[brotherlen]

I've been using the A5s for a few months, one of the big selling points for me were the material of the drivers, silk for the tweeters and kevlar for the main. They are built very well. If the price is close, I would go for the Audioengines. Switching to these from cheap creative surround sound speakers, made a huge difference. Very noticeable.

 

[Kurotetsu]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Logan Nolag /img/forum/go_quote.gif I had the M-Audios for a few days and they sounded great but after reading all the stories about the high failure rate on their forums I returned them and picked up a pair of Yamaha HS50Ms. The Yamahas have a much less bass but they are nice and clear unfortunately they cost a bit more than the M-Audios. I was going to order the A5s but I got a really good deal on the Yamaha's from a local store. If I was in your situation I would probably go for the A5s.

The BX5a's have a high failure rate? Is that the original or the updated version?

 

[Hookem]

I have the AudioEngine A5's also...And they do sound awesome...In my humble opinion anyway.

I also have a set of Mackie MR5's...They sound good too !!!

I have just been working so much that I have not had an chance to do a side by side comparision between the A5's and MR5's.

Really cannot go wrong with either the Mackie's or the AudioEngine's.

 

[Logan Nolag]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kurotetsu /img/forum/go_quote.gif The BX5a's have a high failure rate? Is that the original or the updated version?

I'm not sure but if you check out their forums there are a lot threads about it.

Speakers, Headphones & Earphones - The Official M-Audio User Forums

 

[Ham Sandwich]

Based on the forum posts is looks like the problems have been with the BX5a and BX8a series. Seems to be capacitors failing. At least it is something relatively easy to fix.

The BX5a and BX8a were replaced by the BX5a Deluxe and BX8a Deluxe at the end of last year. That would be a different manufacturing run, and you'd have to think that if there was a problem with a certain capacitor supplier that they'd have worked it out by now.

 

[wein07]

Heard the AE5 and AE2 last week at a store and i would say the AE5 is worth the extra over the AE2

 

[advan031]

I just got my A5s today and I have to say I'm a little disappointed so far. Maybe my expectations were for this big sound (soundstage) to come out of these little speakers.

Is there a certain burn in stage before these fully sing? Will a DAC improve it dramatically? I'm currently running them straight from my mbp.

Any input is appreciated.

 

[Mr. B]

I got mine a few days ago and I now have them running through a DAC, which made an ever so minor improvement as far as I could tell. From what I've read, burn-in is recommended on this unit and I've been running pink noise through them while I'm away and I couldn't say if any difference is real or just in my head.

What I have noticed without question, however, is the importance of placement. Even to a novice like myself, the difference between having these things right on the desk and lifted to eye level is staggering. Having them pointed towards my head rather than parallel is also consequential. I've also noticed the low end is quite weak unless you turn them up a good bit.

 

[rjoseph]

I got a pair of Mackie MR5 a week ago and use them straight out of my desktop. They do not come quite as close to what I heard at the outlet but yes placement does make a difference. I tried placing them nearer to the floor I got bigger bass. The more I brought them up to eye level the clearer they sounded. I prefer to sit back at a few feet away when listening to the speakers. This gives the impression of a wider soundstage. Not sure on the burn-in. Mine is relatively new but boy does Eric Clapton sound great from them. I intend to place them on speaker stands.

 

[advan031]

Wow, placement made a huge difference! I'm loving it now and they sound better as you crank them up

 

[j3ff86]

Slightly off topic but I have a question for A5 owners as I see there are a lot in this thread, how do you switch between them and headphones? I will have mine hooked up to a sound card (asus xonar) in my computer. The only options I can think of are using a Y splitter plus an extension cable for the cans (not very elegant), or buying some kind of receiver/dac/amplifier box ($$$) and spdif out to it only for the headphone jack.

 

[Mr. B]

Short of the splitter cable you suggested you will need some other piece of hardware. The A5 has a full stereo RCA line out for the sub but that would have to be amplified. I have mine hooked up to a new E-MU 0404 USB I scored on ebay for $99 last week. The headphone out drives my easily driven HD-595 cans just fine.

 

[richpjr]

These are the exact two speakers I have been looking at for my home office as well. There is a Guitar Center near me that carries the M-Audio, but nobody local that I know of carries the Audioengine so if I bought those, I'm doing it blind, something I'm kind of hesitant to do with something as subjective as speakers.

I understand what monitors are for, but how does THIS model sound for listing to casual music?

 

[advan031]

Quote:

Originally Posted by richpjr /img/forum/go_quote.gif These are the exact two speakers I have been looking at for my home office as well. There is a Guitar Center near me that carries the M-Audio, but nobody local that I know of carries the Audioengine so if I bought those, I'm doing it blind, something I'm kind of hesitant to do with something as subjective as speakers. I understand what monitors are for, but how does THIS model sound for listing to casual music?

If you buy directly from audioengine's site then you have a 30 day audition and there's a coupon still live i think.


I just got my Mopads yesterday and these A5s are keepers.

 

[richpjr]

Quote:

Originally Posted by advan031 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Wow, placement made a huge difference! I'm loving it now and they sound better as you crank them up

Your comment about speaker placement concerns me a little. I'll be using the speakers for a combination of listening to music while sitting at my computer, along with playing my guitar to background music. This requires me to be in a different spot for each activity and if the speakers are that sensitive to positioning, that won't be real optimal for my needs.