m-audio bx5

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dirtyp

dirtyp

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At my local store they have these for 149. a pair, there active 75 watts biamplified. I tried looking them up they apear to be discontinued, It looks like the earlier version of the bx5a, Do you know anything about these?

I have some gear they were willing to buy I can probaly spend 50 bucks on them.

bx5 m-audio us51040
I tried to google them but most were dead links.

I found them at earth shaking music there selling them for 300.
 
They really sucked to work with. It took me remix after remix to get a quality mix out of them. If you need smaller monitors try to look for some brands that make quality small ones, KRK's are decent, so are Dynaudio's. I personally upgraded to Event 20/20bas V2's and they translate so well that usually one session gets me where I want to be instead of session after session. I know there is a massive price difference between what you're looking at and what I'm recommending but monitors of even a slightly better quality will make mixing so much easier. For general listening purposes the bx5's were decent.
 
I own them and like them pretty well. They have good imaging and mid/high frequency clarity. Bass response is a little lacking, as you might expect from a 5" woofer (although, the SBX subwoofer from M-Audio has been reduced from $400 to $200, so you could always add that). I did have to replace the tweeter in one, as it developed a buzzing after about 18 mos (M-audio sold me a replacement tweeter for $15, shipped).

Since the store has them, see if they'll hook them up for you and let you listen to them. That's the only way to tell if they have the sound you want. Take a CD with some music you know well (& some of your own mixes) and listen to what it sounds like on the BX5s.
 
Dirty, I'm a user and big fan of the older BX5, which has a variety of EQ switches on the back, as long as one adds a sub to the system. I've tried several different budget-level systems in my small studio, and this BX5 + sub has made my life much easier: excellent clarity and balance, producing reliable mixes (any related weaknesses are my own crummy skills, not the equipment). Without the sub, though, the low end is just not enough for mixing many types of music--as is typical of many small (5") monitors. If you do get the BX5s, plan on adding a sub before long.

Best,

J.

P.S. The matching SBX sub has been discontinued to make room for a newer model, so the price has dropped in half to $199 at several retailers.
 
Well I know the dx4 are pretty shitty, and the bx5a are recomended by some though when I listened to them they sounded muffled, So I wondered where these fit in. There slightly bigger more outdated and the same price as the lower end
m-audios.

the whole monitor setup wasnt working so I didnt try to listen to them but if I decide to buy them I will. Was just curious about peoples past expierence with them.

I did a google search and ended up with nothing, then a did a search here and found a bunch of threads, usualy the threads pop up on google intresting.
 
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i used to use a pair of the older SP5B's. they did fine, although anything below 250 was pretty much a guess. they DID rule the midrange and were excellent at mixing acoustic guitar and vocals.

i've since upgraded to a pair of Event ASP8's and there's no contest--the ASP8s are just far better monitors in every sense of the word. i got by "ok" with the SP5B's while i was using them b/c i didn't really "know what better monitors sounded like".

now that i'm used to the ASP8's, i don't know how i managed to get along without em OR how i managed to work with the SP5Bs. the ASP8's just make the mixing task SO much easier. maybe i'm one of those spoiled gear snob types now. :p

needless to say, i've got a pair of SP5B's in mint condition, shipped in original boxes, for sale for $175 plus shipping. PM me if interested. :D


cheers,
wade
 
for $175 for the pair, it's probably a good deal.,

however, you may be able to find some used Bx8's on ebay or something for just a bit more.

I got lucky...bought Bx5's new for $250 (guitar center)...bought used Bx8's on ebay for $225!!!!....then sold the Bx5's on ebay for 175....
anyway you may get lucky too
 
shackrock said:
however, you may be able to find some used Bx8's on ebay or something for just a bit more.
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personally, i've always felt that the sp5b's were the best monitors that m-audio's ever produced (and i've listened to em all). the SP8B's had harsh highs and an over-inflated bottom end, and when they went to the BX series, both the 5's and 8's had the same bad high end (it seemed to even get worse)......and the mids and lows got worse rather than better.

YMMV, obviously, but that's just my take on it.


cheers,
wade
 
jonnyc said:
They really sucked to work with. It took me remix after remix to get a quality mix out of them. If you need smaller monitors try to look for some brands that make quality small ones, KRK's are decent, so are Dynaudio's. I personally upgraded to Event 20/20bas V2's and they translate so well that usually one session gets me where I want to be instead of session after session. I know there is a massive price difference between what you're looking at and what I'm recommending but monitors of even a slightly better quality will make mixing so much easier. For general listening purposes the bx5's were decent.
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I'm interested in your comments about the Bx5's...these are my first ever monitors which I got about a year ago. You're saying that they aren't too good for getting a decent mix hey?

That's no good, because it's still way too early for me to be looking at a different set!
 
