Asus VE247H 24-Inch Full-HD LED Backlight LCD Monitor with Integrated Speakers

Asus VE247H 24-Inch Full-HD LED Backlight LCD Monitor with Integrated Speakers..

GET Asus VE247H 24-Inch Full-HD LED Backlight LCD Monitor with Integrated Speakers By Asus

Most helpful customer reviews

51 of 54 people found the following review helpful.
Great Monitor for a Great Price
By Dattucha
Just got it a couple of weeks ago and so far I'm very happy with it. The screen is bright and beautiful (LED technology) and it comes with an HDMI connection. And all the specs are good.

As always, the built-in speakers are completely useless - sound like crap (I still don't get why they even bother putting it in). I gotta say the vertical viewing angle is not the greatest (looking up at the screen is slightly darker...looking down at it brighter). But then again it's very much a standard for monitors in this price range.

In the end, there's one thing you have to keep in mind: while it's probably one of the very best monitors you can get for under $200 (if not THE)...it's not exactly the best monitor money can buy. Having done my research, the ones starting $400-$500 range are basically in a different ballpark. So you pretty much get what you pay for. And in this case, for this price, you get PLENTY...in fact WAY MORE than you ever could before. So if you're cool with not having "the best" for now...and need a good monitor for cheap - this is the one. For sure.

77 of 87 people found the following review helpful.
Inverse ghosting
By G. Carter
Type VE247H into google and one of the suggested completions will be 'ghosting fix'. This monitor uses something called "Overdrive" to make the response time 2ms instead of 5ms. The result is 'inverse ghosting' -- basically, black font on a white background will leave a 'trail.' The only way to fix this is to go into the service menu by holding the power button and menu button (while the monitor is off), then pressing the menu button again (once the monitor is on), and setting 'OD' to off. Sadly, this has to be done everytime you switch inputs or turn the monitor off. Very annoying, avoid the VE24x series at all costs. Asus has no fix for this nor any plans to remedy the situation.

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful.
Perfect for the price - ASUS VE247H
By H. Lie
I have been using it for a month. It is sharp, bright and color is great!

The initial setting is just too bright. There is a mode button to toggle from Standard, to Theater, to ... . All of them are too bright.

I use the Standard mode, and change the brightness to 60%, and contrast to 60%. It is looking good now. Agree with other reviewer that the light is rather directional, but it is the same for most low end LCD monitors. When I am viewing and adjusting photos, I just have to make sure my viewing position is correct.

It is a great product for that price range.

See all 149 customer reviews...More...

Logitech Surround Sound Speakers Z506

Logitech Surround Sound Speakers Z506..

Grab Now Logitech Surround Sound Speakers Z506 By Logitech

Most helpful customer reviews

241 of 252 people found the following review helpful.
Perfect for the TV in your small bedroom! Updated with more info (1/31/11)
By Ryan
I usually don't write reviews for products on here, but I felt compelled to after receiving the Logitech Z506 surround sound system.
***UPDATE*** (at the bottom)

PROS:
~SUPER easy to set-up, everything matches up by color.
~Sound quality is superb compared to a lot of systems in this price range, especially for a 5.1 system.
~Base is FANTASTIC! I honestly can't get over how awesome the subwoofer is, and best of all -- NO DISTORTION!
~Since this is a tweeted system, you don't get distortion from the speakers like you would with a lot of other systems in this price range.
~RCA capable (meaning you can directly connect it to your Audio Out on the back of the TV).
~The ported down idea Logitech did for the subwoofer truely does make it fill the room (even at >50watts).
~Great bang for the buck.

CONS:
~Wires can be a bit short, even for a small room.
~No controller.

So if you're like me and are planning to use this in a small room, I highly recommend this system; you can't go wrong!

****UPDATE****
After having owned this system for a little over 4 months, I have decided that.....this system is still fantastic!

If you're hooking this bad-boy up to a TV, simply plug the RCA (red/black) cables into the back of the subwoofer, then the other end (3.5mm headphone) to the headphone jack on your TV. Easy peezy :)

If you're hooking it up to a computer, simply plug the PC wires (not sure on the technical term, but they're the green, yellow, and black cords/wires) into the back of the subwoofer, as well as your PC. To get the surround sound effect (5.1) you will need to make sure your sound software is up to date. From there right click on your "speakers" (located under Control Panel > Hardware and Sound > Right click on Speakers) and you can adjust your settings to 5.1.

I hope this has been helpful! Go buy this system today, it's fan-freakin'-tastic!

200 of 223 people found the following review helpful.
Very Good Sound for Price but sparse directions
By bunnyrabbit4
For $[...] bucks these speakers sound great, but I did have to figure out how to hook them up with no help from Logitech's directions. Since I bought these to use with a program that creates 5.1 surround music, I quickly noticed that simply plugging them into to the matching color recepticles on my new Windows 7 machine did not work. I got sound out of all the speaker but it was not 5.1 surround. When I began shifting the sound to different speakers it was clear that something wasn't right. I could isolate the rear speakers almost totally but nothing else. I tried every combination of jacks (my computer is capable of 7.1 and has several extra jacks) but had little success. Something was always missing!! I then started searching the control panel of my new Windows 7 machine for answers. I found that the first mistake I'd made was plugging all the jacks in at once and turning on the unit. They had to be assigned one by one..

