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Audioengine A5+ Powered Speaker Review

TXinD76121

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IMO, a properly integrated sub definitely makes for a transformation.
I second that--these are my computer speakers and I have an S8 underneath my desk. I love the speakers, listen to them every day for hours, and have done for many years now. I also own the larger Audioengine HD6 ($600 when I bought them) and don't like them as well.

If the volume control goes wonky, turn the amped speaker off and on to reset. An anomaly: in mine, the speaker without the amp in it is never quite as loud.

PS and by the way, off topic for the thread, but I just bought Revel M16's entirely based on the review here and my early impressions are very positive. So thanks for that.
 
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richard12511

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Once again you are saying I have to do work to address your doubts. You have presented no research, data, or opinion of value on this topic. If I jumped the moment anyone said jump on a forum, I would never land on the ground!

Why don't you go and prove that distortion doesn't change with EQ? Don't know how to measure?

What about getting a sub (or even dual subs)? You could do both a full range and high passed listening test, and I don't think it would add much time at all, though it would cost money(I'd be willing to donate a bit, and maybe others would too). Speaking for those of us who use subs, I think a w/sub listening test would add a lot of value to your reviews. I think both a w/sub and a wo/sub subjective test can add value.

Also, given that you're mostly just EQing the bass region, for the w/sub listening part you could use the same bass EQ for every test.
 
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amirm

amirm

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What about getting a sub (or even dual subs)? You could do both a full range and high passed listening test, and I don't think it would add much time at all, though it would cost money(I'd be willing to donate a bit, and maybe others would too). Speaking for those of us who use subs, I think a w/sub listening test would add a lot of value to your reviews. I think both a w/sub and a wo/sub subjective test can add value.
Blending a sub with a speaker is a lot of work. Even with an auto-eq I have to go through the hassle of their measurements, etc. Then I have to listen and write-up with and without sub impressions.

If you all want to donate $50K/year I can hire someone and facility to do these things. Otherwise, I am doing all I can right now but can barely keep my neck above water.
 

richard12511

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Blending a sub with a speaker is a lot of work. Even with an auto-eq I have to go through the hassle of their measurements, etc. Then I have to listen and write-up with and without sub impressions.

If you all want to donate $50K/year I can hire someone and facility to do these things. Otherwise, I am doing all I can right now but can barely keep my neck above water.

Is blending a sub really that different from speaker to speaker?(genuine question)

I would think that you could get the subs positioned, EQed, and time aligned to provide a flat response to 100Hz(with a 100Hz crossover), and as long as you're putting the loudspeakers in the same spot, I wouldn't think there would be huge differences that would make the test any less valid than the w/o sub test. What am I not thinking of?

I don't have a lot of experience with integrating many loudspeakers into the same sub system, so maybe there are huge problems that I'm not aware of. I know that with my 3 passive loudspeakers I have(JTR, Revel, Infinity), as long as I put them in the same spot, then they all integrate perfectly with my subs, and I don't have to change anything at all. I use a 100Hz crossover for all 3.

*Edit: I guess it could be different if certain speakers can't really make it down to the crossover point? But, I would think most can make it down to 100Hz.

*Edit 2: Actives might be different, too.
 

Wombat

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Even though I'm sure some of that is good advice (and I power everything off one outlet too), the speaker hiss of the 3 series line is not related to interference, the hiss doesn't get louder with increased amplification volume of the volume knob on back of speaker...it's the same intensity whether at 1 or at dial 10. I initially had ground loop problems that created a hum in my 308's at louder amplifications but that hum was coming from the woofer (not the tweeter), and I fixed that problem anyway by powering everything off one outlet. Yeah, so the hiss is in all 3 series speakers (from tweeter) unless they've somehow released an update in newer models being sold now. I don't think it's fixable by the steps you're outlining.

I did point out in the posts that hiss that is inherent in the gear probably can't be fixed, but it can possibly be ameliorated, if not eliminated, by gain staging.
My LSR 305Mk11s do not have a hiss problem. I did say that I was probably lucky. The steps I outlined in my post that referred to the Rane links eliminated hum and hiss from my high sensitivity main system.
 

Robbo99999

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I did point out in the posts that hiss that is inherent in the gear probably can't be fixed, but it can possibly be ameliorated, if not eliminated, by gain staging.
My LSR 305Mk11s do not have a hiss problem. I did say that I was probably lucky. The steps I outlined in my post that referred to the Rane links eliminated hum and hiss from my high sensitivity main system.
I'm sure the hiss from the tweeter in the 3 series line has nothing to do with gain staging nor anything interference related that the user has any control over...as I said before the hiss is a constant volume regardless of the amplification level set on the back of the speakers and regardless of whether there is even any input even connected into the back of the speaker...the hiss is there (at the same level) even if you have nothing connected to the speaker apart from the power cord - so it's got nothing to do with gain staging. Hiss is inherent to all 3 series speakers. This is gonna have to be my last post on this topic because it's off topic and I don't want to contaminate this thread.
 
