Audioengine A5+ Powered Bookshelf Speakers – 150W High-Fidelity Studio Monitors for Music, Gaming, Turntables & Home Theater

Although I have purchased many products on amazon, I feel compelled to review this product so this is my first product review: I consider myself a budding (and budget) audiophile. I am still in college and do not have the budget for a $2,000+ pair of speakers yet. When I fist started looking for new speakers, I went to my local hi end audio store and listened to Paradigm, Magnepan, and Bower and Wilkins speakers. While they were all pretty good quality (especially the Magnepans), they were all out of my budget. They were also pretty big and are not the best for computer/desktop/nearfield music listening. I decided for my next pair of speakers, I would prefer active desktop/bookshelf speakers because the only amp I have right now is powering a pair of Mission 733 floorstanding speakers and I would not have enough money for a quality amp and speakers. After doing a lot of online research, I narrowed my search down to Audioengine A5's, Swan M200MkII, Yamaha HS50M, Krk rokit 6's, as well as a few others. I found a local store that carried the Audioengine A5s and decided to go listen to them. When I plugged in my iPhone and played "I hope I didn't Just Give Away the Ending" by the New Radicals (16 bit, 44.1kHz, apple lossless m4a), the speakers had an amazing sound quality and soundstage to them. The mids and highs were a lot more defined than my Mission 733s although the Missions had a lower bass extension. I was immediately very impressed with them. They also had a pair of Audioengine A2s to try so I played "Alone With You" by deadmau5 (a great song to test the bass extension of speakers). They played the highs and mids very well but the bass extension was very lacking. I imagine the A2s would be fine if you were mainly listening to acoustic, jazz, and classical music; but they aren't a great all-around speaker. Immediately after listening to these, I drove over to my local Guitar Center to listen to some studio monitors. I listened to speakers ranging from Yamaha, Krk, M audio, and Mackie (The Adam studio monitors with the ribbon tweeters weren't working). None of them gave me the same "Wow" factor that the audioengines did. The most impressive studio monitors in my price range were the Yamaha HS50Ms. They put out quite an impressive volume and clarity for their size. I have to admit that Guitar Center does not have the best listening environment for nearfield listening and probably didn't give the studio monitors a fair chance. They're just placed randomly on shelves around 8' apart. The Yamaha's were the only speakers placed properly and this may have resulted in me thinking they sounded better than the rest; although they were still not as impressive as the audioengines. After this I went home and decided to just go with the Audioengines. I purchased them with Audioengine DS2 Desktop Speaker Stands (Pair) on amazon and could not be more happy with my purchase. They make for the perfect desktop listening experience. They do very well at reproducing the sound and feel of the music and live instruments, such as an upright bass (in my opinion, one of the hardest instruments for speakers to emulate). These speakers have as much bass output as you can expect from a 5" driver, but if you listen to a lot of hip-hop, reggae, dubstep, movies, etc, you may want to consider getting a subwoofer. I am currently considering getting the Outlaw Audio M8 Subwoofer , but I hear that the Audioengine S8 Premium Powered Subwoofer (White) integrates perfectly with these speakers. Pros: The sound quality is amazing, especially for the money. If you're thinking about getting a pair of desktop speakers in this price range, don't look any further; these will more than satisfy your needs. They sound great out of the box but be sure to give them around 30 hrs of medium volume playing time to properly break in. Once they do, they sound even sweeter. The setup is very easy and I like all of the input and charging options that come with them. The packaging is great. Cons: I have had these speakers overheat on me once. This was after about 6 hours of blasting music through the speakers (they will just auto shut-off). I plan to fix this by placing aluminum tape on the back of the left speaker for better heat radiation. If you have the money, go for the A5+s and you won't have to worry about this problem. They also make a popping noise when the auto shutoff kicks in after about 10-15 min without sound input. Credentials: I have been playing instruments since a very young age. These include guitar, bass, drums, trumpet, and even the didgeridoo. I am a DJ that plays many local shows (mainly edm such as electro house and trance). As a hobby, I produce music; mainly electronic music and rock. Speakers/Headphones I own: A5 Premium Powered Bookshelf Speakers (White) , Mission 733 speakers, Sennheiser HD555 Professional Headphones with Sound Channeling , Sony MDR-V700DJ DJ-Style Monitor Series Headphones , Sony MHCEC909iP Mini Hi-Fi Shelf System .

