Audioengine Bookshelf Speakers - A5 Plus 150W Bluetooth Speakers for Home Theaters Studios Computers for Movies Gaming Podcasting and More

What I was looking for was high quality audio for under £400 - the problem was I was plagued with HUM and HISS, INTERFERENCE from my computer, especially when gaming. My previous speakers (eris) would hum constantly and it would unbearable when gaming. These speakers do not hum at all. In this review I wont talk about SOUND QUALITY in detail, as this is something I think defers per person, instead Ill write about the use of these speakers, things that affect everyone no matter how tuned your ears are. I did however get a second hand D1 DAC to use with these to increase the sound quality a little, however I didnt REALLY need it, its just a love having a central little volume control ontop of my headphone dac. I'm going to give some bullet points and make some comparisons to audio stuff I have owned and used for some time: - These do not hum or hiss unless you turn them above 65% volume on the speaker itself, however this isn't needed. Above this volume they could fill a large apartment. I dont know why they dont; compared to other speakers that hummed for me (KRK, ERIS, MACKIE) Those listed speakers had hum even when using balanced TRS connections, It was not a ground loop, I checked. I dont know the reason for this, but Audioengine boasts completely in house parts; active speakers have and internal amp inside them to make them 'plug n play' so you dont need your own; my theory is that audioengine's internal in house one has been tuned perfectly to reduce the hum/hiss. Not only this, but MAYBE the fact that only one speaker has power running through it; the other is connected to the main speaker with copper gauge wire. Having only one power plug compared to one on each speaker (KRK, ERIS, MACKIE) could reduce noise and get rid of that hum. (Again no science here, just my intuition) - The build quality and packaging is support; the little velvet bags everything comes in is a nice touch. - The LED on the front is blinding and distracting to me as I use these on my PC and they are always in my vision. I bought some sticky black dots from ebay and covered it with that. - The volume knob on the front is lovely; tactile and makes a feint click noise as you turn it. The fact is turns and has no stopping point is annoying, meaning you have to use the LED to see when its full. I however dont mind as i always turn the speakers back down when im finished, a quick rotate is enough to make them quiet again. A small caveat. - The remote is a pure novelty; I dont see why you'd use it; I cant see a use. If you had your phone plugged in or whatever you cant pause, you can just lower volume, mute or put the speakers into sleep mode. Why would you do that? If you put them to sleep its because your not using them but the audio source continues on the device, as it only controls the speakers. If you think your going to get the remote, get the a5+ Wireless edition, they are about £90 more on sale and are actually useful if you want to use them wirelessly. - The usb port also seems a novelty. I dont want to charge my phone from my speakers. - They need some sound insulation on the bottom, they come with tiny little pads stuck to them, but they wont really do anything. You can get a pair of isolation pads or audioengine's own branded ones. I got the branded ones purely because they look aesthetically pleasing to me. If I had to describe these speakers in one sentence - 'Well made speakers for anyone looking to get a high quality setup easily.' Previous Audio equipment Ive owned for over 3 weeks of use: KRK rokit 5, KRK rokit 4, Eris 5, Mackie CR4, Audient id14, focusrite 2i4, Logitech g533, Logitech Z623, Audio technica at40hx, beyerdynamic DT 990 Pro Headphones My current setup: MASSDROP o2 +sdac, Seinheisser hd660s, Audioengine D1 Dac, Audioengine a5+ speakers, audioengine sound absorption pads.

Now that I have owned these for a good period, I feel I that can give an honest and comprehensive review of these speakers. Out of the box they immediately impress as they are shrouded in their own cloth bags and they look very impressive. All the cables are present to allow for a quick set up. I have placed these either side of my PC monitor and hooked them up via an Arcam rPAC using the USB in and RCA out connections . Blimey !! they are very good. Although I have not the funds nor probably the best 'audiophile' ears, I certainly appreciate the depth of sound that these produce and I would bet that these would challenge speakers at twice the price. I have used these as a hasty party set up and even just using an iphone cabled into the 3.5 jack the sound is most impressive. These will go very loud and will easily fill a room. I have recently experimented with a Sub that I had left over from a home cinema upgrade..........a bit of fun but actually these guys kick out sufficient bass and don't need anything extra. The main selling point is the simplicity as the wiring is minimal and they can be placed wherever you have the space. They are quite big for desktop speakers although the matt black finish diminishes the bulky look. The reviews say it all , these are great value for money and a quality item.

