Behringer MS16 Monitors

The Good
Price, fantastic stereo imaging, came with 1/8" to dual RCA stereo cable
The Bad
Lack of low bass, very forward mid range response, tweeters are not in a L-R configuration, plastic
I got to use a set of these for a little over a month, and when I decided to update my home studio setup these were the ones that fit my small budget. I am a 40+ year pro & semi-pro musician, live & studio rat, yada...yada..you know the drill. Read on for my thoughts.....
To stat with, every cabinet measurement I have seen on line, and even on the Behringer site and in the manual, is wrong. The correct measurements are 9 /12" x 5 1/2" x 5 9/10" (HxWxD)
First Days Impression - With the speakers tone controls set flat, Vol. 1/2 way. Volume controlled from the system.
Bright, but not piercing, treble.
Extremely mid-e, it is forward but not super "harsh"
Bad bass hump around 140 - 180Hz when pushed, and when a double-bass (doghouse)is mixed up in a tune.
Acoustic Alchemy, Southern Gospel Singing, Bluegrass, Folk, most acoustic music sounded clear & slightly over-bright, but the mid's are fatiguing after a few hours. This applies to Rock, Jazz, Ambient, etc also.
Bass response is no where close to the stated 80Hz, it is more like 110 - 120Hz.
Fantastic stereo definition, you could locate each instrument in the stereo field, side to side AND front to back.
After a week with them.

I have ran them thru most every bit of music I own, and my own mixes. Mostly real CD's, as compared to mp3's or FLAC tracks, so I could hear the unaltered wave files.
The mid's are really forward on all but the hollowest tracks. Tho this is ear fatiguing after 2 hours of intense listening, it really shows where you are at with the vocals, and especially with the reverb tails.
After trying the Bass & Treble controls at every 1/8 setting, starting from the off position, I have decided to leave them at 12:00. They do affect the tone, but the frequencies they are set at is way too broad of a spectrum, so each one really plays havoc with the mid range because of the massive overlap. You drop the bass, a lot of lower mid's drop....crank the treble and a lot of the upper mid's get boosted also, way more than most Bass & Treble controls affect them on other systems.
I have tried them in numerous positions, on the desk, on Mo Pads, bricks, mini milk crates, etc. both standing upright & laying on their side. They sound the best standing upright on a solid surface, like the brick. Also, if you set them at ear level you need to turn them to the outside slightly, so the tweeters shoot past your ears, over you shoulders towards a spot just behind your head. This helps reduce the "edge" of the mid's some, increases the low bass some, and is less fatiguing. (this will work with most speakers, give it a try for a day or so.)
After a Month with them
Overall, they are keepers. Sturdy, not a rattle one, extremely clean at high volumes (It is amazing for only 16 watts total! Nice and punchy when turned up, but no low end to talk about.
The stereo separation is THE big selling point for me.......just phenomenal with these and my Darla20 card. You can place everything in all three plains (L-R, Up-Down, Forward-Back) with no problems.
If you have a home studio setup, and you are using a set of home stereo speakers, or computer speakers, these are a definite upgrade. The only real draw back's I can see when using these for mixing & tracking is the forward mid's, and the lack of low end, but a sub woofer took care of that. The Altec Lansing ACS31's computer speakers that I have been using for the last 5 years had a sub, so I just use it with these. I took a few days adjusting the volume on it, but now my mixes are coming out a lot more balanced than before. The Altec's satellites were 3" cone drivers with no tweeter, so having the tweeter alone is a big improvement!:p
These will let you hear things in that all-important mid range so you can make critical judgements about reverb tails, vocal & snare levels, etc. but it will get to you unless you angel them like I mention above. After that I can do 4+ hours without my ears bleeding! ;)
Are the Resolv or M-Audio 4" monitors better? I have used both for extended lengths of time also, and I can say the M-Audio DX4's have a smoother range all around, but in the end not smooth enough to justify the extra $90 IMHO.
I feel that there is no way you can go wrong with these, just take some time to set them up and they will serve you well until you can get some better monitors, and even after as a 2nd pair to check things on. I mean come on, $60 was a no brainier for me!:D
IMHO, for a small home studio set-up these are THE low priced good buy!

From your description, it sounds like the Behringers are not accurate but instead have enhanced sonic characteristics...like mid range..that may or may not make them accurate.
I record acoustic music almost exclusively and an accurate monitor is critical, as is accurate bass response.
It sounds like the Behringers are not very accurate.

Like any monitor in any room, you have to get use to them. Even tho I think they are a great deal for the situation that I mention in my post, lets face it, they are plastic boxes with dual drivers, they are basically very good computer speakers.
A am also, at the moment, recording mostly acoustic music (Dean EAB, Dreadnought, Mandolin, Recorder) and feel that the monitors do not do the recordings an extreme dis-service, but you will have 2nd guess them at first. I bought these because I need to place money in other pieces of my recording chain (SP B3 & VTB1 next in line). And since I don't have a "tuned room" at the moment (down the road) these will have to suffice for now.
I have worked for so long at home without any type of tweeter that this system sounds very "hyped" in the mid's to me. I have received a few private emails saying how wrong I am, but at this moment I will stand by what I wrote. The mid's seem very forward on this monitor, and the low end is lacking.
Now, ask my in another month or two after I have got use to them, and my answer might be a little different!:D

Well, after all, it is about how well your mixes translate to other systems and I suppose anyone could get used to anything.
Whatever works for you is the best.

The Altec Lansing ACS31's computer speakers that I have been using for the last 5 years had a sub, so I just use it with these. I took a few days adjusting the volume on it, but

Could you describe how you connected Altec's sub woofer with these speakers? Soundcard -> sub -> ms16s?
I have a couple of Creative Inspire speakers. I think I should try this setup.
Thanks for the review man.
cheers,
Ananth

Hello Ananth,
Actually it was really simple. The Altec Sub has a built in crossover and volume control, so all I did was buy a 1/8th" Stereo Y-Adaptor that was one Male to 2 Female sockets, like for head phones.
Since posting this I have upgraded my setup, and because of some problems with the Darla20 card I got a Behringer FCA202 external unit. This has 1/4" outs, so here is what I have done.....
I had 2 1/4" phono jack to RCA adapters, so I plugged them into the outs.
Got another Y cable that is 2 Male RCA's to 1 1/8" Stereo Female.
Plugged this into the FCA202, then plugged in the 1/8" Male to 2 1/8" Female jack adapter.
I then ran 2 1/8"Stereo cables, one to the MS16 inputs, and one to the Altec Sub's input.
The reason for all of this is because the Sub only has an Input, so there is not a way to crossover the MS16's, since there is no out after the crossover. So the MS16's are still full range, but the sub is only reproducing the 110Hz & down range.
After going thru all the balancing that I did before, I now have a decent setup for the 'ol home studio that works quite well.
I hope this helps!

Thanks man. I'll give it a try sometime.