the box MA120 MKII 4-stars Reviews

Excellent bang for buck.

We bought a pair of those 6 months ago. We've used them a lot, as main PA speakers on small events and gigs, monitors for the band in bigger gigs and simply to listen to music in our garage. There are definitely better speakers out there, but none even close to this price. If on a tight budget, don't think twice!

Value for money

As an entry level monitor you can't beat the box for the price. It's built to last. I take them to gigs and even use them as tv and stereo speakers. Note: these speakers sound much better after a "burn in" of about 100 hours.

Good Value/Price

I have been using them for monitoring my guitar amp (both in rehearsal and small gigs). They are loud enough to do a good job as a small stage monitor. As expected, the bass register isnt that good, but middle an high are clear. They are very directional, so if you get 1m off speaker direction they are almost silent (good for micing / bad if one wants to walk around on stage). But overall a very good bang for the buck.

Good value stage monitor

Good value stage monitor. You will need to note that all the inputs and outputs are XLR - no jacks - and have the correct leads. This does mean that everything is balanced - which gives potential for better noise immunity. The one interesting feature is that the link output has its level controlled by the volume setting of the monitor and therefore we have to use this as the end monitor in the chain in our setup. Sound quality is good and our bass player even uses his as a practice amp/combo.

The box powered monitor

This is a very solidly made product with an exceptionally uncoloured sound.

The controls are accessible and well made. Because to the dense construction, it is quite heavy in relation to its size. The overall volume might not be enough for some applications.

Solid

Great little box for small stage use. Easily loud enough. Good angle on the speaker, looks sleek and subtle. Also the optional mic input is useful if you need to use it for vocal reinforcement, which we have in a room of 50 or so people at tables, and it held up quite well.

Gut und günstig!

Wir haben den Amp seit etwa 6 Jahren ständig (d.h. mehrmals wöchentlich) in Gebrauch und er funktioniert immer noch tadellos. Teilweise läuft bei kleineren Gigs die komplette Band via Kleinmixer über den MKII - wo er als alleiniger Verstärker kleinere Säle mit ausreichend Lautstärke (unterhaltungsmusikmäßig) beschallen kann.

Der Monitor is robust und gut verarbeitet und hat trotz seiner (relativen) Kompaktheit einen guten Sound mit reichlich Bass und Höhen. Er kommt mit allem gut klar: Bass, Gesang, Piano und Gitarre. Am häufigsten benutzen wir ihn zuhause als Bassverstärker, weil er einen viel besseren Sound als die kleinen Bassverstärker hat und uns dabei das Rumschleppen der großen Verstärker erspart.

Kann man nur empfehlen!

Excellent

Fantastic value for money. Simplistic to use and very good quality. Great sound projection. I would highly recommend this product. Billed quality for its price range is excellent. Adequate weight and easy to handle.

Useful monitor for not much money.

It took me a long time to actually click on the 'add to cart' button for this one, wondering whether I should buy a dedicated monitor or just go with another (more versatile) set of moulded active speakers. In the end, I opted for this partly for budget reasons, partly because I felt the EQ would come in handy for keeping troublesome feedback at bay, and partly because by my calculations the SPL rating should allow it to cut through the noise of a fairly crowded pub so the singer could actually hear herself.

Since purchase it has gigged well over 100 times, mostly in the pub cover band setup, with mostly very good results.

Firstly, there are no complaints about the build quality. It feels quite solidly built, doesn't weigh too much for the size of it, and the knobs and controls all feel good too. All the controls and inputs are on the front panel, so it is easy to tweak when you are in the heat of the gig.

The sound quality is also good. There is no big bottom end off this unit - but then, we didn't buy it for that - but it is clear and clean as long as you watch the levels you send into it. And the overall sound level is where the only real problem I have with this unit is: As mentioned, I bought it partly based on the rated SPL (120dB SPL peak). I say only partially, as a peak reading like this doesn't have much meaning with real programme material going through it. I was hoping for a realistic 110dB average sound level, meaning we would still cut through a 90dB rowdy crowd with a few dB to spare - even removing 6dB for the distance from monitor to ear. Unfortunately in the louder pubs and clubs, this monitor does not cut through, and we often resort to propping it up on a flight cases, raising it off the ground by about 50cm just to be able to hear it. It is also times like this that you notice just how tight the pattern is that is produced by the small horn, and when things are tough on stage, unless the horn is pointing directly at your ear, you aren't going to hear much.

The EQ controls are most often all set with the top, middle and bottom set to their centre detent position, but if I need to tweak anything they are slightly on the gentle side (when is someone going to make a monitor like this with a graphic EQ in???), and you are not only affecting the frequency causing trouble, but a lot of the frequencies you need to hear! Having said that, the controls are better than not having them, and for the money, I don't think anyone could really complain too much!

In terms of reliability, this thing has been in and out of the van constantly, been rained on, drink spilled over it, etc., and still continues to work without issue.

So, I've spent quite a bit of time talking about the main problem I've had with this unit (mainly because everything else works as expected), so should YOU buy one? Well, if you play really busy, noisy Irish pubs like I do, then you probably need to weigh it up against something with a bit more oomph, BUT, you would probably need to spend at least double the amount that this costs to get something that might cut through the noise - pay attention to average SPL and the horn dispersion figures if that is the case, or alternatively check out in-ear monitoring (we did, and didn't like it - we couldn't interact with the audience). If you are a small PA company that needs a few cheap stage monitors for mid-sized gigs then you'd be surprised to find that these would probably do the job nicely, and when based in a theatre or somewhere where you have a listening audience, they might not sound quite as full-range or punchy as more expensive units, but I don't think anyone would complain.

Would I buy again? Maybe not for loud pub gigs, but I'd certainly have one or more for other situations.

Really good quality for the money

These monitors worked straight out of the box, mains in, signal in and away we go. Only three observations, firstly the units come with continental mains leads so you need to get UK leads or change the plugs. Secondly they have an additional "standby" button which is not documented in the manual, and it's function is not obvious. Thirdly they only have feet on one face so reversing them to get a different face angle is not possible. Apart from these minor points I'm really pleased and will be gigging them next weekend.

Cheap as chips and does exactly what it says on the box!

Great as vocal monitors of mini PA system. Have used a pair with keys to good effect for smaller gigs.

sounds good

Top notch monitor . I even use it as PA . Well worth Buying . I'd recommend it to any one

a decent monitor at a budget price

I bought this for auxiliary monitor duties and have used it mainly as a monitor for drummers and keyboard players on small bar stages. the quality in that environment is perfectly acceptable and the build quality is remarkable for the price.

Sturdy & does the business

Very heavy to carry around but is sturdy and stands up to the knocks. Does exactly what it is intended to at a very good price.