Monkey Allen said:
You're saying that they aren't too good for getting a decent mix hey?
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i'm not jonny, but i'll chime in here. ;)

it's not that they're "no good" for getting a decent mix on. you can certainly get a "decent enough" mix on them........rather it's that they take a lot more work to get there.

i found myself burning cd after cd after cd of "test mixes" and taking the cds out to the car and other stereos to get a "second opinion" on. i mean, constantly. i'd mix, burn, listen elsewhere, tweak, burn again, listen elsewhere again, tweak again, etc., etc., etc., for every mix i did. it was a LOT of work to get the bottom end *right*.

see, anything below 200Hz or so was a real guess. sure i got good at guessing, but i really hated guessing. it's a LOT easier when you can actually hear and FEEL the kick drum and bass guitar. compressing and eqing them becomes MUCH easier, too. the maudio 5 series monitors just can't handle the low end.

hearing subtle things like reverb tails was difficult too--i mean, i could hear them, but again there was a certain amount of guesswork that i had to do. and there was something in the 300-500 range that was always cloudy.

once i upgraded to the ASP8's and i opened some of my previous mixes (that i'd done on the sp5b's) it was literally jaw dropping. it was a "no wonder that mix was bass heavy and had a lot of muddiness" kind of situation.....and a "so THAT'S what that reverb sounds like!" kind of situation.

it's the old "do you need an impact wrench to change a tire, or can you do it with a pair of pliers?" analogy. no, you don't......but it makes the job a whole lot easier than doing it with a pair of pliers.

i LIKE it when my mixes translate, and especially when i can get there quickly and easily. can i do the mixing job with the maudio 5's? absolutely. would i rather do it with a pair of ASP8's? you betcha.


cheers,
wade
 
Wade has a great point. That, and we all have different ears. As an owner of BX5a's I'm satified at this point that these give me a half realistic reproduction of what's going down in the mix. I know there's far better but that's not what we're after here right? I'm budget oriented myself and everyone always told me, don't take any advice too strictly when picking out NFM's. Bring your ref material and listen. No, the BX5a's were'nt the ultimate stereo picture/reproduction but for the money, they were close. That's good enough for me now. Funny how 75% of the questions asked here state " Within budget" or "Under ???$". Well, that was all of us at sometime. And for some. it still is. Still is for me. Feb hits and it's -40F, I'm thing fuel oil heat not preamp tube heat.

Shit...rant, rant, rant

Buy what you can afford and run with it. If you learn to use it, you'll appreciate the Big Boys Toys even more. I don't own any however. So what the F do I know?
 
As someone who's been recording for many years in pro studios, I definitely agree with most of the points you guys raise. Yeah, monitors need to sound decent (especially flat) enough to make fairly intelligent mixing decisions. That said, I've found that many monitors--even in the lower-budget range--will work well enough if (a huge if) one has taken enough time to get to know them well via a range of pro reference CDs and some sample mixes of one's own music. I spent many weeks (not days) getting to know my BX5s before I attempted any serious work on them.

Beyond that, I've learned through trial and error that different monitors sound different in my little studio, that each room has its own characteristics that can make objective recommendations hard to give. Also, for me, maybe the biggest factor of all when mixing on any monitors, regardless of cost, has been developing my ears enough to really hear what I need to do to improve a mix. I still have a friggin' long way to go in that department, but that learning is half the fun, right?

In short, regarding the BX5 specifically, I've had great luck with this little speaker in my own small studio. But, as I mentioned before and others mentioned, I found myself having consistent trouble mixing the low end so that it transfered well--until I added a sub. Once added, my mixes seldom yield any give surprises these days. Sure, things can always be better, but I blame my mix weaknesses on that fact that my ears and and technical skills aren't as strong as they need to be, and that I just don't have enough time to devote to my music. The BX5s + SBX sub are not the weak link, at least for me; I can basically trust what I hear. In fact, for the chump change I spent on them, I'm very satisfied with what they allow me to do. They're definitely not even close to the best I've heard in the few pro studios I've worked in, but there's certainly no suckiness about them if used in a low-budget home studio like mine, by a guy (me) with modest ears and skills.

Best,
J.
 
Well I got a chance to listen to them today, And they sound a bit muddy I sounded like I had a cold, with my voice and female voices.

The bass wasnt bad I could live with it, loudness was descent.
I just can get over sounding sick I thought the highs and mids would be the selling point.

I checked other monitors and it wasnt the cd, just the bx5 the bx5a's.
I had my used equipment and was ready to buy till then now im just confused.
I could probaly get use to it but I wanted to use them for listening too, I can take them home for thirty days but im not sure my desktops speakers dont sound like that.
 
give a subwoofer a spin with bx5's

as jefree mentioned in the last paragraph..."until I added a sub".

I had these BX5's at home and did the same, added a sub, and it was a huge change to these monitors.

