M-Audio SP-8B Studiophiles: Your budget monitors are here

By Remco Szyinski, added August 29, 2002

The M-Audio SP-8B Studiophile monitors are reasonably standard-size monitors (14.97 in. high x 9.5 in. wide x 11.82 in. deep) but not not as heavy as they appear, weighing in at less than 26 lbs. per enclosure. The Studiophiles are active monitors, with an internal bi-amplified system powering the tweeters with 45 watts and the drivers with 55 watts. Simply put: The Studiophiles can get loud.

The Studiophiles provide inputs for both balanced XLR and TRS balanced/unbalanced plugs. The back of each monitor contains a volume knob, which is not dented. So, some users may find it difficult to set equal levels between channels. The front of each unit contains a nice blue status LED.

Being familiar with several models of budget monitors, I did not know if they'd be yet another budget disappointment or live up to the hype circulating on internet forums.

In checking some of my favorite reference material on a pair of SP-8B monitors, I found acoustic guitars and voices sounded very clear. The high-end of the cymbals and hi-hat came through. The monitors did seem to lack mid-range guitar presence. I found the bass frequences to be well-defined in the low end. The sound tended to be unforgiving, which is what I want out of a reference monitor.

I found the SP-8B Studiophiles to have enough low end. They need careful placement due to the bass port on the rear of the speaker enclosure. The SP-8B Studiophiles possess a very tight sweetspot. If you move your head a bit in front of the monitors, you'll notice big changes in the sound. I found that when sitting behind the sweetspot the SP-8B tend to sound a tad nasal.

My final test of a pair of studio monitors is listening to an old favorite old recording. In this case, I chose a Toto CD. And -- good sign -- I heard things in the mix that I never knew were there before. In my own recordings, I've found the Studiophiles give quite a true representation of the recorded sound. I bought my SP-8B monitors from Dijkmans Muziek in Breda, Netherlands.

Bottom Line: Great value reference monitors, suffers from a small scoop in the lower mids.

Links relating to this review: M-Audio

Editor's Note: After this review was written, the SP-8B were discontinued and replaced with the M-Audio BX8. Lowest US street price was $299 for a pair of the SP-8B.