Here is how I set up the system on a Windows 7 Ultimate, Desktop Dell machine with 7.1 surround. First....Do not plug any of the jacks into the computer yet.

Go to the control panel and open the Audio Manager. In the case of my Dell it was the Realtek HD Audio Manger. A picture of a living room with speakers appears. Plug the Orangish/Yellow jack from the Logitech into the matching recepticle on the Computer. A pop-up asks you which speakers you want to serve that jack. Click on Center/Subwoofer. Click on the picture of the center speaker and subwoofer. They should make a sound. Follow the same procedure for the GREEN Jack. Assign FRONT SPEAKERS out to that one. Lastly assign your BLACK to the REAR SPEAKERS. ALl of your speakers should now work independantly and sound great.

HDTV..., several of you have asked about using these with TV's. The first question to ask is, what does your TV have in terms of audio output jacks? Increasingly TV's are cutting way back on the types of output jacks offered. You can run two types of input here, stereo mini like your ipod headphones (does your TV have a headphone OUT jack??)or RCA OUT(normal stereo jacks). Some TV's may only output to HDMI. There is no HDMI input jack here. If you have HDMI OUT it should carry your sound and picture to an AV tuner. Check out this system Yamaha YHT-395BL Complete 5.1-Channel Home Theater System for an idea of what is available. I do not own this system but it gives you an idea of the connections. I haven't looked to see if other "speaker only" sets offer HDMI input. I use these only with my computer.

One work around for some of you might be if your cable box has RCA audio out. If you run your cable THROUGH your DVD player it should still have an RCA AUDIO OUT that you may be able to use. You can also use them just to play your DVD's if your player has RCA out, but mute the TV sound because your TV will process the sound slightly faster making it sound like there is an echo.

102 of 120 people found the following review helpful.
Best speakers you'll find in this price range -- by far!
By Derek G
I absolutely love, love, love these speakers! It's important your system is set up for six speakers but assuming it is I can say with confidence these will be the best speakers you will find in this price range. Check my reviews and you'll know I'm not gushy about products -- many people whine that I'm too harsh.

Here is an important consideration, make sure your system has the speaker jacks AND the drivers to enable six-speakers, even when you are playing a stereo recording. Otherwise you will find yourself disappointed that the sound is coming just from the left and right speakers and maybe the subwoofer. Just because you have connections for the separate components doesn't guarantee surround sound. Fortunately, most recently built computers have the technology built-in so this warning applies mostly to people with older systems. A quick and easy way to know for sure is to check to see if your computer has Dolby Home Theater built-in. It's not easy to find (Start Button\Control Panel\Sound\Playback\Speaker Properties in Windows 7) but enabling Dolby Pro Logic or Dolby Digital will allow you to enjoy immersive sound even when listening to stereo. If you don't have the speaker jacks, for example just a standard speaker and microphone jack, then you can purchase add-in cards like the Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi.

I was tempted to knock off a star for two reasons. One, I've become used to a separate "control pod" which handles things like the volume, bass and power control without having to reach for the speakers. Unfortunately, this is not included so you'll have to get used to using those multimedia buttons on your keyboard if your right speaker is out of reach and you'll have to go digging under your desk to adjust the bass level. I figure this was a tradeoff made to keep the price low. My other gripe is that, common to most surround speakers for computers, the length of the cable to the rear speakers is going to be too short to be of any benefit unless you want cables in the way. Fortunately, the connectors are standard RCA so a male-to-female extension cable will get the extra length you need if you're trying to run them in a manner that will allow you to hide the cable.

In spite of these gripes, I still think they are five-star speakers, again with the caveat that Dolby Home Theater is enabled. I say this because it really makes a huge difference and Dolby changes the sound from "decent" to "fantastic". I have not heard any of the buzzing others have mentioned, no speaker noise whatsoever, the bass sounds great - not muddy, and the highs are crisp without being shrill. I know it sounds like I'm shilling for Dolby more than the speakers but it's important that people know that once you get beyond stereo, decent sounding speakers are only half the equation; a good sound processor is equally important. It's why audiophiles obsess over their receiver just as much as their speakers.

This 75W system is plenty of power for a gaming computer, office, or bedroom but I wouldn't use it in a living room. Inputs are standard red/white RCA or the preferred green/yellow/black 3.5mm computers use. They're best used as computer speakers since you don't have a remote. Obviously these won't compare to high end THX speakers but they also don't have the high end price. If you're a gamer on a budget, I think you'll like these a lot.

Hope the review helped.

To answer other reviewers:
M. Churchill - You are right, the description is incorrect and this system uses a 5.25" ported subwoofer.
NYC reviewer - Most surround speakers do very little other than the ambient effects you described, especially during live broadcasts. Try to see if your TV has a 5 speaker stereo setting and it may give you the sound you were expecting. Try turning the built-in TV speakers off and the TV volume up to ~66% to eliminate the low volume issue. Also make sure there isn't an audio setting for TV or audio out - with some TV's it's either/or. Ultimately, I do think these are better suited as computer speakers than home theater speakers.
Ryan and others - Regarding buzzing, while it's certainly possible you got bad speakers, buzzing is almost always caused by electrical interference. Try moving the speaker wires around, especially away from power strips or electric wall-warts and see if the buzzing changes in any way. There may be an unshielded culprit causing the noise. As I write this I have my speakers maxed with zero noise.

