I read all of the glowing reviews of this product and considering the low price point these monitors seemed like a "no-brainer" purchase. The speakers were going to be suspended on the wall of my tracking room and used as playback monitors for musicians to spot check their recordings. They weight a little more than 15 pounds each, so they are not light like most traditional bookshelf speakers. The cabinet is dense (laminated) particle board with a nice fit and finish. Good looking, but nothing fancy either. Since they were not going to be used as critical monitors in the control room or for mix & mastering cost was a serious factor for most project studio owners, isn't it?  The Alesis Monitor1 MKii's are a good, practical solution.