Okay, I had a good two days with the M-Audio Studiophile AV40 speakers so far. Here are my first impressions, if you have any specific questions just ask.
First off, if you are looking for speakers that you can crank and go BOOM for rap or techno music, these are not the speakers for you. Go for the logitech z-2300s. They are good speakers and due to the large sub, it is excellent for techno, rap, and the special effects in movies. If that is what you really like in a system, go for those. You have to decide what your musical preference is in order to pick the right system for yourself.
The AV-40s are truly amazing for a 2.0 system. Their clarity is so clear. At first you may not notice it, but the sound is very "real". They do not have a processed sound like many other computer speakers. When I listened to the z-2300s, I did get the feeling that the music was processed too much and came out too bassy. Because of this, these fit my musical taste much better than the z-2300s
I also like the size. You have to remember they arent a small set of speakers, as mentioned before they are more of a bookshelf speaker than a desktop but I do prefer not having a sub. I am going to set these up in my dorm room and I just do not have the room for a large 8 inch sub.
They also get loud. I did not really believe a previous poster that he normally listened to his AV-40s are 25% volume, and 50% if he wants to annoy this neighbors. This holds true for me as well. They do get loud and they remain clear when you raise the volume.
The build quality is also amazing. They are not plastic-y like the logitechs and they just have a better overall look and feel.
I also like the volume knob integrated into the left speaker compared to the separate controller of the z-2300s. Once again this is a personal preference. The AV-40's do have an AUX in unlike the z-2300s if this is important to you. I have my ipod dock connected to the Aux in and my computer connected the conventional way.
In the end, I made the right decision. You really can't lose with either system especially for the same price point. In reality you do have to decide what is your musical preference is. If you are a normal computer user that wants good speakers for games,movies and music go for the z-2300s. You will believe they sound great and you will be happy. If you are what we would call an audiophile and want the speakers more for the music than games or movies, go with the M-Audio Studiophile AV-40. I love how they sound. I typically listen to alternative music. The sub on the z-2300s was overpowering most of the songs and I knew that was not how the artist intended the music to be. It was not even that the music sounded bad, just as an audiophile I wanted to listen to the music as intended by the artist and these speakers allow me to hear it that way with true clarity.