See all 658 customer reviews...More...

Soundsoul Music Fountain Mini Amplifier Dancing Water Speakers I-station7 Apple Speakers (black)

Soundsoul Music Fountain Mini Amplifier Dancing Water Speakers I-station7 Apple Speakers (black)..

Buy Soundsoul Music Fountain Mini Amplifier Dancing Water Speakers I-station7 Apple Speakers (black) By SoundSOUL

Most helpful customer reviews

165 of 177 people found the following review helpful.
These are so AWESOME!
By Zarni
I have been looking for this type of speaker for so long in my local stores but they are always out of stock. Im very skeptical about buying anything online, so i was nervous at first. And after reading some of the other reviews, i wasnt expecting an awesome product. But, i got them in.. and they are so cool! They work perfectly! When i first plugged them in i thought the sound quality was horrible, until i realized the plug wasnt in all the way (oops lol). But they are seriously my favorite speakers. Even all the way up, mine never crackle. One thing i didnt realize is that they come with a usb to plug them into a computer for the power, but i didnt have one available when i first got them. But my phone charger is one with the usb plug in it. So i hooked it up to there and plugged it in the wall and it works that way. Im thinking about buying some more as presents. This was originally supposed to be for my boyfriends birthday, but he broke up with me as they were shipping. So, yay for me! :) i highly recommend these.

46 of 52 people found the following review helpful.
Dancing water
By Pen Name
LOVED IT, My granddaughter was so excited when the water started to dance to the Music. Kept her entertain for hours

90 of 115 people found the following review helpful.
Discrepancy with brand name; reviewing what I got
By jukey_23
First off - I am reviewing the Atake speakers...not the Soundsoul ones pictured in this listing, because that is what I was sent instead.
This was going to be a problem, but the seller (soundsoul) took care of the customer. I contacted the seller and they explained that soundsoul and atake were the same brand. Not sure how that works but I was taken care of either way, so...
However, I suggest you contact the seller FIRST to ensure you receive the speakers with the soundsoul logo on them. I have no idea if there is a difference in quality or not. I didn't pursue the soundsould speakers afterwards.
But I did test the Atakes out; and I did a comparison of these vs the ones on sale at Spencers.
Let's keep in mind that the Atakes were sold for $30 vs $50 at Spencers.

So the first thing you will notice is that the Spencers ones (appears to be THEIR brand...could be wrong; didn't see any other brand/logo) come with a wall adapter; the Atakes don't.
The thing is that you have to have a USB power source for these speakers - usually from a pc/laptop's usb port to the speaker. If you don't have a laptop (yes, there are some people that don't...like my little cousin who I bought these for) you'll have to figure something out. You could use a cellphone charger, but the port on the speaker is a USB mini b 5-pin type (thanks 'cables to go' for helping me identify)...so depending on what port your cell phone has, you still might be out of luck and end up having to purchase an additional piece of hardware (some kind of adapter or something).
I think this may be the reason the Spencers ones are a bit more expensive. The wall adapter is quite handy and allows you to use the speakers without being handcuffed to a computer.
Past that, there are a few small differences to note.
There is a difference with how the speakers and the music sync. Really, one wasn't better than the other. Just different.
For example, I played (Fallin' Like) Dominoes by Donald Byrd on both. Spencers danced to the snare and the highhat...Atake danced to all four beats. Some people might like one over the other...but honestly, after all the instruments come in and the song takes off, both really lose any kind of synchronization. But its to be expected. I mean, shooting water can't really reflect each nuance. Its not like the technology is there to allow the speakers to differ between a kick drum and a high falsetto chorus.
As far as sound goes, I am surprised at both. They sound kinda like laptop speakers that have Beats audio...but a tad better.
I mean they can't bump like high quality book case speakers, or a Bose sound system. What you're paying for is the light show. The audio is icing on the cake.
Bass is there.
Highs are there.
Mids aren't erased.
Very serviceable. I think most people will be satisfied with the sound.
Overall looks - they are both the same size. If you can't visualize the dimensions posted, think of a 1-liter bottled water. There you go.
Desktop speakers, basically - or they would look neat on a book shelf. The Atakes I got were white and looked nice, glossy and shiny. The Spencers were black in a kind of rubberized material; not shiny/glossy but still looked sleek and cool.
I know there seems to be a few different brands floating around - even Thinkgeek has theirs.
So keep in mind you don't get a wall adapter with the Atakes and you do with the Spencers. Music syncs differently between the units...NOT better than one or the other. The material they are made of (the base) is different as well. Those are the only differences outside of about $20 more for the Spencers ones.
Apparently though, Spencers has a warranty on theirs that as long as you have the receipt, they will replace the speakers if they ever break. I asked the associate how long that's good for, she said "Just as long as you have the receipt..." Ok, hmm.
This is the reason I still haven't made my decision yet.

