Alesis active near-field monitors

A lot of people recommended Alesis active M1 monitors recently.

I just got myself a pair as well - they have a really nice sound - but anyone owning or thinking of buying a pair should be made aware of some issues:

1: They have a thin top-end compared to every other pair of near-field monitors I A/Bd them with in the shop. This included a few £2000 pairs as well as others in the price-range.

I like this, as it's less tiring to listen to. However, I'll have to be aware that my top-end may be too loud on diferent systems.

Good news is that I didn't find that there was anything I couldn't hear at all on them, compared to the big boys!

2: They have a big bass sound compared to all the others. Again, I like this - I could hear more of the kick drums on my source material, so I think I'd have more control over the shape of these sounds... However, my kicks and bass might easily appear thin on other systems. Which could be a nightmare!

You can plug the ports to cut the bass, and you should definitely do this if you're in any kind of bass-collecting area.

If you're going to get some active near-fields, the Fostex pair (to me) sounded indistinguishable from the Quested F11s, which are about four to five times the price! Can't remember the model number, but the pair were just out of my price range - around £3xx. Fostex do a cheaper pair as well...

Tequila