Lets get the negative out of the way first - I knocked 1 star off because my first set went faulty within just 15 minutes use (left hand mid/bass driver stopped working) and I had to wait 9 days for replacements because they had to go back to the UK distribution center to be tested before replacements would be issued, so not the best quality control on the planet, nor the fastest replacement. These speakers, as with all decent quality audio, need a run in period before sounding at their best (approx. 50hrs). I have run mine in for about 80 hours prior to reviewing. Plug them straight in to your headphone socket and you'll get a really good set of speakers with good clarity and a surprising bass for their size (playing Enya's "Storms in Africa" which is very heavy on the bass gave an impressive performance). And you'll get a vastly improved midrange over any of the 2.1 PC speaker options available thanks to the larger cones. I'm not plugging mine into the headphone socket though, and as such this review is more for those who want to know what these speakers are capable of as part of a higher spec setup. Firstly, I'm using a microStreamer DAC (digital to analogue converter) which gives much improved clarity over the cheap DACs built in to laptops, tablets etc. Secondly, I'm using high quality cables throughout (I'll list all the kit at the end of the review) Thirdly, I've added a Tannoy 2.10 subwoofer. Reason being that although these speakers have a very impressive bass, any speakers with a 50Hz roll off will not accurately reproduce large bass drums and deep bass guitars properly. I believe that to hear the original recording as it was intended to be heard you need a speaker setup that can produce the full range of frequencies present in the original track. The Tannoy 2.10 goes down to 24Hz and with its tight superbly controlled deep bass it's a great match for these desktop speakers (albeit somewhat overpowered at 300W RMS, I only have the sub volume set to about 20%) Lastly I'm using FLAC files which are lossless, compared to mp3s, although mp3s still sound great through this setup. I also spent the time plotting a frequency response graph using a series of sine wave test tones downloaded off the net and an SPL meter (sound pressure level). Then I used EAPO a text based parametric equaliser available free on the net that supports up to 100 channels to flatten out the frequency response as best I could (I've now got a line to within +/- 2dB from 32Hz through to 600Hz). This may sound somewhat over the top, but audibly the difference is very noticeable, it sounds awesome ! So basically, I've got a setup that in total cost approx. £1,050 and has been properly configured and run in. Is it worth the money ? Absolutely 200% YES in my opinion. I previously had a £2,500 hifi made up of very highly rated components including £600 KEF floorstanding speakers, and this is a far more detailed and engaging sound. Bass is excellent between the A5+ and the tannoy sub, very deep but still tight and well controlled. Bass heavy songs like Pendulum's "Witchcraft" and "Propane Nightmares" sound great and really shake the floor, whilst bass drums and bass guitar tracks in all songs sound very realistic and well defined. Midrange is probably the strongest point of all in these speakers, clarity is fantastic, better than any other speakers I've listened to up to around £600 in the past (and when you consider you get an amplifier thrown in too, it really makes these a bit of a bargain in my opinion). Treble is crystal clear, the triangle(?) in Madonna's "Material Girl" really sings out, but without sounding at all harsh. Soundstage is good, my speaker positioning isn't ideal as they're at the back of a large desk approx. 4ft apart so it could no doubt be better, but sitting in the centre and listing to Madness' "Return of the Los Palmas 7" is excellent, it sounds like someone's knocking together wooden blocks right next to my left ear while the saxophone is off into the distance. These sound great with everything I've thrown at them, from pop to DnB to metalcore and also classical from Holst Planets to Masterworks for Flute & Piano. If these eventually die I'd almost certainly replace them with a 3rd set, I haven't heard anything else in this price range that comes even remotely close. I did have a set of TDL floorstanding speakers and a Tangent amp in the bedroom that cost roughly the same as the Audioengine A5+, the A5+ made the previous setup sound awful, I just couldn't bear listening to them again and consigned them to the bin. As far as 2.1 systems go, although expensive compared to normal PC 2.1 systems, these paired with a good sub are on a completely different planet. I've had numerous 2.1 packages in the past and without exception they all fail miserably in the midrange because the cones on the satellites are simply too small and no amount of fiddling with the eq will overcome that. Complete setup:- Audioengine A5+ Tannoy 2.10 Subwoofer HRT microStreamer DAC Supra 2.0 USB to mini USB cable QED Performance Audio J2J jack cable QED Performance Audio Graphite phono cable (from A5+ to Sub) Tacima CS929 6 Way Mains Conditioner

