Behringer Digital Monitor Speakers MS40

I was not too happy with my previous sound system, the Logitech Z-4i. Although it looked nice with my white 24" iMac 2.33 GHz, I never was too happy with all the cabling it required and the resulting sensitivity to interferences caused by the iPhone in its dock next to the iMac.

I was looking at some alternatives, which would increase the sound quality, reduce the cable clutter and hopefully would be less susceptible to interferences. The selection was narrowed down to two candidates, which also were still in a not too painful price range, serving a small budget. The Behringer Digital Monitor Speakers MS40 and the M-Audio Studiophile AV 40 Desktop Speaker System were my final two choices, both available at the House of Sound. After some considerations, I went for the Behringer ones. I really liked the fact, that you have the power button as well as the main sound controls (volume, bass, treble) in the front side, wheres the M-Audio has only a volume button in the front. Furthermore, the MS40 features a digital input, which would again make one cable connection immune to interference.

So now I have the two MS40 speakers sitting next to my iMac, and I have to say, that I am very happy. They sound pretty neat for the price of CHF 190.00 (the M-Audio Studiophiles would have been CHF 219.00 ). And yes, I know, there are far better studio monitor speakers out there, but when you are on a tight budget for these gadgets, they are just fine. The bass feels of course different compared to my Logitech 2.1 system with a dedicated subwoofer, but the good quality of the middle and high tones compensate for a less heavier bass pretty easily in my opinion. I even found a place for my iPhone dock (on top of the left speaker) where there are no interferences. They are now only occurring when I place the iPhone in certain places and are caused by the cable connecting the left speaker to the amplifier in the right speaker. I might still be able to improve this setup. I actually plan to get some order in the whole cable mess and reduce the cables as much as possible by putting a cable connection board under the table plate just below the iMac.

My final conclusion is, if you are looking for some cheap but good monitor speakers with a low susceptibility to interferences (digital input, shielded speaker casings) and if you can life without a subwoofer pumping your guts all the time, the Behringer MS40 are a good choice.