[JohnnyLightOn]

I helped my friend get better sound on his laptop system by talking him into buying the A5's. I hadn't heard them; this was based on reviews and forum posts. He had been listening on cheap Sony computer speakers, and also on a mid-fi mini-system. I promised him that the sound from the A5's would blow him away; he's never had good sound.

But now that he has them, he's not blown away, and there are a few things that are just not sounding right to me. This $325 set of speakers was a lot of money to him, and I'm really stuck with how to proceed. First some background, and then what I'm hearing that's wrong.

- System: IBM ThinkPad laptop with built-in Conexant "High Definition Audio" ---> headphone out ---> Audioengine A5 2.0 powered speakers.
- Music: Literally everything.
- Files: 10% FLAC, 90% high bit rate MP3s.

Issue #1: It sounds quite good on simple music, especially jazz, but once the music gets at all complicated, there's very noticeable congestion. Lack of air, every instrument pushed together.

Issue #2: Most FLACs sound very good (subject to #1, above, and #3, below). Some sound only OK. But high bit rate MP3s are incredibly hit or miss. Some sound good, some decent, some poor. There's no telling what will sound good. It seems random to me.

Issue #3: A slight brightness. Some high guitar notes are piercing. He has about 50 hours on the speakers so far.

I adjusted the computer's sound options extensively and this didn't improve anything. The sound is not satisfying, overall. I see his options as returning the speakers, investing ~$150 in a USB DAC to bypass the laptop's headphone circuit, or returning the speakers and buying 2.1 computer speakers such as Klipsch Promedia 2.1 for ~$140.

I feel responsible for my friend's purchase and would greatly appreciate any input or suggestions about the best way for him to improve his listening experience. Thanks!

 

[Hookem]

I have a desktop that does the exact same thing using the onboard sound.

Abit AN-M2HD...Realtek ALC888 HD audio...I put a old Audigy ZS card and all those symptoms went away.

Some stuff sounded great...Some very bad...Even the volume seemed to move around...It was almost like someone was in there playing sound engineer adjusting EQ and sound levels.

It sounded okay with non powered speakers...But ProMedia's, Boston's, Logitech and A2's suffered the same symptoms.

Your best bet if you think it is speaker related would be to contact AudioEngine's support.

Their support and customer service is easily the best I have ever experienced...Second place is way...And I mean way back there.

No waiting days for reply's...These guys are on thier game.

 

[iKonoKlast]

If he's not appreciating the speakers as he should, then it's just not right for him. Not everyone in the world would be happy if they owned a Ferrari to replace their Toyota. If he'd be happier if he returned the A5 (which are probably the best value in the market for mid-fi monitors), then that's the right decision for him. Not everyone appreciates high quality audio. My brother still prefers his Bose Triports to any high-end audiophile headphone I throw at him. C'est la vie!

 

[Hookem]

Quote:

Originally Posted by iKonoKlast /img/forum/go_quote.gif If he's not appreciating the speakers as he should, then it's just not right for him. Not everyone in the world would be happy if they owned a Ferrari to replace their Toyota. If he'd be happier if he returned the A5 (which are probably the best value in the market for mid-fi monitors), then that's the right decision for him. Not everyone appreciates high quality audio. My brother still prefers his Bose Triports to any high-end audiophile headphone I throw at him. C'est la vie!

If he bought them from Audioengine they will not even blink if he ask for his money back...I bought a pair of A2's thinking I would buy another pair...2 pairs of A2's for 50 bucks more than a pair of A5's.

The A2's sounded awesome...Especially considering the price...I was very careful to keep every single item down to the twist ties...Called them up and they apologized to me for them not working out...I mailed them back USPS with Delivery Confirmation...Sent them an email with the tracking number...This was on a Wednesday...Monday the card was credited back.

I personally take issue with issue's...And pretty much will not give up trying to figure out a problem that is computer related.

I still think his best option is to try to figure out what is wrong...And to contact Audioengine's support team...It took me connecting 5 different pair's of speakers to decide my onboard sound was punking me...Uninstalled and reinstalled the sound drivers...Used the ones off the disk, downloaded the ones from Abit and from Realtek...Even tried the download that driver agent threw up there.

The guy spent 350 duckies to get good sound...And he is not getting it...Probably worth the time and effort and figure it out.

I know I would leave no stone unturned to try and solve the problem.

 

[1UP]

Let's give the A5s the benefit of the doubt - they're doing their job and revealing nothing more than the crapness of your onboard soundcard.

Easy to test - try and feed the A5s with a better source (say lossless files from an Ipod or a good cd-player) and a decent interconnect cable.

If he still doesn't like the sound, then probably the A5's signature isn't for him.

Otherwise, yeah, it's the source that's letting the system down, and you should look into upgrading from the onboard soundcard.

 

[Hookem]

Uninstalling the onboard sound drivers and reinstalling every different driver that applies to your hardware would be my first step...The ones from IBM and check the manufacturers for more updated drivers for the chip...Even rolling back to older drivers has fixed audio problems I have experienced in the past.

