AV123 x-mtm Tower Speaker Review

Bang for your buck might be the best way to describe these towers, because if you are into bass, they will certainly not disappoint.  At $449 a pair, these are easily the most aggressively priced (low-priced, that is) speakers of this size I have seen.  And has been the case with every other speaker I have seen from AV123, the build quality and finish of these speakers is outstanding.  So the question is, how do they sound?

Design & Features

Earlier this year I received a pair of Onix x-ls 2-way monitors from AV123.  I was simply astounded at the build quality of this bookshelf speaker.  They arrived in a White Shadow Maple finish that was incredible.  At first glance it was hard to determine if it was a hardwood cabinet or a veneer.  Easily furniture-grade quality, it was in fact one of the most impressive veneers I have ever seen - not only on a speaker, but on any piece of furniture!

The AV123 x series of speakers continues to draw attention with its affordable pricing and excellent quality.

The x-mtm tower speakers carry on the tradition of furniture grade cabinets at a headscratchingly low price.  The review samples I received were clothed in a Satin Black finish, and these are some of the largest tower speakers I have had through my listening rooms over the years.  They stand at an imposing 46.7" tall x 8.5" wide x 16.5" deep.  They weigh in at 50 pounds each.  The MDF-framed grills are an unusual shape that you will probably either love or hate.  They have flimsy plastic connectors that did not always fit right and will be prone to breaking.

Removing the grills revealed the Dual 6.5" long throw woofers and a treated fabric domed tweeter.  The speakers are a vented design with dual rear ports.  It is a D'Appolito configuration, with a driver-tweeter-driver vertical arrangement (hence the mtm nomenclature in the model designation).  There is one set of 5-way binding posts on the rear above the dual ports, so don't expect to biwire or biamp these speakers.

AV123 includes brass floor spikes that can be screwed into threaded receivers on the base, as well as rubber bumpers if you plan to use the speakers on hardwood, tile or concrete floors.  The cabinets are constructed of 3/4" braced MDF.  The cabinet is rock solid - there are seven braces inside keeping this thing rigid. 

The drivers are custom-built Peerless India curvilinear shaped, treated paper cone woofers.  They have polymer (plastic) chassis.  The tweeter is a ferro-fluid cooled design, with a treated fabric 1" dome.          

Listening Impressions

Do you like bass?  Do you REALLY like bass?  Because if you do, you are going to have a smile on your face when firing up these monsters.  They have deep bass extension.  They are big.  They look big, they sound big, they ARE big.

At times in my room, I found them to be boomy, muddy, and lacking clean high end.  Their imaging was average, and I found them to have a small soundstage.  I had better results after toeing them in slightly.  The treble clarity and extension was an issue for me throughout my listening tests. 

They handled power well but were not terribly efficient.  When listening to them with some of the other Audioholics writers, we found that they had difficulty imaging, and we all agreed they were a bit too bassy.  We actually tried plugging the rear ports with socks, and felt this helped. A nice piece of dense foam will work just as well and look nicer.

I had much better results from the speakers when I set them up as front mains in a full AV123 home theater rig, which included a pair of x-subs, an x-cs center, and a pair of x-ls surrounds.  The bass output in action movies was excellent, and the front soundstage worked well with this combo. 

Night At The Museum - DVD
Night at the Museum was a fun DVD that my kids loved.  It is always great to find a movie that you can watch with your kids and actually enjoy, not to mention use while reviewing speakers!  One of my favorite characters was the Easter Island Head that would talk to Larry (Ben Stiller) from time to time.  The x-mtm towers had no problem with the deep bellowing voice asking Larry, "Hey!  dum-dum!  You give me gum-gum.  Oh, you in trouble, dum-dum.  You better run-run.  From Attila the Hun-Hun."

Rush - Snakes & Arrows - CD
It's hard to believe that Rush has made it past their 30th anniversary as a band and continue to churn out records.  And good records, at that.  Some may say that they are not breaking any new ground, but fans would tell you that it doesn't matter because few bands have maintained such a high level of musicianship over the years, much less stayed together. 

Their new recording is a very respectable set that is flavored with songs reminiscent of their work from albums such as Hemispheres or Moving Pictures.  The opening song, "Far Cry", has a very familiar feel full of pounding drums and monstrous guitars.  The x-mtms have no problem with powerful rock music such as this, but I found myself wanting to pull back the bottom end just a tad, and at first wondered if I had my sub turned on (which I did not).  The mtm's do not lack punch, I would just like to hear them tighten up a bit on rock music such as this.

Conclusion

Compared to other speakers I have reviewed, the x-mtm towers are very dependent on the room you use them in.  Depending on your room, this can be a very finicky speaker.  I had problems in the two different rooms I used in my house.  When I took them to Audioholics Reference System 1 in Florida, they displayed different characteristics, and seemed happier in this fairly "dead" acoustical space.

It is hard to criticize a speaker at this price, especially such a well-made one.  The cabinets alone are worth the cost of these speakers.  While I feel that they could use a little more balance in their sonic characteristics, for man, the bassy character of these towers will be welcome.  And as the front mains in a home theater rig, they will provide you plenty of punch and power.

 

Specifications
Impedance:  8 ohms
Frequency Response:  40Hz-20KHz
Dimensions:  8.5" W x 46.7" H x 16.5" D
Weight:  50 lbs. each
Sensitivity:  90.5 dB

 
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Welcome to the Gear Corner, where we give you a quick but comprehensive look at consumer electronics from several different categories.  All products in the Gear Corner have been individually evaluated through hands-on testing by our reviewers in order to give you a quick but detailed overview that we hope will help you in your purchasing decisions.

comments from Mark L. Schifter

Dear J,
 
At the outset, please allow me to thank you for taking the time to review our new x-mtm loudspeaker. We have to agree with your findings, the x-mtm is a GREAT Bang For Your Buck Loudspeaker.
 
With that of course come many challenges. It’s not simple to make a speaker with this kind of fit and finish (as you’ve kindly noted) at this size and performance level… and get anywhere near this price point. There are a couple of noteworthy replies I’d like to include…
 
The grills have been re-styled to a more traditional look and finish. They are more robust now to be sure. With respect to the low frequency response I’d like to add that in most modern Home Theatre applications (and crossed over at 80Hz) the x-mtm has been found to be a formidable performer – given the bass response we have dialed into the design. A big and full bass-to-midbass “harmony” is one reason why we voiced this speaker as we have. Coupled to a reasonable sub woofer, and you’ll find that our x-mtm makes for some wonderfully integrated low bass response “in-room” (the critical issue of course)… I believe you even noted the same. Most modern HT systems are making use of sub woofers – and THIS marriage with our x-mtm is made in heaven.

I’d like to also point out that there will be an updated x-mtm ready in the 4th quarter that has a new high frequency unit (tweeter) that greatly improves the air and extension “up top”. This addition, combined with some critical element changes in the crossover raises the bar even further at this price point.
 
On behalf of Danny Richie (our superb loudspeaker engineer) and myself, allow me to once again thank you for the time you invested in this process, and for the overall excellent review of our new x-mtm.
 
Most humbly,
 
Mark L. Schifter
President and Founder
av123