MAudio BX8 Monitors - modifying these or any monitors.

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echomancer

New member
So tomorrow I'll be picking up a set of the new Studiophile BX8s by MAudio (don't try and talk me out of it, I spent about 2 hours today listening to monitors, and for the price, these sounded the best to my ears). I'm particularly amazed by the low end reproduction of these speakers, I heard new depth to Ben Harper that had just never been there before!

Now, one thing that I have noticed in a lot of reviews is that the highs can sound brittle to some people. These speakers have a -2dB and a -4dB pad for high frequencies between 2 and 5 kHz. Some reviewers felt this wasn't "wide" enough to solve the brittleness.

Now, for all you DIYers, I've got a question. Can I modify these speakers so that the high attenuation pad is "variable"? Maybe I can select the frequency range that this switch affects or perhaps just the width? I know a little about electronics, but not much as to how they affect audio. I'm very handy with a soldering iron though!

These monitors will be much better than my first generation Alesis M1 Actives, so I'm still improving as far as I'm concerned, but if I can make this mod to these speakers, they'll be even better.

Thanks for the input!
 
Judging by this -2 and -4, it's a switch type mechanism rather than a potentiometer dial so it seems the only thing you would have to do is change the resistors. However it could also have a coil/cap type of filter. This actually seems more likely thinking about it considering it doesnt affect the entire spectrum. This will void the warranty on the other hand so I wouldn't recommend it, and I am anything but certain on how to go about it.

If it sounds harsh, the problem is not the brightness or amplitude. Reducing the high frequencies will not do much more than simply reduce the amplitude of them, it will not fix the fact that they are natively harsh sounding.

A little tip: Placing a sheet of tissue paper over the tweeter can help both a harsh and a bright sound, although it should only be used for a harsh tweeter. It normalizes the spikes/oddities that would typically cause a harsh sounding tweeter and adds a slight rolloff on the highest frequencies, depending on how thick the sheet is. It's supposed to work nicely with NS-10s, fortunately I don't have this problem :) so I can't say how it will turn out, but no harm in trying.
 
I'm still happy w/ my purchase. I seriously considered the powered Yorkville YM1p's after I bought these, but I decided the bass response was a fantastic feature. I worked with these by listening to CD's I know really well (DMB: UTTAD, Pink Floyd: DSOTM, Radiohead: OK Computer).

My first impression is that these speakers really do have kick ass lows! After playing around w/ the high cut switches a lot today, I decided that they sound acceptable to me at -2 (People tell me I tend to mix a little bright anyway, so, if they sound bright on these, they should sound pretty close on anything else (boy I'll get flamed for that one!)). One thing I have noticed is that these monitors have a way of pulling the vocals out of a mix. It's almost scary!

Thanks for the info guys. If I find I get a lot of ear fatigue from the highs, I'll try the tissue paper idea.
 
Well the thing is, with the YSMs you can simply extend the low end response using a parametric EQ if you don't require the extra volume. Mine are at 30Hz -3dB. Not to bash the M-Audios but you really have to hear the Yorkvilles, you will be pleasantly surprised.

The old P8SBs had a few noticable flaws, such as somewhat muddy bass in relativity, the high frequency problem which by your statement doesn't appear to have been solved and a few other issues here and there. I haven't heard their new model but I'm optimistic that they have improved upon at least a few of their previous drawbacks. I'm glad you like them, they're nothing less than a worthy competitor in the market but if you can, do hear the YSM1ps, you never know.
 
NuTT98 said:
Well the thing is, with the YSMs you can simply extend the low end response using a parametric EQ if you don't require the extra volume.
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This 'solution' probably will bring more other problems (such as phase-shift) with it...

NuTT98 said:
The old P8SBs had a few noticable flaws, such as somewhat muddy bass in relativity, the high frequency problem which by your statement doesn't appear to have been solved and a few other issues here and there. I haven't heard their new model but I'm optimistic that they have improved upon at least a few of their previous drawbacks. I'm glad you like them, they're nothing less than a worthy competitor in the market but if you can, do hear the YSM1ps, you never know.
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I have owned the older SP-8B's (not P8SB's) and now I own the BX-8's. I did a side to side comparison and actually the older SP-8B's have a better way to lift the vocal out of the mix.
The woofers of the BX-8's were better designed however and therefore the BX-8's sound tighter and more focussed than the older SP-8B's. I didn't have a problem at all with any wooliness, I actually missed a tiny bit in the low-mids.
When I tested it with Iron Maiden's "Seventh Son..." I noticed this, because the guitars sounded a bit more distant, than I was used too. I could bring 'em back by boosting a few db's at 500Hz.

The BX-8's were indeed brighter than the SP-8B's, but I liked the fact that I could tailor the sound with the switches. The movable tweeter on the older SP-8B's wasn't helping much anyway...
 
This 'solution' probably will bring more other problems (such as phase-shift) with it...
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I meant a software EQ, but I don't know if that would be suitable for him.

SP-8B's
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That's what I meant, I knew I had the spelling wrong but unforunately I didn't care :)
 
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