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Any Audioengine A5+ competitors?

carewser

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I would prefer not. I don't have anywhere to really put one. I wasn't going to say anything because I thought I might upset people too much but the form factor of this thing looks really interesting to me. It's the Jamo S 808 Subwoofer. I haven't looked past the product page yet.

View attachment 151281

Yup, i'm triggered by this Jamo sub, how dare you post that here?!?!

Seriously though, why would anyone get upset? That's a neat looking sub
 

carewser

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Ideally, but not in practice, desktop speakers such as the A5+ will certainly be tuned. They will not be aiming for neutrality. Think who the target audience likely is, neutrality is so far from what those consumers want. I'm speculating, but I don't think it is unreasonable speculation.

According to Audioengine, the A5+ speaker's frequency response is 50hz-22khz+/-1.5db which I didn't even know until after I got home with them I was in such a hurry to buy them and is partly the reason I paid full price for the matching S8 sub because it also claims to be +/-1.5db which is the flattest frequency response i've ever seen not to mention the fact that it goes down to 27hz although i've also heard here that their frequency response isn't that flat which didn't surprise me since they're only $400/pair US
 
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Daemos_x

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According to Audioengine, the A5+ speaker's frequency response is 50hz-22khz+/-1.5db which I didn't even know until after I got home with them I was in such a hurry to buy them and is partly the reason I paid full price getting the matching S8 sub because it also claims to be +/-1.5db which is the flattest frequency response i've ever seen not to mention the fact that it goes down to 27hz although i've also heard here that their frequency response isn't that flat which didn't surprise me since they're only $400/pair US

Based on these measurements
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/.../audioengine-a5-powered-speaker-review.13803/ the A5+ starts rolling off after around the 90-100hz range (assuming I have interpreted the charts correctly)
 
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Revolite

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Yup, i'm triggered by this Jamo sub, how dare you post that here?!?!

Seriously though, why would anyone get upset? That's a neat looking sub

The slim sub is a really cool form factor that I didn't know existed. But I've never heard them mentioned so I assumed they sound bad and make audiophiles sad. Maybe I should start a slim sub thread?
 

carewser

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The slim sub is a really cool form factor that I didn't know existed. But I've never heard them mentioned so I assumed they sound bad and make audiophiles sad. Maybe I should start a slim sub thread?

Maybe you should because most slim subs i've seen are flat floor standers designed to go under tables/furniture so this ones different from all those with a nifty retro look
 

A Surfer

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Yes, a small speaker desktop speaker will not produce any truly significant lower bass. There is just a hard limit to what a 5" driver in a small cabinet can do so the idea that it has any meaningful bass around 50Hz seems somewhat wishful thinking. You would absolutely need a sub with the A5+. That doesn't mean that without a sub it won't be enjoyable, it will, but for certain lower bass will be lean.
 

Robert394

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I had the A5+, Yamaha HS7, and Adam A7X. The A7X are on another level from the other two. You might want to look at the Hedd Type 05 or Type 07s which should be better than the A7X but comparable price.
 

EdTice

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Based on these measurements
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/.../audioengine-a5-powered-speaker-review.13803/ the A5+ starts rolling off after around the 90-100hz range (assuming I have interpreted the charts correctly)
The shape of the curve changes at around 90hz but the drop is not sharp at all. The manufacturer claims 50 Hz-22 kHz ±1.5 dB. My guess is that is not at the same power level that Amir measures here which is reasonable since these seem to be targeted toward desktop use. The 2.83V/1m is a good standardized measurement to use here (especially since its the same voltage at which sensitivity is specified) but the curves are usually flatter at lower volumes. Without indicating what SPL the manufacturer uses to derive that, it's hard to know how meaningful the frequency response is :( But even at 2.83V, the 50Hz is within 10dB so the range isn't too bad. There's no measurement that's perfect for everybody. I think Amir has talked about testing desktop speakers at lower SPL since that curve is of more interest but then it also makes comparisons harder.
 

Sengin

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That price : performance chart is nice, but it doesn't take EQ into effect which will dramatically shift things around. I've been doing a lot of searching around lately as I'm also looking for a stereo set, and as I will be hooking them up to a PC I'm only interested in the post-EQ ratings. While I haven't seen every review and every preference rating after EQ, if you only care about price then I don't think you can beat the JBL Studio 530. $240 (USD) for a pair and they EQ to a PS of 6.1 (and a low frequency extension of 41 Hz)! They are rather tall though... The Wharferdale Diamond 12.1's are highly recommended, even though they have a lower PS (6.0) and cost almost twice the amount.