See all 593 customer reviews...More...

Pyle PL63BL 6.5-Inch 360-Watt 3-Way Speakers (Pair)

Pyle PL63BL 6.5-Inch 360-Watt 3-Way Speakers (Pair)..

Grab Now Pyle PL63BL 6.5-Inch 360-Watt 3-Way Speakers (Pair) By Pyle

Most helpful customer reviews

130 of 145 people found the following review helpful.
Excellent Sound
By JRD
Don't be fooled by the low price. I thought I would purchase these speakers to replace some stock speakers in my truck. I really didn't think they would sound as good as they do, but I did think they would be better then the stock units I had.

They sound great! The lows, mids and highs are very clear.

What a bargain, price was perfect and they sound great.

I have bought more expensive speakers in the past, and these sounded just as good as them if not better.

72 of 85 people found the following review helpful.
These speakers will satisfy 99% of all users, the price is great
By M. Zulauf
The quality and performance of these speakers is outstanding. The speaker itself is structurally sound and well manufactured. The performance is very good. The bass/midrange is powerful and tight (not muddled or soupy), the treble is very clear and crisp. For the price, these can't be beat. Unless you demand the best of the best, these are your speakers. Otherwise, you probably wouldn't be looking at these speakers anyway. I'm buying more for my other cars. They are great upgrades from factory speakers.

130 of 164 people found the following review helpful.
Cheap, but if you like bass, think twice
By A. Sangha
No one will argue that these speakers are cheap, but you get what you pay for. They are actually quite good on the highs and mid-range and if that's all you need (ie. if you have a seperate sub-woofer or don't listen to music with much bass) then you can't beat the value. But trust me, if you listen to music with any significant amount of bass these speakers will start to distort at mid-volume level and just sound bad any louder than that. I checked the tech specs. and found the frequency response only goes down to about 90Hz vs other higher-end speakers which generally go down to 30-50Hz.

See all 913 customer reviews...More...

Asus VE278Q 27-Inch Full-HD LED Monitor with Integrated Speakers

Asus VE278Q 27-Inch Full-HD LED Monitor with Integrated Speakers..

Grab Now Asus VE278Q 27-Inch Full-HD LED Monitor with Integrated Speakers By Asus

Most helpful customer reviews

251 of 256 people found the following review helpful.
Amazing Visual Fidelity
By Tyler M. P.
I've been shopping around for a new monitor for quite some time. I always do my research before making a purchase, and it was no different with this monitor.

Having been a past ASUS component owner who is impressed with the quality and innovation in their products, I ended up searching around for quite a while only to come back to them.

I started out with quite a list of features I was looking for in a monitor, and I wasn't sure I could find any monitor that could satisfy the list of essential features. But then I found the VE278Q.

The monitor has everything I wanted in a top of the line monitor, and it delivers in every way exceptionally well. I'll do a pros and cons list first, then round this out with more info:

PROS:
+Excellent color quality - very rich and accurate color when calibrated.
+Super fast - no ghosting.
+Even lighting - no backlight bleeding.
+Wide range of input options, and audio options.
+Very bright, instant on with no warm up time, and outstanding contrast.
+Solid range of adjustments, video modes, and display capabilities.
+Anti-glare coating removes nearly all glare.
+Price is low for such quality monitor.
+No dead pixels.
+Very good max viewing angles with minimal color distortion
+Decent internal speakers that don't waste visible space if you don't need them.

CONS:
-I can't really think of any

RATING:
VALUE: 10
FEATURES: 10
SETTINGS: 9
QUALITY: 10
DESIGN: 10
OVERALL: 9.8

ADDITIONAL INFO:

**** Input options:

HDMI, Display Port, DVI, and RGB inputs - an outstanding range of input options. It also has a stereo audio input that will output sound from the internal speakers, which I might add aren't half bad for a display thats so thin. They don't have much distortion even at max volume (which is pleasingly loud), and thanks to internal Bass and Treble settings you can make them sound pretty good, though still not as good as a dedicated desktop system. I didn't expect much from them, but I was surprised. There is also a line out jack that works wonders for HDMI content. I currently have audio coming from my PS3 (along with 1080P video) in a different room through an HDMI splitter into this monitor, going out the line out on the monitor and into the line in on my PC, which then outputs the sound to my high quality desktop speakers that are connected to my PC (this lets me share audio between the two). The way it handles HDMI audio is a truly outstanding bonus, and it really made this monitor far more useful to me as a secondary display for my other HDMI entertainment devices.

**** Video options:

The display features customizable "Splendid" picture modes (5 total, with sRGB being raw, and non-configurable), sharpness adjustment, "Trace Free" which attempts to remove any additional ghosting as far as I can tell, and ASCR (ASUS Super Contrast Ratio) which is available as an option for all display modes except sRGB and "Standard", and AI Light which adjusts the back light to a balanced level with the room lighting.

