AudioEngine A2+, for my desktop

Want your home to sound as good as your car? Need help buying electronics? Computer problems?
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VW337
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AudioEngine A2+, for my desktop

Post by VW337 »

Product page

Price be damned (I won a choice of new toys) I bit the bullet and picked these up in black.

Let just say I am in love.

These tiny little gems impressed me from the minute I started unpacking them. The packaging itself was not awe inspiring but the contents and the individual attention each item received was top notch. All of the bits are in their own little soft cloth drawstring bags.

Desktop history, skip to #5 if you don't care.

1. (bachelor era):
Several years ago (circa 95?) I hand built an 8" - 3.5" -.5" 3-way bookshelf'ish set of speakers. The 8 is an old CerwinVega red surround pulp cone driver, no idea of the model# but I always liked it's sound, very musical and fast without exaggerating the lows, the mid/high was presented from a very uncommon I have JBL GTXi component set that uses a glass filament tweeter mounted in the center of the mid itself. You might scoff at the brands used but I assure you, the choices were not random. I then took to building the cabinets, no small task assembled and loaded each speaker in 30+ pounds. The MDF was finished using a high temp (450F) applied industrial sealant which has been used for truck bed liners or construction coatings, it takes a beating and is very acoustically dead. I assembled crossovers by hand using ear and RTA to get the exact sound I wanted. This was powered by a Carver ZR500. In short it sounded amazing and took up a lot of desk space.

2. (shared living quarters):
I picked up a pair of Audiosource 6.5" outdoor speakers which I don't believe made it into final production. They essentially were the RSd 6.5 components in a durable plastic enclosure. These were powered by the ZR500, sounded pretty good, got loud, lost a good amount of detail and low range.

3. (more consolidation):
I picked up a small T class amp 25x2 (I believe Nico did a review on a similar one) I was very impressed, this replaced the ZR500 on my desk. We're talking a 2" x 1" x 3.5" box replacing a full 1U rack mount amp, this frees up a lot of space. It was enough to play the Audiosource 6.5's to reasonable levels but did not seem to get the lows out of them that the Carver did, just a small power supply discrepancy :wink: . Not too bad though.

4. (F-it, I have a family era):
I was given a brand new pair of Bose desktop speakers, I think they retail around $150 and I really could care less about the model number and I think you shouldn't either. These replaced the T class and 6.5's, and I used my Sennheiser and/or Shure headphones for listening to anything of worth. Bose will work for sharing phone cam vids on Youtube.

5. (winner):
I happily unpacked the gems I started describing above and literally threw the Bose units in the trash without hearing the Audioengines. I used the USB connection and omitted the mini jack when connecting up to my PC, I figured any manufacturer or worth would use a good DAC in their amp. I was not disappointed, the PCM2704C in use is fabulous. The little ported enclosures provide surprisingly good low end, I mean I was stunned. With the amount of speaker movement I had going on at first listen I was very glad these buggers are as heavy as they are otherwise they'd be walking all over, but with the combination of weight and the anti slip/noise foam that lines the entire bottom they stay right where you put them. The range of sound that come from the little black box is truly astounding, the imaging is superb, and the space they take up is well spent.

Compared to all of my prior options 10/10 would do again. The A2+ will not rock your house party but you can easily get the volume to levels easily heard through a few rooms and well above what you'd want to be sitting a couple of feet from for prolonged periods. If sound quality is preferred over sound quantity and space is a premium, do not hesitate these are an amazing sounding desktop speaker.
I think we've established that "Ka Ka" and "Tukki Tukki" don't work.
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twisted
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Re: AudioEngine A2+, for my desktop

Post by twisted »

I have heard a few good reviews on these....i am in need of a new set, i just may have to try them out!
Audiophiliac
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Re: AudioEngine A2+, for my desktop

Post by Audiophiliac »

Good review. Do you think they sound better than your custom jobs? :)

I have an older set of Audioengine 5 and loved them on my desk. I even used them in the living room for a while with the SONOS connected and the TV audio going through that. It was a bit of a frankenstein setup, but it sounded good. I then burned the amp up using them as an outdoor sound system for a July 4th fireworks celebration. They overheated several times. They worked for a while longer at home before they eventually crapped out. They will fix the amp for $80. I might go ahead and do it and then sell them. I do not sit at a desk much these days, so I have no use for them.
VW337
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Re: AudioEngine A2+, for my desktop

Post by VW337 »

Long overdue reply, nope they do not sound better than the Bachelor era monsters. The A2+ do however image better in close proximity.

I am currently (and for way too long) building a small sealed sub enclosure to go with them, using the onboard sub line outs going to a pair of 70Hz FMODS and the formerly mentioned small T-class. The sub is a 6" unknown pre-production test unit so no details. This should round things out nicely if I can ever get the paint to smooth out....can't get rid of the fine bumps, and if I wet sand I can't get rid of the swirl marks on final polish.....FFFFF
I think we've established that "Ka Ka" and "Tukki Tukki" don't work.
ttocs
the Floor Sweeping Hack with Golden Ears
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Re: AudioEngine A2+, for my desktop

Post by ttocs »

sounds like you need a different cut on the polish or a different pad if your not able to get swirls out. Try a glaze.
what else can I say I am a grumpy asshole most of the time.
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