M-Audio BX5 D3

Solid entry level monitors

These are huge upgrade over any typical PC speakers with 3.5 TRS jack. They do have way too much bass at the "flat" settings but it can be dialed down with the switch in the back (sounding much better at the middle -2db settings). For the price they sound excellent. Sensitivity and resolution being quite good. They do get a bit muddy sounding with more distorted sounds like heavy guitars etc. I use these for video editing and casual music listening and they are more than good enough. They do hum a little bit when in idle. I would not recommend these for any serious music production you should probably get Yamahas or Neumanns for that.

Nice Monitors

My customer is very satisfied with these monitors.

Affordable speakers that work Well to amplify book store.

Very good sound

I got these for my second music production studio. The sound is perfectly balanced with a nice response on low frequencies.

The speaker is flat, good for the average bedroom producer or a studio that needs a balanced sound. You are not going to get the volume and bass feeling like the BX8, there are a completely different category, but I find the BX5 more usable for more situations.

My suggestion:

- For bedroom producers and DJs practicing at home

- Small studios, bedroom studios or small rooms

- For instrument players that need two good monitors for practicing at home

Nice!

Perfect price for good quality sound !

Nice and cheap

The BX5 D3 are really good neutral monitors for their price: precise and clear, I've been using them for a week without any problem. They look solid and will surely last for a long time.

However, I noticed a permanent parasite sound when turning them on. It isn't annoying when sound is played, but I prefer turning them off when not using them to fix that problem.

Love these monitors

I have purchased these monitors to use in my studio and they have been fantastic in sound quality and build. I have used M-Audio speakers for years now and also have the larger BX8 D3 as well in my studio. I particularly use the BX5 as my nearfield monitors for mixing and they work great. You can't beat the price for the quality.

I don't know for whom it's built

Let's start with positive things:

- Great looking monitors, hands down

- They have good features such as low cut for -2 and -4 db

Negative things:

- Too much bass that can resonate and make an awful buzzing sound, once I bought soft pads it became better but I can't get rid of this sound even on -4db. I put them kinda close to the wall but it's a cheap equipment, so you can't expect a person buying it having a treated room with correct monitor placement, so I don't know who can find those useful and for whom they are built

- Volume knobs are too easy to rotate and they don't have any locking positions, so when you turn them on and off you can rotate them and not even notice

Overall: Maybe those are great when you have a correct placement and monitor stands / great soft pads but if you are searching for budget monitors for a home studio without a proper treatment - buy monitors that have ports (holes) on the front panel, this will minimize the chance of unwanted buzz on low frequencies

Solid quality

I use a set of these in my home studio: both for mastering and listening to music throughout my day.

They are solidly constructed and offer reasonable frequency response - perhaps a little lacking in the bass department for general listening duties. I have an aversion to shrill sounding tweeters so I personally find the silk domes very pleasing and unlikely to generate listening fatigue.

The main concern I have is that the internal amplifier runs quite hot. Unlike my CX-8's which have a large heatsink there is no external cooling, but it remains to be seen whether this will affect their long term operating life.

Nice sound, but 150Hz hum and backplate too hot to touch

I bought two of these for a home studio. I was pleased with the appearance and they arrived quickly. But as soon as I plugged them in I heard 150Hz mains hum, from both. This was with nothing plugged in and at all volume levels. I tried them in different power sockets throughout my house but it didn't make a difference. Once I started using them the backplate got so hot it is unbearable to touch, and again this was on both units. Mains hum on what I believed was a step up from basic desktop speakers (which had no hum) was a very unpleasant surprise.