I initially bought the box MA120 MKII for use with my Alesis sample pad as it was under the section for electronic drums amplification. I was buying this item confidently as the majority of reviews were good.
Upon plugging in the monitor I immediately noticed that the standby button was not working. I then connected my sample pad to the monitor and was shocked by the poor sound quality of the said monitor. The sound was very weak and could not turn the volume up more than half way as the monitor would start to clip. I informed Thomann about the problem and they offered me to exchange the item for another one. I opted to upgrade and pay extra for this monitor instead as I thought that I was making the right choice.
Upon receiving the parcel I noticed that the unit was massive and really heavy, making it almost impossible to carry it without any help. I thought that all the extra weight meant better quality. How wrong I was!
To my surprise, the standby button was not working (again!) and while the volume was a little bit louder, I still had the same clipping problem and overall low volume. This time, I did not ask Thomann for an exchange, neither for a refund as I had already paid the postage twice for this piece of crap. Instead, I asked whether the standby button is supposed to work or not and to suggest a solution for my problems. This would obviously cost them nothing. However, they opted to say that there was nothing wrong with the first unit in the first place and from then on they did not reply to my emails.
Being a regular Thomann customer and having spent a lot of money on instruments throughout the years I feel offended and disgusted with this experience and probably I will never buy from Thomann again. I also found out that reviews are very misleading and that the cheaper the instrument, the better the reviews are. Isn?t that strange?
Now for the PROS and CONS. Still has more PROS than CONS though!
PROS:
1. Ideal for power lifters, body builders or big guys who like to add an extra training session to their routine while at the same time enjoying another hobby. Also ideal for the employee willing to destroy his back and get some sick leave.
2. Covered with nice carpet.
3. Ideal for demonstrating how a monitor should not be built.
4. Can also be used as a stool by simply adding a cushion.
5. Cabinet is very robust and can be used in circuses for some elephants stepping on it.
6. Quickly fills up large empty spaces.
7. Has a nice black colour.
8. Looks like it is a quality monitor.
9. Has many good 4-star rating reviews, while 1 or 2- star ratings do not have any reviews.
10. Has all the controls on the front, making it very practical to adjust settings.
11. Can connect another monitor or another speaker to it.
12. Has a nice kettle plug that can be used as a spare power cord for your electric kettle.
13. Can also be mounted on a very sturdy stand.
14. Ideal for low volume setups.
15. Made in China ? the world?s largest economy.
16. Comes in a great box that you can use to store large items.
CONS:
1. Really heavy to carry around.
2. No adequate handles for two people to carry this thing around.
3. Standby button for decoration purposes only.
4. Weak volume.
5. Cannot turn up the volume more than half way as it starts to clip.
6. Crappy sound quality.
7. Does not have a jack input.
