[starbux48]

Which one sounds best?  Easy question, right?  From Mac laptop, hoping to spend $200/pair or less.  Audioengine has tons of reviews and the A2 is affordable for me.  A5 maybe if I stretch.  Swan I know little about but they get a few good reviews & comparably priced.  Swan also has some other models for this purpose but I forget their names.
 
Any alternatives in this price range are also of interest.

 

[Diciembre]

I have no experience with either of those speakers but I've been considering buying the D1080MKII 08's (I have the M200MkIII's and I'm extremely happy with them, so I thought I'd go for another pair of Swans for a second computer). I've noticed that some compare the D1080MKII 08's to the A5's in terms of sound (rather than the A2's) despite the price difference. I can't say how comparable they actually are, but the D1080's and A5's can be considered full-size monitors/bookshelves while the A2's are small computer speakers. The Swans and A5's are about same size and have 5" woofers, while the A2's have 2.75" ones. Based on that, I'd personally cross the A2's off my list.
 
Unfortunately, I didn't save any comparisons, but I dug this up (see post 15): http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/395701/audioengine-a5-competition.
 

 

[06S2k07Si]

Some suggestions:
 
Audio engine VS Swan: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=20004922#post20004922

See these: http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/539099/2-1-advice-not-the-same-ol-thread#post_7269491
 
http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/547399/where-do-i-try-out-all-audioengine-a5-s-swan-m200-m-audio-bx5a#post_7390912

 
Anything here: http://www.theaudioinsider.com/index.php?loudspeakers=swan-active-desktop-sound&cPath=21_24
 

My Swan D1080MKII 08 review:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=19882376#post19882376

 
Swan multimedia: http://www.swanspeaker.com/products/products.aspx?cid=5

  
Brian