I was amazed. Logically, think of all the bass "work" being removed from the 5" cones job. with a sub, the 5" speakers now only have to concentrate on the mids and up. In short, they clear up considerably.

Nothing earth shattering about it..you wind up with a Blue Sky type, a 3-way system. imo, the "workload" is better distributed.

If I had the money I'd get a pair of Barefoots Micro Mains.
http://www.barefootsound.com/

I've tried placing the sub up on a shelf, in between my monitors...get the bass freq's in the EE triangle, reduce the small driver workload.. after seeing barefoots. love the concept.

my problem is I keep jacking around with stuff and never record anything!! :rolleyes:
 
jeffree said:
I spent many weeks (not days) getting to know my BX5s before I attempted any serious work on them.
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as did i. many, many, many weeks. i think that's true, really, for getting to know any monitors.....although i have to admit that my first mixes with my ASP8's were *very* close to dead on. maybe the learning curve for them wasn't as steep, or maybe i could just trust em better, i dunno.

what i DO know is that i did a mix, thought "maybe the L/R guitars need to come up a little bit, i'm not sure since this is my first mix on these", printed it and did a car check. the L/R guitars DID need to come up just a little bit. other than that, it was exactly what i was hearing on the monitors. i brought up the L/R guitars and like Banya says, "it was gold, Jerry, gold!"

jeffree said:
each room has its own characteristics that can make objective recommendations hard to give.
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amen! that's why i always recommend someone try new monitors out in their space, rather than at Guitar Center (etc). you can't possibly get a feel for what will work for you if you're not trying them out in your own space. even more ideal would be to spend a week with em and mix some tunes on em and see how it goes.

jeffree said:
Also, for me, maybe the biggest factor of all when mixing on any monitors, regardless of cost, has been developing my ears enough to really hear what I need to do to improve a mix.
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i hear that loud and clear too. you HAVE to develop your ears. you have to start somewhere, and i started (at home) with the SP5Bs and was fine with em for several years. but eventually you get to a point where the low-end gear is holding you back--or at least i always seem to. that's when, IMO, the gear upgrade is necessary (and warranted).

with each of the upgrades i've done in the last year, the results have *really* paid off in terms of sound quality. i'm finally happy with the sound of what i'm recording and i'm finally happy with how my mixes are translating. now if i can only write some songs that are worth a damn.....:p

jeffree said:
I still have a friggin' long way to go in that department, but that learning is half the fun, right?
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AMEN! :D

jeffree said:
In short, regarding the BX5 specifically, I've had great luck with this little speaker in my own small studio.
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as did i. i found it to be a GREAT "bang for the buck" piece of gear, and i would NOT hesitate to recommend em to someone who's starting out, been mixing on "hifi" speakers, headphones, etc. i know you and i have had numerous discussions along these lines, so i know we're on the same page there. :D

jeffree said:
consistent trouble mixing the low end so that it transfered well--until I added a sub.
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i thought long and hard about going that route. but i've never been able to work with a sub. i need directionality in my bass, and a sub just doesn't give that.

plus, if you consider the cost of the BX5's new (~$300) and then add the current m-audio sub (~$400), that's roughly $700. I got my ASP8's (on sale and for a smoking price, admittedly) for $600 for the pair. One can usually find a used pair of ASP8's for around the $800 mark if you're patient enough. while i'd recommend the m-audio 5's to someone in a heartbeat........given my experience with the "gains" realised by the ASP8s, i'd definitely steer someone towards a pair of used ASP8's as opposed to the m-audio BX5's and Sub combo if they're patient and don't mind waiting til the right deal comes along and paying a little more. as always, though, YMWV.

jeffree said:
Sure, things can always be better, but I blame my mix weaknesses on that fact that my ears and and technical skills aren't as strong as they need to be
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i felt that way about my "mix weaknesses" too......until i upgraded to the ASP8's. i always thought that the problems i was having with my mixes were me--"it's gotta be something i'm doing wrong". while that's somewhat still true, it's not as true as i thought.

i'll be glad to pull out and post some of my "best mixes" that i did with the SP5B's and the "rough remixes" i've done with the ASP8's if anyone cares enough to listen/compare. :p

for instance, there was a mix that i did for PMC11 ("Sky" was the name of the song) that i thought was really bitchin and i submitted it with high hopes. When the results came in, i was really surprised (not to mention quite disappointed) that I was at the bottom of the rankings. i downloaded some of the "winners" mixes and didn't really hear too much of a difference between theirs and mine. i kept asking myself "what's going on here? i KNOW i've got good ears.....why did these others score so much higher than mine?"

