Greetings and Welcome to LGR: Exploring Retro Technology

As enthusiasts of retro technology, we're always excited to share our passion with others. Today, we're going to be talking about computer speakers, specifically the Roland MA-12C Micro Monitors, released in 1990 for about $300 US dollars per pair. These speakers have been a topic of interest among our viewers for the past year, and we're happy to report that they absolutely live up to their original asking price.

The Roland MA-12C Micro Monitors are not only impressive in terms of their sound quality but also visually striking. They've always caught our eye when featured in the background of our videos, with comments pouring in about how great they look. But what's behind their sleek design? The speakers boast an array of knobs and features that set them apart from other computer speakers of the time.

We've received a number of questions about these speakers, ranging from what specific model of Roland speakers they are to why they have so many knobs. One question in particular caught our attention: do these speakers still hold up today? The answer is yes. We've had the opportunity to try out these speakers and can confidently say that they're some of the best computer speakers we've ever heard.

One reason for this is their build quality. While they may not be as cheaply built as other '90s computer speakers, they certainly make up for it with their sturdy construction. The speakers are encased in a beefy plastic shell wrapped in a band of rubber to prevent sliding and dampen surface vibrations. This attention to detail shows that the designers cared about creating a high-quality product.

The MA-12C Micro Monitors also feature a unique active circuit that allows for adjustments to be made on each speaker individually, including bass and treble levels as well as volume. While this may seem like a convenient feature, it does come with some minor complications. For example, you'll need to turn each speaker on individually, which can become tiresome over time.

Another feature of these speakers is their inputs and outputs. Each unit has three mono inputs on the back: microphone, instrument, and line. The line input is where you'll connect a PC for line-level audio from a sound card. However, when it comes to plugging in speakers, you may find that the quality quarter-inch jacks can be limiting. In most situations, you'll need a cable like this one, which Roland was happy to sell you for an additional thirty bucks or so.

Despite these minor drawbacks, we can confidently say that the Roland MA-12C Micro Monitors are some of the best retro computer speakers available today. They're high-quality, magnetically-shielded, well-amplified, and sound wonderful. Whether you're looking to upgrade your retro PC setup or simply want to experience the sound of vintage computers, these speakers are definitely worth checking out.

In conclusion, we hope that our review has helped answer some of the questions you've had about the Roland MA-12C Micro Monitors. These speakers are truly a standout product in the world of retro computer technology, and we're excited to see what the future holds for them. As always, thank you for watching LGR, and we'll catch you in the next video!

