[NA Blur]

The A5's sound nice, but have some issues at high volume or in really hot environments.
 
I prefer the Wharfdale Diamond 10.1's myself.  They are not bi-amped, but I really enjoy how they sound.
 
http://www.stereophile.com/content/wharfedale-diamond-101-loudspeaker

 

[WarriorAnt]

Quote:

The A5's sound nice, but have some issues at high volume or in really hot environments.
 
I prefer the Wharfdale Diamond 10.1's myself.  They are not bi-amped, but I really enjoy how they sound.
 
http://www.stereophile.com/content/wharfedale-diamond-101-loudspeaker

The only problem with many speakers like this one is that are not meant to be listened on a desk which is an environment much closer than any near field expectation.  Desktop environments are really hyper near field.  

 

[Foamybrian]

That's pretty much the reason why I sold off my A5's after owning them for a few weeks. They don't mesh very well with a near field setup (my desktop) but they do perform amicably in larger environments. Unfortunately, I prefer full standing bookshelves for larger spaces so the A5's didn't really fit in that niche either; I replaced them with a pair of Swan M200MKIII's and haven't looked back.
 
Quote:

The only problem with many speakers like this one is that are not meant to be listened on a desk which is an environment much closer than any near field expectation.  Desktop environments are really hyper near field.  

 

 

[uelover]

It was just a year ago when I went A5 hunting after reading so much raving reviews on it.
 
I went into a shop to audition it and to be honest, I was pretty upset from what I was hearing from the A5. Pretty much an overwhelming amount of loose bass. Nothing spectacular. Dynamics, clarity, soundstage and etc are just so so. It is something which I could decide that it was not what I was looking for.
 
That shop also sells Aktimate Mini which I went on to audition just for fun since I was already there and had dropped off the idea of purchasing the A5. Under the same acoustic environment and using the same source, I was immediately captivated by what I was hearing from the Aktimate Minis. I have never thought that an active speaker at this price range could sound so good. It sounds a little warm and the mids is sweet. It is not bright at all and the bass is tight and just nice. The detail and soundstage is superb and even with bad positioning of the speakers, it still sounds very good.
 
I could easily live without a headphone with this speaker around and since my budget only allowed me to get an A5, I sold my HD600 back then to fund the Minis.
 
It has been a year since I have owned it and it is still one of the equipment that I love the most. With a good source and some minor tweaks here and there, I much prefer them to many other high end portable/desktop rigs that I have tried.
 
I can't speak for other speakers but given the SQ and the aesthetic beauty of the Minis, I won't be looking for another speaker anytime soon.

 

[129207]

Sounds great but the Aktimate's are $675 here! The Audioengine A5 is only $300. For $700 you can build an amazing speaker rig from vintage amps and speakers. Or even buy a pair of Adam/Genelec/KRK/Dynaudio studio monitors. 

 

[uelover]

They are more expensive here!
 
I think Aktimate can hold up well against many speaker rigs around its price tag though.
 
I want to save myself from possible synergy mismatch as well as precious space in my bedroom. I guess that is where active speakers are still relevant =)

 

[alexsj]

I own the A-5s and the audioengine P-4s which makes me, I guess, an audioengine fanboy.  I've got better gear but the A-5s are sweet paired with a Squeezebox Touch in the bedroom.  And the P-4s work very, very well in a nearfield environment such as my work desk.  They lack a low end (no surprise) but are very accurate and musical.  The Audioengine N-22 amp drives the speakers very well and the headphone amp is pretty decent.

 

[khaos974]

It was just a year ago when I went A5 hunting after reading so much raving reviews on it.
 
I went into a shop to audition it and to be honest, I was pretty upset from what I was hearing from the A5. Pretty much an overwhelming amount of loose bass. Nothing spectacular. Dynamics, clarity, soundstage and etc are just so so. It is something which I could decide that it was not what I was looking for.
 
That shop also sells Aktimate Mini which I went on to audition just for fun since I was already there and had dropped off the idea of purchasing the A5. Under the same acoustic environment and using the same source, I was immediately captivated by what I was hearing from the Aktimate Minis. I have never thought that an active speaker at this price range could sound so good. It sounds a little warm and the mids is sweet. It is not bright at all and the bass is tight and just nice. The detail and soundstage is superb and even with bad positioning of the speakers, it still sounds very good.
 
I could easily live without a headphone with this speaker around and since my budget only allowed me to get an A5, I sold my HD600 back then to fund the Minis.
 
It has been a year since I have owned it and it is still one of the equipment that I love the most. With a good source and some minor tweaks here and there, I much prefer them to many other high end portable/desktop rigs that I have tried.
 
I can't speak for other speakers but given the SQ and the aesthetic beauty of the Minis, I won't be looking for another speaker anytime soon.

