So I received a pair of Mixcubes the other day and have a little time to put them through their paces. I had problems getting them set up as I was experiencing a lot of mains buzz from a ground loop (which I don’t have on any other equipment) but, after a quick trip to maplins and buying and installing a ground-loop-isolator, they were rocking with no perceivable noise (PHEW!). Lots of other users seem to have had this problem so it’s clearly a massive design flaw…

My initial sonic impressions were just as I expected – they have a very prominent mid-range without much treble or bass, which really brings vocals, guitars and snare to the forefront of the listeners attention. They’re actually quite pleasant to listen to when a recording is well mixed, and it’s nice to listen to the focal points of a mix without being distracted by deep bass or extreme treble.

The “bass” is there, but slopes off (approximately) from around 200Hz, and recordings actually sound quite warm on them (not harsh or brittle, unless mixed that way). Compression on mid-range instruments is very easy to hear and mixing these elements seems a lot easier on the Mixcubes – levels become “obvious”!

Off-axis these speakers sound pretty nasty, so make sure you set them up properly. The cream colour is a bit odd, but quite retro… the heavy varnishing makes them seem pretty robust though.

All in all, possibly one of the best purchases I’ve made for the studio.