Alesis Monitor 1 MKII Passive Monitors (Pair)

by Alesis

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 18 x 15.2 x 12 inches ; 15 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 15 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• ASIN: B0002A2RTU
• Item model number: m1mkIIx110
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #13,639 in Electronics (See Top 100 in Electronics)
  • #30 in Musical Instruments > Recording Equipment > Studio Monitors
• Date first available at Amazon.com: May 21, 2004

Product Description

From the Manufacturer

Critical reference monitoring for recording and mixing

Product Description

Passive reference monitoring for recording and mixing

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Likely the best monitors under $1000 - and these cost under $200!, September 10, 2010

By 

Gnobuddy (Gnowhere) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Alesis Monitor 1 MKII Passive Monitors (Pair) (Electronics)

The Alesis Monitor One Mk2 monitors surprised me with really good sound quality and stereo imaging. Listening to these makes it evident that the engineers who worked on this product really made an effort to sweat the small details that make for truly good sound. The crossover network (the electronic circuit that transfers high frequencies to the tweeter and low frequencies to the woofer) is one of the most critical components in a good loudspeaker system, and it's not easy to get it right in a passive loudspeaker system - but the Alesis engineers managed to do it. The result is smooth imaging and sound dispersion through the midrange and into the high frequencies, which makes the sound seem "larger than the box" - you never hear a little wooden box, instead you hear a glorious expanse of sound filling the entire sound stage.

I'd recommend these Alesis monitors not only to home recording engineers, but also for general music and TV listening. If you're used to muffled consumer-grade speakers, these monitors will sound a little bright at first - and then you'll notice how much more detail you're hearing in the music, detail that is obscured by lower quality speakers.

The Monitor One's have good bass response for their size, but this is inevitably limited by the 5" effective piston diameter of the woofers. I added a budget Velodyne VX-11 subwoofer to extend the bass response of the Monitor One's. The subwoofer is set to roughly a 70 Hz crossover frequency, and about 8 o'clock on the sub volume knob. The Velodyne integrates very smoothly with the Monitor One's at these settings, and the overall sound is nothing short of superb - for a total budget of about $300 for both monitors and subwoofer! Outstanding sound on the cheap!

I have not heard anything that sounds audibly better than these Alesis Monitor One's until you get to the Mackie HR 824's in the $1300 range - more than *seven times* the Amazon price of the Alesis Monitor One's!

As an aside, these passive Alesis Monitor One's sound much better than the active Alesis M1 Active Mk II monitors do. The active monitors use the same woofer and tweeter, and the active crossover network is even smoother, but unfortunately the M1 Active's have very sloppy, boomy, undefined one-note bass that ruins the otherwise smooth balance of their sound. A real pity.

In summary, if you're looking to spend under $1300 for a pair of monitors, check these Alesis Monitor One Mk 2 out. There's a lot to love about them, and not much to critique.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Starving Musician's Best Friend!, July 14, 2006

By 

RN-2008 "RN-2008" (Brooklyn, New York United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Alesis Monitor 1 MKII Passive Monitors (Pair) (Electronics)

I purchased the MK2s for my home studio and was very impressed with the sound quality. These bad boys give you a true sound and really help you tune those drums coming off your samplers. The price is a steal. I remember when it cost a lot of money to own quality studio equipment that would produce a prefessional, industry standard, sound. The MK2 makes the starvin musician sound like the hit makers.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars whoa!, January 7, 2011

By 

wig - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Alesis Monitor 1 MKII Passive Monitors (Pair) (Electronics)

I bought (2) Alesis Monitor One Mk2 studio reference speakers on Amazon.com and I am VERY happy with my purchase. I have heard about these speakers for years. Putting together a personal recording studio ....my research discovered that these speakers were in use by million dollar studios for mixing down final recordings and even mastering projects. I was amazed at the clarity of the sound even at higher listening levels. I could have saved some money and buy used Alesis speakers, but I decided to go for the brand new ones complete with full warranties. I was also amazed by the professional craftsmanship that went into producing these exceptional speakers. With them being shipped from the factory, they were professionally packaged for the trip and arrived with absolutely ZERO damage. Testing them with a very high-dollar 2,400 watt professional amplifier and running it from .5 watts up to a full 200 watts, these speakers sounded beautiful and acting as if they could take a lot more power. But I played it safe and never went above 200 watts RMS. Test1,539.00ing them side by side with my JBL LSR4328P/PAK Studio Reference Monitors I was still very impressed with the Alesis monitors. Even tho the JBL LSR4300 Series speakers are professional studio monitors with computer connectivity, networking, and automatic room compensation .....in my control room, the Alesis monitors held up just fine to the JBL's. With price tags as follows... The Alesis Monitor One Mk2's (a pair) at $220.00 brand new and the JBL LSR4328P/PAK Studio Reference Monitors (a pair) going for $1,539.00 also brand new. I could find many uses for $1,300.00 savings buying the Alesis monitors ......maybe upgrading some amps and improving room acoustics are just two ideas.