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AudioEngine A2 or A5?

post #1 of 25
9/1/08 at 9:37pm
Thread Starter 
I'm trying to decide between these two powered speakers(or any others in the price range with similar performance) and decided to ask for some opinions. First, a bit of background on my listening area; Medium/Large computer desk, 22" Deep x 8' Wide. Medium sized room(11'x11' with 12-13' Ceiling) with wood floors/concrete walls. I have an external DAC as well.

I've got a couple of concerns though. If I get the A5's, the ports will only be about 5"+ inches from the wall. Will this cause boomy bass or should I not worry about it? And do I need the A5's for my sized room or will the A2's get the job done without distorting at high volume levels? Most listening will be at low to medium volume as close range though.
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post #2 of 25
9/1/08 at 9:59pm
Close range A2's are fine. I have the A5's and for your set up the A2's look like a slam dunk and you can save a little money.
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post #3 of 25
9/2/08 at 9:22pm
My room is about 20x12 and the A2s more than fill it with sound even when the volume knob is hardly passed the "on" position. My neighbors would probably kill me if I had the A5s.

--Chris
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post #4 of 25
9/2/08 at 9:33pm
For the kind of money they want, I'd buy some used studio monitors.

The BX5As are nice.
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post #5 of 25
9/2/08 at 11:21pm
Thread Starter 
Think I might end up going with the A2 and build custom stands so they sit ear level to me. I think the A5's might be a bit overboard for my needs. Thanks for the replies.
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post #6 of 25
9/3/08 at 8:36pm
How's the bass on the A2s? I tend to prefer a little bit heavier of bass but nothing over the top.
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post #7 of 25
9/4/08 at 6:32pm
The A2's are suited for your needs. I have an almost identical room (except the walls are not concrete) and the A2's work great, I have them on a pair of mopads. The A5's will be enormous in your room and produce way more volume than you need. Scrounge around, I think there is a 10% off coupon somewhere for the audioengine website.
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post #8 of 25
9/4/08 at 6:55pm
Thread Starter 
Thanks General Tso, I purchased them with the 10% off(PBC10) for $179 Shipped. Great price.
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post #9 of 25
9/4/08 at 8:31pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Spasticteapot View Post
For the kind of money they want, I'd buy some used studio monitors.

The BX5As are nice.
The A2s are pretty much on par with the BX5A's which I have at home. They just have a bigger sound.
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post #10 of 25
9/5/08 at 3:08pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by [S]uds View Post
Thanks General Tso, I purchased them with the 10% off(PBC10) for $179 Shipped. Great price.
Thanks for the code. Just ordered a pair for my bedroom PC.
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post #11 of 25
9/5/08 at 5:17pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by xerikx View Post
How's the bass on the A2s? I tend to prefer a little bit heavier of bass but nothing over the top.
The bass is very punchy and tight but it doesn't go very low. It does better than I ever would have expected from such a small speaker but if you're used to a subwoofer you might find them lacking.
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post #12 of 25
9/7/08 at 7:59pm
Oh, yeah you can upgrade the power cable on the A5's I have an Oyaide C7 IEC cord on them. To me it makes a difference. A2's look a little different like a cord on the iTransport or an old mouse or something.
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post #13 of 25
9/10/08 at 5:58pm
Thread Starter 
My A2's arrived today! I was worried they might have the white AudioEngine logo on the front, but they didn't.

First impressions: Beautiful speakers, and the perfect size. Sound pretty good too, although I'll wait to fully judge them until my DAC arrives. I played a little CS:Source with them, but I in all my excited-ness, I hooked them up backwards. Made FPS's interesting, I kept turning the wrong way and was like WTF. Needless to say, that has been fixed. Overall, they've been great for the little time I've had them. I'll post more once my DAC arrives.
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post #14 of 25
9/10/08 at 10:16pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by coredump View Post
The bass is very punchy and tight but it doesn't go very low. It does better than I ever would have expected from such a small speaker but if you're used to a subwoofer you might find them lacking.
Hmm, I found the bass to be too much mostly. I usually EQ the bas down a decent amount to get a more natural sound
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post #15 of 25
9/10/08 at 10:55pm
even though the op already has his speakers, for anyone else reading...for the price of the Audioengine A5's (or close to it), as good or almost certainly better options are:

1.used Quad 11L
2.new NHT M-00
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