M-AUDIO Studiophile AV 20 and AV 40 – Portable Desktop Speaker System

The computer speaker category has the unfortunate distinction of being the dumping ground for all manner of cheap and shoddy merchandise. Some of the worst transducers ever made have been bundled in with computers since the desktop PC first crawled Out of the primordial ooze. Which is why I always recommend buying a set of decent aftermarket speakers for your computer setup, especially if you’re into gaming or music?

The two speaker sets on review here are from M-Audio, a company with a product portfolio deeply steeped in the world of studio monitors and music creation. The most expensive monitor loudspeaker in the range sells for $1200, so M-Audio isn’t competing with the big B&Ws at Abbey Road but is rather a player in the growing market for smaller or home studios.
The AV-20 is the baby in the range and is more of a computer speaker than anything like a studio monitor, while the bigger AV-40, at double the price and with four times the power, is a different proposition. Both units are well built and use MDF cabinets, which is rare at this level where plastic is almost a standard.