Boston Acoustics Horizon MM220 Multimedia Speaker System (Midnight)
by Boston Acoustics
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List Price: Category: CE See more product details |
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Customers in the UK,
Buy this product at amazon.co.uk
for British Pounds
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Boston Acoustics Horizon MM220 Multimedia Speaker System (Midnight)
Customer Review: Stolen! Excellent, smart-- welldone. Beautiful inside and out.
Summary: 5 Stars
I have two PC speaker sets that are notable. So far nothing I have heard beats the sound magnitude and quality of my Aura Aspect 20/40 2.1 set. An absolute crying shame they can be no longer found. My Auras date back to 1993 or 1994. I wish Aura would get a clue and start making their Aspect series again.
But this review is about the Boston MM 220's.
I did not expect miracles. So far that remains in the domain of Aura Aspects- and in those cases it's not miraculous, it's simply that they have high power, high quality 3" drivers, excellent heavy wood casings, acoustically relevant porting, 1" tweeters, and power to take advantage of it all. Auras capture it ALL.
The Boston Acoustics MM 220-- smart.
Cabinets have a sound dampening rubber coat, which lends itself well for laying the units on their sides. No vibration vertical or horizontal. The cloth covers a grill so the active and passive drivers are protected.
The amplifier circuitry being enclosed in the well ventilated remote enclosure that also houses the AC to DC step down transformer is a big plus. Smart. I have just completed hearing disc 2 of Rush's Chronicles. Is there or is there not a preponderance of bass? hi hi. No, to my ear, you can clearly hear every instrument including Getty Lee's bass guitar work, without distortion- at any listening level. Worth noting- at maximum amplitude, there is no distortion. Remembering that-- there is no subwoofer, one must remain within the limits of the laws of physics, the bass response is clean and present. Admittedly, the highs are not as bright as my Aspect 20's but those have 1" tweeters. Are the MM 220s perfect in absolute terms, no-- highs could be brighter with sharper edges. But back to bass, BA has done wonders in this area, the bass response coming from such a tiny space on these PC speakers is remarkable. Neal Peart's work can be well appreciated with these MM 220's. In another genre, John Modlin sounds magical on these, too. Like I'm in a lounge chair in the same studio live.
The Aura Aspect 20/40 combo will remain in the family room. The MM 220's will be on my personal machine in my basement shack. I don't care for hearing loss or damage, and I have finally discovered the joy of RUSH at lower listening volumes thanks to these MM 220's.
The MM-220's at loud levels sound grrrrreat too, but like I said I'll now be able to appreciate every nuance of my favorite band, with every sound and every note clearly present. The MM 220's produce high fidelity sound at any listening level. I've never encountered PC speakers that did not suffer distortion at maximum volume before these. So special thanks to Boston Acoustics, E.Expo, and Amazon for the new pleasant experience! Good job matching the amp to the speakers, Boston.
If you buy these, always remember these are 2.0 speakers. If you do, and if you're intended purpose is clean, robust, well defined sound while sitting at your desk at amplitudes that won't cause hearing damage, the MM 220's are brilliant and an excellent choice. Nice, refined implementation. If you want to rock the house with them, a reality check is in order- these are 2.0 PC speakers!
I'm going to order another for the TV. So I'll be stopping by Radio Shack on the way home for a 3.5mm female to RCA male Y adapter.
But- for 30 bux plus shipping, from Electronics Expo, Boston Acoustic MM 220's broke the needle on the Awesomeness scale. They arrived within 3 days via standard UPS, more kudos for Electronics Expo.
Customer Review: Great Sound, nice size, light wgt but just not enough bass or fullness
Summary: 4 Stars
I ordered these Boston Acoustic Horizon MM220 ($99)and Creative T40's ($125) 2.0 speakers of similar size and cost.
The reason I didn't give them 5 stars was the huge brick transformer that is required to power and use them as well as the lack of control for bass/treble. They had a nice rich sound and the bass was good for what they are, however, they could use just a bit more. For movies they were excellent though as good as the creatives for my testing. That big brick transformer kept killing it. The Bostons also have the great rubber feet that are very flexible and absorb allot of the shaking. As when I had them cranked they were in full shaking mode but no loss of quality sound nor did they move at all from where they were positions on the glass table top.
I liked the fact that the Creative T40's had the bass and treble controls and no big brick transformer unit to power them. Each require separate power, however, the Creatives have a small footprint plug and no transformer like brick..
On the other hand the Creative speakers are about an 1 inch taller, wider and heavier. I felt they had a deeper sound from bass being it could be adjusted on a easy to reach front dial control.