Sound is such a subjective matter so please bear that in mind in reading my review. See if you think what I like and listen to might concur with your own personal tastes. Background. I own a high end stereo system probaly costing $30K that I never use. Also a Bose 5.1 surround sound system for the TV and DVD's. And for my 2nd computer a Klipsch THX 2.1 system. Also a Klipsch player for an iPod. Of couse they all have their unique sounds - well the expensive stereo system has no sound as of now as I felt the speakers (very, very large KEF's) were not sounding right and even after a sound engineer told me they were fine my ear said "No" because I knew how they could sound from a class A amp - so I've listened to no quality music system these last few years. I don't class the Bose system as suitable for serious music listening, but they do OK for movies. Oh, and my choice for headphones are 2 pairs of Sennheiser. So given that background lets get to the business. In my opinion, and for my taste, these Audioengine A5+ speakers + S8 woofer are remarkable. I would describe the sound a neutral (hard to find these days). That does not mean there is no bass but its only there when it should be and then its tight and does not sound like its being played through a pillow. This is the kind of sound that is not tiring and can be listened to for hours on end. When I first connected the Audioengine system up, by mistake, I did not connect the woofer. Even without it the A5+ speakers sound good, really good, but adding the woofer does make a difference for sure, and I think if you are after quality sound it is needed. Of course it can be added later as funds allow because just the A5+'s are good on their own. For a low priced system the Klipsch system replaced a pair of Bose (no woofer) on my 2nd computer and were noticable cleaner sounding with better bass because of their woofer, than the pair of Bose with no woofer. For a low priced system I could certainly live with the Klipsch. But my listening habbits have changed over 40 years and I now spend many hours a day working in front of a computer at home. That's the only time I get to listen to music - as well as in the car. I hadn't heard good sound for so long I decided to try the Audioengine system for the computer but was really blown away by how good it was. I didn't really trust the many good reviews I'd seen. The stereo image is so good with the A5+'s they create a very wide sound stage that seems to emanate slighting above and between the 2 speakers. I could hear singers taking a breath and new sounds on a violin that the bow made as it was pulled across the strings, that had not been there before. Bear in mind I am feeding only lossless MP3 files played out of iTunes - not vinyl tracks played on my Linn LP12 turntable. Are they perfect - no that's not possible for just over $700 (I am adding the DAC and stands now so will be into the system for close to $1,000) but in terms of the sound quality at this price they are quite remarkable. Beautifully packaged even the UPS driver who bounced the box down his truck steps could not hurt them as they sit a couple of inches inside their box surrounded by foam packaging. They are heavy and look like a quality product that the manufacturer has been proud to produce. Like all good speaker systems they sound better loud as you can feel the bass. It's tempting to set the woofer volume too high but playing the system loud then over cooks the bass and it looses something. The music is not balanced. I also had a little recording business in my youth so became very critical on how sound was mixed. What would be nice is a low volume setting on the remote that boosts the bass when playing at low volume. The woofer has a Phase control so the woofer cone can sync with the speaker cones to improve bass sound. Also a Crossover knob to set where in the frequency range the woofer comes in - just a matter of setting where you like it. And then a Volume control. Again I say don't be tempted to set this too high. I would set it where it sounds right then turn down just a hair. If you play at really high volume then it probably needs setting even lower. After 50 hours of burning in they can only improve. I wish I had gotten better with age! So yea I like em very much. One of my better buying choices.

La verdad es que son una maravilla. Las tengo en el living room y 10/10. Están conectadas con un ecualizador y el audio es mucho mejor…

Brilliant straight out of the box!!! I wanted a set of decent desktop speakers to work alongside my 2012 Mac Mini and iTunes; I consider myself to be a fickle audiophile. I've a Cyrus 8DAC and KEF LS50 system in my living room and a NAD D3020 & KEF R100 system upstairs but didn't want to faff with a separates system in my office! I did try the Q Acoustics BT3's but they were very bright from the word go and their bass is lacklustre! The Audioengine A5+'s are brilliant straight out of the box! Connected to my Mac Mini via optical and a FiiO D3 DAC they sing superbly with weighted bass, smooth but open/detailed midrange and a great top-end that's clear and precise but not bright in any way! If you're after a decent set of powered speakers for either your desktop system OR to go on stands; I can highly recommend these!

These are the best speakers I have ever heard. The sound is incredible, they are beautifully built, very solid and amazing quality. Be warned there is no protection grill so if you have a pet that likes to scratch things you should avoid this. Also note that these speakers need 30-50 hours of play time to warm up so the sound quality wont be great at first but will get much better the more you use it! Everything you possibly need comes included (cables, travel bags, remote) and everything is of very high quality and overall these speakers sound AMAZING. 10/10 would recommend and if they are too expensive for you Audioengine also makes the A2+ which are smaller and cheaper and apparently just as good. Also I just want to add that these speakers have a built in amp so they will work with any turntable! I just plugged my turntable directly into the speakers and the quality is fantastic but it doesn't play very loud so you might want to buy a pre amp as well!

Qualità audio superba!! Per avere davvero il top converrebbe prendere il sub woofer abbinato, ma già così suonano alla grande!

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