Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 60
 Music instead of a facsimile of music September 9, 2008
TECK13 (Birmingham, MI)
20 out of 20 found this review helpful
The Audioengine 2 powered speakers bring music to a computer desktop or an iPod. For good or bad, I am an audiophile and I appreciate and respect great sounding gear at all price levels. I own several top-of-the-line B&W speakers so I feel I have a good reference regarding quality speakers.
Originally, I bought the M-Audio Studiopro 3s from Amazon. They are truly remarkable for under $100.00 but shortly after taking delivery the tweeter in the passive speaker (right) starting distorting at mid volume levels and higher. I actually think it was the poor connection, cheap 1/8" patch cord and 1/8" jacks, between the speakers inducing the distortion and not the driver itself. For those interested, the M-Audio speakers reproduced just slightly lower bass notes and the highs were more extended but the all-important mid-range (where music lives or dies) was not quite right. Thin and boxy sounding. For monitoring purposes only I suspect the Studiopro 3s were slightly more accurate to the recording but what they reproduced sounded less like music for listening/enjoying. I would have kept them if not for the distortion in the right speaker.
Anyway, I returned the Studiopro 3s and got a pair of Audioengine 2s. Now, when I am at the computer I actually stop fairly often and just listen to the music. Turn it up and toe-tap along. The equipment disappears and the music remains.
The tradeoffs Audioengine made were the correct ones. No unnatural pumped up mid-bass to compensate for the lack of any real low bass. A slightly soft high end that's not quite accurate but exactly right for near field listening for long time periods.
Set up and details:
Both speakers were used on stands, close to rear wall, about six feet apart and toed-in directly to the working area.
Like a few others, my Audioengine power supply did go out after just a day or two but Audioengine was very responsive and sent me a new one immediately.
Bottom line.
I don't think there is a better solution for computer music listening if small size and simplicity is critical. If your listening space has more room, I'd opt for the Audioengine 5's for a similar sound but better and lower bass. There are also lots of professional monitors that are made for near-field listening but many are rather expensive. If the listener is not within 3-6 feet of the speakers, and can spare the room, a little extra coin, and added complication, top-notch small speakers like the Paradigm Atoms or PSB Alphas mated to a NAD C315BEE Integrated Amplifier would be a fantastic sounding alternative and offer more flexibility.
Absolutely Fantastic March 21, 2008
P. Jackson (San Francisco, USA)
21 out of 23 found this review helpful
I am a fairly serious audiophile with a dedicated two-channel audio system worth the price of a small car, and was turned on to these from a rave review I came across in Stereophile magazine recently. Even though I wasn't exactly sure how I'd use them (I do almost all of my listening on my "big" system and listen mostly to vinyl), I thought I'd give these a shot with my ipod and/or laptop computer to see what all the fuss was about.
Holy cow! To say I was blown away is an understatement. How they were able to do these many things right at a price of only $200 bucks is beyond me. The sound is amazingly free of artifice and is quite neutral from a tonal balance perspective -- more reminicent of a good high-end two-way bookshelf than a "multi-media" speaker. They particularly seem to have been voiced to sound good with recent ipods, for example -- my 80 GB ipod was a perfect match, with a lot of dynamic snap too -- far more than anyone would ever expect possible at this price point! And the bass was very well done -- while obviously not going to shake the walls, all the notes were there, and I never found myself wanting for more (and this is after listening to a lot of jazz and even som R&B too). These qualities made the music very involving and fun to listen to.
But what got me was the fact that all you really need is an ipod and you have an instant, relatively portable, bona-fide high-end audio system ready to go. They are fuss-free, are not picky with set-up, and sound good with just about any digital source you can throw at it. Plus the fit and finish is just outstanding (I keep looking at the binding posts and have to remind myself in disbelief that these are $200 speakers!)
At $200 bucks, you just can't get a more entertaining musical experience, period. They should be on everyone's short-list - they're that good.
