the box MA120 MKII

I'm using it at home in the basement with an Alesis DM10 Pro kit. It is also powering a Box PA M 12 Eco on the other side of the kit. I wanted it specifically because the DM10 is a pain to set up to output in mono, so two inputs were preferable, although, of course the line and mic inputs have different impedances. Will probably use this set up as stage monitors for the occasional gig that I do. They will be better suited to this than as monitors for the drum kit as it is not a fan of some of the more aggressive bass drum hits. Live the drum monitor will be a mono feed from the desk to a more powerful amp.
Pros: does what it says on the tin, decent quality of sound, effective tone controls, automatic standby available (kicks in after about an hour). Seems well enough built, it's quite heavy but easy enough to carry with the handle and using the top hat mount as another hand hold, so I don't see this as a negative thing. Has a top hat mount so you can use it as a PA speaker too.
Cons: not very loud as a drum monitor, it clips quite early on kick drum hits. Much better as a general full range system. The standby system is weird. It is automatic, operating after about an hour after the last input signal, so you get the impression that pressing the standby button does nothing. Why it could not be a simple standby switch is a little puzzling.
In conclusion it really is quite a bargain. Would be ideal with an extension speaker for a small venue monitor system, it's OK with my Alesis kit for practicing and I am please I bought it as it is versatile enough to be used as the basis of a small party PA system, stage or drum rehearsal monitor. Recommended.

This item was bought to be used by university live music society for live jam sessions and band practices. It has mainly been used for keyboard and vocals.

Firstly, the build quality is great. It has been used regularly for over a year now with no issues. Overall it feels very solid and I like how the metal grille on the front of the monitor protects the speaker.

The monitor is also relatively easy to carry. It is not too heavy and can easily be carried on its side. I found this to be an advantage over the 150watt model which was too heavy to easily.

The monitor sounds good. It's not amazing but it will get the job done. Works well with keyboards and vocals. The only issue I would point out is that sometimes it was hard to hear over the rest of the band. However, this was usually fixed by altering the eq of the monitor so it would cut through the mix better.

Overall I am happy with the monitor. It's ideal for band practices. However, I do not think that it would be appropriate for gigs as it is too quiet for gigging volume. If you want a monitor for gigging I would recommend the 150watt model of this monitor.

It took me a long time to actually click on the 'add to cart' button for this one, wondering whether I should buy a dedicated monitor or just go with another (more versatile) set of moulded active speakers. In the end, I opted for this partly for budget reasons, partly because I felt the EQ would come in handy for keeping troublesome feedback at bay, and partly because by my calculations the SPL rating should allow it to cut through the noise of a fairly crowded pub so the singer could actually hear herself.

Since purchase it has gigged well over 100 times, mostly in the pub cover band setup, with mostly very good results.

Firstly, there are no complaints about the build quality. It feels quite solidly built, doesn't weigh too much for the size of it, and the knobs and controls all feel good too. All the controls and inputs are on the front panel, so it is easy to tweak when you are in the heat of the gig.

The sound quality is also good. There is no big bottom end off this unit - but then, we didn't buy it for that - but it is clear and clean as long as you watch the levels you send into it. And the overall sound level is where the only real problem I have with this unit is: As mentioned, I bought it partly based on the rated SPL (120dB SPL peak). I say only partially, as a peak reading like this doesn't have much meaning with real programme material going through it. I was hoping for a realistic 110dB average sound level, meaning we would still cut through a 90dB rowdy crowd with a few dB to spare - even removing 6dB for the distance from monitor to ear. Unfortunately in the louder pubs and clubs, this monitor does not cut through, and we often resort to propping it up on a flight cases, raising it off the ground by about 50cm just to be able to hear it. It is also times like this that you notice just how tight the pattern is that is produced by the small horn, and when things are tough on stage, unless the horn is pointing directly at your ear, you aren't going to hear much.

The EQ controls are most often all set with the top, middle and bottom set to their centre detent position, but if I need to tweak anything they are slightly on the gentle side (when is someone going to make a monitor like this with a graphic EQ in???), and you are not only affecting the frequency causing trouble, but a lot of the frequencies you need to hear! Having said that, the controls are better than not having them, and for the money, I don't think anyone could really complain too much!

In terms of reliability, this thing has been in and out of the van constantly, been rained on, drink spilled over it, etc., and still continues to work without issue.

So, I've spent quite a bit of time talking about the main problem I've had with this unit (mainly because everything else works as expected), so should YOU buy one? Well, if you play really busy, noisy Irish pubs like I do, then you probably need to weigh it up against something with a bit more oomph, BUT, you would probably need to spend at least double the amount that this costs to get something that might cut through the noise - pay attention to average SPL and the horn dispersion figures if that is the case, or alternatively check out in-ear monitoring (we did, and didn't like it - we couldn't interact with the audience). If you are a small PA company that needs a few cheap stage monitors for mid-sized gigs then you'd be surprised to find that these would probably do the job nicely, and when based in a theatre or somewhere where you have a listening audience, they might not sound quite as full-range or punchy as more expensive units, but I don't think anyone would complain.

Would I buy again? Maybe not for loud pub gigs, but I'd certainly have one or more for other situations.