I decided to buy these after sending back a set of Bose Companion 3's. Before they arrived I was a little concerned that they may not have enough Base as the Bose had a sub, when they did arrive I was blown away by how much base these speakers do give out, some people have said 'to much base' but this is easily tweaked in software. Anyway the clarity from the highs right through the mids is outstanding and the base is a crisp thump rather than a muffled thud. These things go extremely loud if you need to and will easily fill a good sized room although I don't think I will ever use the volume above 1/3rd. To get the best out of these speakers you really need to be playing CD's or good quality Mp3's. The on off switch is at the back which is a pain as mine are under my desk and it would mean crawling on my hands and knees if I have to switch them off at the back, however after emailing 'Audioengine' I was told that they didn't need to be switched off at the back and that pressing the volume button on the front of the left speaker would put them in to 'sleep mode' which was sufficient for when not using the computer.(please note they consume 4w of power in sleep mode)... (you also get a small remote that allows you to put them to sleep as well as mute and change the volumes). I am very pleased and impressed with these speakers they are the best sounding speakers I have ever owned and my Denon system in the living room has become redundant at the moment. Audioengine state that the speakers will not sound at their best until after they are 'Broken in' which takes 30-50 hours of playtime, I believe this to be true as I swear the more I play them the better thay are sounding. The packaging is quality with each speaker and cables all wrapped in their own cloth, silk lined bags before being boxed up. In the US I believe they come with a 3 year warranty but over here in the UK its only 12 months which led me to buy an extended 3 year warranty for an extra £69, I am one of those people that always experiences electrical s breaking down within days of the warranty running out so an extra £69 if they last me at least 3 years I will be happy....ish. Anyway, to summarise..... nicely packed, very sturdy build quality but above all an absolutely fantastic sound especially when playing good quality Mp3's or CD.

So the speakers are really well made, I went for the bamboo finish. They are solid and heavy. Everything comes in there own little velvet bag. Cables all included even an aux Jack for a phone. I got the Bluetooth version, there is still an aux Jack and red and white in. Everything tells you it’s quality from just the packaging. I bought them to use with my decks. They are super compact and throw out a brilliant quality sound. But I also use them for sitting and enjoying music. I did order the subwoofer a week later and that made such a difference. If anything the bookshelf speakers lack a touch of bass and maybe a bit of EQ wouldn’t go a miss. They would be perfect for using with a TV or computer. I’d say they would be wasted on a computer if you are just gaming £400 to £500 for gaming seems a waste to me. The remote is basic but made out of a solid bit of aluminium. Definitely a good purchase. So compact and so powerful. I was wary as most of my Bluetooth speaker just don’t have the power, they lack depth and oomph. I’ve had/have Sonos, a beats pill +, jongo, and a klipsch dock. The audio engine wins hands down.

Easy to set up, remote didnt work so just took out the battery and put it back in again and worked. Purchased for playing my vinyl, but tested the bluetooth first from my phone sound quality is ok depending on where Im streaming from. When playing vinyl I noticed the sound quality improve immensly. More bassy, just a shame you cant control the bass and treble for the price paid. However, Im happy with it and worth the money.

I wouldn’t recommend buying these these if you want them for an amp they already have a built in amp doesn’t tell you that though just states a pair of 150 watt speakers seller won’t take them back either

What can I say, I received these about an hour ago and they sound stunning- and that's before I've even begun to burn them in properly! The highs are on point, mids are solid and the base is at the right levels and beautifully separated. Sound stage is also the best I've ever experienced for a speaker set. Worth noting that this is with spotify as well- so even poor quality sound streaming sound great with these speakers.I live in a terraced shared house with families one either side so I was worried about how the sound quality would be effected on low volumes- but so far all I've done on low volume is *inset some polite way of saying i'm soundgasming*. I also bought some pads to go under the speakers to reduce the base vibration which has also helped- the LyxPro MNS-4's do the job, fit well and look great with the speakers. So yeah, I'm one happy audiophile! I'd like to say a special thank you to the British tax payer for funding this through my student loan. ********ONE YEAR ON********** After burning them in and fiddling around with various configurations, the system still blows me away every time I press play! I've discovered that the positioning on these is crucial, if you can angle it right it's like you're wearing headphones, truly amazing sound production. Still no complaints other than that from the neighbors when I crank it up too loudly! If anything, the bass is so strong (but not too strong), it travels through walls as if they're nothing, so invest in some decent damping pads and softening panels and you're good to go.