The Alesis Monitor One Mk2 monitors surprised me with really good sound quality and stereo imaging. Listening to these makes it evident that the engineers who worked on this product really made an effort to sweat the small details that make for truly good sound. The crossover network (the electronic circuit that transfers high frequencies to the tweeter and low frequencies to the woofer) is one of the most critical components in a good loudspeaker system, and it's not easy to get it right in a passive loudspeaker system - but the Alesis engineers managed to do it. The result is smooth imaging and sound dispersion through the midrange and into the high frequencies, which makes the sound seem "larger than the box" - you never hear a little wooden box, instead you hear a glorious expanse of sound filling the entire sound stage.