I'd like to take this time to introduce myself first, or rather explain my background. For those of you who wish to skip this crap, just skip this. I'll put a line break for ya :)

Like most audio production enthusiast, I started out in music as a child learning an instrument (guitar for me) and progressing from there. It wasn't until about 99/2000 that I got into recording and using DAWs. Since then I have been building my techniques and knowledge on the subject, but am still fairly green to the field. I have plenty of experience, and am no noob to the way things work, but I still have a lot to learn.

I'm currently enrolled in a training/apprenticeship program called The Recording Connection. This course is unlike most college audio production courses whereas instead of learning in a classroom, I learn in a real professional studio with real professionals. I've learned quite a bit from my brief exposure to the field and am becoming more and more disappointed with my previous techniques in the way I handle mixing, recording, etc.

This post is more for a sense of reassuring for myself than a simple "are these monitors good?" thread. Before I get into this post, please keep in mind that I am on the par of a "starving artist" when it comes to financial status..

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So like I said, I'm currently enrolled in a training course for audio engineering. My studio set up at home is real low-tek, with my computer being the most expensive thing I own. I do use Logic and Pro Tools, which are expensive too, but enough about that.

Basically, I'm doing things on a budget. I picked up a pair of M-Audio AV40s from GC today and immediately took them to the studio I train at to test them out with my chief engineer Michael Vail Blum and his assistant Julias. After reading the reviews for these monitors and discussing the pros/cons of active monitors vs passive monitors, we decided that the AV40s would be fine for simple mixing at home, as I can always bring my mixes into the studio to polish them once I get a decent mixed worked out.

My question, or reason for posting is, does anyone have experience with these monitors? I heard from many people that they aren't the best for mixing, sound sh*tty, are a "waste of money", etc. But coming from my standpoint and position with finances and such, are these really that bad to work with? I'm sure I'll get a lot of the same from the seasoned engineers/mixers here, but basically what I'm asking is if these monitors are a good start set for someone getting into the game?

Total cost was $160. Yeah, very cheap. But honestly, they don't sound bad. They are a little bright, and apparently they are heavy on the mid-range. So I was also wondering if I could get some tips on "learning speakers". How would I be able to adjust my sound for the monitors I have, so as to make my mixes still sound presentable/good on other systems, knowing that these will probably make me mix material specifically to sound good on them?

A link to M-Audio's website about these monitors:
m-audio.com/products/en_us/StudiophileAV40.html

Wow I rambled way too much, sorry.