PB42X Powered Bookshelf Speakers, 30-Watt RMS Power, Active Near Field Studio Monitors, 2-Way (Black, Pair)

its a good choice for a base level studio.

Really good sound, nothing bad I can say about this speaker, it just make my music sound so much better. Higjly recommended. Worth evry penny for it's performance.

I bought these because I'm a little bit of a speaker freak, because the idea of powered speakers intrigued me, and because these were relatively cheap. I was not disappointed. First, let me tell you what these are not, and that's high end audiophile kit. My usual "cheap" system is a 100 watt per channel rotel integrated amp with a PUr iPod dock/dac and Martin Logan lx16 speakers. Not amazing, but a definite step up from a Sony boom box. In my use of these, I plugged them in using an audioquest RCA cable directly to the DAC, and ran Spotify through in iPhone 4. The sound was...not bad actually. They played loud enough to comfortably fill my living room (15x14 feet, 8 foot ceiling). They would play at and a little above comfortable listening levels without noticeable distortion - though at higher levels (think 7/10 on volume) treble began to exhibit a slight harshness and the bass got a little boomy and hollow - you began to hear the harmonics of the enclosure as well as the drivers. I listened to bluegrass, classical guitar, pop rock (well, my wife listened to it...I kind of cringed in the corner), industrial electronica and metal. Surprisingly, sound quality remained pretty constant. They sound slightly better with Crooked Still than with Skinny Puppy, but they didn't shrink from anything I played through them. Obviously with a 4 inch woofer, bass rolls off pretty early, but not as soon as you might think. An RCA sub out would be a welcome addition on these. I'd love to see these come out with more options - perhaps larger woofers and a built in DAC, but with an eye for budget so that folks who don't want to spend $500 plus for some of the competition could have some other options to consider. So, all in all these paired with a good DAC are head and shoulders above any of the other "computer speaker" options I've heard - but only for the price I paid for them. These retail for what, $200? I paid a bit less than that buying them refurbished. The price I paid vs the quality I got make them easily the best deal on the market. At full price, well...it's a hard call. These are a well put together speaker, but moving up $50, $100, $200, and you start getting into some speakers with more to offer. My advice to the potential buyer is to definitely pick these up if you find them refurbished, and if not, to definitely consider them, as they are a well built pleasant sounding speaker with a lot going for them. I will be finding plenty of uses (hook them to a cheap projector and have movie night for the kids in the backyard...really awesome computer speakers...always a good reason to have more speakers around the house) for these in the future, and may consider buying others - especially if they offer things like the DAC, sub out, and larger driver options.

Super sound quality

Bought these book shelf size speakers to play my music. Excellent sound quality and siund for the price.