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enGreetings and welcome to an LGR thing!And today we’re gonna be talking about computerspeakers, and in particular, computer speakers*you’ve* been talking about on my commentsfor the past year.These are the Roland MA-12C Micro Monitors,released in 1990 for about $300 US dollars per pair.Yeah, with an original asking price like thatyou’d expect them to be awesome, and I’mhappy to report that they absolutely are.They’re also quite eye-catching, as justabout every time I’ve shown them in thebackground of an LGR video there are alwayscomments saying as much.And it’s not just general compliments, I’vereceived no shortage of questions about themas well, ranging from what exact model ofRoland speakers they are, why they have somany knobs and why they come in identicalpairs, how they hook up to a sound card, andwhether or not they’re worth buying andusing today, along with various opinions regardingthe Roland logo printed on the faceplate.And I’ll go ahead and respond to that lastone right now: that Roland logo is great andI wouldn’t have it any other way.And no there's no sponsorships or anythinghere I just have always liked Roland, eversince I was a kid.I lusted after everything from the RolandMT-32 and Sound Canvas sound device optionsin my favorite computer games, and was absolutelyenamored with the capabilities of each Rolandsynthesizer I came across in music storesaround town.Heck, half of my MIDI Mountain consists ofRoland hardware, because when it comes toretro PC games for DOS and Windows, it’srare that you’ll regret going with Roland gear.So naturally, I wanted some Roland speakersto go along with it.While I was lucky enough to find these RolandMA-8s for a good price while thrifting, Iwas a bit disappointed in their build quality.They look slick and they sound pretty decentcompared to your basic ‘90s computer speakers,but the plastic feels cheap, the audio inputbroke after a week, and they’re lightweightenough that they often slide around.That led me to the Roland MA-12Cs, which I’dseen in various articles in old computer magazines,praising their quality with statements like,“if money is no object and you simply musthave the best set of mini speakers in thebusiness, Roland’s MA-12C micro monitorsare hard to beat for both expense and performance.”And they just looked boss.Heh, yeah pun intended, they’re also soldunder Roland’s Boss brand as the MA-12V.And while those looked great as well, I reallywanted some beige speakers to go alongsidemy various beige CRTs and PCs from the ‘90s,because it’s doggone appropriate.And they’re easier to find and a bit lesscostly it seems, selling secondhand at around$60 a pair back in 2017.And finally, the MA-12Cs are specificallybuilt with internal magnetic shielding sothat they don’t interfere with computerparts sensitive to magnetic interference.Far as I can tell the MA-12Vs don’t havethe same shielding, at least according to the manual.I also love that the MA-12C manual specificallyshows it hooking up to the MT-32 as an example,so in terms of wanting something period-appropriatefor my PCs these are pretty much ideal forwhat I was looking to accomplish both aestheticallyand technically.They’re also built ridiculously well, encasedin a beefy plastic shell that’s wrappedin a band of rubber to prevent sliding anddampen surface vibrations, and with a sturdymetal grille to protect the speaker cones.Each unit weighs in at two and a half kilograms,or five and a half pounds, so if anythingtheir weight also lends them credence.Even the built-in power cord is a beast, witheach speaker boasting one of these substantialcables that just screams “AMPLIFIER.”Each speaker is rather large too, much moreakin to studio monitors rather than the typicalkinds of desktop computer speakers you’dmore commonly see in the ‘90s.They aren’t built to the specificationsof a studio monitor, and they don’t soundas good as say, my Mackie CR4 reference monitors,but that’s fine by me.The MA-12Cs each feature a single 10 centimeter6 ohm mid-range speaker outputting at 10 watts,more than enough to make DOS games and MIDImusic sound lovely.Again, it’s nothing groundbreaking, butthey are by far the best computer speakersI’ve ever heard from the time period, andcombine that with the look, build quality,and Roland fanboy branding, and they’rea no-brainer for me.I also love that you get these knobs on eachspeaker, which tie into an active circuitfor adjusting the bass and treble, along withthe amplifier for volume.This is a welcome option for those that want,or need, to adjust stereo separation and acousticsto make the best of tricky room layouts andhearing situations.However, that’s not to say this is convenient,because ah, it’s not.Every time I want to turn them on you haveto do so for each of them individually, andthe same goes for adjusting the volume.Unless that is you connect them to a powerstrip and an external audio control box ofsome kind, which is exactly what I do whenI set these up.The minor complications that may or may notbother you at all continue around back withthe inputs and outputs.There are three mono inputs on the back ofeach unit: microphone, instrument, and line,with line being the port you’ll use witha PC for line-level audio from a sound card.Now, I’m not normally one to complain aboutquality quarter-inch jacks like thisI love me a thick jack.But when it comes to plugging speakers intoa 486 PC or whatever, unless you’re exclusivelyusing an MT-32 and MPU-401 or something, you’reprobably dealing with a stereo 3.5mm audio jack.So in most situations you’ll need a cablelike this, which of course Roland was happyto sell you for an additional thirty bucksor something.You get two one quarter-inch mono jacks onthis end, which combine into a single 3.5mmstereo audio jack on the other end.So yeah, not a huge deal, just a step beyondthe majority of easy-going desktop computer speakers I’ve used.But the result of all this is that you gethigh quality, magnetically-shielded, wellamplified, retro computer speakers that Ithink look fantastic and sound wonderful.Obviously you’re not gonna hear how theyactually sound through a YouTube video, butto me the sound profile has just enough ofthe high and low end for PC games to soundauthentic as well as pleasing.And there’s practically nothing in the wayof noise and distortion, you can crank theMA-12Cs up dangerously loud without any issueand as long as you have a nice grounded connectionthey sound just as pleasantwhen nothing is playing at all.So yeah, to answer all those questions you’veasked me:the Roland MA-12Cs are great speakers, retro or not.About my only complaints are the inconvenienceof using them and setting them up, and thefact that they don’t have a headphone jackon front.Not a big deal, I rarely use headphones onretro PCs, but I feel it should be mentioned regardless.And that’s it for the MA-12Cs!To sum it up they’re awesomefor old computer speakersand I recommend the crap out of them if you can find them.And yeah, lemme know in the comments whatyou thought about this kind of video, whetheror not you’d like to see more, or if youstill have questions.Either way there are new videos every weekhere on LGR so I hope you enjoyed enough tocheck back for that.And as always thank you very much for watching!\n"