Of those options I use the following settings. I set Sharpness down from 50 to 40 to give the display a nice smooth look for reading text, and it works very well, since the display is otherwise one of the sharpest I have seen. I set "Trace Free" to 0, since with a 2ms response time, ghosting is essentially nonexistent (this monitor is fast!). I leave ASCR on, since it really does do an amazing thing for gaming - the display can literally go pitch black when a dark scene is on the screen, and then within 1-2 seconds ramp up to eye burning max brightness when needed. AI Light works great, but it should be noted that it is only available when ASCR is disabled, since both cause adjustment of the LED lighting.

The monitor has no gamma adjustment, but it does feature custom color temperature settings with an R/G/B adjustment menu along with some presets (Cool/Normal/Warm). My current settings for R/G/B are R: 83, G: 76, B: 69 to make it match the calibrated output tone of my top of the line theater projector. I set color to 43 for all modes to prevent clipping, and contrast to 67 to keep color tone balance consistent across the entire grayscale, and again prevent clipping. It looks very, very nice with a bit of adjustment. Uncharacteristically warm for an LCD, in a good way. I've always been a fan of the warm, smooth, fast look of CRT's. This monitor is the first one I've seen that I could say matches and exceeds all of those characteristics.

**** More features:

Picture in picture works excellent, allowing you to move the smaller image window and change its size. You can have picture in picture from one of the other inputs that you aren't currently using as a primary for the entire screen. Audio tone adjustments allow you to make audio from the internal speakers sound pretty great for internal speakers in my opinion, and if nothing else they give you some freedom to tweak the sound coming from your HDMI line thats coming out to your speakers or headphones. The buttons on the bottom of the display are hidden well, which I like, and offer quick access to PIP, backlight brightness, speaker volume, input, and Splendid modes. Overall I love the ease of access and the audio/video features of this monitor. Its uncommon to find many of these features in a PC oriented display.

**** Design/quality:

The design of the monitor is very nice. I love that the screen is antiglare, and the entire monitor is glossy. It really makes the image look raw and undisturbed in contrast to the glossy exterior. Its great. The backlighting is extremely bright if you want it to be, instantly lit with no warm up, has a very neutral color tone (I expected the typical LED blue hue), and lights the screen very evenly without any bleeding at the edges. It also makes little to no heat, no hum, and shouldn't dim over time like traditional CCFL panels. The display controls are hidden pretty well, but are easy to access when needed. The speakers output audio from grills on the top of the monitor, and sound pretty decent. The AI Light sensor sits at the top of the monitor between the two speakers. The base is very sturdy and actually looks pretty nice. It has as much tilt range as I've found myself needing. The monitor has well placed 100mm x 100mm VESA mount holes as well, which I plan to utilize very soon.

OTHER NOTES:

+Gamma was hard to pin down to 2.2, since out of the box it sits at about 1.8 (This could be related to my default ICC profile, as there is no driver disk with the monitor).

+Yellow push was visible in skin tones out of the box, though there is a skin tone setting to adjust around this a bit (This could also be related to my monitor ICC profile).

+I loved this monitor so much that as soon as I used it for a week, I purchased a second one. If there are noticeable differences between both monitors I will make note of it here.

UPDATE - December 9th, 2010:

As noted above, I have returned to report if there were any differences between the first VE278Q and the second one that just arrived today. I'm very pleased to say that they are visibly identical in all but completely black scenes (there is a slightly different spread on the back lighting between them). The color tone is within 100K of the original at the same settings. There are again, no dead/stuck pixels or sub pixels. Call me impressed. With extended desktop between these two identical monitors, I now have an outstanding work station. Hope this review helps others! If Amazon gets some more of these in, I may get one more for my other desktop - these are too good to pass up.

77 of 78 people found the following review helpful.
Best Choice For Me
By Phil Rosenbach
This is the third monitor I have used with my new computer, which was purchased in late November, 2012. I confess, that at best, I'm a simple man and not a techie, so I wanted a good monitor for my simple means. I use Photoshop, read and create a lot of documents, play some games, and watch YouTube, as well as the occasional DVD on this computer. For these uses, this monitor ranks far above what I really need, but at least by having this now, I have some room to grow with as my needs change. Granted, I don't know enough to be as nit picky as some people are, but I can attest to this, based on the other two monitors I tested, this has so far proved to be a solid, superior monitor.

PROS:
It has a 2ms response time. This pretty much eliminates blur on fast action videos and games. BUT, you need to have a fast graphics card as well for fast response time.

The screen is matte / non-glare. This was crucial for my needs.

My eyesight isn't all that great even with my glasses, but I can say that this monitor is very crisp and clear. I no longer have to hunch forward to read fuzzy lettering.

It has various inputs, VGA, DVI, HDMI, so this will work with older computers, as well as the newest ones.

There is an option for the monitor's photo sensor to recognize the light of the room, and adjust itself accordingly. Note: This option has to be selected in the menu.

This monitor allows for Picture In Picture. I don't have a use for it, but some of you may desire this feature.

The cords can be routed through the arm of the base which will make everything look more tidy.

It has a VESA mount, so if you want to attach an upgraded monitor stand or wall mount, you can.

It arrived in perfect condition. No dead pixels, no scratches, no worries.

IT HAS A 3 YEAR WARRANTY! This was a high sell point for me.