To be accurate, a lost of people would not qualify the Aktimate as an active speaker. Most of the time an active speaker refers to a speaker with an active crossover and a separate amplifier for each frequency band, the Aktimate use a single amplifier per speaker. They should be qualified as 'powered speakers'

Quote from the Aktimate website:

The crossover is passive.
For the AktiMate to have an active crossover, it would be necessary to use 2 stereo amps
inside the main speaker, one for the tweeters and one for the woofers, plus two sets of
speaker cables to the passive speaker to supply each driver with its own filtered signal.
Needless to say, that would add both cost and complication.
The alternative method to having active crossovers would be achieved if both speakers had
its own stereo amp and power supply together with active filter circuitry.
However that development is not currently part of the AktiMate development program.

 

[uelover]

Haha you need not quote the entire paragraph to make a statement.
 
Active/Powered speakers are a term used to categorize speakers that do no require an external amplifier.
 
Iti s not defined by whether there is an active or passive crossover.

 

[CHaNZs]

+1
 
The aktimate mini does sound very much better than the a5! but when i tested it, it was a bit biased as the minis was placed on speaker stands and the AE5 was on the desk.
I ended up with the minis and I am very happy with them!   
Quote:

It was just a year ago when I went A5 hunting after reading so much raving reviews on it.
 
I went into a shop to audition it and to be honest, I was pretty upset from what I was hearing from the A5. Pretty much an overwhelming amount of loose bass. Nothing spectacular. Dynamics, clarity, soundstage and etc are just so so. It is something which I could decide that it was not what I was looking for.
 
That shop also sells Aktimate Mini which I went on to audition just for fun since I was already there and had dropped off the idea of purchasing the A5. Under the same acoustic environment and using the same source, I was immediately captivated by what I was hearing from the Aktimate Minis. I have never thought that an active speaker at this price range could sound so good. It sounds a little warm and the mids is sweet. It is not bright at all and the bass is tight and just nice. The detail and soundstage is superb and even with bad positioning of the speakers, it still sounds very good.
 
I could easily live without a headphone with this speaker around and since my budget only allowed me to get an A5, I sold my HD600 back then to fund the Minis.
 
It has been a year since I have owned it and it is still one of the equipment that I love the most. With a good source and some minor tweaks here and there, I much prefer them to many other high end portable/desktop rigs that I have tried.
 
I can't speak for other speakers but given the SQ and the aesthetic beauty of the Minis, I won't be looking for another speaker anytime soon.

 

 

[GREQ]

The biggest problem with the A5's is that they're bookshelf style studio monitors that are being sold as near field desktop music boxes.
 
They're one seriously schizophrenic set of speakers, and that causes all sorts of problems, but mainly positioning.
 
I've owned these for nearly 2 years and have been playing around a lot with different positions, tables, distances, materials etc... 
The biggest complaint/problem seems to be the 'flabby bass' which drastically tightens up and actually becomes musical and enjoyable once positioned well.
This unfortunately depends on the room, the table and your position in relation to all those factors. I find that even after 'perfect' positioning, these speakers only sound really pleasing after I roll my chair back a meter - then everything falls into place.
 
Therefore I think that simply auditioning them in a shop where they've been put on some random shelf much too close to a wall or highly sound reflective surface or whatever doesn't put them in the place where they'll actually sound good/better.
This is of course a result of the rear-ported design.
 
So no...they're not the best in the world, but once placed well (if at all possible!) they should put a smile on your face.

 

[uelover]

Actually most (if not all) speakers will improve dramatically with the correct positioning, surfaces, acoustic environment, and etc.
 
I had auditioned the A5 and the Aktimate under the same exact conditions to keep all things constant.

 

[GREQ]

Quote:

Actually most (if not all) speakers will improve dramatically with the correct positioning, surfaces, acoustic environment, and etc.
 
I had auditioned the A5 and the Aktimate under the same exact conditions to keep all things constant.

I don't doubt it
But out of curiosity, what were the conditions they were auditioned, because I find my A5's quite fun and musical, and actually quite a tight satisfying bass. 
Of course there are other factors like burn in etc, but now I just don't hear the loose bass that so many describe.

 

[uelover]

Quote:

I don't doubt it
But out of curiosity, what were the conditions they were auditioned, because I find my A5's quite fun and musical, and actually quite a tight satisfying bass. 
Of course there are other factors like burn in etc, but now I just don't hear the loose bass that so many describe.

Had them on a solid table with newspapers placed underneath the speakers as makeshift isolator.
 
The acoustic environment are what you find in typical audio places - enclosed, carpeted floors, curtained walls, etc.
 
Both the speakers I auditioned were the demo set so they were at least run in for a certain amount of time. In fact, the Aktimate I auditioned wasn't as burned in yet because the stocks were moving very fast and even the demo set kept getting sold while the A5 demo set has been there for quite a long time.

 

[GREQ]

Okay, that could be a possible reason why you're experience was so bad - I'm not saying the A5's are better, but they do sound absolutely awful on a table top - I've got mine on DIY stands on my desk to stop the table becoming an extension of the speaker's bass. Makes a world of difference.