Friday, May 23,2008 @ 5:00pm
First Look: Alesis M1Active 320USB speakers
Notebook and all-in-one computers, such as the iMac, include built-in speakers that provide modest audio quality. Sometimes however, that quality muffles the true sound of your music or movies. For those who demand higher-quality audio without paying the price for high-end speakers, the $199 Alesis M1Active 320USB speakers may do the trick.
Physically, the Alesis speakers are 7.5 inches high, 6 inches deep, and 5 inches wide, making them small enough to carry and place in a convenient location. Both speakers weigh 7.5 pounds, and come with magnetic shielding to avoid interference from nearby computer monitors or television sets. For those who appreciate technical specifications:
Frequency response: 80Hz - 20kHz
Signal-to-noise ratio: 88dB weighted
Digital conversion: 16-bit delta sigma, 44.1kHz or 48kHz sampling rate
If these specs mean little to you, all you really need to know is that the audio from these boxy speakers is nothing short of superb, especially compared to the sound typically emitted from built-in speakers. Play your favorite song on ordinary options, and then play the same song on the Alesis models and the quality will be so startling that even the most untrained ear will notice the superiority of Alesis' efforts.
The front of the device provides a volume control knob with the added touch of a rubberized grip, making it easy to grasp and turn. To further modify audio output, the back of the speaker offers a Bass Boost switch. Turn it on when you want to emphasize bass frequencies, which can useful for playing music in a large room or when you want to hear a richer sound.
Connecting the speakers to any computer is easy. Just take the included USB cable, plug one end into the back and the other end into any USB 1.1 port, and you’ve connected the speakers to your computer without the need for any special drivers. This allows the speakers to work with any platform, including Windows, Mac OS X and Linux. After the speakers are hooked up, you just need to configure your OS to redirect sound through the USB port, and then you’re ready to go.
(Although you must plug the speakers into an electrical outlet, there’s still a chance that it might overpower a USB port. Alesis recommends that you plug the speakers directly into a USB port on your computer, rather than to a USB hub.)
If you don't want to play sound out loud, a headphone jack accepts any set with a 1/8-inch plug. Another handy feature is the AC voltage selector switch, located on the back of the unit; if you’re moving to another country with different power standards, this switch lets you choose between 220-240V or 100-120V.
All these features may provide more than enough incentive to buy, but the back of the Alesis also contains a 1/8-inch stereo input, two 1/4-inch TS inputs, and two RCA inputs.
The 1/8-inch stereo input can be used for plugging in numerous external devices, such as portable CD players. The left and right RCA inputs allow you to plug in the likes of turntables, and the left and right TS inputs, meanwhile, allow you to connect musical instruments such as keyboards. All of these inputs permit the recording of audio.
To elaborate, you could plug a CD player or turntable into the speakers, and then record the output to digital files on your Mac. If you play a keyboard, plug that into the speakers and you can record your own music. In this sense the speakers give you greater flexibility than most of its rivals.
If you crave superior sound, the Alesis M1Active 320USBs will definitely make you happy. Toss in the Bass Boost switch and the variety of inputs for recording audio, and you have a bargain set of speakers that just might teach you new appreciation for your music collection.