CONS:
The menu for adjusting the screen is less than helpful, but some trial and error will eventually get you to change the settings if you need to. Personally, I just had to turn down the brightness, and that was good enough for me.

It does NOT come with a manual or an installation CD. Sometimes the CD will include the manual, but again, you don't even get the disc. However, you can download the manual from their website. After doing so, the only useful thing I got out of that was learning how to navigate through the menu buttons.

MY BOTTOM LINE: In my humble opinion, I have to say that this monitor is of superb quality to the average / above average consumer. As I said before, this was the third monitor for my computer, and it would seem that 3rd time was the charm.

Thank you for reading this review, and I hope it was of help to you. If so, please click the "YES" tab so that Amazon and I will know that at least I did something which was of use to someone else. And if you have any additional questions, feel free to ask me. I don't know much, but what I do know I'll be happy to share with others.

110 of 118 people found the following review helpful.
Great except for DisplayPort
By djdanlib
PROS:
* Looks fantastic on my desk. Big black glossy frame with a tame ASUS logo, and the lighted power button is stashed away where it's not obnoxious.
* Very crisp and bright.
* Very low power use due to LED backlight.
* The refresh time is excellent - no ghosting.
* sRGB mode looks great.
* PIP is excellent. PIP is essential for a system builder / troubleshooter - put your BIOS on the one PC in the PIP display, and research your settings on the other PC. You just can't understand how useful that is until you've tried it.
* Matte finish on the display panel is excellent, and you can use it in the daytime if you have a window next to your desk.
* Many connections! It has HDMI, DVI and VGA ports that work great, and a headphone jack.
* Actual buttons protrude from the bottom lined up with tiny white icons on the front make the UI easy to use.

CONS:
* This is the big one but if you're not using DisplayPort, ignore it and consider this monitor at least a 4/5. When you use the DisplayPort connection, which you will probably use if you have an ATI Radeon 6xxx series card, you have to cut the signal first before powering off. That means you need to wait for your PC to power off before you power off the monitor. If you don't do this, the power button LED will turn violet / purple (which is not acknowledged as a state that it can enter in the manual) and you will no longer be able to turn the display back on. To resolve the problem, you have to disconnect the DisplayPort cable and the power cable, wait a few seconds, reconnect the power cable, turn the monitor on, and then reconnect the DisplayPort cable. This is a major hassle.
* The stand it comes with is a little weedy. Specifically, it doesn't hold up well to the trains that rumble by my apartment complex. It wobbles side-to-side pretty fiercely. Granted, a large CRT monitor wobbles a little bit, but not nearly this much. It takes a second to stop moving if you adjust it. You can use a VESA mount, though.
* Does not come with a DisplayPort cable. Cheap ones are what, $10? They could have thrown one in there if they were going to advertise the DisplayPort connectivity in the top 5 bullet points.
* PIP has an odd restriction on which ports you can use simultaneously.
* This is a TN panel, not IPS. This becomes a problem at large sizes because when you sit centered at arms' length in front of it, you can sort of see "negative black" towards the sides. Any other large TN panel would have this problem too, so it's not counting against the score. If you're used to a laptop you probably won't care about this because you're used to it by now.

See all 244 customer reviews...More...

M-Audio Studiophile AV 40 Active Studio Monitor Speakers

M-Audio Studiophile AV 40 Active Studio Monitor Speakers..

Special Price M-Audio Studiophile AV 40 Active Studio Monitor Speakers By M-Audio

Most helpful customer reviews

236 of 257 people found the following review helpful.
Great sound quality, but the right speaker broke in about a year.
By Curious Reader
I'm using these as computer speakers for
Pandora, mp3s and DAW software;
and I am enjoying the sound quality.

For the sake of informing potential buyers,
I'll say:

With a 'normal' at home computer set-up,
these are very large compared to
'normal' computer speakers,
so keep that in mind.
It's the trade off for superior sound,
and not needing a sub-woofer,
or a large box shaped
power adapter plug spanning 2-3 outlets.
These have a basic electrical plug (like a table lamp).

I have these speakers pointing straight ahead,
with the tops of them around heart level,
and they sound fine.
However, it is recommended by M-Audio
that you have them at ear level,
and angled to make an equilateral triangle with your head.
I would say it's good advice, if you can pull that off.

The main speaker with the connections / volume is the left speaker.

You have two options for connecting these speakers
with your computer.
The standard 3.5mm to 3.5mm cable,
which plugs into 'Aux in' on the front of the left speaker;
or 3.5mm to RCA which plugs into the back of the left speaker.
Both cables are included.

If your computer room gets hot
you might want to turn these off
when you don't need them;
because the left speaker produces a noticeable
amount of heat from the back,
after being on for hours.
Honestly, it's the same amount
that those big box power adapters
emit; the only difference is that it's coming
from the location of your speaker.

== Update ==
10/8/2012
===========

The right speaker stopped producing sound,
on 9/21/2012, a little over a year after purchase.
A month or so prior to this
the right speaker started to produce a
crackling sound if I changed the volume
(using the knob on the left speaker)
while listening to music.