I haven't yet gotten a grasp on how to *really* interpret PS though (I know that it only takes into effect sound quality - size/shape of speaker, reliability, support, etc isn't factored in). If it's simple as "higher number better" then the QEF Q350 would get a golfing/soccer panther just like the Elac Debut Reference DBR-62s did (the KEF actually have a 6.4 PS compared to the DBR-62's 6.3) - perhaps it is as simple as most people do not consider the post-EQ PS? I would also expect to see the JBL Studio 530s recommended all over here but I haven't seen a single recommendation. Meanwhile, for double the price I've seen the JBL 308p MKII's recommended. They have a 6.5 PS compared to 6.1. However, both of the smaller brothers (the 306p MKII and the 305p MKII) have a PS just a smidge lower at 6.4 and are quite a bit cheaper yet I don't see them mentioned next to the 308p.

The other super common recommendation is the Kali LP-6 V2. For $400 you get a PS of 6.3. These do indeed beat out just about everything else in that price class I could find. But you still see recommendations for the Kali IN-8 V2 - even though at double the price their PS is lower - 5.9. You also see a lot of recommendations for the slightly higher in price ADAM T5V's - even though the PS is lower (5.9 - low frequency extension is only 48Hz compared to the LP-6's 39Hz which no doubt reflects most of the difference of the PS).

But if you were going to use PS score anyway to decide, if you can use EQ for your setup (probably yes since you mention on your desk?) make sure to look at the post-EQ score too.
 

EdTice

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The slim sub is a really cool form factor that I didn't know existed. But I've never heard them mentioned so I assumed they sound bad and make audiophiles sad. Maybe I should start a slim sub thread?
This particular subwoofer only plays down to 39Hz per the manufacturer. So it looks cool and would probably sound great if you added a subwoofer! However, it's very attractively priced (under $130 for the 10" version at Adorama) Although I worded this in a somewhat humorous way, I've talked before about wanting to have subwoofers that fit under couches and this one would do the trick. If I wanted to deploy four subwoofers, I would definitely consider putting a pair of these under some seating positions. I just get too lazy for that much setup work.

Keep in mind that, although 39Hz lower limit is not going to get many people excited, most pro audio setups only go down to 40Hz and venues can sound pretty good. This is doubly true if you play "club mixes" where the people who mix it (hopefully) know that there isn't reproduction below 40Hz and make sure it sounds good on such equipment. And again the price point is very favorable.
 

Old Listener

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I would be shocked if classical music was even considered as a relevant genre for the tuning of a desktop speaker such as the A5+. I am simply speculating here of course, but for the most part I imagine the fan base for classical music will be somewhat older people, not exclusively, but significantly 55 years plus I would wager. Not likely the target demographic so probably the design of the A5+ is geared towards popular music, electronic, R&B, but not classical which is such a small percentage of the music market that I don't imagine there is much of a penalty for ignoring it.

It doesn't help that so many classical recordings are dreadful quality. You need to research the heck out of things to find the gems. I know I tried and gave up out of frustration. Yes I know, Naxos and Dutch Gramophone are reputed to have a decent catalogue, but even there there are more than enough duds to make one give up.
Your post is just speculation and opinion.

These days, most middle or upper class seniors in the USA have a computer in their home.

I'm one of those 55+ classical music listeners. I listen most often on my desktop audio system which has currently has Audioengine HD6 powered speakers. Before that I used Audioengine A5 speakers for 10 years. Regardless of who the A5s and HD6s were targeted to, they work very well for desktop audio.

I find that the technical quality of recordings of classical music ranges from pretty decent to very, very good. Not many recordings have excessive dynamic compression often found in recordings of other genres. I rearely hear a classical music recording that has obvious editing problems.

Performances do vary. Finding performances that fit your taste does take some effort but there are plenty of reviews online. YouTube videos of classical music performances are a good way to sample for free. Subscribing to a streaming music is a good way to sample too.
 

A Surfer

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Your post is just speculation and opinion.

These days, most middle or upper class seniors in the USA have a computer in their home.