so of course one of the first things i did when I got my ASP8's was pull up my mix of that song (b/c i LOVE that song). i *immediately* heard what was wrong and what the judges pointed out as flaws......my mix really DID suck.....and it sucked pretty damn hard. there was muddiness in the lower midrange (300-600Hz), no consistency on the bottom end at ALL and the highs......oh man the highs. :-(

my room didn't change....my ears didn't change....only the monitors changed. so i really don't know what to say. of course, i then spent the next few hours remixing that song.....and now i wish i could resubmit it. :D

jeffree said:
and that I just don't have enough time to devote to my music.
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again i hear that loud and clear. more than anything, i hear that loud and clear.

jeffree said:
The BX5s + SBX sub are not the weak link, at least for me; I can basically trust what I hear.
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and that's great! they certainly were for me, at least at this point in my "development". maybe they wouldn't have been if i had been using a sub.......but i just can't deny or ignore the difference that changing out one variable (the monitors) made for me in my space.

jeffree said:
In fact, for the chump change I spent on them, I'm very satisfied with what they allow me to do.
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and that i certainly can NOT argue with! in the world of "bang for buck", these are at the top of the list!


cheers,
wade
 
ridgeback said:
everyone always told me, don't take any advice too strictly when picking out NFM's. Bring your ref material and listen.
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absolutely! even better, bring the monitors to your space and listen THERE, b/c quite often the "showroom floor" lies. i KNOW my room. i DON'T know GC's "listening room", and i sure as hell don't trust it. there's no way i can guarantee that the muddiness i hear on one set of monitors, or the hard highend on another pair, or the overhyped bottom on yet another pair are the monitors or the room itself.

besides, how do i know that the dealer isn't trying to cast a certain brand in a better light in order to get more sales b/c the profit margin on that brand is higher?

ridgeback said:
No, the BX5a's were'nt the ultimate stereo picture/reproduction but for the money, they were close. That's good enough for me now.
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and that's my point--for the money and for people starting out, these monitors will definitely get you "in the ballpark". they served me well enough for several years.

these days, though, i'm doing a lot more "for client/for pay" stuff, so i needed something that i could trust a lot more and not have to make guesses with.....as well as something that gave me a "closer to professional" (whatever "professional" means) results........and especially something that i could work quickly with. the upgrade did all of that, so mission accomplished.

ridgeback said:
Funny how 75% of the questions asked here state " Within budget" or "Under ???$". Well, that was all of us at sometime. And for some. it still is. Still is for me.
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still is for me too! i've got a 15 month old toddler, so it will be for quite some time. it's just that i'm starting to learn that really difficult lesson of "buy cheap buy twice". and it's worse when it's compounded with "man, i spent 20 hours recording and mixing this song and it STILL doesn't sound like i want it to". it's just frustrating.

if i'd known years ago that all i REALLY needed to do was spend $1500 on a used Apogee MiniMe and a pair of ASP8's, i would've done so a long time ago rather than putzing around with all of the other $150 here, $200 there pieces of gear i've bought and sold. truth be told, i've spent far more on the "lesser gear" that's come and gone than on the 2 pieces of gear that have made the biggest difference.

it's just a LOT easier to justify $150 every month or so to both myself and my wife than it is to justify $1000 2 times a year......even if the total amount of money spent is about the same.

ridgeback said:
Buy what you can afford and run with it. If you learn to use it,
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"learn to use it" is great advice. obviously you know more than you give yourself credit for, that's for sure. :D


cheers,
wade
 
Wade, I just want to mention how much I enjoy the spirit of your posts here. You express your thoughts intelligently, with useful experience to back them up. Your sensitivity to other folks' opinions, realizing that one size seldom fits all, only adds to the weight of your own convictions. I'm glad you're around these parts.

By the way, one of the most helpful recording books I've read was "Behind the Glass" by Massey. One of the biggest points I took away this book (a compilation of personal interviews with legendary studio pros) was the fact that a good set of ears and talent almost always trump good recording equipment. So many of these guys talk about the incredible recordings they've heard or personally competed with very modest equipment, especially prior to the digital age. In contrast, we've probably all heard some pretty bad stuff coming out of rather pricey home studios. In short, great equipment can help if in the right hands, but it's certainly not the biggest necessity for making some solid, interesting recordings.

In fact, some of the pros in Massey's book discuss how the best and latest equipment has hurt the process in key ways, particularly in allowing people to focus too much on the equipment (so cheap these days) while giving them the alluring option of "fixing everything in the mix" instead of getting things right during the performance. Sometimes, they point out, having some clear technical limits can really improve one's recording creativity and performance. While no one advocates moving backward exclusively to gear from the 60s or 70s, there are obviously some lessons there to learn.

Personally, I've been trying as much as I can to work with the modest gear I have--performing the music well, working around the limits in creative ways-- to produce recordings that exceed the expectations of a studio as modest as mine. I'm not always successful, but I'm having a blast trying, and that's what it's all about for me... and probably for most of us here.

Take care,

J.
 
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