When I emailed m-audio about this the reply was a list of
repair centers that I could contact for a "non-warranty repair".
I called the one nearest to me, and they said it would be $35 to start
and then $75 per hour, plus parts. That's not going to happen...

I want to do business with a company that is
utterly fascinated about why their product stopped working;
especially when it is a recurring case, which we can see from the reviews here.
M-audio doesn't seem to care.

4 stars for the sound quality I enjoyed for a year.
-2 stars for breaking shortly after the warranty expired.

113 of 124 people found the following review helpful.
Excellent, but might not be what you think it is.
By Matthew J. Gavin
My buddy has a pair of M Audio AV 30's, and whenever I would go to his house, I would think, dang, I wish my music sounded like that. Flat. Smooth. Not kicking up the bass, not distorting at moderately loud volumes. It just sounds good. It doesn't hurt your ears. It's a pleasure, like looking at a beautiful painting, when you listen to good music through good speakers. These are built for mastering music in a studio, but as far as studio monitors go, they're dirt cheap. Most professionals have something nicer than these, but as someone who only listens to music, with a budget, these are loads better than most computer speakers you'll find at best buy or whatever.

So, what the heck I thought, the AV 40's are ten dollars more, I'll go with those. They just came in today and I'm very happy with them. I have an Audio Technica ATLP 120 USB vinyl turntable currently playing Sigur Ros' album Inni, and everything is crystal clear. At low volumes, you can still make out detail. At high volumes, there's no distortion (until you crank it up to the very max... but nothing's built for that, really). Upgrading from a cheapo sony boombox to this is like night and day.

This isn't for you if you need something to fill an entire living room. I'm in a dorm room and it's great for that.

This isn't going to rattle the floors with bass and get the ladies to remove articles of clothing to little wayne. This isn't built for that, and you'll be disappointed when this doesn't have disproportionate thumpability or the ability to tweak EQ settings. Everything sounds flat. The vocals get the same attention to detail that the drums, guitar, and flute do.

This is self powered, which means you don't need an outside amp or receiver in order to make these things make noise, which is good. I was striving to keep the number of things I needed to a minimum. This does the trick. If I tried to hook these up to a separate subwoofer or amplifier, I do not think they would interface well. Keep that in mind.

One thing you need to be aware of is that these are the SECOND VERSION of the item. Notice that these go for $100 on Amazon, and the previous version goes for $150. These are the differences I have noticed:

1) These DO NOT allow you to manually select the voltage they take in. (So if you want to take these to Europe, you can't flick a switch like on the previous version. You'll need to buy a transformer.)

2) These DO NOT have a 'bass boost' switch. This isn't an issue. These things are FLAT and that's the way most people who buy them want it. But know coming in that you won't have the bass booster the previous version had.

3) These DO NOT have a detachable power cord. I think the size is sufficient, but I'm the kind of guy who likes detachable power cords. I think it's unfortunate they took it away. If something goes wrong with the power cable, I can't just buy a new one, it has to get replaced or repaired. Very sneaky, Avid!

4) These DO NOT take in 40 volts of power (20 per speaker). They actually take in 30 volts of power (15 per speaker). Does this make a difference? I think they sound fine. I was initially concerned, but one of Avid representatives on their forum commented that this was "a typo", and that they do, indeed, take in 40v. I don't have the equipment to test this myself. My theory is that they either understated the voltage (because this is better than overstating it), or that they changed the design to be more energy efficient. Or maybe it actually was a typo, but I don't believe that.

The previous design was prone to have overheating issues (remember, the amplifier is literally built into the speaker). If lowering the voltage, making design changes to the power cable connection, and taking away the power selection switch all make the new model more efficient and less prone to failure, that's awesome. As far as I'm concerned, if this was the only available model of the item, my first thoughts wouldn't be to include those things. They're fine as is, and $50 cheaper for it.

I have not had ANY trouble with this product. It sounds as fantastic as I had hoped it would. It was incredibly easy to set up. It does not heat at all, and the volume is consistent across both speakers.

Do not throw out the comic book style instruction manual that comes with the product. It explains the importance of triangulation when setting them up into position, and provides information on how to set up a room for maximum musical enjoyment.

MANY people across the internet have reported problems with *THE ORIGINAL* av 40 speakers, as well as the *MARK II* av 30 speakers. If you intend on buying either the new or old av 30 or av 40 speakers, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND you do additional research on device failures before you decide to purchase.

After doing some reading, I would have not bought these had it not been for Amazon's competitive price point and return policy. I'd say I took a slight gamble that these might not have worked. Save yourself trouble, either buy from the guy across the street in the brick and mortar store where you can negotiate a price and return policy, or buy from Amazon (and not a third party dealer... trying to do returns with them is not as painless as with Amazon themselves).

What else is there to say? If this is what you're looking for, buy em. If you need something nicer for actual studio work, skip em. If you don't like your music crisp, and tweak your EQ settings in your car to +5 treble and +5 bass while effectively flipping the bird to the mid end, skip em. If you need something that interfaces passively with a receiver, skip em. I don't regret this purchase at all. If anyone scoffs at you, and says, "You paid $100? You got ripped off, my $15 logitech speakers work just fine", they haven't listened to these.

