 The MA-20Ds are a solid pair of desktop monitors but lack the fullness of higher-end (and higher-priced) monitors.
These speakers have an amazingly clean sound. When I first listened to them, I could hear nuances of the cymbals and strings in certain songs that I never heard before. If you like to listen to acoustic, jazz, or classical music, these speakers are great. They also provide a clear representation of vocal tracks. Of course, the excellent clarity also means that poorly encoded MP3s sound even worse on these speakers, so beware!
While the speakers have a clean sound, it is not very full. The bass is shelved at 50 Hz and there is no sub output, so if you want booming bass, you won't get it with these speakers. There also seems to be a little to much presence in the mids, around 2 to 4 KHz, which I can EQ fine using my playback software, but I like it when speakers sound perfect with no EQ. Yes, I know, that is probably too much to ask.
The speakers are solidly built and look great from the sides and front. The control knobs as well as the headphone jack are all on the right speaker, which is standard procedure, as most people are right-handed. The bass and treble knobs are a nice feature, but don't treat the sound too well. Any adjustments that I make using the Bass and Treble knobs seem to make the sound worse. Back to using my software EQ, I guess.
The speakers have a huge array of inputs including RCA, 1/4" L & R, optical and coaxial inputs. The optical input is a nice, hot signal, but I can't control the volume on my computer with that connection, so I just use the RCA jacks. The 1/4" jacks have a separate volume control than the other inputs on the front of the right speaker. This would be helpful for mixing the input from a keyboard or other instrument with something else that is playing through the speakers.
These are great speakers for monitoring audio -- especially music that is heavy in vocals and other mid-range instruments. I wish there was a sub out so that I could monitor bass and kick drums better. But I suppose for the price, I can't complain. If you want monitors with a more full sound that sound as clean as these, you're going to have to spend a couple hundred dollars more.
In summary, the Edirol MA-20Ds are good desktop speakers that can be used for basic monitoring and mastering purposes. |
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