[Doublej]

For those that have heard these what did you think? I want to upgrade my desktop speakers and am interested in these...as well as the new AudioEngine's, JBL....the list goes on and on and on.

[jeffh]

I heard them at Emofest back in September.  They sounded really nice.  I did not have the opportunity to do any critical listening.

[jackman]

Wow!  Cool looking and reasonably priced speakers.  They look like they would be a nice fit in my office!

[Letitroll98]

For the terminally lazy, the link:
http://emotivapro.com/products/powered_monitors/

[jeffh]

And here is a code to save 15%. Enter code: SNOW at checkout

[MaxCast]

I was wondering by at RMAF and they were jamming to something in there so I stopped in.  Sounded pretty good on the music they were playing at the time but I don't remember which model was playing.  If I needed powered speakers I'd take a listen.  In fact, I'd probably get the audioengine and these for the 30 day trial and keep one.

[JLM]

Wonder what the crossover slopes are?

As a single driver fan, I'm also a fan of active designs (flat frequency response, dynamic as hell, and unbelievably deep/full bass).  Wonder how they compare against the typical professional monitors (Mackie, etc. at this same price range)?

I wish active speakers offered remote volume controls (then you could feed full input signal from any CDP or avoid the crummy digital volume controls of most that are equipped with volume controls).

[michaelhigh]

For those that have heard these what did you think? I want to upgrade my desktop speakers and am interested in these...as well as the new AudioEngine's, JBL....the list goes on and on and on.

Try KRK's, easily sourced at any Guitar Center, and they have matched subs as well. If I needed an integrated system for studio use or didn't use a dedicated audio system for computer audio as I do, I'd choose KRK for aesthetics, SQ, and price, and I'd track and mix a CD on them too, given the need.

[hometheaterdoc]

I wish active speakers offered remote volume controls (then you could feed full input signal from any CDP or avoid the crummy digital volume controls of most that are equipped with volume controls).

It's not quite the same thing... but the new Audio Engine A5+ comes with a remote, doesn't it? 

One other option for powered speakers with remote:  Kanto speakers - http://www.kantospeakers.com/  My neighbor down the street bought a set of these and I was shocked at how good they are, especially for the price..  he said they took 10+ days of 24/7 play before them opened up and really started to sing.

As to the original poster, I've not got experience with the Emotiva powered speakers... it looks like a great design and I've been shocked by a couple air motion type tweeter speakers I've heard recently...  The Martin Logan Motion 12 speakers that Newegg was blowing out for $550 a pair delivered just absolutely floored me with how good they were.  just absolutely stupid good for the blowout price... I couldn't believe it.... I still can't... and their implementation of an air motion type tweeter was a large part of that performance.....  Emotiva seems to fit a tremendous amount of value into a package for what seems like a pittance compared to the competition at their price points.  I've had positive interactions with the company in the past.  For the cost of shipping, you can give them a whirl in your system...  that's the only way you'll really know what they sound like....

[Doublej]

Yeah it would be really nice to have a remote on these but to date I have only seen remotes on powered speakers such as Aktimate, Quad and AudioEngine.

[Rclark]

What's the thought on these things? They look pretty impressive for an inexpensive speaker, to me at least. Actually, for Emotiva they're not that cheap. $799 monitors with a claimed performance of beating twice that.

 If they are designed to go with their next gen dac, I bet they sound really good.

[Doublej]

First review is out. Does Steve hand out superlatives like candy on Halloween or is more like Scrooge?


http://news.cnet.com/8301-13645_3-57367525-47/emotivas-astonishing-desktop-speaker/?tag=txt;title

[Rclark]

Huh, he really likes them. Said they tear Audioengine a new one. I've never seen this type of tweeter used before so very intriguing. He seemed to really like the tweet.

Might pick up a pair during their 4th of July sale this coming summer if the reviews stay positive. Could always use some desktop speakers and these look killer.

[lowtech]

I wonder if QMS makes them for ML too.

http://www.qmsaudio.com/products.asp

[Letitroll98]

I wonder if QMS makes them for ML too.

http://www.qmsaudio.com/products.asp

Good find lowtech.  I suspected Emotiva didn't manufacture any of their own speakers.

[Rclark]

From what I understand they own the factory or have some sort of control and are very active in other parts of the Asian audio market. I think those must be licensed. I know the Reference line and the previous reference line are designed by some name brand guy, Vance Dickason, I believe. Anyway, not sure about the Airmotive line, however.

[fredgarvin]

a friend uses the A.D.A.M. monitor in his studio. They sound great, and look similar to the Air Motive, $329 at musiciansfriend:

http://www.adam-audio.com/en/pro-audio/products/a3x/technical-data




Note, they are front-ported, a good thing imo, for nearfield.

[JLM]

I'm not much impressed with any desktop speaker (the whole scenario is a turn off for me, either go full room or headphones IMO).

Anyway, for a really one stop solution look at avihifi.com.  the ADM9T provides 2 optical inputs with 24/192 DAC, 1 analog input, subwoofer output, volume control, 75 watt tweeter amp, 150 watt woofer amp, and remote.  $1865/pair at current exchange rates.

http://www.avihifi.co.uk/adm9.html

BTW, lots of good ideas in the recent $2000 active floorstander thread for active monitors.

[jlafrenz]

I haven't listened to any other powered monitors, but I enjoy my AirMotiv 5's. I just have them connected to a uDac and on my desktop computer. I leave the volume all the way up on the monitors and control my listening volume with the DAC.

[JLM]

Yes, a 5 inch mid/woofer is the smallest I like seeing.  Any smaller and there can be a mid/bass gap when adding a sub.

The use of Heil tweeter and their prices make the AirMotiv series attractive.