I'm one of those 55+ classical music listeners. I listen most often on my desktop audio system which has currently has Audioengine HD6 powered speakers. Before that I used Audioengine A5 speakers for 10 years. Regardless of who the A5s and HD6s were targeted to, they work very well for desktop audio.

I find that the technical quality of recordings of classical music ranges from pretty decent to very, very good. Not many recordings have excessive dynamic compression often found in recordings of other genres. I rearely hear a classical music recording that has obvious editing problems.

Performances do vary. Finding performances that fit your taste does take some effort but there are plenty of reviews online. YouTube videos of classical music performances are a good way to sample for free. Subscribing to a streaming music is a good way to sample too.
Regardless, I would be shocked if anybody uses classical music for tuning their mass consumer targeted, desktop speakers. The exception proves the rule as they say.
 

EdTice

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I find that the technical quality of recordings of classical music ranges from pretty decent to very, very good. Not many recordings have excessive dynamic compression often found in recordings of other genres. I rearely hear a classical music recording that has obvious editing problems.
I just finished commenting in another thread how bad classical music CDs sounded when they first came out... because of the lack of dynamic compression and poor DACs! Funny how times change. Of course, for those who like to listen to classical music while working, I've actually compressed the dynamic range myself as the loud transients can be jarring and break my concentration!
 

RickSanchez

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The slim sub is a really cool form factor that I didn't know existed. But I've never heard them mentioned so I assumed they sound bad
I think @sweetchaos has one or two slim subwoofers in his subwoofer comparison spreadsheet; that would be a place to start to see how they perform.

That said standard measurements of a sub may not be as helpful for a slim sub when you factor in placement. If you decide to only use 1 slim sub in your setup and you place that sub directly underneath your listening position, I'm guessing the bass frequencies would sound very localized. (i.e., that they were coming from underneath you vs. coming from the TV or your mains.) A slim sub underneath you would probably sound a lot better when integrated with at least 1 other sub in the room.
 

Old Listener

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Regardless, I would be shocked if anybody uses classical music for tuning their mass consumer targeted, desktop speakers. The exception proves the rule as they say.
Here's a revolutionary thought: The A5s and HD6s were designed to reproduce music as recorded within limits of cost and size. They weren't targeted to any genres at the expense of fidelity.
 

A Surfer

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Here's a revolutionary thought: The A5s and HD6s were designed to reproduce music as recorded within limits of cost and size. They weren't targeted to any genres at the expense of fidelity.
I'm not entirely sure that what you are saying is completely true, unless there is some information that clearly addresses those assertions. I do not think it is at all a stretch to imagine that at some point in the development of any piece of audio reproduction gear that engineers, evaluators, managers who need to sign off on a stage of development will play actual music through the devices as part of their evaluation work. That should not be a controversial assertion for me to make.

My point remains, classical music is such an irrelevant genre in terms of popularity (not in terms of validity as an art form) that to imagine it likely that anybody would really use that genre to tune/evaluate with, in any meaningful way, to me feels like a stretch. In particular desktop speakers that are mass market/consumer and affordable. Now if we we're talking large, expensive designed to fill a room speakers, I could see somebody saying hey, we need to run some classical or large scale ensemble music through these bad boys because reasonably, some of their target audience, however small a percentage, may actually listen to classical. I will take a risk and be wildly speculative and suggest that as the speakers get bigger and more designed for larger rooms, more expensive systems, that the percentage of users who actually listen to classical would go up. Simply speculation on my part of course.

Saying this, I will of course note that it is entirely possible that classical music may experience a, pardon the pun, renaissance, and rise in popularity. But even so, it would have to rise a very long way to become truly relevant in any commercial sense. Still, there are niches and gear is targeted to niches so somewhere I could imagine somebody designing speakers with classical music as their main evaluation genre. Why not?

I would also be quite a fool to not acknowledge that I agree with your general point that it would be bad business to design a speaker or headphone to excel at only one genre at the expense of general reproductive fidelity. That was never my point. As terrible as this admission will sound, I will be honest and say that I forget what even started this line of conversation and I don't feel compelled to go back and read the thread again. Very lazy on my part for sure.
 
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carewser

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I will take a risk and be wildly speculative and suggest that as the speakers get bigger and more designed for larger rooms, more expensive systems, that the percentage of users who actually listen to classical would go up
I agree with that

I doubt many people that own systems worth 6 digits listen to stuff like AC/DC, Metallica, Kanye West or Eminem
 
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