Avantone MixCubes Active Single Cream

Much has been written about the benefits of the small mid-range speaker for improving your mix. For anyone not sure why this is a good idea there is a great in-depth look at this by Mike Senior for Sound on Sound. ()

You won't want these as your first or only pair of mix monitors, but they complement your main monitoring. Also, it will take a little while to get used to using them.

A simple way of thinking about it is to use the speaker to ensure that your mix sounds good on a small speaker, such as a mono radio or desktop speaker. However, there are some very significant other reasons why the MixCube works very well. It updates the long-discontinued classic Auratone 5C Soundcube, which was used (and almost certainly still is) to help mix many classic top records.

Getting the mix sorted in the mid-range, without any crossover or bass frequency room modes to interfere is really helpful. I'm actually using three of these and really loving the results. I switch between the mono centre speaker and a pair either side at 60' (all arranged equidistantly from my chair) I feed the centre speaker with a passively summed mono feed, slightly lifted by 3-6db to compensate for the natural loss in level).

The speakers are really solid (quite weighty) and well-made, with nice external (very heavy) PSUs. They sit on the meter bridge of my desk very nicely and have attracted lots of positive comments since they arrived. Gives a good impression.

When you switch to the MixCubes, you notice the relatively 'boxy' sound straight away and then your ears quickly adjust. You can then start working on vocal levels, kick / bass levels and other relative levels without the speakers distorting or resonating. (Also there's no artificial port resonance or boom). When you switch back to your main nearfields there is a really gratifying change of perspective and the results of the adjustments immediately become apparent. I am finding that the better the mix adjustments I have made, the more seamless the transition back and forth between the speakers seems. (i.e. nothing disappears from the mix or jumps out when I switch). So this helps me judge how well I'm doing.

So overall, I'm really impressed and I can heartily recommend them. Use just one for a handy mono check and relative balance tool or use two or even three.

Someone once described Avantone MixCubes as the best bad speaker in the world. It took getting one to know what they meant. When I say they sound bad, that's not what I mean. What I mean is that they're really great at exposing all of the flaws in your mix, especially in the mids. It saved a bunch of bouncing mixes to listen through phones and cars and all the usual places. It's worth the money for the time saved alone. I can instantly reference a mix knowing I have a really flat speaker representative of many different real-world listening experiences, and can make educated mix decisions mid-production. I mix better because of it, and there are not too many tools that you can confidently say that about.

I only own it for few months and it has improved my mixes considerably. I'm not very experienced in mixing, not that great also. But it helped my mixes, and even more it helped my skill. It will draw your attention to things you wouldn't notice.

It's been said before in the reviews and I second that a single driver monitor is vital to deliver great mixes with consistency. No crossover, no bass. You can critically listen and make decisions with safety for vocals, cymbals, lead parts etc. You can also listen to the balance of your mix. You should be able to hear the bass elements if the mix is good. If not there will be problems. If the mix sounds good in the single mixcube (mono), it will translate well enough even in laptops and mobile phones. It will also help you very very much to reference your mix with other mixes. It will make your mixes and your skills better as well.

MixCube is perfect for that job. Great quality, great clarity in the mid upper range. It's a great tool. It's not meant to be used for pleasure, or as main monitors.