Airmotiv 4 mini-review

[ZrC]

Been getting a lot of toys from Emotiva lately since I haven't upgraded in a while. I purchased the Airmotiv 4s as a replacement to my Logitech Z2300s www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16836121122 which were regarded as the best desktop PC speakers but no longer made. For the price the Logitech's cost new ($125) nothing could touch them under $300. Even the Klipsch ProMedia 2.1s which I have had and found to be bright, had issues at loud volumes, and build quality issues (from what I heard still do).

So I gave the Airmotiv 4s, connected to my Creative X-Fi Titanium as the DAC, sitting on custom fitted stands with the tweeters around ear level.



Onto the listening! First off they cannot produce the same bass as the Logitech or Klipsch system, but the bass is tighter and more refined than either system. Make no mistake, these little 4" woofers are no slouch, they can pack a decent punch which shocked me. Not boomy, and nothing was exaggerated in the bass department. Unless you're a bass head, they will provide enough to satisfy the lower frequencies of all music. The ribbon tweeters provide a nice smooth, clean and crisp sound which has a lot of detail, I really love the sound of them. The detail was so precise that I have noticed how terrible some songs are recorded.

The sound these produce is pretty amazing for the price. So far all the music I have thrown at them has a full, deep, but nice smooth sound. A sub would complement them very well, hopefully Emotiva puts out a nice 8" sub to go with them.

[garbulky]

Good to hear! I too made the upgrade from multimedia systems not too far back! I had a set of cambridge soundworks megaworks which I really liked. But moving up to real speakers from them was a bit of a revelation. It is amazing how much sound information is captured on digital recordings. I would reccomend using a software player which can be WASAPI enabled. This allows you to bypass the multiple reconversions that windows makes to the sound and gives you bit-perfect audio. An example would be foobar which is free but requires the download of a wasapi plugin and configuration to enable it. Check out well tempered computer for more information

[rclark]

I was a multimedia speaker guy too, for a long long time, and that's why it's funny for me, reading how your main concerns are about bass. Because coming from multimedia speakers you are basically coming from a system with a huge midbass hump and that's all you are used to lol. I was the same, but I went full on hifi rig, listening room style, instead of more computer based system (you're still at your desktop).

Nice setup there. And you don't need to wait for an 8, Emotiva makes a 10 that would work just fine.

Multimedia "bass" is garbage (but we thought it was great, didn't we!), you just wait

[garbulky]

Rclark is right about the bass. high end multimedia bass is not necessarily garbage but when you do get either a proper budget audiophile sub or a good low reaching set of towers, you will be stunned. Rythmik, HSU, and Epik are pretty good for subs and I'm sure the rest of the forum can help you out with their pick of value for money subs.

[rclark]

My comment stands. Going from multimedia speakers, for years as a kid, to nice monitors and a sub, to modded Magnepans I can tell you that after recently plugging in my old MM system (and it was "nice", dual Altec Lansing MX-5021's)... simply a huge difference in quality. Worlds apart.

The fact is that MM systems are about the same level as HTIB, which is the bottom of the barrel.

I haven't heard Airmotive's but I have to imagine they are a huge leap forward from some old Logitech's, lol. Those are real speakers there.

I totally get where this guy is coming from. He's got these two 4" monitors and wondering, where's my pummeling, crude midbass? The little Logitech had it, why don't these ;D

He'll get it.

[garbulky]

Well logitech has certainly made some strides in their multimedia systems. Their z-5500 which is near their high end product put most HTIB box stuff from best buy to shame. The mid-bass frequencies also aren't necessarily bumped up a whole lot compared to their lower end stuff. But nevertheless boominess does show. Where it lacks is clarity of the low bass frequencies and even though their sub can shake it doesn't have the ease, struggles on some frequencies, and doesn't gell tremendously well with their satellites compared to lower end audiophile gear. And their satellites though they can play clean without a huge amount of distortion can't give a whole lot compared to more refined systems in details. When I heard them they couldn't really give the phantom center I was looking for and it had this strange diffuse sound to everything where you couldn't really pinpoint the soundstage.
For kicks I hooked up my old cambridge soundworks megaworks (multimedia) satellites upto the UPA-2 and I was pretty impressed. Very clear and it really benefitted from the better amplification.

[rclark]

that's nice, but in my opinion those little cardboard boxes lack everything. I went from that to quite a nice system, all top end parts, and Magnepan bass vs Logitech is a pretty funny concept.

I don't think they put htib to shame.. They ARE htib... Entry level, nothing more.

[stiehl11]

I've got a pair of Airmotiv-4 speakers and I can say that they are very nice... for what they are. They have an excellent tweeter and a sound that is very clean and precise. But, they are a small speaker and they sound, well, small. They lack the depth and presence of larger and more full-bodied speakers. They are great speakers for a good price, for what they are.

[GreenKiwi]

ZrC you know, I'd keep your eyes open for a used X-Ref 10, it's a small enough box and performs quite well.

[rclark]

With a real sub, in that setup, he'll have a nice Fr without the giant gaps and other problems presented by a mm setup. The driver quality, amplifier quality, enclosure quality, connection quality, huge huge differences.

[ZrC]

I might just settle for a Mirage MM-8 which I can obtain for about $200. I don't need anything insane as this setup will just be used for my computer in near field listening.

[rclark]

A 10 isn't exactly "insane". Just some lower extension and less distortion. You're still thinking like a MM guy, thinking 8's.

But I've heard good things about the Mirage. Good price.

[ZrC]

Jul 27, 2012 18:27:51 GMT -5 rclark said:

A 10 isn't exactly "insane". Just some lower extension and less distortion. You're still thinking like a MM guy, thinking 8's.

But I've heard good things about the Mirage. Good price.

If I can snag a used 10" for around $200 I would , but haven't seen much on audiogon that fits the price.

[rclark]

Oh you got the Mirage? By all accounts you should dig it •thumbs up•