One key thing to remember these are not 5.1 or 7.1 and you don't have a sub. This type of speaker is made for your computer desktop/laptop/ipod/gaming at a average level of good quality sound and volume. I have a 7.1 channel system for my HD TV and stereo for when I need or want intensity. I feel these small size speakers are really good for my purposes. I will use them when I travel, even though they are heavy. I will have quality sound for music and blue-ray on the laptop where ever I am.
I liked the Bostons sound better when watching the movies, with some music I felt they just needed more bass when I tested, the Creatives sound great with either music or movies. I would keep the Bostons if I needed another pair as they have a full rich sound but the brick and no control of bass/treble kind of helped me make my decision. If you want lighter smaller speakers and the speakers are not going to travel you may want the Bostons as they are $25-$30 cheaper in cost and look nice and provide good sound. I suggest finding a retailer to listen to them both or buy both and return the one you like least. Sound is very personal to everyone and each have different ears and what they like when they hear music or movies.
I am only using these types of speakers for a Sony Vaio laptop. I tested each set with music and movies to determine my choice. I would NOT recommend these personally but as I have said I suggest allot of testing in stores or via friends. Make sure to use the music, movies, games you enjoy to really take the speakers to the test for your pleasure.
Customer Review: Very hard to beat for the price.
Summary: 5 Stars
I was seriously considering the Bose Companion speakers for about $90 - $100. The Companions are attractive speakers, however, they only have a single driver per enclosure. The M220's have 4 drivers per speaker and offer a truly wide range that includes substantial bass (especially considering there is no separate subwoofer). I have these set up with my 23" Samsung TV that has fairly unimpressive sound. These speakers provide simply awesome sound (given their limited size) for television applications. I simply connected them to my Samsung's headphone jack (included) and am able to adjust the volume right from the television remote.
Those of you considering these speakers, let me tell you that it is hard not to be impressed (again, given their limited size). I agree with another reviewer that stated the weight of the remote amplifier is not a negative... in general, heavier amps tend to contain better quality internal components. These amplified speakers provide clear and fairly powerful sound that is more than enough to fill any average size room.
In closing, these speakers are excellent in their own right... but given the very low price, I rated them with 5 stars. Price is a factor in speakers, and if these were priced at a thousand dollars, then I wouldn't give them 5 stars. At under forty bucks, I'd give them 6 stars if it was an option.
Customer Review: Great for the Price
Summary: 5 Stars
I am very satisfied with this purchase.
The sound:
Placement is key: I moved mine a couple inches away from the cubicle wall, which made a big difference. I think they may be a bit bass heavy (perhaps better placement could refine the sound a bit), but overall they have a surprisingly delicate, non-fatiguing, and transparent sound that I did not expect for the price. The best I've heard for under $30.
Construction:
I feel like these speakers are worth every penny I spent. I was smiling as I unpacked them despite the frustrations of removing the packaging. They feel solid with a good weight to them and the components feel higher quality. My only complaint is that they feel tipsy: the rubber pads on the bottom should have been placed a little farther apart, and the rubber itself is pretty soft which allows then to move more than otherwise, but I bet the feet were done that way on purpose to help isolate the speakers from the desk. I do also think it would be nice if there were separate volume knob and power button.
Despite reading the reviews, I was still surprised by how large the the amplifier/power brick is. It's almost the size of a small subwoofer, but I am not bothered by that at all. I just tucked it under the desk. I would much rather have good sound with a large amp.
Good job Boston
Customer Review: More than adequate for the price...
Summary: 5 Stars
I paid under thirty minus S/H. Surpassed my expectations. I had a decent 2.1 system, but live in an upper apartment. Yeah, I know... I didn't move the sub off the floor. The 2.0 suits my needs better, and these provide a more balanced sound than the smaller satellites of the 2.1. Do the sound as good as a quality microsystem (I own JVC)? No. Is the sound decent for computer speakers? Oh, yeah. They are more than decent. Understand, they will sound like computer speakers. If I really want to rock out, I move up to the micro or my full size system. Please don't try to compare these speakers to a quality pair of small bookshelf speakers. Apples and oranges, folks... You will be disappointed.
Finally, don't try to improve the quality of your computer audio with new speakers if you still play MP3s. The MM220 will point out the limitations of compression at even 320kbps. Hence, the distortion at higher levels. Plus, try turning off the equalizer on applications such as Windows Media Player. The explanation is too technical, but just do it. Contrary to popular belief, speakers are usually not the cause of distortion. Thank you for considering my opinion.
Warning: The transformer is actually the size of a standard brick. Not really designed to be portable to take with your laptop.