using onboard since it bypasses your soundcard, although that raises the question of whether the processor on the RPM3's is any better. Personally I can't really tell the difference between modern onboard analog out vs digital passthrough on speakers this size, so USB could be pretty moot.

I still wouldn't get these without a sub though, 3" woofers generally have a lot of trouble below 100hz. But if you really want to try them see if you can get Akai to send you some specs first.
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post #9 of 16
5/25/11 at 8:08pm
Thread Starter 
I'll try to get some specs from them, otherwise I'll probably be ordering the AV40's as I originally planned. Will update here if I can get the specs... Just in case there's anybody wondering about them.
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post #10 of 16
5/27/11 at 12:46pm
Sounds good!

Another option would be a pair of unpowered bookshelf speakers if you can find an inexpensive used receiver. Polk, Bic and Energy all have good mid range speakers, and Monitor 30's are on sale right now.
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