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Wombat

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I'm sure the hiss from the tweeter in the 3 series line has nothing to do with gain staging nor anything interference related that the user has any control over...as I said before the hiss is a constant volume regardless of the amplification level set on the back of the speakers and regardless of whether there is even any input even connected into the back of the speaker...the hiss is there (at the same level) even if you have nothing connected to the speaker apart from the power cord - so it's got nothing to do with gain staging. Hiss is inherent to all 3 series speakers. This is gonna have to be my last post on this topic because it's off topic and I don't want to contaminate this thread.
I'm sure the hiss from the tweeter in the 3 series line has nothing to do with gain staging nor anything interference related that the user has any control over...as I said before the hiss is a constant volume regardless of the amplification level set on the back of the speakers and regardless of whether there is even any input even connected into the back of the speaker...the hiss is there (at the same level) even if you have nothing connected to the speaker apart from the power cord - so it's got nothing to do with gain staging. Hiss is inherent to all 3 series speakers. This is gonna have to be my last post on this topic because it's off topic and I don't want to contaminate this thread.

Mine don't hiss. The exception, maybe, as I have intimated several times. So no, 'not all' as you generalise. Go back and read my posts carefully.
 
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Belgarathian

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That feeling of relief when Amirm reviews something you own and it doesn't turn out to be garbage.
 

Strato007

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Hello! I am new here in this forum and really enjoy the great content of audio information.
I decided to start here because this pair of speakers came to home around two months ago. I got there by second hand. I can say these sound great and have really good separation and nice soundstage. They fill the entire room.
I have noted a little bit of lack in details, but sounds good as pair of stereo mode.
Question: burn in could be a thing to consider?
Thanks a lot!
 

carewser

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Really? I have exactly that (Monitor Audio BX8)./QUOTE]

You realize that M-Audio and Monitor Audio are totally different companies right?

IMO, a properly integrated sub definitely makes for a transformation.

And that's why I bought the matching Audioengine S8 sub
 
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Jim Yakkey

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I second that--these are my computer speakers and I have an S8 underneath my desk. I love the speakers, listen to them every day for hours, and have done for many years now.


I hope you guys don't mind a more amateur question. I have a pair of these for my main living room speakers. I feed them with a lossless source. When I turn them up and sit 8-10 feet away they sound a bit like the sound is coming through a tunnel. Hard to describe, but maybe a little metallic. This doesn't change even when I move them around. I do not know how to recognize harmonic distortion, resonances, and all those other things by ear. Does anyone have any idea what I'm describing and how I can fix it? Am I just needing a subwoofer? I don't feel like I need more bass, but there just seems to be some depth missing.
 

carewser

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I second that--these are my computer speakers and I have an S8 underneath my desk. I love the speakers, listen to them every day for hours, and have done for many years now. I also own the larger Audioengine HD6 ($600 when I bought them) and don't like them as well.

I too own the S8/A5+ combo and they sound wonderful (although right now I have the S8 connected to my Kanto Tuk's) but the problem I have with them is the same problem with all my other 2.1 systems-how to set the bass. As a basshead most of my other subwoofers are set between 50%-100% yet the bass doesn't actually overpower the rest of the system, it just sounds really full-bodied but with the S8 I only have the bass set at ~40% to sound good, any more than that and it starts to overpower the mids and highs. I think the inherent problem with subwoofers is their adjustability and never knowing if you've really got it right

Also, i'm surprised you don't like the HD6's because they're Audioengine's top of the line so if anything I thought they would rival the A5+ as they use different (presumably better) woofers and tweeters
 
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Acerun

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How would the EQ change From the Audioengine 5+ to the 2+? I'm just postulating with a smaller bass speaker would one be inclined to increase the bass response, keep the same?
 

carewser

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How would the EQ change From the Audioengine 5+ to the 2+? I'm just postulating with a smaller bass speaker would one be inclined to increase the bass response, keep the same?

A guy listed his A2+ speakers online a couple of years ago so I went to listen to them and after he played them I asked how much he would take for them and he said the price wasn't negotiable which kind of pissed me off because he didn't say that in the ad and he was asking too much for them so I left and boy am I glad I did because the next summer I picked up a pair of A5+ for the same price. I really don't think I would have been happy with the A2+ anyway as they are 30 watts Vs. 100 watts for the A5+ not to mention the fact that the A5+ go 15hz lower in the bass but to finally answer your question I don't think you can expect tons of bass from them as they only go down to 65hz so I'd recommend an inexpensive sub from Polk, Sony, Yamaha or Klipsch
 

Acerun

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A guy listed his A2+ speakers online a couple of years ago so I went to listen to them and after he played them I asked how much he would take for them and he said the price wasn't negotiable which kind of pissed me off because he didn't say that in the ad and he was asking too much for them so I left and boy am I glad I did because the next summer I picked up a pair of A5+ for the same price. I really don't think I would have been happy with the A2+ anyway as they are 30 watts Vs. 100 watts for the A5+ not to mention the fact that the A5+ go 15hz lower in the bass but to finally answer your question I don't think you can expect tons of bass from them as they only go down to 65hz so I'd recommend an inexpensive sub from Polk, Sony, Yamaha or Klipsch
Thanks for sharing the experience. I've got them on my nightstands so space is at a premium. I actually have found them to have decent bass for being so small. Trying to see if I can milk more without distortion. No real room for a sub. They look great given the color palette too.
 

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