[killertofu]

I just received my Audioengine A2 speakers and gave them a test drive. I'm relatively satisfied, but was surprised by how muddy these sound. Vocals in some songs seem to fall into the bass guitar and lose clarity. This is my first set of quality speakers (upgraded from z2300's) so I'm not sure if this is normal...

I have them angled properly and propped up on the Audioengine stands, as well as connected via uDac. I am using iTunes as my source with relatively high bitrate MP3s (in the future will be lossless).

If you own a pair of A2's, how do you have them set up for optimal sound?

Thanks for your insight.

 

[.Sup]

I'm sure they will get better after some hours spent listening with them.

 

[third_eye]

I use mine with the Latin EQ setting, they are completely muddy otherwise for me........source is an Apogee Duet.

 

[AmanGeorge]

I had the same issue. My solution was to put some velvet pads (the kind that you put on furniture to keep it from scratching the floor) on the bottom of the speakers to keep it from directly vibrating against the desk surface - I think it has helped, but it's hard to say how much is real vs. placebo. Maybe give that a shot?

 

[Mr. B]

If they are anything like the A5's, positioning is everything. Put the speakers at eye level and see if you notice improvement.

 

[killertofu]

Quote:

Originally Posted by third_eye /img/forum/go_quote.gif I use mine with the Latin EQ setting, they are completely muddy otherwise for me........source is an Apogee Duet.

Thanks for the suggestion, this did make a difference.

I'll let them settle in and get used to them as well.

 

[muad]

Or instead of ear level get the audioengine stands for them, they point them at your ears. Also acts as a buffer between your table and the speakers.

 

[LeftyGorilla]

These are very sensitive to placement. Move them around.

 

[LUCIDD]

Yep, +1 for letting them settle in. I was a non-believer(or non-knower) of speaker burnin before I got my a2's and - they really do settle in a lot!

Originally, out of the box, it was quite muddy+distortion at higher volumes. After, it handles volumes a lot better. And although the sound is quid chesty, it stays very crisp with plenty of bass (closefield).

You should burnin for more than 100hrs. At moderate-to-high listening volumes. Then test again.

 

[devilmaycry-jason]

positioning if very important. as well as the EQ you choose.

 

[killertofu]

I haven't checked back in here in awhile, mostly busy with work/college, but I did take everyone's advice- I burnt them in for as long as I could (unfortunately only around 10 hours) and pulled them away from my walls. I positioned them inward and even applied some felt pads to the bottom of the rubber Audioengine stands, which kept the vibrations off of the desk surprisingly well.

I've been playing them at moderate volume as I browse the net or do homework, so I'm burning them in further... slowly.

So far I have already noticed a bit of a difference. I occasionally go into the iTunes EQ and readjust the custom EQ I initially set to be less extreme. My max values are maybe +1 db on the higher frequencies and -2 to 4 db on the lower frequencies.

I also experimented and connected a an 8in sub: the Yamaha YST-SW011 to the second input of the A2 (great feature, btw). I had the sub sitting around from an old home-theater-in-a-box and figured I'd give it a try. I'm not a huge bass head and setting the volume to 2/10 seems to provide that extra thump the A2's don't provide, without going overboard.

I think they're keepers. I'm enjoying the more and more as time goes by. I'll just have to find a way to burn them in the remaining ~90 hours

Thanks to everyone for the advice!