I’m using these as computer speakers for
Pandora, mp3s and DAW software;
and I am enjoying the sound quality.

For the sake of informing potential buyers,
I’ll say:

With a ‘normal’ at home computer set-up,
these are very large compared to
‘normal’ computer speakers,
so keep that in mind.
It’s the trade off for superior sound,
and not needing a sub-woofer,
or a large box shaped
power adapter plug spanning 2-3 outlets.
These have a basic electrical plug (like a table lamp).

I have these speakers pointing straight ahead,
with the tops of them around heart level,
and they sound fine.
However, it is recommended by M-Audio
that you have them at ear level,
and angled to make an equilateral triangle with your head.
I would say it’s good advice, if you can pull that off.

The main speaker with the connections / volume is the left speaker.

You have two options for connecting these speakers
with your computer.
The standard 3.5mm to 3.5mm cable,
which plugs into ‘Aux in’ on the front of the left speaker;
or 3.5mm to RCA which plugs into the back of the left speaker.
Both cables are included.

If your computer room gets hot
you might want to turn these off
when you don’t need them;
because the left speaker produces a noticeable
amount of heat from the back,
after being on for hours.
Honestly, it’s the same amount
that those big box power adapters
emit; the only difference is that it’s coming
from the location of your speaker.

== Update ==
10/8/2012
===========

The right speaker stopped producing sound,
on 9/21/2012, a little over a year after purchase.
A month or so prior to this
the right speaker started to produce a
crackling sound if I changed the volume
(using the knob on the left speaker)
while listening to music.

When I emailed m-audio about this the reply was a list of
repair centers that I could contact for a “non-warranty repair”.
I called the one nearest to me, and they said it would be to start
and then per hour, plus parts. That’s not going to happen…

I want to do business with a company that is
utterly fascinated about why their product stopped working;
especially when it is a recurring case, which we can see from the reviews here.
M-audio doesn’t seem to care.

4 stars for the sound quality I enjoyed for a year.
-2 stars for breaking shortly after the warranty expired.

This should be a good help to those with questions.

Having spent a full week researching desktop speakers to replace my old 5.1 Altec Lansing 2001 solution I decided upon the M-Audio Studiophile AV40s. The competition was a variety of Bose speakers promoted in a few trips to the local Best Buy store. I in fact bought one of the first Bose cube speaker systems in the early 80’s, I considered strongly the Audioengine A2 offering. I had set a 0 soft target. The reviews for the AV40 exceeded that for other systems I considered. I have a few different systems in the house from a relatively recent home theater to a vintage stereo set up. The majority of my music has been converted to the FLAC format and I wanted a clear true sound that imaged well. This is a lot to expect for 0 speakers. I also hope to become a Spotify user but am yet to receive an invite. I use MOG and Napster also. As I was ready to check out for the 9 AV40’s what should appear on my screen but the following:

There is a newer model of this item:
M-Audio Studiophile AV40 Powered Monitor Speakers M-Audio Studiophile AV40 Powered Monitor Speakers 4.5 out of 5 stars (22)
4.99

What did this mean? Was I buying “obsolete” speakers. Were these “newer” speakers updated/better/more options/what? I went to the M-Audio web page and there was no mention of a “newer” model.
I held off the buy. In some web postings a MK II version of the AV30 was mentioned. Was this “newer” offering a MK II version of the AV40? Amazon did not mention this in the offering. Then a few postings from recent AV40 buyers mentioned that their new Amazon AV 40s did not have the bass boost option and 15 watt amps instead of the AV’s 20 watt amps. When contacted M-Audio said “we do not make any AV40s with less than 20 watts per channel”. Confusing, Yes. I would still like an answer from Amazon whether these are AV 40s specifically made to sell at a lower price point like the big box stores do with many of the products that they sell. And if so why was this not pointed out by Amazon. All that aside I did have a severe case of new speaker lust and decided to take a chance on the “newer” model AV 40s.
And guess what they are terrific. I can’t compare whether I am missing something with 5 less watts per channel and no Bass boost, but what I have is very good at sound reproduction. I wish that Amazon comes out and openly addresses this issue.

PS. As good as the AV40’s are my computer has an integrated sound card so I made a brilliant purchase of a Behringer usb DAC adapter and now the sound is better than terrific. It sparkles. Close your eyes and there are no speakers. The vocals are front and center. One can hear sounds I even missed with my Ultimate Ears ear buds on my Cowon Flac player. The instruments stand out in time and space.

For 4 plus I nearly have a concert hall on my desk.