If you read the review from stereophile of the A2's...The guy sent 2 pair's back before he was satisified.

I just like figuring out a problem...Success is a wonderful thing in my book...Especially if it comes from my hands...And a little help from my friends as Joe seezzz.

 

[Hookem]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1UP /img/forum/go_quote.gif Easy to test - try and feed the A5s with a better source (say lossless files from an Ipod or a good cd-player) and a decent interconnect cable. Otherwise, yeah, it's the source that's letting the system down, and you should look into upgrading from the onboard soundcard.

No doubt about it...That is some good advice.

 

[furball]

I have a Thinkpad as well. To be frank, I am not too impressed with the laptop's built in soundcard.

You mentioned your friend has a mini system. Well, does the CD deck have RCA audio out jacks? If it does, hook them up to the A5, play some real CD's, and see what he thinks of the sound.

How did your friend acquire his mp3's and flac's? I just want to point out that if he got them off the net (none of my business

), there are incredible variations in quality. Many mp3's have been transcoded over and over again, and even some flac's are transcoded from mp3's.

So unless he ripped those flac's and mp3's himself, you cannot be sure of the sound quality of those files. Play some real CD's, then see what he thinks of the sound.

 

[JohnnyLightOn]

Thanks for all the responses!

I will test the A5's with a CDP and post the results; the speakers come with a mini-plug to RCA Y adapter.

The FLAC files I used for testing are ones I made myself from the original CDs using EAC, which I then burned to a DVD and played from the laptop's DVD drive. The MP3s run the gamut. My friend is a librarian, and somehow believes that if he checks out CDs from the library (which he does by the dozen), he can make copies for his hard drive; I don't know what program he uses to do this. I've explained to him that this is stealing, but he won't listen. Other of his MP3s appear to have been downloaded from Bittorrent. We'll see how he responds when I let the recording industry folks know about his hard drive.

He also owns a bunch of CDs.

What external USB sound card do people recommend that would be a good match for the A5's?

 

[sohels]

Can you briefly describe how the speakers have been placed? In my personal experience, I've found that they are quite sensitive to placement (probably due to the rear-ported design).

 

[GordonFreeman]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sohels /img/forum/go_quote.gif Can you briefly describe how the speakers have been placed? In my personal experience, I've found that they are quite sensitive to placement (probably due to the rear-ported design).

He is right, if the ports are in the rear then you need to get them away from the wall. Having them too close will cause the bass to be muddy and distorted and the over all sound to suck.

 

[Hookem]

A guy on another forum I hang out at made a reply to a guy who posted a picture of his desktop.

He had the A5's sitting on top of his desk on each side of his LCD.

Guy made a post saying this.

"I'd try to either lift the speakers off the ground a few inches, or tilt them upward. In that setup, you are having some first order reflections. Sound emits from the woofer at an 80-90 degree arc. Some of the waves are bouncing off the table before reaching you (might cause some cancellation/muddiness)"

I am really curious...Did you try playing them from some other source like a CD player??? Something you know is going to sound good.

 

[feverfive]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hookem /img/forum/go_quote.gif A guy on another forum I hang out at made a reply to a guy who posted a picture of his desktop. He had the A5's sitting on top of his desk on each side of his LCD. Guy made a post saying this. "I'd try to either lift the speakers off the ground a few inches, or tilt them upward. In that setup, you are having some first order reflections. Sound emits from the woofer at an 80-90 degree arc. Some of the waves are bouncing off the table before reaching you (might cause some cancellation/muddiness)" I am really curious...Did you try playing them from some other source like a CD player??? Something you know is going to sound good.

This is a great point too... When I had the A5's, I found they sounded much better once I got a set of Mopads to place them on, and had them angled upwards a bit...

 

[Operandi]

It sounds like you may be dealing with a low quality source (being HD is relatively meaningless) though generally good speakers should still sound pretty good even with a not so hot source, just not to their potential.

A good stand alone CDP or DVD player (no $30 Wal-Mart players) would work, or PC with a better audio output. From my own experience I wouldn't suggest an iPod unless its a true line out.

Quote:

Originally Posted by JohnnyLightOn /img/forum/go_quote.gif What external USB sound card do people recommend that would be a good match for the A5's?

I would suggest a USB DAC, not USB soundcard. If all your after is two channel output (no recording or multi-channel output) a sound card is a waste. Something like the Firestone Fubar II would be a good place to start.

 

[Operandi]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hookem /img/forum/go_quote.gif "I'd try to either lift the speakers off the ground a few inches, or tilt them upward. In that setup, you are having some first order reflections. Sound emits from the woofer at an 80-90 degree arc. Some of the waves are bouncing off the table before reaching you (might cause some cancellation/muddiness)"

While thats all true, it doesn't correspond with the symptoms. Placement is important but probably secondary consideration at this point.