M-Audio Studiophile CX5 Monitor Review
M-Audio is now the USA’s best-selling monitor brand, so how will the CX5s shape up? Huw Price lends them an ear...
Price: £618.00
Manufacturer: M-Audio
Website: http://www.maudio.co.uk
Studiophile CX5
Manufacturer M-Audio
Price £618/pair
Contact M-Audio 01753 659590
Web www.maudio.co.uk
To ensure reliable monitoring with solid stereo imaging, the placement of your nearfield monitors is crucial. In fact, these days most manuals provide extensive information and guidance on the subject. But in the real world of cramped project studios and location recording, optimal placement isn’t always feasible. With this in mind, much of M-Audio’s development work on these monitors focused on waveguide design, optimising the breadth and depth of the soundstage even with compromised placement and under poor listening conditions.
The result of all this research is
M-Audio’s OptImage IV waveguide design. It’s claimed to improve overall detail and clarity while controlling the dispersion pattern of the mids and highs, yielding a much wider soundstage than usual. In other words, you’re not fixed rigidly to one spot to get the best from the CX5s.
To adapt to a range of environments, M-Audio has also provided Acoustic Space controls. This is actually just marketing jargon for a 200Hz shelving EQ switch that tailors the low-frequency response to your room. The manual suggests that this should be set flat if the CX5s are placed at least 12 inches from the nearest wall. If they have to be closer than that, engage the -2dB setting; the -4dB setting comes into its own if the monitors are placed within 12 inches of a corner.
There’s also a low-frequency cutoff switch with three settings: flat, 80Hz and 100Hz. If you’re using a pair of CX5s alone this should be set flat, but if you’re also using a subwoofer (like the M-Audio BX10s), you should select the frequency that’s closest to the low-pass cutoff frequency of the sub.
Moving on up
The midrange boost switch is an unusual feature that engages a 2dB lift between 1.5kHz and 2.5kHz. If you find your mixes sound fine in the studio but the guitars and vocals sound too prominent on other systems, engaging this switch might discourage you from pushing the midrange too hard.
Lastly, the HF Trim switch can be set to flat or you can boost/attenuate frequencies above and below 3kHz by 2dB. Once again, you should engage the setting that makes your mixes sound best outside your studio rather than inside.
The audio connections offer plenty of options, with balanced XLR and TRS jacks plus non-balanced RCA, although it’s a tad disappointing in this day and age to find a digital input omitted.
The Kevlar woofer has a high-grade damping surround that is designed for maximum excursion to provide a clear, articulate low end with plenty of bass impact. The silk-dome tweeter, meanwhile, has a 1.25-inch voice coil with a frequency response reaching up to 30kHz and a sealed rear chamber that gives more audible headroom and lower frequency extension (for greater midrange clarity).
Onboard amplifiers provide 50 watts for the bass and 40 watts for the treble. The cabinet itself features one-inch front and rear MDF baffles and a quarter-inch MDF wrap with optimised internal bracing, plus a flared rear-firing port for reduced turbulence.
Motivational speakers
The most immediately impressive feature is the bass. In fact, we’ve rarely heard such deep bass extension from cabinets of this size. It’s powerful, too, but at the same time there’s no boominess and both the speed and detail resolution are excellent.
We did engage the high-frequency lift, but in our experience this is quite normal in rooms with absorbent acoustic treatment. The stereo image is very wide and seems to extend beyond the placement of the cabinets – a desirable feature in any situation where space is restricted – and there’s no compromise on the imaging, which is rock solid. Even the depth of the soundstage is way better than usual, demonstrating a realistic sense of space and ambience with acoustic recordings.
There’s little, if anything, to criticise about these monitors. They are powerful, transparent and non-fatiguing, plus they’re well equipped with real-world features. If you’re in the market for new monitors and they’re within your budget, you’d be well advised to give them a test drive.
WHY BUY
Transparent sound
Impressive, well-controlled bass
Non-fatiguing
Plenty of power
Sensible EQ control
Wide sweet spot
WALK ON BY
Power switch at rear
No digital input
VERDICT
A winning combination of excellent audio performance and well-thought-out controls makes the CX5 a strong contender in the upper-mid price bracket.
★★★★★★★★★ (9/10)
SEE ALSO:
Studio Monitor Reviews
Choosing and Using Monitors (Feature)
Monitor Design (10MM)
Score: 9
This review first appeared in Music Tech Magazine issue 78
Filed under
M-Audio Monitor Reviews,
PA Equipment,
Reviews,
Studio Monitors
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