Alesis M1 Active 320 USB Studio Monitor Speakers

The Alesis M1 Active 320 USB Active Monitors Pair - Professional Accuracy, Clarity, and Performance in an Affordable Powered Monitor! 
The Alesis M1Active 320 USB-audio speaker system is the new world-class standard for USB audio playback and capture.

Alesis brings pro-grade USB speaker performance to the computer desktop. M1Active 320 USB speakers enable you to play audio from your computer and record audio coming into the speaker to your computer. Simply plug in the USB cable to your computer – No special drivers required.

M1Active 320 USB speakers are not only substantial audio monitors, but a convenient audio interface.

Simply plug in your professional audio products directly to the M1Active 320 USB - keyboards, mic pre's, guitar effects, Dj Mixers, and regular audio components such as CD and tape players can easily be connected and recorded.

Full range, superb sound quality insures that you get more accurate audio reproduction to check your mixes.

A Bass Boost switch helps emphasize bass frequencies - Great for various room situations where you want to hear more bass emphasis. The lightweight and portable design means you can put them into a handy carrying case and take them on the road.


The Alesis M1 Active
With the lineage of our TEC Award-winning Monitor Onet Studio Reference Monitor, Alesis speakers have already become a standard in project and professional studios around the world. If you're looking for the same great accuracy and detailed response in a powered system that's truly affordable, the answer is clear: the new M1 Active from Alesis.

Alesis M1 Active 320 USB Features
USB 1.1 audio interface
16-Bit / 44.1-48 kHz recording and playback
Pro-grade 1/4-inch plugs and standard RCA jacks
TRS Headphone output
Two 1/4-inch phone jacks inputs
Stereo 1/8-inch TRS mini-jack input
Stereo RCA inputs
1/8-inch TS output to passive speaker
Switchable power supply
Magnetically shielded for placement near TV and computer monitors

Product Specifications
Alesis M1 Active 320 USB Specifications
Woofer: 3-inch lightweight, magnetically-shielded, polypropylene cone with rubber surround and high power handling voice coil [4 Ohm impedance].
Tweeter: 1-inch silk dome
Frequency Response: 80 Hz – 20 kHz
Bass Boost: 4.8dB at 100Hz
Power: 10 Watts per channel RMS
Signal-to-Noise Ratio: 88dB weighted
Inputs: 1/4-inch TS, RCA, 1/8-inch Stereo, USB1.1
Input Impedance: 20k ohms
DAC/ADC: 16 bit delta sigma, 44.1kHz or 48kHz sampling rate
Dimensions (W x H x D): 6.0 x 5.0 x 7.5 inches (15.3 x 12.7 x 19.0 cm)
Net Weight (total): 7.5 lbs (3.4 kg)

Product Review

Alesis M1 320 Studio MonitorsWe use studio monitors to give an accurate and uncolored sound for mixing purposes. The most important characteristic of any dedicated studio monitor is providing a flat response. If any part of the frequency range is boosted or dampened, the ultimate mix might be off. A pair of truly flat-response studio monitors can cost up to thousands of dollars. At under $100, the Alesis M1 Active 320 USB Studio Monitors are some of the cheapest monitors you can find. Curious to see how they performed, we opened up some familiar mixes and tested them out.

Sound
The Alesis M1 Active 320 speakers are self-powered. Typically, self-powered speakers add some coloration to the sound when operating – but at this price and build it would be surprising to us if these monitors truly had the flat response we look for in studio monitors. The speakers have a wide frequency response and good spacial clarity. However, we did find some characteristics of the sound that detracted from its monitoring purposes. The low-end was somewhat lacking and sounded thin to our ears. However, the mid and upper ranges were very clear and detailed. The lack of low-end can cause the final mix to be too bass-heavy, as you had to boost it to make the mix sound right when running through these speakers.

The M1 Active 320 could actually pump out some good volume – easily loud enough for studio monitoring purposes. They also had fairly low self-noise, with a hum only being heard when set to the highest gains. Overall, we got what we expected with how these speakers performed. Considering most truly flat studio monitors will cost hundreds of dollars, the M1 Active 320’s did a fine job for the price. While it doesn’t provide the best results for monitoring, it is a definite improvement over mixing with computer speakers or everyday headphones.

Something we should mention – because these monitors are much smaller than other speakers, you will likely have to find a way to elevate them so the woofer is aligned to your ear for the best results when mixing.

Features & Design

As mentioned above, the Alesis M1 Active 320 speakers are very small for studio monitors. At under a foot in height, the speakers are fairly light and don’t take up much space. The M1 Active 320’s have a simple USB plug-n-play design and no drivers are required. Plug it in to your computer and it will appear as an audio device. One unique feature is the speakers’ ability to act as a simple audio interface, with stereo 1/8-inch, 1/4-inch, and RCA inputs that can be used for a variety of applications. Its a convenient feature, but is obviously not up to the quality of a dedicated audio interface. The speakers feature 16-bit and 44.1-48kHz recording and playback. There is an 1/8-inch headphone output on the front.

The speakers also come with a bass-boost function – clearly not to be used for monitoring purposes. This is a handy feature if you’re using them as personal speakers, but not for mixing. The speakers come with a USB cable and power adaptor. Its worth mentioning there is some question of reliability with the speakers. We have heard that overuse of the volume control results in the speakers becoming noisy or sometimes failing entirely. However we experienced no issues in our tests.


Conclusion
Clearly we did not expect these affordable studio monitors to match up to those costing hundreds of dollars. The Alesis M1 Active 320 monitors have some significant sound coloration that makes them suspect when used as studio monitors. Between this and the bass boost function, they actually function better as personal computer speakers than as studio monitors! That being said, these speakers are a fine option for someone looking to improve on mixing with built-in computer speakers or everyday headphones. As far as speakers for entertainment purposes, the M1 Active 320’s actually have a nice playback sound!


February 5, 2014 by Colin DeVarney, Music Tech Review. 





Where to buy:
Alesis M1 Active 320 USB Studio Monitor Speakers (Pair)

Alesis M1 Active 320USB speakers

Alesis M1Active 320 USB 2.0 Speaker System