111 of 126 people found the following review helpful.
Hey Amazon! What the heck is a MK II AV40?
By James Fenton
This should be a good help to those with questions.

Having spent a full week researching desktop speakers to replace my old 5.1 Altec Lansing 2001 solution I decided upon the M-Audio Studiophile AV40s. The competition was a variety of Bose speakers promoted in a few trips to the local Best Buy store. I in fact bought one of the first Bose cube speaker systems in the early 80's, I considered strongly the Audioengine A2 offering. I had set a $200 soft target. The reviews for the AV40 exceeded that for other systems I considered. I have a few different systems in the house from a relatively recent home theater to a vintage stereo set up. The majority of my music has been converted to the FLAC format and I wanted a clear true sound that imaged well. This is a lot to expect for $200 speakers. I also hope to become a Spotify user but am yet to receive an invite. I use MOG and Napster also. As I was ready to check out for the $149 AV40's what should appear on my screen but the following:

There is a newer model of this item:
M-Audio Studiophile AV40 Powered Monitor Speakers M-Audio Studiophile AV40 Powered Monitor Speakers 4.5 out of 5 stars (22)
$114.99

What did this mean? Was I buying "obsolete" speakers. Were these "newer" speakers updated/better/more options/what? I went to the M-Audio web page and there was no mention of a "newer" model.
I held off the buy. In some web postings a MK II version of the AV30 was mentioned. Was this "newer" offering a MK II version of the AV40? Amazon did not mention this in the offering. Then a few postings from recent AV40 buyers mentioned that their new Amazon AV 40s did not have the bass boost option and 15 watt amps instead of the AV's 20 watt amps. When contacted M-Audio said "we do not make any AV40s with less than 20 watts per channel". Confusing, Yes. I would still like an answer from Amazon whether these are AV 40s specifically made to sell at a lower price point like the big box stores do with many of the products that they sell. And if so why was this not pointed out by Amazon. All that aside I did have a severe case of new speaker lust and decided to take a chance on the "newer" model AV 40s.
And guess what they are terrific. I can't compare whether I am missing something with 5 less watts per channel and no Bass boost, but what I have is very good at sound reproduction. I wish that Amazon comes out and openly addresses this issue.

PS. As good as the AV40's are my computer has an integrated sound card so I made a brilliant purchase of a $27 Behringer usb DAC adapter and now the sound is better than terrific. It sparkles. Close your eyes and there are no speakers. The vocals are front and center. One can hear sounds I even missed with my Ultimate Ears ear buds on my Cowon Flac player. The instruments stand out in time and space.

For $114 plus $27 I nearly have a concert hall on my desk.

See all 366 customer reviews...More...

Yamaha NS-AW150W 2-Way Outdoor Speakers (Pair, White)

Yamaha NS-AW150W 2-Way Outdoor Speakers (Pair, White)..

Grab Now Yamaha NS-AW150W 2-Way Outdoor Speakers (Pair, White) By Yamaha

Most helpful customer reviews

193 of 202 people found the following review helpful.
Buy These Speakers NOW!
By Patrick Michael
After doing a ton of research on outdoor speakers, I finally settled on these Yamahas, mainly because the price was so ridiculously low ($59.95 for the pair, including mounting hardware) that I felt I couldn't go wrong, especially since my next choice (Polk) would have cost me nearly twice as much.

I mounted these babies on the back wall of my house, about four feet apart, just under the eave, so that they pointed out at the deck. Although the mounting brackets are included, Yamaha does NOT include any screws to secure these brackets to the wall. I ended up using some 2-1/2 inch long wood screws...but your application may differ depending on how or with what your house is sided.

Yamaha also does NOT include speaker cable. I used some cheap 12-gauge stuff from Best Buy but 14 or 16-gauge lamp cord (also known as zip cord) from any hardware store will work just as well. Seeing as the speakers will be outside, I don't recommend the usual cheap, thin speaker cable that you normally see. Use the heavy stuff.

I hooked the Yamahas up to a Marantz 2240B receiver from the '70s and good God almighty, the sound is absolutely fantastic! Bass, you ask? The bass was so powerful, I had to turn the loudness control OFF! It seems that the location of the speakers up by the eave serves to reinforce the bass quite well, thank you.

Midrange comes through great. Both male and female vocals, as well as rock band stuff, is crystal clear. Nice highs as well. This system sounded so good that we ended up sitting outside until well after dark.

For something to sound as good as these speakers do, for as little money as I had to shell out, is absolutely fantastic. Highly recommended.

76 of 80 people found the following review helpful.
Great value for 95% of us.
By Walter
I read the excellent reviews for these speakers and was skeptical. However, the price was right so there wasn't much risk. So . . . I bought a pair. The reviews were spot on. They sound is terrific, the price was unbeatable, and look is very acceptable (even to my Interior Designer wife). Unless you are an audio perfectionist, you'll never get a better price/performance value.

50 of 55 people found the following review helpful.
look no further
By SK
I got them for less then 70$..and they sound as good as any 300+ outdoor speakers I have heard. Excellent value and great sound.

See all 470 customer reviews...More...