Best hidden secret December 17, 2007
Luis F. Garcia
9 out of 10 found this review helpful
I initally intended to buy the soundsticks II by harman Kardon. I reviewed those speakers for months and after reading so many negative reviews I kept looking. I narrowed my search by eliminating big companies that produced many products because I knew they would not give attention to detail to any one product. So I searched on, for a company that produced just one thing. That's how I found Audioengine. First impression, they look sleek and very modern. They are carefully packaged and feel very heavy. I learned the heavier the speakers the better the sound. About that, the sound is simply amazing. I currently have a set of JBL creatures. I compared both by constantly switching from one equipment to the other while playing the same music. These audioengines win the prize by far. The midrange is impressive. I can distinguish sounds between a single string of a cello to bass and rap music. I highly recommend these. While the price for most might be a little high ($200) consider that's the same price you pay for an Ipod.
Some notes on a great set of speakers May 11, 2009
Scott L. Sbihli
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
I will not re-hash the countless reviews that praise these speakers. Rather I'll comment on my experience that may be relevant to you:
For your reference here are some the speaker systems I've owned:
For my home theater: Klipsch Quartets and now Definitive Technologies (current)
For my PC: Cambridge Soundworks, Klipsch Promedia GMX
I'm not a fan of loud bass. I like natural sounding music (no EQ). So with that in mind:
1) These are the biggest sounding little speakers I've ever tried, bar none. The music sounds like its coming from a much larger speaker.
2) The bass is very impressive. It exists (which is a trick with a small enclosure) and what you here is tight ... not muddy at all.
3) When playing classical the highs (triangles, horns, etc.) sound great.
4) If you do use an EQ with the speakers you'll be surprised at how much you can vary the sound of the speaker and yet it still sounds good. So, if you're a fan or bass, treble, voice, whatever, you can make these speakers perform.
5) There is no output on the speaker for headphones. So if you like to switch between speakers and headphones, you'll need to connect them directly to the PC.
Finally, as compared to my Klipsch ProMedia GMX system, it's a bit lopsided. The Klipsch can go louder, but that is the only advantage if you consider it one. The A2s sound better and most suprisingly they sound better at low frequencies. The Klipsch system has a subwoofer that can move air, but sounds like mud. The A2s cannot throw as much punch, but drums and low horns sound good (and tight) ... much better than the Klipsch system. You'll notice a small vent at the bottom of the A2. I can't tell you how many times I'm listening to music or a movie and a loud/low sound will cause quite a bit of air to come out. It can get breezy sitting in front of the speakers. These truly are the little speakers that could.
Near audiophile quality January 10, 2008
David C. Stephens (Colorado)
11 out of 13 found this review helpful
I'm a serious audiophile and part-time musician so sound is important to me, even at my office work desk. I just put a pair of A2Bs into service in my main computer system at work. They replace a pair of Bose that cost about half as much. The AudioEngines are several orders of excellence above the Bose.
Listening to LossLess, DVD-A, SACD and CD the AudioEngines have the balance of a good audiophile system. With the Bose, the treble was tipped up and the bass pumped to give a sound that "grabbed" you but didn't reflect reality. I could EQ some of that out of the Bose. In comparision, the AudioEngines are running flat on the system. They're considerably more dynamic than the Bose.
I'm listening to vibes and piano right now and hearing a full bodied piano sound. I can hear that the vibe player is using soft mallets and producing a really pleasing set of overtones between the piano and vibes. At office-levels of volume, you don't need to worry about putting the A2B on stands. If you use these as monitors (it's amazing that you would have that option at $199) then you may want to raise them a little.
For someone with limited budget and/or limited space, these are an option as a main system. They ship with an iPod connector and they require no amplification. If you load iPod with LossLess music files and push them into the A2B you'd have a good entry level audiophile system. Based on my past purchases of mini-systems, this will blow away any of those systems.
Dave
Showing reviews 1-5 of 60
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